Lost Dog Cafe, Arlington, Va.

I had heard about this place from my roommate, who used to live in Arlington.  First of all, what a fantastic concept. A pizza and sandwich place with a bar and bottle store attached. You can get delivery, with which you can include beer. 

From the outside it’s a pretty unassuming place. It’s located in a small strip of stores on Washington Blvd., really close to a heavily residential ‘hood. But once you step in, you know they mean business. There’s a huge rack of bottles inside the door, and then some refrigerators a little farther down with chilled product. It’s not big. We went on a Thursday night at about 8 p.m. and had a 15-minute wait. Which was perfect for perusing the selection. 

I didn’t see a bottle list, but from the looks of what is lined along the back of the bar, I’m thinking you can order anything they sell in the bottle store, which is a lot. I had a draft of Oskar Blues Gordon Double IPA with our appetizer of Lost Dog Dip, which is a seven layer Mexican-like dip that you can get with tortilla chips or pita chips.

I’d never had the Gordon before and was surprised to see its hazy appearance. I’d never had an IPA in which you couldn’t see through it. It looked like a pint glass of cappuccino and almost as frothy. It was delish though. Spunky, not too piney, and very smooth with a medium- to full-bodied mouthfeel. (I’m having trouble remembering because this is two days later.)

With our “Whippet” pizza, which was a white pie with peppers, onions and other goodies I can’t seem to remember either, I had a Stone Smoked Porter. Very nice. The smokiness was just subtle enough to add a nice touch to the otherwise traditional-tasting porter. 

The walls are adorned with all types of canine-related memorabilia, including a huge painting of dogs eating pizza. The service was less-than-prompt, but not so lacking that it was annoying. It was just right for the evening with myself and two others who had decided we needed a nice evening just to chat and have a few beers over dinner. 

My only quam, Jenna ordered a “Lost Dog Ale,” which I suppose is their house brew, and the “ale” was most certainly a lager. Not sure where they get/brew the stuff or any details about it other than that because I wasn’t feeling pesky about asking, but on my next trip I will try to find out.

I picked up a four-pack of Allagash Dubbel and a bomber of Moylan’s Double IPA on the way out. 

If you’re in the area, I would highly recommend licking your chops at Lost Dog.

Corn Husking

The four or five of you that check the blog might have noticed the wam has been rather quiet lately as I have been taking care of graduation duties at UNC-Chapel Hill. Today I flew out to Lincoln, Neb., to start a residency where they’ll teach me to be a better sports copy editor, but that doesn’t mean there will be no drinking involved. The first place I ate was a brewpub called Lazlo’s Brewery and Grill. 

I tried their ESB and Oatmeal Stout, which was hooked up to a nitrogen tap. Both were excellent. The ESB was very well-balanced, though call me a snob, the 23 ouncer was served in a wheat beer glass. The stout was smooth and complex, though not too strong. The brews are brewed by Empyrian Brewery, which is connected to the restaurant. I hear there is a good brewpub to visit in Omaha. Look for it Wednesday.