It’s been a busy year. We started this as a humble Wordpress blog and expanded to our own website. We traveled up and down the East Coast — covering Maine to North Carolina. We’ve eaten jelly fish, ramps, duck fat fries and lobster fresh from the boat. And we’ve had a beer (or two) in every stop along the way. Here’s a recap of the best and worst of our first year.

The Best Bars

Novare Res Bier Cafe and The Great Lost Bear in Portland, Me.: With the help of the guys from Portland Taps, we found these two amazing beer bars. Great selection, great atmosphere (Novare Res had a cellar quality; The Great Lost Beer bar was like a log cabin in the Great North Woods).  See our post here.

Brewer’s Art in Baltimore:  I don’t understand why Baltimore gets a bad rap with Washingtonians. Bar hopping there makes for a riotous, and affordable, night out.  This bar in particular is great. Its is in the cellar of a Victorian townhouse and on tap are the bar’s own Belgian-style microbrews. Even Esquire magazine noticed; it named Brewer’s Art the best bar in the US this April. Wow!  See our post here.

Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, Md.: While this is not actually a bar – and we did visit many great bars this year – it comes in 3^rd. Flying Dog has an excellent spread of beers of which you can enjoy limitless samples.  The atmosphere at one of these Saturday afternoon tasting is that of a well-behaved college house party – strangers chatting and spilling out on to the back porch. And, did I mention, its $5. See our post here.

The Best Surprises

Yeah, of course Maine was gorgeous and New York City was a captivating metropolis filled with excellent food.  These places/events were just as amazing – in ways we never expected.  

Davis-Elkins loop – Although I’ve been singing West Virginia’s praises since this blog began, I have yet to influence anyone to actually go there. I don’t give up easily.  Follow this route for a road trip, a mellow escape from DC insanity and a getaway that’s great in the winter.  There’s skiing, burritos and beer. Just do it! See our post here.

Kinetic Sculpture Race – I heard about this race from a blogger meet-up. I mentioned that we cover quirky travel, and this event sprung to everyone there’s mind. For the Kinetic Sculpture Race, groups of friends, classmates and coworkers make human-powered parade floats that can float in the bay, push through sand and coast down bumpy brick roads. It’s amazingly odd. Next year, I’ll be bringing a bike so I can better follow along with the race. See our post here.

Ohio Brew Week –The word “festival” (and its cousin “fair”) often makes me shudder. It usually means high prices, hoards of people and lots of vendors pushing useless junk (used laser disks, anyone?) However, this beer festival was the complete opposite. It was festively crowded and reasonably priced. We heard some great music and tried beers I’ll never see elsewhere. And there was a beer choo-choo. See our post here.

The Biggest Disappointments

We really wanted to love to these popular destinations, but they just fell short.

Assateague  – Although camping on the beach sounds romantic and relaxing – think: falling asleep to the sound of the waves and taking an early morning swim — the reality is that you are camping in a hostile environment. Sand is everywhere, mosquitoes swarm and the sun beats down without mercy.  I wanted to love Assateague. But Assateague didn’t love me.  After a weekend of being eaten, burnt and drenched, I submitted. See our post here.

Asheville – Maybe it was the rain, but this southern city let us down. It wasn’t nearly as outdoorsy or hippified as I hoped it would be. Although, West Asheville had a food co-op, coffee shops and dive bars, downtown was too upscale. How many boutiques does one tiny town need?  I think we missed Asheville’s heyday.  See our post.

Best beers

Saison Dupont from Brasserie Dupont: This is a truly world class beer.  If you want an introduction to the style called Saison, this is the beer to try.  My favorite brew, at my favorite restaurants with my favorite person; it doesn’t get better than that. Find it at Annabell Lee Tavern, Baltimore MD

Grand Wazoo Batch 2 at Jackie O’s Brewery: A bourbon barrel-aged sour dark ale with raspberries, definitely a one-of-a-kind beer.  This brew really showed off the range and diversity of the beverage.  It’s flavors are probably more in line with a wine than any beer most people have tasted. Had at: Jackie O’s Brewpub, Athens OH

Dale’s Pale Ale from Oskar Blues:  Our go-to summer beer.  Dale’s is a very tasty IPA that comes in a can.  Naturally, makes it perfect for camping, tubing, and backyard barbeques.   Had at: just about every trip that involved a cooler.

