Saturday Night in the Atlas District

Well the in-laws were in town this weekend which gave Arl and I a chance to meet up and catch up with our old double date partners Randy and Daphne. We headed out to the Atlas District in Northeast (NE) DC for dinner at Dr. Granville Moore's and drinks at The Pug. After putting our name on the wait list at Dr. Granville Moore's we took a quick hop in the cold to The Pug. The Pug is my kind of bar, it truely is a hole in the wall with maximum capacity of 60. This boxing themed bar has old brick walls and original wood flooring that gives it that true dive bar feel (no facades here). I was surprised to see they serve San Miguel along side Boddington's and Bare Knuckles Stout. Randy and I later find out that the owner is part Filipino and we later notice a huge Filipino flag in the corner and a couple of Filipino items on the wall -- very cool. After a few rounds we finally got the call from Dr. GM's that our table was ready -- by then we were starving and craving their famous moules (mussels). Dr. GM's describes itself as a Belgian Beer Bar and Gastropub. It's had that feel of an old world pub with heavy wood and stone; and with the dim lighting it had the feel of being in a pub in Dublin or London (even though I've never been to those places). Service is slow here, but that's okay cause there's no rush to leave this place, especially since you'll need time to go through their expansive beer list.

Whether it's your first, second or tenth time here, you'll want to order their moules and frites. Arl, Randy and I had moules and frites and Daphne had the chicken sandwich, which looked equally tasty too. Hands down best moules I've ever had.
Moules Provencale


Moules Fromage Bleu


Randy and I also ordered the Bison chili which really hit the spot after coming in from the cold. If you've never been to the Atlas District, you need to check it out. It's in transition, so some parts are shady. There's a of potential here and it's a different vibe than other neighborhoods in DC. It's laid back, affordable and real.

Comfort Food...Filipino Style

Chicken Adobo. Every Filipino kid I know grew up on chicken adobo and everytime I eat this dish it takes me back to my childhood waiting for my grandma or my mom's version of this dish to finish simmering on the stove. With so many versions of adobo out there I wanted to share my techniques and ingredients for making this Filipino staple.



Mike's Chicken Adobo - Ingredients

1 Whole Chicken Cut Up
2 Medium Onions
4 Garlic Cloves
2 Bay Leaves
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce & 1/2 Cup Distilled Vinegar Mixed
1/4 Cup Honey
Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste
1/2 Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil

First step is to coat a stainless steel pan with vegetable oil and turn the heat up to high. Sear the chicken pieces in batches until both sides of the chicken parts are golden brown.


Once the chicken is finished set aside and pour the excess oil out leaving the "burnt" bits in the pan. With the pan on medium-high, deglaze the pan with a 1/2 of the soy sauce and vinegar mixture. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the crispy tasty bits. After deglazing the pan, mix in the honey then add the cooked chicken, garlic, onions, and cracked pepper. Continue to add the rest of the soy sauce and vinegar mixture and bay leaf. When adobo starts to boil bring down to a simmer and let it braise for an hour. Be sure to turn the chicken over at the 30 minute mark to ensure the chicken will be cooked evenly. After an hour the adobo should be done and ready to serve with rice.



Be sure to taste frequently when cooking. To me adobo is the best dish to balance the four S's:

Sweet - Honey & Onion
Sour - Vinegar
Salty - Soy Sauce
Spicy - Pepper (Tabasco optional)

Anyway, this is my version of Adobo - let me know if you're ready for an adobo throwdown!

Inauguration with Jigga

So to continue the Inauguration Weekend, I ended up going to Jay Z's "Eve of Change" concert the night before the Inauguration. Man, what a performance - Jay Z knows how to put on a show. Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, Young Jeezy and Memphis Bleek came out to peform as well. Jason Campbell, Samuel Jackson, Mayor Fenty and many others were there in attendance in the jam packed 1,800 seat Warner Theater. The setting was intimate and Jay Z had a live band backing him up which made the performance even better. Here are some videos and pix of the show.



Jay Z and Young Jeezy...


Mary J and Jay Z...

Inauguration Weekend

Wow! Inauguration Weekend was an event to behold. Although I wasn't able to make it down to the Mall for the actual swearing in of President Obama (cause I over slept), I still felt the need to be in the heart of DC for the historic weekend. DC was truly buzzing with out of towners visiting to witness the historic event. The metro was packed and bars were overflowing with folks celebrating change in America.

I made it down with the usual suspects (Sal, Eric and Paul) to the U St. Corridor to do some bar hopping for our own celebration. We made it down to Marvin's and perched on their rooftop beer garden. That night the temperature was in the bone chilling 20's. Marvin's had outdoor heaters that provided some warmth, but we spent most of the night drinking with our gloves, scarves and hats on. It was all good cause the mood was right and the shots of Patron kept us warm. The bar was filled with good people and no one was complaining.

I'll have to check out their bistro sometime.


We put ourselves on the waitlist for The Gibson next door, the new speakeasy joint, but we never made it in...I'll have to review next time. So we headed over to my favorite bar in DC - Aroma in Cleveland Park. This place still makes the best mixed drinks and plays the best music (hip-hop and house) in DC. Non-smokers beware, cause Aroma is one of the very few bars that still allow smoking.

Anyway, after a long night of drinking and feeling the vibe of the Inauguration in DC, we ended the night at a familiar place, Bob & Edith's for some late night eats.

Nikon D90

Alrighty, I finally got clearance to purchase the Nikon D90! This digital SLR camera is sweet!!! With Noah growing so fast I wanted a camera that could capture all the little details and allow me to do all the cool camera stuff like depth of field shots. Anyway, I'll be posting some new photos very soon.