Amanda, in all her food dorkiness and endless love of Fall, organized an un-official gathering of the FDPs to partake in her yearly tradition of Apple Picking.... followed by wine tasting of course! Since it was an un-official gathering we allowed some boys to come along- mostly so they could reach the very high up apples!
Last Sunday, we all piled into two cars and headed down to the "country-side" of Virginia. Only about an hour away, in Markham, VA (exit 18 off of Rt 66) is where we made our first stop. Because it was a weekend day and the weather was incredibly gorgeous, Stribling Orchard was completely packed with others who were out enjoying picking and picnicing. After waiting patiently in a line of cars we got our Orchard maps and bags and drove on in. We settled upon a few favorite varieties- Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and Rome. Unfortunately, we had missed the Macintosh apples. We strolled up and down the rows, tasting and picking the perfect apples all while breathing in the fresh Fall air.
Before heading to any vineyards, we spread out a blanket to re-fuel our bellies before filling them with fermented juice. (What can we say? We're responsible!) Our picnic spread was quite eclectic with goat cheeses from a local farm called Firefly, baguette, a bag of Sunchips and one (yes one) sandwich from the Italian Store in Arlington. This was all washed down with a bottle of Meritage from Unicorn Winery in Virginia, which was consumed out of make-shift plastic bottles turned into wine glasses. Not only are we responsible, but we're crafty too! I think the Pepsi plastic bottle really brought out the aromas of the wine....
Since we were throroughly embracing this much needed relax time, we decided to park ourselves at a winery for the rest of the afternoon so we weren't feeling rushed. Not too far away was Rappahannock Cellars, where we met up with Amanda's dad who was heading back from Lynchburg. All 8 of us now, went inside to begin our second fruit consumption of the day- grape juice! Jeff, the man behind the tasting bar, was extremely friendly and walked us through our tasting selections. They offered two different flights- one was predominately white wines and one was predominately red, although each list did have some of both. Combined, we tasted everything from their Viognier to Chardonnay to Meritage to their Late Harvest Vidal. The two stand-outs for us were the Glenway Chardonnay and the Claret. We got a bottle of each and retired outside on the deck to soak up the sun, the vineyards, good wine and good friends.
This un-official gathering was officially relaxing and turned out to be a very fruitful day!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
From Heaven to Hell Burger
September 20, 2008
Ray’s Hell Burger
Rating: 3.5 Oinks
After hearing the rumblings through town about the “best burger” in DC, we felt it was our civic duty as FDP’s to find out for sure. Foregoing previous FDP outings that usually include getting dressed up (as well as we are able), we decided this night should be about staying in. And sleeping over as it turned out. This would not just be a mission to try the so-called best burger in town, but also the first official FDP slumber party in honor of Melissa’s new apartment. Air mattress? Check. Champagne and homemade brownies? Check. Footie pajamas? Check. Stockpile of embarrassing girly movies? Check. Now we just needed the burgers.
Ray’s Hell Burger is owned by none other than the beef expert behind Ray’s the Steaks and Ray’s the Classics. A couple of us have tried (and failed) on several occasions to get into the elusive Ray’s the Steaks, but it’s a bit of a gamble. The restaurant is small and does not take reservations making it difficult to get a table without some serious stealth maneuvering. We have not totally given up on getting in eventually, but Hell Burger seemed like a nice alternative to finally be able to try some of Chef Michael Landrum’s beefy creations. Hell Burger is located in the same small strip a couple of doors down from Ray’s the Steaks in Arlington. It is very unassuming and we didn’t even notice a sign to mark the location; the line nearly out the door was a good indicator, however.
The small space is packed with tables for 2 and 4 and a couple of tall café tables for standing if no seating is available. And there is really only one thing on the menu—the burger. Not just any burger, but 10 ounces of prime beef as is proudly stated on their chalkboard menu. The burger can be prepared simply grilled, blackened or au poive to the temperature of your choice (we recommend medium rare) with a great selection of delectable cheeses and toppings. The cheeses range from the classics American and Swiss to more exotic choices like Aged Danish Bleu, Mustard Seed Gouda and Double Cream Brie. Additional toppings include Applewood Smoked Bacon, Guacamole, Grilled Peppers, Sherry-Sautéed Mushrooms (our recommendation!), Roasted Garlic and even…Foie Gras. Clearly, they are not messing around here. Sides are also available and include Buttered Corn on the Cob, Mac-n-Cheese and Potato Chips. Given the shear mass of the burgers, we opted to keep it simple and share some chips and corn (although the mac-n-cheese looked really tasty and will need to be sampled at some point!).