Tubing Reviews:

Butt’s Tubes – If you want a big dose of drunken revelry with your tubing, try Butt’s Tubes. The company caters to rowdy groups and their cooler tubes brimming with Natty Light. Located right outside of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, it’s about 1.5 hours northwest (take 270 north and hang a left after Frederick) of DC.

Pros:
-The scenery is beautiful.  You’ll float by rolling mountains and craggy cliffs.
-Harper’s Ferry is a nice place to grab some food before or after your voyage.
-There are rapids and mini waterfalls throughout the river, which adds a little excitement.

Cons:
-Butt’s Tube must give discounts to Greek organizations, because beer swilling, frat boys overrun their trips.
-It’s pricey. A tube for yourself and an additional “cooler tube” costs $45.

River Riders: Also in Harpers Ferry, WV, this tubing company is the anti-Butts Tubes.  It caters to families and offers a “flat water” (read: good for children) option.

Pros:
-It offers a full day trip that breaks the ride into two parts — a flat water cruise in the morning followed by lunch and a float down the rockier part of the river. You also can do the first or second part only. The second is the same section that Butts follows.

- At $29 for a weekend trip, it’s cheaper than Butts.

Cons:
- You still have to share the river with the Butts partiers. But now you are also cruising along with little kids and vacationing families.

- Neither half of the full day ride seems long enough.  Just as you are getting into the drift of the river, it’s time to haul your tube back onto dry land.

Front Royal Canoe: Front Royal Canoe is located at the Western end of route 66 in Front Royal, Virginia. It is also about 1.5 hours from DC. This option is the cheapest of the three: one tube plus a cooler tube costs $16.

Pros:
-The clientele is generally pretty low-key, making for a very relaxing day of tubing.
- It’s cheap.

Cons:
-There’s no rapids or waterfalls. The creek is maddeningly slow. In August last year, the water lever was so low that we spent half the trip banging our butts on the algae covered stones at the bottom.

The Best Beer for the Trip

River tubing is not complete without beer.  The problem is most good beers comes in bottles, which you definitely don’t want to bring.  Bottles take up too much room. Mainly, though, they are heavy and the can shatter into hundreds of foot-cutting, tube-slashing pieces.

The answer is Oskar Blues.  This brewery, based in Boulder Colorado, packages all of its beers in cans.  I recommend Dale’s Pale Ale or Mama’s Little Yella Pills.  Both beers are flavorful and light, perfect options for a hot, humid summer day.  Here is a list of stores that carry Oskar Blues beer.

Although Northern Virginia’s wineries may not produce the country’s best wine, this Two Buck Chuck drinking blogger can’t tell. These wineries do rival their California counterparts for beautiful scenery. And hopping between tastings makes for excellent afternoon entertainment for out-of-town guests who have seen all the typical DC sites.

I’ve been to Sonoma. I’ve swirled and sniffed my wine like I was in Sideways. It was a fun trip, tipsily hopping from winery to winery.  However, having experienced the famous California wine district, I turned my nose up at Virginia’s version. This brew-loving blogger just stuck with what I know best: beer.

Then, my parents visited last weekend. Always before their visits to DC, I wrack my brain to come up with novel activities.  They’ve seen all the monuments and museums. We’ve been to Annapolis and Old Town Alexandria. I was planning a daytrip to the National Arboretum, but I was thrilled when they suggested winery hopping.

Planning the trip

We visited three wineries off Rt. 66 in Haymarket and The Plains.  Even on the Saturday, traffic was congested getting out of the city. So, expect about an hour drive. All were crowded, but in a festive, bustling way that’s great for hiding the fact that I don’t know anything about wine.

