Washington DC: Oui, Oui ... French With A Kick ... Mon Ami

Le Grenier

502 H Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
H Street Corridor/Atlas District/Near Northeast
Phone: (202) 544-4999
Website: legrenierdc.com

Excellent, reasonably priced French cuisine in a historic building just northeast of the Capitol, Le Grenier was a delight.

We were cheerfully accommodated while dropping in last minute on our way back to our room in eastern DC, having decided on French instead of German while en route. The service was excellent and the food tasty, not traditional French, but spicier with possible north African or Caribbean influences. The bread was OUT OF THIS WORLD, warm and soft on the inside, crispy on the out, we ate far more than would be reasonable ... oops!

I had a glass of complimentary Shiraz, courtesy of a Yelp Check-In Offer (thanks Yelp!), to start things off as well as the Casserolette de Moules (mussels and melted leeks in a creamy saffron sauce - $6.75) for my appetizer and the Pissaladière (a caramelized onion tart with herbes de Provence, creamy goat cheese, and Kalamata olives - $8.75) for my wife. The mussels were delish, but there were just five and they were, surprisingly, still in the shell, so by the time I deshelled them, there was not all that much to eat. The tart was wonderful, savory and oniony ... YUM, YUM!

My wife ordered the Paupiette de Veau ($20.95), "cumin infused ground veal with crimini and oyster mushrooms wrapped in cabbage and accompanied by wild rice and a green peppercorn velouté". The dish was excellent albeit a bit too spicy for my non-heat-seeking spouse of Italian origin, so I had to finish it for her ... poor me. I had the Terre é Mer ($22.95), described as "seared merguez sausage and shrimp over chorizo confit with a goat cheese sauce, sundried tomato and pine nut dust", accompanied by saffron infused mashed potatoes. The sole sausage was extremely thin and, unfortunately, very dry, being topped with three small grilled shrimp. The chorizo confit actually came in a flaky pastry on the side, not over, making the dish difficult to eat. Trying to get a piece of the dry sausage, shrimp, the wonderful cheese sauce, the chorizo, and the extremely flaky pastry together in one bite, with a fork no less, was next to impossible. The few times I was able to mix the appropriate ingredients together in a single bite was heavenly, but most were masticated solo or in pairs, resulting in a less than thrilling culinary experience. 

By the time we were done, we were satiated and happy, the bill coming in at $100 more or less, including tip. Not bad for a nice meal in the big city, including appetizers, entrees and two (paid for) glasses of wine.

CombatCritic Gives Le Grenier 7 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Seven Bombs Equates To:

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Title: Washington DC: Oui, Oui ... French With A Kick ... Mon Ami

Key Words: Le Grenier, le, grenier, Washington DC, Washington, DC, French, cuisine, food CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: S&G = "Shits & Grins"

Somerset, PA: Quaint B&B And Superb Hospitality Equates To An Excellent Value

Somerset Country Inn

329 N. Center Avenue
Somerset, PA 15501
Phone: (814) 443-1005
Website: somersetcountryinn.com
Prices: $$$$

If traveling in South Central Pennsylvania, just off of I-70/76 in Somerset, Pennsylvania sits the Somerset Country Inn. Run by Dan and Joyce, a wonderful couple who made us feel welcome from the get-go, this five bedroom Victorian home is decorated in period furniture and as clean as can be. 

Dan and Joyce have obviously put a lot of work, money and love into the property and grounds. The yard is perfectly manicured and the inside of the house is nicely decorated and comfortable. They are some of the nicest people we have met in quite some time and enjoyed chatting with them upon arrival and over breakfast the next day.

Our large bedroom had a comfy queen size bed and private bath ($95/night including breakfast). We also had the first tube television I have seen in quite a while, one small detail that needs correcting. There was plenty of room for us, our two large suitcases, and a couple small bags even without a large closet.

We ended up driving to Rizzo's in Windber, about 25 miles away, for dinner the night of arrival because it was our anniversary and nothing in town looked that appealing. The next morning we awoke to hot coffee, sweet orange juice, fresh fruit, and delicious French toast stuffed with cream cheese and covered with a fresh blueberry sauce.

We then said our farewells to our new friends and headed off into the cool, drizzly spring morning, looking for some covered bridges and the Flight 93 National Memorial about 20 miles away.

CombatCritic Gives The Somerset Country Inn 8 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Eight Bombs Equates To:

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Title: Somerset, PA: Quaint B&B And Superb Hospitality Equates To An Excellent Value

Key Words: Somerset Country Inn, Somerset, PA, Pennsylvania, country, inn, B&B, bed, and, breakfast, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, hotel, accommodation, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor

Translation for Civilians: WTFO - "What-The-Fuck ... Over!"

