Excuse Me, Is That Your Blog?

The Good:

Overall I think he did an excellent job. My main reservation about Obama has been my impression that he’s all talk, all pomp and circumstance, and little substance. Last night he delivered an address that was policy-specific, insightful, thorough, and inspirational. He underscored McCain’s weaknesses without sounding rancorous, and drew a sharp contrast between his vision and a potential McCain presidency. He was eloquent (except for a few flubs, but nobody is perfect) but not bombastic. He was genuine and down to earth, and convinced me that he would be a compassionate and competent president. I was drinking Blue Moon, but it tasted like Kool Aid. I’m one of them. I love Obama.

Here are some other highlights, and random observations:

• The shout out to Hillary was a nice gesture, especially right at the beginning of his speech. Hopefully he was able to mollify even the most bitter of Hillary holdouts.
• He used “her” as a pronoun when discussing the challenge of sending kids to school.
• Sasha Obama is so kidnapably cute!
• He wants to cut government programs that don’t work and streamline bureaucracy – a libertarian wet dream! I love that he has the balls to not make a typical knee-jerk liberal, blanket defense of every public service program.
• Tax cuts! Yay! More fodder for me and my fellow libertarians.
• End our oil addiction – real solutions, not band-aids. We need oil rehab, not oil enablers like John McCain. And incentivizing alternative energy production is totally in keeping with the market system we all love and cherish as Americans.
• He spoke of having the “temperament” and judgment to conduct foreign policy. Not only did that brilliantly take the focus away from experience and onto pure competence, it was a subtle double entendre. READ: McCain has a temper, and is a bat-shit crazy curmudgeon.
• Vets, vets, and more vets. I love vets, not just because the VA pays roughly 1/3 of my salary, but because they are the one group in America that clearly deserve appreciation from our government but are woefully underserved.
• “Patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so does John McCain, and so do you!” Oh yeah, we’re gonna have a 300 million-way with America.

The Bad:

• When it comes to health care, Barack seems to think that healthcare companies arbitrarily “discriminate” against the ill. Truthfully, any company is going to want to protect itself from adverse selection by having a diverse mix of patients, so that the healthy can pay for the sick. That’s how health insurance works – just like care insurance. When employers provide health care, the risk is automatically pooled because they have a mix of people brought together on random factors other than health status. A typical workplace will have adequate risk spread to keep premiums low, and the power to negotiate with insurers. The problem is that not all employers offer health insurance, and unemployment is on the rise. Then we get into the individual market, where it’s essentially a free-for-all. Companies have an incentive to keep out sick patients so they don’t go out of business, while relatively healthy people (especially young people) choose not to purchase insurance, because they think they’re invincible. There aren’t “healthy” people to pay for the “sick”. So Obama can’t forcibly “end healthcare discrimination”, without having mandates in place to force the healthy people to enter the risk pool, and thus far he hasn’t explicitly supported an individual mandate. Furthermore, we must continue to support tax breaks for employers offering insurance since this is the most sensible means of providing insurance. I heard nothing about this in Obama’s Plan. Finally, he said little, and his plans says little about reducing health care costs, which are primarily driven by technology. If we keep adopting new procedures, machines, and medicines, with little therapeutic improvement over previous treatments, we’re not going to get a good return on investment. The trick is to find a way to place stricter standards on technology adaptation while still encouraging innovation in the market. I don’t purport to have all the answers, but I think the president ought to. Nonetheless, I have more confidence in Obama’s ability and willingness to tackle this problem constructively.
• “I stood up and opposed this war (In Iraq).” From where, your living room couch? You weren’t IN the Senate yet and didn’t have a vote. I can picture the situation:
  Barack (knocking over a ball of popcorn as he rises from the couch): I oppose this war!
  Michelle: That’s nice honey. Can you take out the trash
• Producer to Cameraman, Producer to Cameraman, show more white people! (it’s the exact opposite of the conversations that go on between the two at the GOP convention.