A tasting runs about $6 and includes samples of about 10 wines. The bottles of wine start at about $15. You are free to bring a picnic. We bought sandwiches and snacks from The Italian Store in Arlington and ate it on the porch at the third winery. I recommend all the places we visited.

The Wineries

Pearmund Cellars: Our first stop was up a winding road through the grape vines. The place looked like it had been pulled out of a calendar.  Behind the building, looking into the vinyard, was patio furniture. It would be perfect for relaxing with a bottle of wine.

The tasting included their full run of wines – whites, reds and even a port. Out of the two tastings we did, we agreed that this was the better. By the time I finished, I was feeling woozy.

La Grange: The staff Pearmund Cellars gave us a coupon for a free tasting at Le Grange, which has the same owners. So, we headed there next. The wines here were not as good. However, the house, a renovated, brick building, was gorgeous. Their tasting included a sample of the house Sangria.

Barrel Oak: Situated on top of a hill, this winery has a nice view of Rt. 66 – and the surrounding countryside too, of course. We decided to skip the tasting, buy a bottle of wine, sit on the patio and eat our lunch. Although Oak Barrel was nice, it was not as peaceful as the others. Maybe because of its hilltop location, the place was extremely windy – the kind where you have to pin down your napkins and half-empty plates. Also, Oak Barrel allows dogs, and they overran the porch.

More Suggestions

For more unconventional ways to entertain out-of-town guests check out this previous article.

Check out our previous post for more suggestions on entertaining out-of-town guests.

I’ve eaten my way through many of the restaurants at Eden Center, Washington DC’s suburban Vietnamese strip center. I’ve braved jellyfish salads, avocado smoothies and spicy crawfish — and lived to tell about it. Here are my restaurant recommendations and map.

The Eden Center is a baffling bit of Asia in the middle of Falls Church. It’s as overwhelming as a foreign country, albeit one in a compact strip mall and five minutes from the beltway. The signs are in Vietnamese, the waitstaff barely speak English and it’s easy to accidentally order a strange animal (or animal part). However, the excellent food and reasonable prices make it worth tolerating a dose of culture shock. These are my four favorite restaurants in the shopping mall (and how to find them):

Song Que: Anthony Bourdain visited here on his trip to DC for No Reservations. The sandwich shop/grocery/smoothie stand is in the far corner of the mall (the far left, if you stand on Wilson Blvd. and face Eden Center). I love the BBQ pork sandwich and the smoothies. The pineapple, strawberry and mango are all excellent. And nothing beats the prices: $3.25 for a sandwich (they raised it!) and $3 for the smoothies.

Seaside Crab House: 6799 Wilson Blvd., #5: This Vietnamese take on a Chesapeake crab shack is recognizable by its porch, which extends into the parking lot. If you want to fit in with the Vietnamese patrons, order a bucket of crayfish (by the pound) and a pitcher of Heineken. But I recommend the fried soft shell crab. I’ve also heard good things about the grilled clams.

Huong Viet, 6785 Wilson Blvd: A low-key restaurant with an overwhelming menu. The waitress enthusiatically recommended the pork and jellyfish salad. I couldn’t find a way to refuse without hurting her feelings.  I’m glad I didn’t. The salad was excellent.  The jellyfish tasted like hard, salty jello — in a good way.   Just hit the ATM beforehand. This place is cash only.

Viet Bistro 6799 Wilson Boulevard #11: This restruant is excellent for Eden Center novices. It was the first place I went. The staff speak English and, with a location at the front of the plaza, you don’t even have to forge past the hair salons and travel agencies. The clay pot dishes, baby clams, the caramel fish, the frogs’ legs, the eel, anything with lemongrass and the shaking beef are all recommended.

Interested in Asian food in the DC area?  Take a look at this previous post on  Annandale’s Koreatown.

1. Assateague Island: We attempted to camp at this National Seashore in Maryland last year. However, the place was booked up through October by the time I thought to plan the trip. So this year, I made reservations in January for a campsite in June. If you are interested in beach front camping and wild horses, go to the National Park Service site and reserve a camping spot now.

