Thursday, October 25, 2007

five guys

five guys
what was consumed: jr. bacon cheeseburger (with extra lettuce, extra tomatoes, sautéed onions, mushrooms, jalapenos, and hot sauce), FRIES …

as much as a deny it and not admit to it, i am a so.cal girl. though not born in so.cal, i spent the majority of my childhood in so.cal and still consider so.cal “home.” as a result, i grew up eating in ‘n out burgers. even my father (who is normally less inclined to eat non-korean foods) enjoys an in ‘n out burger on occasion. and so, i have considered them to be some of the best fast food burgers … EVER.

before i came out to DC, christine kept telling me about this hamburger place. “yeah right,” i would tell her. i had in ‘n out – what more could i want?

and then (after many months of life here in DC) i finally consumed a five guys burger … and i began to think that there’s some high in ‘n out competition for the #1 spot in my mind …

now, there’s something about having a whole slew of toppings, in addition to the standard lettuce and tomatoes, to choose from as additions to your burger. there is no “special sauce,” as many hamburger places have, but that’s ok (especially for me because i usually don’t like the “special” sauce versions of thousand island – haha). someone once told me that the goal at five guys is to put as much stuff as you can onto your burger – ha! i do my best~ hahaha … i have yet to order a regular sized burger because the junior ones are enough for me.

oh, and then there are fries. YUM. even among crazy fry lovers, such as myself, the small size is plenty and will definitely satiate any and all french fry cravings! nicely salted, skins on – fries just the way i like ‘em, that’s for sure.

one more thing – at five guys, while you wait for your food (everything is made to order), they have boxes, boxes, and BOXES filled with peanuts. yes, peanuts (so all of you with peanut allergies, sorry!). while waiting, the peanuts are there for your consuming pleasure. but be careful not to fill up on peanuts! the burgers and fries are what you should be waiting for (at the same time, what is it about sittin’ and crackin’ open a few peanuts while hangin’ with friends? it’s a lot of fun at sporting events, but i think the only person i know who does that at home is my dad (he loves that sort of thing) … i guess it’s environment of gathering that makes it so much fun).

so now, i have my burgers of the west and my burgers of the east. YUM!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

ugly mugg

the ugly mug
723 8th street se, washington, dc 20003
tel: 202) 547-ugly

hours: monday-thursday 11:30am-1:30am, friday 11:30am-2:30am, saturday 11am-2:30am, sunday 11am-1:30am

what was consumed: mini burgers, pizza roll, french fries, beer

the first time i visited the ugly mug was during my first visit to dc as christine took me on one of those “walking tours” of dc happy hours (little did she know i would end up staying in this town). they had a $20-all-you-can-drink beer happy hour from 6-9pm on wednesday nights (alas, that no longer is the case). we ordered mini-burgers (this was pre matchbox days) and then began to pound beers (they have some pretty rockin’ beers on tap – that night, i believe, we enjoyed many a hoegardens). oh, what a night!

since then, the ugly mug has concluded their all-you-can-drink-beer nights (too bad!), but i still venture out to “the mug” when i can.
the location of the ugly mug is really convenient – a brisk walk away (walking to the mug is fine, though i find that taking a cab back is more likely the selection). they have quite a nice selection of beers and, of course, all of the liquors. they also have happy hour specials for each day (each is a little bit different – some things are done by day, others by whatever game is going on, etc.) mixing up “deals” on food and/or drink. and when the weather is nice, they have outdoor seating which allows for great moments of people watching. no matter what the day, though, i enjoy their pizza rolls – literally, a giant slice of pizza that has been rolled up. ahhh, i love pizza. it was also here at the mug where i had a meatball pizza for the first time (pizza with halves of meatballs as toppings). we saw some people sitting next to us order and enjoy such deliciousness, so we just had to copy and order as well.

something to note ... there are a number of places in eastern market that i enjoy frequenting that are near the marine barracks. i don't know if that plays a part in where people hang out. in my personal opinion, and with no judgement or criticism, the weekends get really crowded and sometimes too loud for my liking. then again, sometimes all you want to do is go out, yell in people's ears, and fend off drunk people (haha). anyway ...