The Cheesy:

• The Music. U2? Add them to Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp as intolerable artists for politics. It’s not that I don’t like these artists (except Mellencamp – he sucks) – I have every U2 album, and a significant percentage of Bruce’s library as well. It’s just that their music deserves better than becoming the hackneyed entrance and exit music for pandering politicians. Are there seriously NO people on your staff than can pick something more original? I saw Obama’s favorite song list, and it included Nina Simone and The Fugees. Either of those selections would have been refreshing. What the shit was that country song they played after Obama finished? It was so anticlimactic, not to mention CHEESY!!! AND FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, WHEN ARE PEOPLE GOING TO REALIZE THAT BORN IN THE USA IS NOT A PATRIOTIC TRIBUTE TO AMERICA BUT A STINGING CRITICISM OF THE WAR IN VIETNAM?!?! LISTEN TO THE GODDAMN LYRICS OF THE SONGS YOU CHOOSE TO PLAY!!! Here are a few selections that would have been more inspirational, appropriate, or at least humorously corny:

1. The Times, They Are A Changin’ – Bob Dylan (would have fit nicely with the WHOLE FUCKING THEME OF OBAMA’S CAMPAIGN as well)
2. Work That – Mary J. Blige
3. Live To Win – Paul Stanley
4. You’ve Got the Touch, from the Transformers Soundtrack (the 80s cartoon, not the crap ass action flick with Shia LaDouche)
5. Pretty much anything from the Top Gun Soundtrack
6. Ditto for Karate Kid
7. Ditto Rocky
8. Flashdance…What a Feeling – Irena Cara

• Is it just me, or is Joe Biden actually made of cheese? He’s got that pig-in-shit-eating grin that frankly creeps me out.
• Did the Obama women really color coordinate? I love pink, but to quote Sally Field’s character from Steel Magnolias, “It looks like the whole place was doused in Pepto Bismal.”
• The “grand finale” was just awkward. At least balloons would have masked some of the uncomfortable moments, like when all of a sudden there were toilet-paper-esque streamers on the back stage, and all of a sudden the music went from country to something sounding like the theme from Jaws. Should Obama and Biden hug? Will that seem too gay? Michelle and Jill were holding hands pretty tightly, as if they don’t know what else to do. Wave to the audience. Wait we’re out of family order. Okay bring in the Biden family. Wait there’s too many. Okay you know what, let’s just do Barack, Michelle, Joe, and Jill. Okay. Now let’s, um, pray, yeah, prayer is awesome, everyone loves prayer! Of course I realize that no convention can be perfect. But maybe if Obama had picked his VP earlier they would have worked out the awkward body language. Maybe if there were some more hip staff, the music wouldn’t have sounded so corny.

They're coming to shut off my interwebz for the move so I have to do this quick. I just wanted to throw out a few of my reactions to last night's speech.

First off, let me just say, I can totally smell what Barack is cookin'. This was probably the most electrfying speech I've seen since I began to care about politics. I realized a few minutes into the speech that, for the first time in my political cognizance, we're going to have a president I actually like. No more whining about choosing the "lesser of two evils" in the general election. I'm legitimately excited about BHO.

As for the speech itself, what can I say that hasn't already been said by thousands of pundits and superior blogs? I was actually really impressed with how awkwardly he thanked the raucous crowd at the beginning. It showed a human side of him. This guy isn't an elitist. And you know what? As cheesy as it sounds, he just looks presidential.

There was a lot of good stuff in this speech, but I don't have enough time to really discuss it all. I'll just say that I loved his thoughts on alternative fuels and oil independence... he acknowledges that we can't invest all of our time and money on just one alternative like ethanol. That kind of progressive thought from a president is exactly what we need if we're going to actually do something about the energy crisis. I also LOVED his comment that government "can't turn off the television for you." Finally, a presidential candidate has the compassion to call for a helpful government while still having the balls to call for some personal responsibility.

Just a few random thoughts:
- I hope his plan to cut taxes for 95% of working families doesn't turn into a "Read my lips..." kind of moment
- was "8 is enough" a sitcom reference or something that I missed?
- Did he really have to call out Cleveland about gang violence in his section about gun control? Come on Barack. What about Detroit? LA? Chicago? Whatevs. I know you didn't mean anything personal, big guy ;-)
- Finally, what the fuck was with that music after the speech? It transitioned from some hillbilly country crap to some kind of "Sum of All Fears" orchestration. I expected Harrison Ford to run out at any second screaming "WE NEED TO GET THE PRESIDENT OUT OF HERE."


Anyway, I gotta run. Erin will be on later with her much more eloquent and insightful analysis.

Beau Biden: I'd hit that.

