The Hungry Muse

Chug & Chew: LoCo’s One-Stop Spot For Summer Brews & BBQ

by Jennie Tai on May 9, 2013

Tucked behind a seemingly ordinary suburb of cookie-cutter castles is a grilling, growler-filling duo in Waterford, VA. About an hour from D.C., Corcoran Brewery & Monk’s BBQ serves flights of local brews and plates of fresh-smoked barbecue every weekend to visitors who make the trek down the twisty two-mile trail of pesky potholes and dirt that ends at the sight of a large brown lake, and the foot of a gravel parking lot.

Up the rocky hill is Corcoran’s beer tasting room that pours a selection of house brews listed on the back wall in yellow and red. Expect each brew to range in taste from light to dark, left to right. A few steps away is an on-site barbecue stand that fires up a massive smoker every weekend to serve tender brisket, juicy pulled pork, smokey pastrami (reminiscent of Katz) and fall-off-the-bone ribs with sides great enough to eat alone–like smoked gouda macaroni and cheese, beans and bacon, potato salad and pasta salad. If you’re into sauces–check out the lineup of house blend dressings to coat each meat with a sweet, tangy or spicy kick. Blackberry Whiskey, Raspberry Merlot, Angry and Stout were a few of my favorites.

Favorite brews: Wheatlands (butterscotch, light-bodied ale that’s easy on the hops), Slainte Stout (sweet, rich and dark, like carbonated shots of espresso) and Hops The Bunny, because it’s a citrusy IPA… but also because it’s named after an adorable orange bunny (Corcoran’s tiny mascot) that lives under the shed at the brewery.

BBQ Must Try’s: Everything we tried was a hit (including the ribs, pulled pork and pastrami), but if there’s one thing you need try before you leave-it’s the tender, buttery brisket.

P.S. I didn’t get a chance to check it out (I was a little preoccupied playing with the Corcoran labradors that needed belly rubs and someone to play fetch with after all the beer and bbq), but a short drive down the street is the Corcoran Wine Tasting room where you’ll find bottles of their very own Meritage, Viognier, four different dessert wines, and an apple wine I’ll have to try next time I visit.

Cocoran Brewery & Monk’s BBQ: 14635 Corkys Farm Lane, Waterford, Virginia 20197; (540) 882-9073; www.corcoranbrewing.com; Open Saturday & Sunday.

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WTF Delicious: Fried Halloumi Cheese & Pear Mostarda

by Jennie Tai on April 29, 2013

Apparently… you can have grilled cheese with just the cheese!

A few months ago, I was driving home, listening to Lavar and Dukes when Dukes mentioned something about finding one of the best things at Whole Foods the other day–grilling cheese. Apparently, all you do is just toss the block of cheese onto a pan and fry it, he said. He had me at “fried” and “cheese”. I don’t know how I’ve just found out about this now.

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Holland in Haymarket

by Jennie Tai on April 29, 2013

This past Sunday in Virginia was a little gloomy. With the clouds threatening to rain all afternoon, I wasn’t sure if it would be a good day to go tulip picking at Burnside Farms, but I had been looking forward to it all day, and this past weekend was the peak of the picking season so I went anyway. They also sell raw local honey ($9.50 per jar), which is believed to be a natural remedy for allergies. Unfortunately, the NY Times disagrees, but raw honey is still delicious!

Burnside Farms in Haymarket is one of the only farms in the area that grows fields of tulips and lets you pick them to keep for $1 per stem. If you pull the stems from the bottom and are lucky enough to get the bulb–you can replant them in your own garden at home (see below!).

tulipgarden3

P.S. They also have adorable little baby ducks and baby chicks by the register in heated tubs where you can watch them nap and eat! <3

Burnside Farms: 4905 James Madison Hwy, Haymarket, VA; 703-930-3052; www.burnsidefarms.com.

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22 Things On My Foodie Bucket List

by Jennie Tai on April 23, 2013

1) Eat a dozen belons at Chez Jacky from the Belon River in France.
These are the rarest, most flavorful oysters in the world. Belons are available a few times a year and at Pearl Dive in DC, but once they tweet about it–dozens of belon lovers come in and normally sweep them away before the night is even over. Belons were introduced into the wild in the U.S. a few years ago and now grow in the wild on the Northeastern coastline, but one day–I want to eat them straight from the river they come from. {Continue reading…}