Each burger is grilled to order and after a short 10 minute wait in line, we headed back to the home-front with our giant burgers in tow. Each of us opted for the simply grilled burger and our choice of topping varied slightly (though I think we all decided to get the smear of roasted garlic which was delicious). After some initial pondering about how best to eat the massive burgers, we opted to cut them in half and do our best not to dribble them down our shirts. Bibs may be a good idea for next time.
So what’s the final FDP verdict? I can safely say that the phrase “This is the best burger I’ve ever had” was uttered several times by all of us. The burgers are huge, juicy and the topping are delicious--I can see Ray’s quickly becoming a burger-fix necessity. One word of warning—be sure to go hungry! The rest of the night proceeded with the requisite girly conversation, drinking, and even a visit from the upstairs neighbor who yelled at us for being too loud. Overall a great way to break in a new apartment and by far one of the best burgers in DC.
Ray’s Hell Burger
Rating: 3.5 Oinks
After hearing the rumblings through town about the “best burger” in DC, we felt it was our civic duty as FDP’s to find out for sure. Foregoing previous FDP outings that usually include getting dressed up (as well as we are able), we decided this night should be about staying in. And sleeping over as it turned out. This would not just be a mission to try the so-called best burger in town, but also the first official FDP slumber party in honor of Melissa’s new apartment. Air mattress? Check. Champagne and homemade brownies? Check. Footie pajamas? Check. Stockpile of embarrassing girly movies? Check. Now we just needed the burgers.
Ray’s Hell Burger is owned by none other than the beef expert behind Ray’s the Steaks and Ray’s the Classics. A couple of us have tried (and failed) on several occasions to get into the elusive Ray’s the Steaks, but it’s a bit of a gamble. The restaurant is small and does not take reservations making it difficult to get a table without some serious stealth maneuvering. We have not totally given up on getting in eventually, but Hell Burger seemed like a nice alternative to finally be able to try some of Chef Michael Landrum’s beefy creations. Hell Burger is located in the same small strip a couple of doors down from Ray’s the Steaks in Arlington. It is very unassuming and we didn’t even notice a sign to mark the location; the line nearly out the door was a good indicator, however.
The small space is packed with tables for 2 and 4 and a couple of tall café tables for standing if no seating is available. And there is really only one thing on the menu—the burger. Not just any burger, but 10 ounces of prime beef as is proudly stated on their chalkboard menu. The burger can be prepared simply grilled, blackened or au poive to the temperature of your choice (we recommend medium rare) with a great selection of delectable cheeses and toppings. The cheeses range from the classics American and Swiss to more exotic choices like Aged Danish Bleu, Mustard Seed Gouda and Double Cream Brie. Additional toppings include Applewood Smoked Bacon, Guacamole, Grilled Peppers, Sherry-Sautéed Mushrooms (our recommendation!), Roasted Garlic and even…Foie Gras. Clearly, they are not messing around here. Sides are also available and include Buttered Corn on the Cob, Mac-n-Cheese and Potato Chips. Given the shear mass of the burgers, we opted to keep it simple and share some chips and corn (although the mac-n-cheese looked really tasty and will need to be sampled at some point!).
Each burger is grilled to order and after a short 10 minute wait in line, we headed back to the home-front with our giant burgers in tow. Each of us opted for the simply grilled burger and our choice of topping varied slightly (though I think we all decided to get the smear of roasted garlic which was delicious). After some initial pondering about how best to eat the massive burgers, we opted to cut them in half and do our best not to dribble them down our shirts. Bibs may be a good idea for next time.
So what’s the final FDP verdict? I can safely say that the phrase “This is the best burger I’ve ever had” was uttered several times by all of us. The burgers are huge, juicy and the topping are delicious--I can see Ray’s quickly becoming a burger-fix necessity. One word of warning—be sure to go hungry! The rest of the night proceeded with the requisite girly conversation, drinking, and even a visit from the upstairs neighbor who yelled at us for being too loud. Overall a great way to break in a new apartment and by far one of the best burgers in DC.
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