Joe Biden: The transcript of his speech was excellent, so why is that I couldn't bear watching it in person and instead flipped back and forth between that and the season finale of Shear Genius? I guess it was the fact that I have an intense aversion to John Mellencamp, especially after that smarmy philandering bastard John Edwards exploited his music in his failed campaign for the presidency. And then to end with a Bruce Springsteen song written about 9/11? Are you kidding me? I realize you're 65 years old, Senator B, but surely one of those 87 grandchildren of yours could have tuned you in to something more hip.

Obama's "surprise" appearance: That was about as "unscripted" as an episode of The Hills. Come on, seriously? A REAL suprise would have been New Mexico governor Bill Richardson riding on a unicyle, wearing an Uncle Sam hat, and juggling bald eagle eggs. And it would have been far more entertaining.

The Democrats should have held this convention in Wisconsin instead of Colorado, 'cuz it's CHEESY!!!

There's something to be said about watching America's pastime in the nation's capital. that something is that it sucks. The Nationals are, not surprisingly, a league worst 48-85, well on their way to losing 100 games. Thank God I don't have any ties to this team other than that I'm a transient DC citizen.

This team is abysmal, just absolutely abysmal. Locals will tell you it's been injuries that have claimed the Nats' season, but injuries are only part of it. Part of it is the failure of highly-touted youngsters, like Ryan Zimmerman and Nick Johnson, to stay healthy and produce at expected levels. But a larger part of it is inept management. This is the team that failed to trade a red-hot Dmitri Young at his (fluky) peak last year for some solid prospects and did the same with Alfonso Soriano the year before. This isn't the place for in-depth baseball analysis -- though I'd be happy to provide links to some great sites if anyone is interested -- but suffice it to say that the Nats are awful now and have no realistic chance of being good in the next five years. I mean, my Tribe has been disappointing this year but hey, at least we've got a bright future. And this guy:

Before you accuse this post of being sexist, keep in mind that the female, feminist, heterosexual correspondent of this blog is the one writing it.

With all the serious topics being discussed at the Democratic Convention, I think it's time we take a step back for a minute and appreciate the fineness that is the Democratic ladies.

Say what you will about Michelle Obama's speech Monday, but one thing is for certain: She is HAWT!!! Cindy McCain is a botox-saturated washed-out hag. Michelle, on the other hand, is all natural, and all beautiful. My co-author Phil, in less graceful terms, declares, "Only the most unspeakable acts come to mind when I think of Michelle Obama." I wouldn't go THAT far, but we agree that Michelle is one foxy woman who deserves to be America's FLILF.

And who could pretend to digest Hillary Clinton's inspirational speech last night without first taking a moment to ogle former FDILF Chelsea. Girlfriend is banging! Her awkward Amy Carter days are ancient history. As my boyfriend opined, "She's really grown into herself". Phil informed me this morning, "I wanna holla at that bitch." My buddy Jeff's G-chat status message last night summed it up perfectly: "Damn, Chelsea fiiiiiiiiiiine!"

Make no mistake, this is a very important election, the outcome of which will have serious consequences for both America and the world. But while you're considering all the critical issues at hand, it's perfectly fine to be human and drool over some pretty ladies. Of course the same goes for the sexy men, who will take the stage tonight and tomorrow.

Thursday's post: Damn, Joe Biden is Delawaring that suit.

Friday: Obama can be my commander in briefs!

ADDENDUM: I just wanted to give some mad props to Erin for handling that post with such class. My thoughts wouldn't possibly be clear enough to write a coherent post about Michelle and Chelsea. Swoon.

~ Turk

This is my first presidential race in the District of Columbia, which is infamous for its rabid political junkies, Hillrats, and media pundits foaming at the mouth to get a piece of the action. With their mere 3 electoral votes, however, these fanatics must feed their obsession by networking with (and/or fellating) people “in the know”, and talking about it incessantly on their blogs. Recognizing this insatiable appetite for inside information, Barak Obama chose to send his supporters a text message at 3 AM EST Saturday morning announcing his selection of Joe Biden as his running mate. I’m sure the Late Night Shots crowd prowling the streets of Georgetown was excited to receive this text among their slew of booty calls, though they probably had to squint and shut one eye to decipher the words in their state of drunkenness. At that’s assuming they didn’t already pass out on the street or in the home of a stranger, vomit drenching their popped-collar polos or Ann Taylor sundresses.

