El Centro DF

El Centro D.F

1819 14th St. NW

Washington, DC 20009

202. 328. 3131

On my food exhibition, I made a pit stop today to El Centro D.F in my favorite spot, between the U St. Corridor and Dupont Circle. What caught my attention was the open window seating. I walked in and walked to the counter where the host greeted me. She informed me that happy hour was at the bar as well as the front room and that it was self-seating. She also said the tables were communal seating. Me personally, I don't really like the complete idea of communal seating because I may want to come here with my friends and we wouldn't be able to go into our juicy gossip at a communal table. 

Finally after approximately 5 minutes after being sat, my server came, and although it had been a while, he introduced himself and placed water, and chips & salsa in front of me. He made some recommendations about his personal happy hour drink and food favorites. 

I took his recommendations and ordered a Seasonal Agua Fresca. Initially I asked for pineapple flavored but because they were out I got watermelon instead. The drink was pretty good but not a "strong" drink considering it is made with a type of tequila. Would I order it again? Most likely not. I also ordered the Jalapeño Beef & Chorizo Sliders. Surprisingly this is completely out of my comfort zone and normally I would never consider it because of the Jalapeño and guacamole in the title and description.

After enjoying my chips & salsa and drink my food finally arrived and I bit right into it {as you can probably tell in the photo} and it was really good. A little spicy but not overbearing especially for someone like me who HATES spicy anything. The guacamole was extremely good and complimented the sliders well. I really enjoyed the beef and chorizo combination, as chorizo has been something I wanted to try. [Chorizo is a spanish pork sausage] 

This place is not a WOWERZ place however it is pretty neat. Definitely a place to try and enjoy during warm weather. I would most like come back here if I am on the go like today or if my friends and I wanted to Happy Hour Hop. There is no to go menu however there is one outside the restaurant and online. Check it out and let me know what you think if you are in the DC area. 

The Laughing Man Tavern

The Laughing Man Tavern

1306 G St. NW

Washington, DC 20005

To start off my fat girl food adventure in Washington, DC I decided to give The Laughing Man Tavern a try. As soon as I walked through the doors my server, later introduced as Calvin, warmly welcomed me and sat me at my table. Although I was alone he still sat me at a big booth, which is something I always appreciate when dinning out and didn’t have to ask for.

After introducing himself as Calvin, he immediately let me know that Happy Hour had started even though it was only about 2:30pm when I was dinning. This immediately let me know that I had made the right choice. Although Happy Hour for food doesn’t start until 4pm, for drinks including rail alcohol, draft beer, and house wine starts promptly at 11:30am. Unbelievable.

I ordered an Anchor Summer Ale, which was such a refreshing beer after being in the heat for all of 20 min. For my meal I ordered a BBQ Bacon Burger that was $13. It consists of applewood bacon, brown sugar BBQ (which my southern self always appreciates), crunchy onion petals (that I initially opt out off but still received and actually enjoyed), melted cheddar, and a roasted garlic peppercorn mayo (that was extremely delicious). That burger comes with fries and considering this is now my daily bad habit and obsession I was satisfied with this side.

Overall my experience was great from start to finish. The atmosphere is very entertaining and seems like a fun spot to hit in DC at night later in the week. There is a small bar upstairs and full restaurant seating, but a larger bar and game area downstairs. Speaking of game area, there are board games you can bring to the table like Sorry and Connect Four if you are feeling in the mood for that kind of thing. The lighting was nice and relaxing. The upstairs bathroom was only one stall and not the nicest in appearance but clean.

I would recommend this place especially considering it is in the heart of Metro Center, just a few blocks from Chinatown. Perfect place to come grab a bite to eat after you have done some shopping or want to bar hop in the area. One last thing that I appreciate about this place is that they serve a small breakfast menu all day, which is great for people like me who wake up mid-day wanting breakfast.

I don’t have anything negative to say about this place and would recommend them to friends. The attire is very casual. Have you ever been here? What was your experience like? I am curious to see if this is a consistent feel about this restaurant or if I just got lucky.