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Engagement Shoot: Love At La Grange

by Jennie Tai on April 15, 2013

My beautiful cousin is getting married! A few months ago I tweeted that I’m going to be a bridesmaid for the very first time in my cousin’s wedding later this year. As part of a wedding gift, I decided to take their engagement photos for them! These photos were taken at one of my absolute favorite wineries in Haymarket, La Grange (one of Haymarket’s best kept secrets…). All we brought with us was a quilt, some books and sunglasses. We lucked out on catching the weather at its best this past weekend, and even stayed for an hour after the photoshoot to enjoy a few carafes of sangria and a basket of chopped salami, cubed havarti, sliced bread and a bucket of truffle bean dip. {Continue reading…}

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Matchbox Merrifield Now Open At Mosaic District

by Jennie Tai on April 12, 2013

Famous for their DC hot spots, DC3, Ted’s Bulletin and Matchbox–the MatchBoxFoodGroup‘s very first restaurant in Northern Virginia, Matchbox Vintage Pizza Bistro is now open at the Mosaic District next to the Angelika Film Center. Under the direction of Executive Chef Jacob Hunter, the 220-seat bistro furnished with rustic accents of aged barnwood from Rochester, NY will be the very first restaurant to open at the Mosaic District this year, boasting a full menu of pizzas (in brilliant combos like prosciutto and fig and chicken pesto), their famous mini sliders (topped with a mountain of shoestring onion rings), a handful of sandwiches (our favorite was the banh mi) hand-picked wines on tap and much more. For pizza enthusiasts, the pizza bar by the wood-fired pizza ovens seats 10 for diners who want a front-row view of the whole pizza-making process to get them in the mood. Their 40-seat patio by the giant television screen above the Angelika Film Center also makes it a great spot for dinner outside and a little people-watching on warm Summer nights.

So what did we order? Here were some of our favorite cocktails and dishes of the night.

Cocktails: The Gilded Age (gin, st. germain, lychee juice, sparkling wine and passion fruit)

Appetizer: Tuna Tartare, Shrimp and grits (the Andouille butter sauce was to-die-for), mini trio (seared scallops, crabcakes and bunless mini burgers), 3.6.9 sliders.

Main dishes: Asian style short rib (which was soft, sweet and everything we’d hoped for), Crispy chicken with bacon-braised collard greens.

Sandwiches: Black bean banh mi & the curried chicken sandwich.

Pizzas: The Matchbox Meat (with pepperoni, bacon and sausage), Proscuitto & Black Mission Fig, Cappa Italian Ham & Arugula.

Dessert: Coffee & Donuts (cinnamon donuts topped with orange zest and served with espresso cream).

For the full menu, click here.

{ Photo courtesy of Mike N. }

Matchbox Merrifield offers phone-in and carryout orders, and will open from 11 a.m. until 10:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday and until 11:30 p.m. on weekends. Brunch on weekends will be available from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

P.S. The MatchboxFoodGroup will be celebrating the 10^th anniversary of matchbox chinatown, the original store. All locations are celebrating with 10-4-9, when you order 9 miniburgers get a 10^th bonus burger!

2910 District Avenue, Fairfax, VA; 22031; 571.395.4869; www.matchboxmerrifield.com.

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Drool Worthy: Gelato & Espresso Float (aka “Affogato”)

by Jennie Tai April 5, 2013

We did it with ice cream and root beer… the Italians did it with gelato and espresso. What’s affogato? It’s an Italian dessert that involves a scoop of gelato smothered in hot espresso, topped with whipped cream and shaved chocolate. The one pictured above is served with a chocolate pirouette at L’Arte de Gelato inside [...]

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Recipe Box: Breakfast Twice Baked Potatoes

by Jennie Tai April 2, 2013

I love making twice baked potatoes! One morning I noticed a whole bunch of potatoes in the pantry and decided to make a twice baked potato for breakfast. My original recipe involves lots of bacon, cajun fried shrimp (cooked in bacon fat!) and lots of dairy–so I opted for some healthier toppings for the breakfast version [...]

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WTF Delicious: Pork & Crab Roe Soup Dumplings

by Jennie Tai April 1, 2013

There are 3 things you should know about soup dumplings: A) There is no soup involved. You were probably imagining the all-american chicken and dumpling soup when you read “soup dumplings”, but just know–if you order “soup dumplings” at a Chinese restaurant–you won’t get a bowl of soup. Instead, you’ll get a bamboo steamer basket lined [...]

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NYC Eats: 5 Things To Try At Morimoto’s

by Jennie Tai March 28, 2013

Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s restaurant at the edge of New York City’s Chelsea Market earned only one star in the New York Times in 2006, calling the restaurant a “big fish in a big pond.” This is why I don’t snub restaurants simply based off yelp, magazine or newspaper reviews. I’ll admit I was a [...]

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