Me? I was fast asleep. I didn’t get the message until I turned on Headline news to watch their D-list Saturday morning anchor “accidentally” say “Obiden” – twice. Did I feel out of the loop? No, because I already knew Obama was going to choose Biden. I knew unofficially 2 ½ weeks ago, when my friend told me her boss (who is a Democratic Big Wig) told her that it was going to be Biden. I was incredulous at first, but the same friend confirmed the news to me last Tuesday. Of course she was emphatic about the information being kept a secret, and said, “You didn’t hear that from me ;)” I will still protect her identity by not naming her on this blog. But I assume if she told me, she told her boyfriend, and at least a few of her other friends. I in turn, though sworn to secrecy, told my assistant, my boyfriend, and a couple of my friends, who in turn told a few more people and so on and so forth. The point is that people in this town have big mouths and there’s no better chance of keeping a secret than there is of Larry Craig keeping his pants on in the Union Station mensroom.

So what about this Biden guy? I’m sure his Wikipedia page crashed several times over the weekend, and I also read this morning that his biography, which was published over a year ago, is now a best seller on Amazon. So I’m not going to repeat any details you’ve already read in those sources. I will tell you the following things about Joe Biden:

1) Joe Biden is a Senator from Delaware. I grew up in Pennsylvania, which is right on top of Delaware. We laugh at Delaware, and then travel there for tax free shopping and the occasional Rehoboth Beach excursion.
2) Delaware recently raised its toll on 1-95 from $3 to $4. That adds up if you travel back and forth between D.C. and Philly frequently, as my Dad must do when he drives me to and from my respective homes. At least he has an EZ pass now.
3) My friend once got out of a speeding ticket while he was going to law school in Delaware by claiming he knew Joe Biden. Cops like Joe Biden.
4) Joe Biden is “smart as hell” and a “damn good guy”, according to my Dad. Actually a lot of people seem to feel this way, and said so during the primaries. However this mysteriously didn’t translate into any votes.
5) Joe Biden is a vet, I think. Either way he has major foreign policy street cred, because he went to Georgia recently (not the one with peaches and plantations, the one with Russian tanks). I think he also went to Iraq. And he was the head of the Senate Foreign Relations committee. So I guess that sticks it to McCain who claims that if Obama is elected, the terrorists will win. I feel pretty confident that Biden can kick some terrorist ass, while Obama stays in the White House and sends text messages to his supporters detailing Biden’s ass-kicking endeavors.

Well that’s my educated, insightful analysis of the VP selection, as a resident of D.C. and a one time resident of the state on top on Biden’s state. I think this was a good move on Obama’s part, because Tim Kaine just slashed the budget in VA, which will leave many people unhappy in this supposed swing state, and Evan Bayh is boring and cornfed. So Go Obama-Biden, or shall I say, “Gobiden!”

A lot of my friends back home ask me about politics. They figure, since I live and work in DC, I've got inside connections more insightful opinions than they do sitting all the way up in Ohio. And now, I've got this sort-of-DC-themed blog, which is a great platform for bloviating about the sordid dealings in our nation's capital. But here's the thing: I pretty much couldn't care less about politics anymore.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm still going to vote, and I'm still going to read both candidate's platforms, examine their stances on issues, watch the conventions, etc., because I'm not a moron. But honestly, I think I may be the first person in the history of the United States to move to DC and become less interested in politics. And it's not like I've always been this way. I was a poli sci major and I campaigned pretty hard for Kerry in '04. But I think I totally shot my wad on that one. Since that election, and given the constant barrage of INSIDE INFO that is DC life, I've just gotten turned off. It's like, I love Ruby Tuesday. But if all I ate all day, everyday was Ruby Tuesday, I'd start to hate it (probably right around the time of my second or third quadruple bypass).

This little rant was spurred on by Obama's selection of Joe Biden as VP. Yeah, I got the text, and I knew who the people on the short list were, but I haven't been following it for every waking second of the past two months. The baseball trading deadline, now that was another story. I can tell you pretty much everything that went down and what it means for each MLB team that was involved in a deadline deal, and I can probably provide more in-depth commentary about it than most pundits can provide about the VP race.

But I digress. Politics is a major part of what fuels DC, so in the interest of keeping this blog in tune with the city, we've decided to invite our friend the Sober Pundit on as a political correspondent. Trust me, she's much more adept at breaking this stuff down than I am. And she's hella funny. She might make a few random posts here and there as well, so keep an eye out for her bemused rantings!

