Pizza Paradiso - Gtown

So, I skipped the thanksgiving update. I promise I'll do a full write up on the meal next week. But today, black friday, we went to pizza paradiso for the very first time.. so worth it. Pizza Atomica (tomat0, olive, salami, red pepper flake, mozzarella) = perfect pie. Second favorite on the east coast (not quite a coal fired pizza, but close). Beer list is impossibly good. Almost too good to believe. Seasonal Brasserie Dupont? ON DRAFT? REALLY?!!?!?!?　Holy crap explosions of joy in my mouth!

To top off the experience, I looked up from my Pie and saison and saw the GUVERNATOR getting out of his car (okay, really it was a long train of identical Tahoes).
















Of course, his motorcade snarled G-town traffic up nice and tight!

Happy Black Friday

-Ｊ

What I did for her birthday

So the wife just celebrated her thirty - somethingist birthday, and all she wanted was her favorite foods for dinner (the big present this year is saving for our delayed honeymoon next year).

So, what does she like? She calls it the "wall of chicken." This is basically a pan seared chicken breast that usually involves a pan sauce and either rice or pasta. So, in preparation for this, I went around to my favorite boutique food stores and did some prep work. I stopped at "Let's meat on the avenue" for chicken breast (also picked up some weisswurst and some Niman Ranch Lamb chops, menu to be described later).

So the reason for this post. The chicken from Let's Meat was awesome, not to mention HUGE. I mean, I bought a whole skinless boneless breast (both sides), and it had to weigh 2 lbs! After all was said and done it came out perfectly!

Thanks
-J

OBAMA

Not food related, I know.

But praise the food gods, we have a new president.

-J

The Fall Festival and Autumn Extravaganza

Well,

The fall festival came and went with nary a hitch. The weather was spectacularly good for November 1st, and that lent itself to a nice turn out and a nice evening. The patio heater was not the star this year, an honor taken by the newly built fire pit. Smore's were roasted. Beer was consumed.

Lot's of beer actually. We killed a full 1/2 Barrel of Paulaner Oktoberfestbier. Man is that stuff good. I got really lucky when I called Total Wine, they had one solitary keg of Paulaner Oktoberfest left, and I was all over it.

A brief explanation of 'festbier. Oktoberfestbier is a true seasonal beer. They slow ferment the beer over the summer, in preparation for Oktoberfest and when its gone, they don't make any more until the next year. There are six major producers of true Oktoberfestbier, which is served in the major beer tents in Munich in the annual party to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen in 1810. Generally the beers are a style called Märzen, which is a lager style of beer, typically dark gold to amber in color with a fairly complex malt flavor and fairly minimal hops. Oh yeah, they usually have a slightly higher alcohol content than the typical lager as well. Personally, I find 'festbeir to be really drinkable and extremely tasty. It's a fairly simple beer that most people can relate to, while at the same time extremely high quality. The standards and the ingredients are absolutely the best the german producers can get, yielding a very good beer for a fall party!!

So at the Fall Festival this year, a lot of our friends got introduced to the wonders of a proper seasonal lager. Hopefully next year, we can do it again!

Thanks
- J