Urban Butcher: The people have spoken, and they love meat

Urban Butcher
Georgia Ave & Ripley St, Silver Spring
7.5/10 on my bangin' scale

Despite my enthusiasm for Silver Spring, I'm the first to admit that I was completely surprised to see a packed house at 7pm on a rainy Wednesday night in April. Surrounded by hanging cured meats, happy hour goers chatted (probably after a few $6 lavender margaritas) and diners oohed over pans of roasted chicken.  Apparently, people love meat.

To start, my party sampled a selection of meats and cheese, and Urban Butcher impressed us with presentation.  No more trying to remember which meat was which--the names of the meats were written onto to butcher board! So simple, much wow. Maybe this is a thing now, but I haven't seen it. We particularly enjoyed the spiciness of the chorizo, but would probably skip the spreadable pork 'Nduja next time.

Meat and cheese board - five selections.

For the main course, by far the best dish I sampled was the ox brisket ($24). Served with a potato puree, the meat was ridiculously tender. I also thoroughly enjoyed the hanger-cut steak frites ($24) and the butcher's burger and fries ($12). In these solid staples, the quality of the meat at Urban Butcher was the star. A misstep was the pork blade steak "Bulgogi" ($26). When I think of bulgogi, I'm looking for soft, juicy, sweet pieces of meat. The steak was overcooked to the point of being dry, and was served with three different sauces, none of which evoked bulgogi for me.

Ox brisket with potato puree ($24)

Pork blade steak ($26)

Urban Butcher recently reopened this winter after an electrical fire on its roof. I'm glad to see that herds of meat fans are coming to Silver Spring to support its reopening.

Kenwood Cherry Blossoms

I was super impressed by the sheer number of cherry blossoms along the streets of Kenwood in Bethesda, MD. An extra plus is your fantasy/mind grapes about what you'd do if you owned one of the mansions behind all those blossoms. I would highly recommend taking a trip next season! Take a look:

Crowded on Brookside Dr.

Canopy of blossoms

Fewer crowds on Sunset

And now, the actual sunset.

Nightfall

Details: The main street everyone loves to walk on is Brookside Dr, which is probably most impressive because it has cherry trees on both sides of the street as well as on the green-space median. However, all the side streets in the area also boast the canopy of blossoms, so it's easy to find a street without tons of people getting in your way. If you drive, park outside of the neighborhood (NO PARKING is emblazoned throughout), possibly in the parking lot for the Giant at Brookside & Westbard.

DC Happy Hours Speed Date: GBD

GBD
7.5/10 on my bangin' scale
1323 Connecticut Ave NW

Deals: $3 drink specials (beer, wine, PUNCH!!!) A few food specials as well.

Atmosphere: Doughnuts meet chicken coop.

Food/Drink: Good beer list and full bar. Chicken--meh...portions are small and they charge you to try all the sauces. Doughnuts are atypical and delish.

Seating: Booths in the back, logjam near the bar in the middle, barstool seating at the front.

DC Happy Hours Speed Date: Black Jack

Black Jack
6.5/10 on my bangin' scale
1612 14th Street NW

Deals: A few beer/wine specials, and half off pizzas.

Atmosphere: Circus-themed. Bocce Courts.

Food/Drink: More cocktails than the bartender knows how to mix. Food portions are not huge.

Seating: Barstools across the bar, booths/tables in main area, barstools near bocce courts.