Whatever, I'd hit it.

Yeah, I know, who doesn't want to be, am I right?! Geez. I know this isn't DC-related, but I feel like I have to take a stand here. What's the big deal with this guy? I mean, come on, I eat about 12,000 calories a day and I can swim (relatively) fast (for a fat kid) too! The dude's been on the cover of every SI and ESPN magazine I've gotten for the past year. I just couldn't care less. Wake me up when he learns how to hit Major League pitching or evade an NFL pass rush. Zzzzzzzzz...


EDIT: Also, the more I think about it, Michael Phelps is completely anti-American. He's totally stealing the spotlight from every other brave American athlete. AND he went to Michigan! How much worse can this guy get? Michael Phelps is a Communist. And so is anyone who cheers for him.

This being my first full summer in DC, I was quite excited to hear about Restaurant Week. For those who don't know, Restaurant Week is a week in August where hundreds of DC restaurants offer a special menu at a set price of ~$20 for lunch and ~$35 for dinner. It's a fantastic opportunity to try out new, exotic or fancy places you wouldn't normally be willing to lighten your wallet for. Being the classic Rustbelt kid I am, I'm not generally one for upscale dining. You've seen that I can get snobby about beer, but when it comes to food, I tend to lean towards known quantities, places where I know I can get a nice juicy burger or pasta dish without taking too big a chunk out of my bank account. But that's what makes Restaurant Week so great, because it gives you an excuse to go outside of your food comfort zone and explore some of the great culinary options DC has to offer.

The first of two stops on our Restaurant Week expedition was Taberna Del Alabardero. How did it measure up?

Atmosphere

TDA, as I'll call it from here on, is a lovely, classical Spanish-themed restaurant Downtown just off of Farragut Square. The main dining room, as well as the side dining room where we were seated, is a striking, deep red color and the walls are lined with paintings and murals of historical figures and Spanish countryside. The seating is elegant, yet surprisingly comfortable thanks to the heavy, padded chairs. There is also a decent-sized outdoor seating area. Though I've never been to Spain, I was told this place could fit right in. From a neophyte's foodie's perspective, the place felt classy and upscale yet welcoming, and not overly stuffy.

Service

There were a several pros and cons about the service. Chairs were pulled out for the ladies, waiters were efficient and courteous, and our wine glasses were never empty! Perhaps, though, the waiters were a bit too efficient. We barely had a chance to finish a course of the meal before waiters swarmed the table to clear the plates. Perhaps that's the standard MO, but we certainly felt a bit rushed. Our reservations were for 8:30, and we spent a good hour talking after the entire meal was done, yet we still left the restaurant before 10:30. This I'm willing to chalk up to Restaurant Week, however, as I'm sure the waiters are trained to scramble so as to fit in as many reservations as possible.

Food/Drinks

Finally, the most important part. Per standard Restaurant Week etiquette, we were given about four or five choices for each course, printed on a special Restaurant Week menu. For starters, three us us ordered the gazpacho. Now, I've never had gazpacho. In Cleveland, someone presented with a bowl of gazpacho would probably wonder why the Spaghetti O's were strained out and someone forgot to microwave it. So, despite having no frame of reference, I really enjoyed it. It was zesty but not overpowering, and silky smooth as it went down. For the record, the Spanish-savvy folk I dined with agreed that the chilled soup was exceptional. The other person in our party ordered the house salad which I did not try, but looked delightful and was well-received.

For the main course, a selection of three fish dishes and three meat/poultry dishes was offered. Two members of our party ordered the roasted baby goat, which was fantastic. Again, never having had goat before, the only observations I can make are that it had a wonderful slow-roasted taste and a perfect, tender texture, almost like pulled pork. One person order the garlic chicken, which was also excellent. In terms of what you can do with chicken, it was top notch. Myself, I went with the Rockfish with Artichoke, Tomato and Spanish Sausage Sauté. I don't usually order fish, but, again, I wanted to go with something outside the norm. I was a little disappointed. The fish was presented with the scales intact, which I realize is probably standard for upscale places or whatever, but I found it a little off-putting. In terms of flavor, the fish was a little bland; without reading the description on the menu, I wouldn't have been able to tell if it was roasted, sauteed, baked, broiled, etc. The most flavorful things on my plate were the artichokes. I have to say I was still a bit hungry when I finished, and not just because I've got a large appetite -- others commented that the meal looked to be a bit lacking.

