Posts Tagged ‘Sweetwater Tavern’
Posted by ryan / Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
The Sweetwater Tavern of Centreville has scheduled its first ever BBQ & Beer Spring Block Party for May 1 at noon. The family-friendly outdoor event promises to have good food, face painting, and a moon bounce. The musical stylings of Road Soda will also be on display for the better part of the afternoon.
Admission is free, and everything on the day’s special menu is reasonably priced. This is what you can expect if you choose to attend.
Chips – $1
Soft Drinks – $1
Cotton Candy – $1
Hot Dogs – $2
Brats – $3
BBQ Chicken – $4
Brisket Sliders $4
BBQ Ribs – (TBD)
Be sure to try some of the award-winning beer that is brewed on-site while you’re there. Growlers are available for less than $20 if you want to take some home with you.
Call (703)-449-1100 for more information.
-Ryan Robertson
(image: Sweetwater)
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, November 9th, 2010
(Image: Beer Matters)
The Great American Restaurants group is celebrating its latest gold medal win at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival–their GAR Pale Ale beat out 40+ competitors to claim the crown in the Extra Special Bitter/Strong Bitter category–with a little celebration at your local Sweetwater Tavern (Centreville, Falls Church, Sterling).
All three restaurants will be serving up complimentary appetizers and discounted pale ales–with some t-shirt and growler koozie giveaways thrown in for good measure–from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. tonight.
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, October 14th, 2010
Oh jambalaya, how I adore thee. With your tender chicken, luscious shrimp, and sublime spicy sausage, you lure me into your spell. I love your spicy Cajun cream sauce and the way it saturates your pasta with flavor.
(Image: meal advisor)
Jambalaya is typically made with rice or noodles and mixed with chicken, shrimp, and andoullie sausage. Then, it’s covered in a spicy creole sauce and usually sprinkled with green onions and tons of Cajun spices. Sounds divine, right? Well, not every jambalaya is good. In fact, I have had some really bad jambalaya before with dry meat, uncooked noodles and skimpy sauce.
This is what lead me to hunt for the best jambalaya in the area. If you like your jambalaya made with rice, head to Capitol City Brewing Company in Arlington or DC. Not only can you get the jambalaya, but you will surely find a brew that pairs well with it. I recommend the Amber Waves Ale.
In Alexandria, King Street Blues has a real knack for cooking great southern food- probably since their vision is “Comfort Food with a Southern Accent.” Their jambalaya has a splash of Sherry in the cream sauce and is served with Roadhouse Toast.
(Image: City Data)
Of course, the Great American Restaurant’s Sweetwater Tavern does it right with their Jambalaya Pasta. Their spicy creole cream sauce is to die for.
Travel west to Winchester, and you can head to Brewbaker’s for a real treat. Although it’s not technically called Jambalaya, they serve an amazing pasta called Bayou Chicken and Shrimp Pasta that puts most jambalayas to shame.
(Image: The Big Blend)
Trying to make your own jambalaya at home can be fun and rewarding. When I’m short on time, I use Zatarain’s New Orleans Style Jambalaya Mix. Jambalaya originated in the French Quarter of New Orleans with French and Spanish influences, so I’m pretty sure there is no better way to make jambalaya than New Orleans Style.
-Liz Stevenson
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
The first family of hospitality crowd-sourcing, Nina and Tim Zagat, have released the results of their 2011 Washington D.C./Baltimore survey, an all-too-familiar litany–the Inn at Little Washington continues its decade-long streak of ping-ponging back and forth between the #1 and #2 spots for food; Restaurant Eve remains firmly entrenched in the food top 10–which I highly doubt will surprise any fine dining aficionados or even casual gourmands.
I was, however, interested to see how the D.C./Charm City surveyors stack up against other markets and how often they hit the streets in search of a good meal.
According to Zagat’s, there are roughly 6,500 surveyors actively evaluating 2,400 meals per day across the D.C./Baltimore corridor. While that sounds like a whole lot of eating, our area ranks second-to-last in surveyor meals per week (2.6).
Texans, on the other hand, have gorged themselves into four of the top five spots (Houston – 4 meals per week, Austin/Hill Country – 3.8, Dallas/Forth Worth – 3.6, San Antonio – 3.5).
The economy, of course, is partly to blame.
Approximately 40 percent of local surveyors admitted to eating out less because of forced belt-tightening, while another third of those surveyed copped to more carefully eyeing menu prices when they do step out.
On the upside, over half of the surveyors said lean times have prompted restaurants to beef up their dining deals while approaching 45 percent said the downturn has rekindled a passion for home cooking.
Amateur food sleuths might also be interested to know that Zagat’s stable of local food spies skews female (51 percent) and relies heavily on retirees (60+ year olds comprise 25 percent of their core constituency)–though Gen Xers (30-year olds) and late Boomers (50s and up) account for 23 and 22 percent (respectively) of the roving reporting crew.
Rankings-wise, NoVA restaurants seemed to do pretty well.
We claimed six of the top 20 food slots:
* Inn at Little Washington (2)
* Restaurant Eve (7)
* L’Auberge Provencale (10)
* L’Auberge Chez Francois (15)
* 2941 (16)
* GoolDaeGee (19)
Seven of the top 24 cuisine categories:
* New American: Inn at Little Washington
* Chinese: Peking Gourmet
* Classic French: L’Auberge Provencale
* South American: El Pollo Rico
* Southwest/Tex-Mex: Sweetwater Tavern
* Thai: Thai Square
* Vietnamese: Four Sisters
And scored a handful of entries in the 20 “Key Newcomers” list:
Would love to hear what you all think of the current crop of popularly appointed dining champs AND/OR the Zagat’s scouts among us.
–Warren