Washington DC: The Largest Library Collection In The World ... 'nough Said

Library of Congress

101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20540
Capitol Hill
Phone: (202) 707-5000
Website: loc.gov/about
Prices: Free

A very impressive building with equally as impressive contents. The largest library in the World, they house books, film, music, and other media in three above ground levels as well as another eight below ground. 

With permanent and temporary exhibits, they display such rarities as the Gutenberg Bible, the map carried by Lewis and Clark, Ira Gershwin's piano, Oscars and Grammys, Thomas Jefferson's personal library, and millions of other contents. 

Arrange a tour through your U.S. Senator (recommended) or take the public tour offered several times daily. The tour takes about an hour (and it is free), but plan on spending at least 2-3 hours in the library. You will not regret it!

CombatCritic Gives The Library Of Congress 10 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Ten Bombs Equates To:

"Phonetic spelling of the acronym HUA, which stands for 'Heard Understood Acknowledged.' Originally used by the British in the late 1800's in Afghanistan. More recently adopted by the United States Army to indicate an affirmative or a pleased response." - Urban Dictionary

"The Department of Military Science and Leadership, University of Tennessee claim HOOAH 'refers to or means anything except no' ... Regardless of its meaning ... the term is an expression of high morale, confidence, motivation and spirit." - WarChronicle.com

"The U.S. Air Force stole 'HOOAH' from the Army because we were part of the Army until 1947 and rather than waste a bunch of time coming up with something new and unique, we said 'to heck with it, let's go with HOOAH' ... thanks Army ... HOOAH! - CombatCritic

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Title: The Largest Library Collection In The World ... 'nough Said

Key Words: Library of Congress, LoC, congress, Wqsgington DC, Washington, DC, District of Colombia, diastrict, Columbia, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, attraction, museum, library, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor

Alexandria, VA: I Shall Not Tell A Lie ... Mount Vernon Is Overpriced And The Employees Are Rude

George Washington’s 
Mount Vernon

3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Hwy

Alexandria, VA 22121
Phone: (703) 780-2000
Website: mountvernon.org


A bit too commercial and expensive ($20 each) for my taste, and the two employees we managed to talked to were arrogant, speaking down to us like we were morons. 

The first was the guy at Guest Services. Arriving at 3pm (they close at 5pm), I asked "Is two hours going to be enough time to see everything?", to which he replied, "Well, I guess it's going to have to be, isn't it." With no clear indication of where we were supposed to exit the building to visit the site, I then asked where we were supposed to go. Without a word and a look on his face like "isn't it obvious idiot?", he pointed to our right.

The second was a woman by the name of Rachel T. who was controlling the line for the mansion tour. Neither the ticket agent nor the wise guy at Guest Services bothered telling us that there was a time printed on our ticket for entry to the mansion, so when we arrived to get in line she told us "you have to come back at the time on your ticket". I mentioned

that "it would have been nice if someone had told us there were specified times on our tickets so we could have better planned our itinerary and not walked all the way up here for nothing", to which she replied "oh, they told you when you bought your ticket, you probably weren't listening". I spent 20+ years in the Air Force, leading men and women in combat, so I know how to listen and follow orders, but rather than argue with this ignorant, unprofessional witch, I simply replied "whatever" and we walked away.

The iconic mansion is not overly large, but impressive nonetheless, sitting high atop a bluff overlooking the Potomac River about 15 miles south of Washington DC. It was almost the only place that had people there to explain the extensive history. For a $20 entry, I expected quite a bit more service and information.

Most of the exhibits are static. The various outbuildings, with the exception of the tomb and blacksmith shop were staged with furniture, coaches, and farm implements and a board with information to read, but you were left with no other information, not even an audio tour included in the price. There is an education center at the end of the tour with displays, videos, and a museum, but not a single employee in site to explain or answer questions. Very odd.

The grounds are nice and the setting on the Potomac historic, but I was not that impressed with the experience although the Washington's home is definitely worth a visit. Too bad it is managed by a greedy non-profit that tolerates rude behavior by their employees.

CombatCritic Gives George Washington's Mount Vernon 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

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Title: I Shall Not Tell A Lie ... Mount Vernon Is Overpriced And The Employees Are Rude

Key Words: Mount Vernon, George Washington, mount, vernon, George, Washington, Virginia, DC, rude, Potomac, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, attraction, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor

Translation for Civilians: BOHICA = "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again"