It's Grubbin' Time!

Without our luggage (thanks American Airlines for the 3 day delay!) and our car and house items still somewhere across the U.S, we hit the pavements to explore VA on foot and metro! Guided by Yelp and our growling tummies, George (the bf) and I hitted up:

1) Ray's Hell Burger (Arlington, VA)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/rays-hell-burger-arlington-2

I like a good burger now and then but it's definitely not something I crave for since there's so many other amazing things to eat!  But 5 blocks away from our apartment is the place made most famous by President Obama when he took Russian President Dmitry Medvev there for a cheddar cheeseburger.  So after some whining from the boyfriend, I gave in and walked in 80 degrees humid heat to Ray's.  Thank god it did NOT disappoint.

Packed even after the lunch rush, we split up--George to order food and me to fight for a table.  I got the "B.I.G. Poppa" and George "The New Jack"

B.I.G POPPA: Look at that peppercorn crust!

Check out them bunssss

Perfect medium rare AND sherry sauteed mushrooms, sauteed onions and a bunch of amazing toppings are FREE!

The only downside? The burger is so large, you can't wrap your mouth around it and the buns gets soggy if you don't eat fast because the beef patty is literally dripping and smothered in beef juice!

P.S.  I was knocked out into food coma land instantly after lunch!

2) Hanks's Oyster Bar (King Street in Alexandria, VA)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hanks-oyster-bar-alexandria

Bars, cute boutique shops and restaurants run a 2-3 mile stretch on King Street surrounded by old brick colonial homes. 

Friday night crowd at 11 p.m

I am a huge fan of raw oysters!! Even better when they're for $1 each!!! And Hank's serves 3 kinds: blue point, alpine, and edwards on Friday & Saturday night at happy hour at 11 p.m!! A little lemon, some tabasco sauce, and a dollop of cocktail and horseradish --> 24 oysters later, I'm a happy girl.

After Hank's, we moseyed on down to:

Hard Time's Cafe 

(http://www.yelp.com/biz/hard-times-cafe-alexandria#query:hard%20time%20cafe).  

We read that this placed served up delicious chili and who doesn't love a bowl of chilli piled with cheddaaa cheese and a side of corn bread at 12 midnight!

Complimentary Sampler of all 4 chillies

 George's chili over hash potatoes!

 My favorite was the Terlingua Red chili but it was a bit salty so I asked for it to be mixed w/ the vegetarian chili which had a lighter sweeter flavor.

It's 3:30 a.m here right now but I'm still stuck on pacific time!  More food and new places tomorrow =)