In a city of transplants where 3-4 years is the average staying-period, even the most dedicated Hill Staffer hesitates to say
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31Dec
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30Dec
Rarely do good things exist in strip malls, even in the south. Whole Hog Cafe & Catering Co. proves that there are exceptions to every rule.
Nestled in a strip mall in Little Rock, Arkansas, Whole Hog is the brainchild of three award-winning BBQ chefs. It’s an old-school style BBQ restaurant, where hungry Arkansans (Arkansas-ites?) line up at a counter, place their order, and await their tray full of heavenly BBQ. The restaurant is apparently so popular that it now takes up three storefronts in the local mall. And they go through so much Iced Tea that there are two barrels of both sweet and unsweet sitting on the beverage counter at any given time.
RJ3 and I both went for the simple choice — the Whole “Hawg” Platter, a plate with pulled pork, beef brisket, 3 baby back ribs, beans, potato salad, coleslaw, and a dinner roll. With that combination, we couldn’t possibly go wrong. The pulled pork was, by far, the best I’ve ever tasted. The pork itself was extremely smooth, very flavorful (but not overpowering) and cooked so perfectly that it literally melted when it hit your mouth. The beef brisket, too, was exceptional – finely sliced and well spiced, it complemented the pork and went very well with the sweeter BBQ sauce. The ribs were good but not exceptional. In fact, rj3 and I decided that they didn’t beat the ribs from Lefty’s. Which just means that the perfect bbq meal found to date would be a combinaton of pulled pork from Whole Hog and a plate of ribs (and sides) from Lefty’s. If only they were in the same geographic region…
Whole Hog offered six different barbecue sauces – several standard sauces, mustard-based sauce, and vinegar-based sauce. I’ve never been a fan of the mustard sauce, but the sweeter sauce and the vinegar-based sauce were both excellent. In fact, the only less-than-perfect part of the meal were the sides, which were, well, underpowering. But, with meat that good, who wants to waste precious calories eating potatoes or slaw, anyway?
Whole Hog Cafe | 2516 Cantrell Road | Little Rock, Arkansas | 72202 | 501-664-6596 | www.wholehogcafe.com -
30Dec
For those of you who, like my mom, can’t remember dcfud.smorgasblog.com or are too lazy to type the whole thing, you can now reach our food-crazy blogging home at www.dcfud.com.
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29Dec
You - 28Dec
Real hot chocolate isn
- 27Dec
From a recent IM conversation. Pardon our spelling, we plead IM.
Blogger X: We were at the Big Hunt until about 11 and then the strongest of us who hadn’t bailed yet went next door to Cafe Citron. Citron is crazy, man. but the music was nice
Blogger Y: you know, I fear I may never actually have been- now that is tragic. I must go forthwith
Blogger X: it’s neat, i think they have good caipirinhas (sp?), although i had consumed six glasses of stout so i didn’t try anything else after that
Blogger Y: i’ve never had one- what’s in it?
Blogger X: um, i’ll have to look it up to be sure… lime, very distinct lime taste, and, um… wow. i dunno. can check online. They’re notorious for being more potent than you think they are. it’s one of those “proceed with caution”drinks
Blogger Y: hehe, the kind i refuse to procede with caution with and pay for it 2 hours later
Blogger X: 2 tsp granulated Sugar, 1 Lime (8 Wedges), 2 1/2 oz Cachaca. i have no idea what cachaca is. but they’re tasty. i dig recipes that i dont understand the ingredients.
Blogger X: here we go: Cacha- 27Dec
In Anthony Bourdain
- 24Dec
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention that the winter lull Restaurant Week starts January 10. It’s a great way for us tight-fisted folks to try some of D.C.’s more expensive eateries for a moderate set price (up a penny this time around to $20.05).
The last restaurant week took place over the summer, partially overlapping with the Democratic Convention. We went to Ortanique, the semi-tropical themed joint on 11th St., NW that looks like a skeezy theater from outside but turns out to be quite opulent in the main dining room. I remember the food as being very good, but the service was beyond awful, making lunch stretch out for two and a half excrutiating I-wonder-if-my-boss-will-notice hours.
Where do you want to go for restaurant week?- 23Dec
It’s Indian in origin, brewed from plain black tea with a little milk, spiced with cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, maybe some fennel seed, maybe some other things. As dcfud’s token vegan, I have my chai with soymilk, which should not have a flavor so strong that it overpowers the others.
Does anyone have a favorite chai recipe? Over the holidays I plan to experiment with making my own and am seeking advice. I’ll use loose black tea, of course* , but am not sure about spice blends.
Chai to consider (or avoid):
Mudd House (1724 M St): Good chai, rich and not too watery, make sure they don’t use spoiled soymilk, which happened to me once.
Zebra Lounge (Wisconsin Ave and Macomb St): Terrible chai, thin, watery, no flavor. I bought a cup and didn’t bother finishing half of it.
Left Bank Cafe (4731 Wisconsin Ave): Good chai, a little more spiced than most, which is refreshing. Nice atmosphere as long as people aren’t conversing loudly–it’s a small place. Last time I visited, they were playing the Beatles and the Grateful Dead. Say what you will, I consider this a plus rather than a minus.
* Whenever I use teabags instead of loose tea, I feel a little bit like a tool; this is not to say that I don’t use teabags all the time, it just feels the same as eating sushi with a fork. What if someone sees me?- 22Dec
Tis the season of food shortages. First tomatoes and now, as previously reported on dcfud, Splenda. Despite lawsuits from NutraSweet, studies showing dubious health benefits, and the fact that, when you get down to it, itCategories
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- 28Dec
