Day 70, March 11 / Loose Cannon American Hop3 Ale

Crappy Blackberry Picture

Day 70 / March 11, 2011

Loose Cannon American Hop3 Ale

Clipper City Brewing Co  /  Baltimore, MD

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Why is it that I have absolutely no problem getting a sandwich or burger at a gas station, BUT I am very reluctant to have a sit down meal in a well-reviewed restaurant that used to be a gas station?  Probably the same reason that I don’t like corn in other food (chowders, salads, and no kernels in my corn muffins, please), BUT I don’t mind other foods in my corn (like bacon, onions or red peppers).  I guess we all have our quirks, maybe some more than others.

There is a restaurant called Tempo in Alexandria VA, not too far from our house, that my wife has been to a few times with friends, that used to be a Shell station.  At this point it has been a restaurant for at least 15 years, but I still recall filling the tank of my 1987 VW Scirocco there.  And I have yet to dine there.

The place we went to last night has a similar lineage. For years the building where The Maple Ave Restaurant in Vienna, VA was the home of Anita’s “New Mexico Style” restaurant (their quotes, not mine).  This location was a hole in the wall, with a few tables in the front area, and a few more in the back, but you had to literally walk through the kitchen to get to the back.  The odd thing was that just 8/10 of a mile down the road is another, much nicer Anita’s location, which is still in business.

My wife has been to the Maple Ave Restaurant with friends a couple times and always said that it was very good.  But I’ve been reluctant to go there because of its location.  But I actually liked Anita’s when it was there.  As I said, some more than others…

So she finally convinced me to go there, and the meal was very good – I had a fresh salad with apples and pecans, and the Dr. Pepper braised short ribs, which was quite tasty.  (Hey Maple Ave, how about a little truth in advertising?  The menu said “short ribs”… I got one “short rib”).

The beer that accompanied my dinner was a Loose Cannon American Hop3 Ale, which was also quite good.  This beer is made with an enormous amount of hops - over 3 pounds per barrel!   It is hopped 3 ways: in the kettle, in the hop back, and then dry hopped. Loose Cannon won 2nd Place in its category at the 2010 Great British Beer Festival.