14K / Cafe Japone

As of late, it has become tradition for JC and me to go to happy hour on Wednesdays. So without fail, we scampered out of work, super excited for a cheap drink and cheap snacks. First stop was 14K, on 14th St NW and K St NW - their huge "rush hour happy hour" sign caught my eye. In addition to happy hour, they were advertising 5:00pm - 7:00pm, get 2 entrees and receive a bottle of wine, which is a pretty awesome deal, we thought. However, we had happy hour hopping in mind, so we headed to the bar. I got a huge cold glass of Blue Moon and JC got a glass of sauvignon blanc to sip on as we waited for our artisan cheese plate. I'm pretty sure we didn't get the cheese that are listed on the menu, as I know and love Humbolt Fog (goat cheese) and it was definitely absent. However, it was a wonderful assembly of crumbly and soft cheeses served with slices of some kind of berry and nut bread, apples, figs, and strawberries. As we devoured the plate, I started craving sushi (I know, how Asian, right?). For 2 glasses of wine, a beer, and the cheese plate, we paid about $20, which we thought was awesome.

Then we ran across the street to Lotus, as we had heard that they have sushi happy hours there. As we headed downstairs into the lounge, we realize how eerily empty it was...we took a quick look around and then ran back out - in true JC and Jung-Ah fashion, running in our heels and giggling.

Next stop, Cafe Japone since their happy hour went on til 8:30pm! I had very little to no expectations as I had read reviews and most of them were about how awful the service is there. There were praises about their food and huge Sapporos, though. We found an awesome parking space right outside the restaurant and went inside, thirsty for a beer. The girl that greeted us was very nice and sat us right away, however we sat there for a long time and finally had to flag down a server to take our drink orders. She didn't give us attitude though, there were only 2 servers for the whole place, and I guess they were busy. We received our $3, 22oz bottles of Sapporo right away, which made us happy during the million hours we had to wait for our sushi while drunk Facebooking and Twittering. Finally our yellowtail with scallions, spicy tuna, california, and crispy salmon skin rolls arrived. I don't know why we keep getting yellowtail rolls, because everytime we get it, we're like meh, it's not that great, YET we ALWAYS get them. The spicy tuna were very spicy and very tasty - I prefer the ones I had at Saki to these, but these were pretty awesome. The california roll was what I expected, tasty in the fake, american kind of way. The crispy salmon skin roll was intense - the salmon skin was super crispy, super salty and very pungent. I liked it alot, but it was just a bit much on the saltiness. After 3 of the 22oz Sapporo, not to mention what we had prior to coming to Japone, we were drunk. And we thought we could eat more, so we ordered their ramen with pork bone broth. As we waited another million hours for the ramen, the table across the restaurant started off Karaoke night. They were a fun group and sang and danced together and it was all good fun. In the midst of all this fun, we got our ramen, and I must recommend this highly. Oh my gosh, it was nothing like the ramen in packages that you get for 55cents at the grocery store. The noodles were chewy and yummy, and the broth was rich and flavorful with a hint of sesame oil. Sooooo good. And soooo big. We ate, sang, danced, and drank. Before we knew it, it was 11:00pm. Another happy hour success!! Tasty tasty!!!

14K $
www.14krestaurant.com

Cafe Japone $$

Rock Bottom Brewery

JC and I had happy hour at Rock Bottom Brewery in Bethesda last week, and the deal was so good that we went back again last night, with our friend SW. On Wednesdays, they do a $6 23oz beer with $3 refills and at the end of the night you get to keep the gigantic beer glass. It's awesome!! Not to mention $5 appetizers and pizzas from 5:30 til 7:00pm. They have a fantastic fried calamari appetizer - calamari, green beans, pickle slices, tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms, baby corn, and whatever random veggie I may have left out are tempura fried then sprinkled with parmesan cheese and to be dipped in ranch dressing. It's delicious and goes so well with their light lager! We also got their buffalo wings, it seems only right that you have wings at happy hour with beer, right? I like their wings, they're not greasy and they don't have mushy skin hanging out all over the place like a lot of wings I've had at happy hour. They're not crispy either, but not too fatty or gross. The sauce is pretty good, it's spicy but not enough to make you cry. We have yet to get more than those two apps - with gigantic beers, we get way too full to eat any more. I'm lame and got too happy at happy hour to take pictures. But you should definitely check it out for happy hour with your friends!! Tasty tasty!!

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www.rockbottom.com

The Lounge at Bourbon Steak

My friend JC and I had an adventurous Thursday evening of happy hour and consuming very little food and bar hopping. We were running about all over DC and our final destination was the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown. We ordered a couple of beers, and as we flipped through the bar menu, came to a cigars section. So what the heck, we ordered a cigar and took our beers outside and sat by the firepit (I don't know how else to describe it). First of all, the lounge is very beautiful with oak floors and marble bar top, but their courtyard is just fabulous! The service is marvelous and the chairs are nice and roomy -with a cigar, drinks, and my fave girl, it was a fantastic time. Unfortunately, I don't remember what cigar we chose, and we didn't eat, but we had such a great experience, I thought I'd write an entry about it. Think a cool evening with good friends, scotch and a cigar by the fire. AWESOME.

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www.fourseasons.com/washington/dining/the_lounge_at_bourbon_steak.html

DC Chophouse

Tonight was my friend and colleague, Jen's 6th year anniversary at work. So, to celebrate, we went to have dinner and delicious beer at DC Chophouse. We love DC Chophouse for their yummy cornbread, steaks, and deliciously chocolatey beer. There was a 20min wait for a table in the dining room, so we sat at a bar table, which was just fine. Jen ordered the usual the nut brown ale, and while I usually go for the oatmeal stout, I thought I'd try the light ale. The nut brown is smooth and sweet and chocolatey (yum!), and the light ale was very light (duh) and crisp - perhaps that's not the most technical description but that's how I feel it was compared to the thick and creamy stout. The server seemed to be in kind of a rush, she took our order quickly and whereas they usually ask if you want a green salad or a Caesar salad (which is what we generally get), she just brought out the green salad for both of us, and it was drenched in dressing. The dressing was tasty, but oh man, there was so much of it and it was so tangy, I couldn't get through more than half of it. But the hot cornbread that comes in a hot skillet with a mound of butter made everything better. Then the food arrived and I think I was so hungry that I clapped a little. I had ordered the herb crusted rack of lamb with a peach chutney and Jen chose the filet mignon oscar. This time, we were smart and didn't get an appetizer - last time we were so hungry, we ordered a tower of onion rings, those crispy delights got us so full even before the entrees arrived. The lamb was...heavenly. The herbs and the lamb and the chutney- I don't have the words to tell you how perfectly yummilicious they are. And the filet mignon oscar - wow, the meat was so very tender (as a filet should be) and the Bearnaise sauce was delish. I have a weird aversion to different species of foods mingling on a plate, so I couldn't make myself taste the crab meat that comes with it, but Jen thought it was just lovely. If I wasn't so full or didn't have to drive, I would have tried the bourbon stout, but since I really dislike bourbon, was stuffed and I did have to drive home, I fought off the temptation. But it sounds interesting, no? It's basically the oatmeal stout aged in bourbon barrels...mixed feelings. Anyhow, we <3 the chophouse. Tasty Tasty!!

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www.chophouse.com