The dessert course was another foray into the unknown for me, as I had never had flan before. Sheltered, I know. It was good... I think. It was pretty standard gelatinous creme; subtle, yet sweet, and presented with a very tasty lemon icing (not sure if "icing" is the proper word, but close enough). I did not try the desserts the others ordered, but both the almond cake and strawberries seemed to go over well.

As for the wine, this is where I really show my lack of sophistication. I don't know a damn thing about wine. I know there's red and white. I know I've never drank any wine that cost more than $10 a bottle. I do know that I like the wine we had. Since I ordered fish, I went with the Jose Pariente Verdejo, one of the suggested white wines. To my surprise, it was delightful. It had a very distinct fruity taste, but with a kick that distinguished it from most of the wimpy, sweet whites I've ever had. The rest of the table drank the El Molinet Tempranillo Cabernet Sauvignon, which I found to be a bit too warm and harsh for my tastes, but was enjoyed by those who drank it.

Overall

As a total package, TDA is a fine dining experience. Though I ended up spending a bit more than I expected and was a little disappointed with my main course, the meal was, generally, a triumph. On a crude scale of 1-10, I'll call it an 7.5. It's certainly a worthwhile place to check out during Restaurant Week, though I don't know that I'd be inclined to visit again of my own accord. So I hope the review was helpful to some of you Restaurant Weekers. Stay tuned for the review of our next stop, The Prime Rib.

Enjoying unique beers is one of my favorite hobbies. Despite the fact that DC is kind of lacking in the regional craft beer arena, there are quite a few good places in the District that boast globe-spanning collections of robust, flavorful beers. I don't fancy myself a beer critic, but I figured it might be a good idea to chronicle my beer sampling adventures for those of you who may share my appreciation.

One of my favorite beer stops in DC is RFD. Owned by the same folks who own DC beer-lover staple The Brickskeller, RFD is located right in the heart of Chinatown, which makes it very convenient when stumbling back to the Metro after a few IPAs. The beer list is astounding, offering over 300 bottled beers from around the US and the world. Though I've never been to Brickskeller, it seems RFD has the advantage with 30-50 beers on tap compared to Brickskeller's almost exclusively bottled list. I've been there three or four times now, and I've never been disappointed with the beer. The food and the service, on the other hand, can leave a bit to be desired.

The menu features pretty standard bar food with a nod to "upscale" dining. Many of the dishes are made with some element of beer, which is unique in theory but nothing special in practice. Prices are a bit on the high side, considering the "meh" quality. But really, it's a beer place, and you can never go wrong with a beer and a decent burger -- both of which are in abundance at RFD.

My only real beef with my latest RFD experience is the service. Last night, my curiosity was piqued by a beer I hadn't seen on their menu before, North Coast Red Seal Ale. Being a huge fan of pale ales, I asked the server what he thought of the beer. He described it to me as a "standard red ale, like an amber." First off, red ale and amber are not the same thing. Secondly, the Red Seal Ale was neither of those. Suspecting he didn't know what he was talking about, I ordered it anyway. It was, as expected, a pale ale. Pretty good, nice and hoppy, but not too complex -- nothing to write home about. Anyway, the point is, if I'm going to a specialty beer place, the server should at least have a clue what they're selling. I know that sounds snobby, but it's not an unreasonable demand. Of course you can't expect them to know every beer on the list, but you'd think they would at least know the difference between types of beers well enough to recommend things. That said, this may have been a one-time thing, as I've certainly had knowledgeable servers at RFD in the past.

As for the physical location, the atmosphere is a bit lacking. It's somewhat reminiscent of a cafeteria, only littered with banners and posters and signs advertising beers of the world. It can attract rowdier kickball/softball crowds on occasion, but they are often relegated to the back patio and the indoor crowd is pretty laid back place.

If you're a fan of good beer, RFD should definitely be on your checklist of places to hit in the DC area.

One more thing, though. If I ever catch someone again in a place like RFD drinking Sam Adams Light, I will punch you and your entire party directly in the teeth. Just FYI. (I kid, I kid. But seriously, Sam Adams makes some good beers. If you're not ready to try more exotic imports or craft brews, at least grow some balls and try one of Sam's real brews.)

EDIT: DCist has alerted me to some disturbing news. We can only hope that was Miller Lite.