2. Philadelphia: Every time I drive up to New York, I pass by Philadelphia. I’ve never bothered to stop. This summer, I plan to change that.

3. Tubing: Tubing at Harper’s Ferry was my favorite day trip of last summer. We rented tubes from Butts Tubes and spent the afternoon floating down the Potomac, tipping over mini rapids and diving off rocks — all while towing a cooler of beer. (This year, I’ll remember to bring cans not bottles.) I want to expand my hunt for the best tubing in the region. I’m hoping to find somewhere as scenic as Harper’s Ferry W Va. but without the crowds of frat boys.

4. Tangier Island: Cheap seafood and weird accents are two of my favorite things in life. This Virginia island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay has both. Just be forewarned, no alcohol can be purchased on the island. Bring your own.

5. The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum: I read about this unusual destination in Weston, WV, in the Washington Post travel section this winter. It closed to patients in 1994, and now — from April to Nov. — it’s open to tourists. I’m getting creeped out just looking at the photos.

Comment with your top travel plans and suggestions.

After a bit of research, I selected another destination: Shockhoe Bottom. Every post-industrial port city has a gentrified neighborhood of renovated warehouses and factories. Richmond’s version is “the Bottom.” Here, the city’s old buildings house trendy sushi restaurants with exposed brick walls and micro-brews with 20-foot ceilings. We hit up one such place, Richbrau. It served beer brewed on premise, which we drank at the dark wood, pseudo old-timey bar. Then, we headed back to the suburbs.

The next morning, we ate breakfast at the grimy Freckles’. It was another recommendation of our friend. The place is a dive in the real – not the PBR-swilling hipster — sense, with watery coffee, a ceiling stained by cigarette smoke and strange men with long, tangled beards hanging out for hours in the booths.

Afterward, we started driving towards the freeway. This was just the first stop on our Asheville road trip. But I had misplaced the directions, and we ended up driving the wrong way. It was a sign. We had barely seen anything of Richmond; our tour had been limited to the friend’s basement, a few strip malls and a smokey ham and cheese omelet.

Determined to see something, we headed to Belle Isle. The city park has a good dose of history; it was the site of a Civil War POW camp, a quarry, a racetrack and a hydroelectric factory. The tiny bit of land in the middle of James River can only be reached by curving foot bridge suspended from the highway.

After a stroll, we got into the car and started towards North Carolina ….

Check back soon for a roundup on our first stop, Richmond.

Below is a map of our trip:

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=102510511292274565296.000466bef4846659fdb4a&ll=37.996163,-80.200195&spn=6.059355,9.338379&z=6&output=embed&w=425&h=350]

Click here for the map of a previous road trip.

While the bakery features row upon row of sweet stuff, the highlight is the brats. They are served piled with sauerkraut, squirted with mustard and stuck on a fresh baked roll. Order one, sit down on at the tables (beware, space is limited) and munch away. And, at least on the weekends, help yourself to tiny cups of complementary coffee.

Living in DC has taught me one thing (other than how to drive like a maniac): Never pay for a museum. Sometimes, however, I break my own rules. The house tour is $8, but worth it. Pope-Leighey is open from Friday, April 3 to December 31, Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tours are provided every thirty minutes with the last tour at 4:00.

Westover Market, a landmark in the Arlington neighborhood with the same name, was floundering until the family that owns the shop transformed it into a beer destination. Now, it hosts free tastings the first Friday evening of every month. Often, a brewery hosts the event and showcases its line. Just like in a wine tastings, the beer samplings run from the light in favor to the heavy. Last month was Troegs; May is Sierra Nevada.

In warm weather, the tastings are held outside in the tree-lined walk way. But good weather or bad there’s always music. At the March event, a string quartet – plus one or two — played songs that could be on the soundtrack for a Jane Austen movie. Outside, a man on an acoustic guitar strummed Counting Crows covers.

Westover Market
5863 N. Washington Boulevard
Arlington, Va. 22205