I used to work at the now-defunct outdoor parcel of Clyde's of Columbia, years and years ago, and yes, the waitstaff are all trained to balance zillions of plates up their arms. The fries always tasted frozen to me, too, but the burger is a decent go-to dinner. The Chicken #1 sandwich (no bacon, no cheese) is to me the most perfect chicken sandwich in the world, and Clyde's honey mustard dressing is a definite guilty pleasure.
I leave for Singapore in one week. I've had and been disappointed by white-fleshed dragonfruit before, so I just emailed my mom to start her hunt for red-fleshed so I can sample it upon my arrival!
I once read a Martha recipe that called for Chardonnay twigs. Oh, I drew the line right quick.
@gringuitica -- Thank you so much but I don't think it is a nance from the picture I saw when googling. The fruit was more green and came from a tree (having branches still attached) and it had a peel-covering like a lychee and the same type of pit.
But, you inspired me and I googled "lychee-like fruit Guyana" and came up with a site that called something similar a "Fat Poke" which googling that then led me to a Jamaican fruit page. Slogging through the links there (because "fat poke" wasn't actually on the page... ??) gave me a pic matched to the name "guinep" which did get me a wikipedia page for Mamoncillo that looks like it must be it. The fruit goes by dozens of names so it's no wonder I had a hard time refinding it.
The mamoncillo (Melicoccus bijugatus), also known as the mamón (although the word is considered obscene in some Spanish speaking countries), chenet, guaya, gnep, ginep, skinnip (in Jamaica, St. Kitts) genip, guinep, ginnip, kenèp (in Haiti), quenepa (in Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic), ackee (in Barbados), Spanish lime, or limoncillo, is a fruit-bearing tree in the soapberry family Sapindaceae, native or naturalised over a wide area of the American tropics including Central America, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Suriname and the Caribbean. It is a large tree growing up to 30 m high. The leaves are alternate, 8–5 cm long, pinnate with 4 or 6 opposite leaflets (no terminal leaflet), each leaflet 5–10 cm long.It is grown and cultivated for its ovoid, green fruit, which grow in bunches. The fruit ripen during the summer. The fruit, similar to that of the related lychee, is classified as a drupe. A mamoncillo fruit has a tight and thin but rigid layer of skin, traditionally cracked by the teeth. Inside the skin is the tart, tangy, cream pulp of the fruit, which is sucked by putting the whole fruit inside the mouth (the seed takes most of the volume of what is inside the skin). Despite the light color of the fruit's flesh, the juice stains a dark brown color, and was often used by indigenous Arawak natives to dye cloth.
Fruit
Each mamoncillo fruit has a large seed inside, the same ovoid shape as the fruit itself. Mamoncillo seeds can be roasted and eaten just like sunflower seeds or chestnuts.
Thank you though for the ideas and I'm sorry you had such a bad experience with the nance. I've had similar times with bananas (samples of pancakes that turned out to have the fruit as an ingredient -- bleh). Is it possible you just had a bad batch? I did with my second mango and it was a couple years before I tried another.
Sorry too that I didn't see this until just now (but glad I did see it -- it was a nice surprise). =]
First Five Guys was in Alexandria VA, I believe.
Mr. Smith's is nasty. You should have skipped it and gotten the Black and Blue burger at The Guards if you needed to stay in Georgetown. Or Chadwicks (under the Whitehurst), I've never been but I know people who swear by their burger.
Nick has some of the best reviews of burgers -- or any other food -- hands-down, no questions, end of story. If you want diverse reviews (albeit from know-nothing morons), go Yelp.
The first Five Guys, was definately not in Georgetown. I believe the first one was in Arlington, VA but doesn't exist anymore. While this is hardly an original thought, my vote for best burger in DC is the front bar of Palena.
I know it is a chain now, but isn't the original Five Guys in Georgetown? I only know one person who has been to the original and a franchise and he says the original is better. But to me they are really good burgers.
Definitely try Z-burger in Chevy Chase. I tried it this weekend and fell in love. Watch out Five Guys, the DivaofYum has found your competition. Savory, decent sized patties with all the toppings you could ever want! Gotta try the onion rings and the z-sauce! YUM!!
I live in VA and my favorite is Elevation Burger: they use organic beef for the burgers and olive oil for the potatoes. The place is extremely clean and very family-friendly. You should definitely check it out next time! Take a word from an ex-vegetarian who hardly ate any meat before.
Not far from Georgetown, I highly recommend Chef Geoff's. While I'm not a fan of their food generally, it's hard to beat their $5 burger and fries happy hour special (all day on weekends). The burgers use great meat and are properly cooked to temp (toppings like bacon and cheddar included for $5). The fries are thin and crisp. Paired with an $8 supermug of a great microbrew, it makes for a tasty and filling dinner. Great after work or, for tourists, after a day of sightseeing.
Now that my husband and I have left D.C., we compare all burgers to Chef Geoff's.
http://www.chefgeoff.com/main/index.cfm?Restaurant=cg_downtown&Category=Events&Section=Main
As a former resident of DC, might I suggest that next time you also try Sign of the Whale and Buffalo Billiards, both have great burgers.
I've got Nick's back on this one. Yeah. It's difficult to write about the same subject matter over and over and over and ... and not find yourself revisiting similar phrasing and topics. I've struggled with it for years now with burgers and pizza. Nick manages to hit all the main points a burger freak would look for -- juiciness, bun-beef ratios, patty texture -- and still write compelling reviews that give a comprehensive view of a particular place and its burger. I think the copious detail and history of a place that he often gives balance out any perceived repetition. The only other approach I could see a guy taking is one that Mister Hamburger took while he was still active: reducing the parameters to a grade scale and glossing over them. I like Mister Hamburger's approach, but I like that Nick gives us lots of detail beyond a simple scale.
Subscribe to our feeds:
Subscribe by email:
Website:
Location:
About:
Favorite foods:
Last bite on earth: