Three Beautiful Things 10/21/16: Brookland Stroll, Lunch at Brookland Pint, Beer with Maceo

1.  I leapt into the Sube and rumbled down to the Brookland neighborhood to walk around, just to continue get a feel for the place.  I sort of did that.  I enjoyed strolling along Monroe Street, on into Edgewood, past the fancy Monroe Street Market development, and over to the American Catholic University area and I took some time to gaze at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and thought about ways to take pictures of this building and other places nearby. I kept my camera in my bag because a rain storm was moving in and I wanted to duck into a joint for lunch and a beer before the rain started.  When Nate visited a few weeks ago, this was the neighborhood I was going to show him (with a bite to eat at Brookland's Finest Bar & Kitchen),  but it turned out to be a much better idea to stroll the National Mall.  I have decided I want to go to Brookland's Finest with someone else -- maybe the Deke and I will go there.

2. I ducked into a place I've heard a lot about, Brookland Pint, for some Buffalo wings and a glass of D.C. beer: Three Stars Brewing's Double IPA, Pounding Trees. As a dessert, I enjoyed one of my favorites, a 4 oz. pour of Goose Island's Belgian Wild Ale, Juliet.  I was very happy to see that Brookland Pint had a Logsdon beer on tap, Straffe Drieling.  Logsdon is brewed in Hood River, OR and was one of my favorite of all brewers back in the old days in Eugene and I hadn't seen it listed on a tap list anywhere since moving out here.  Today, I wasn't in the mood for a spicy triple, but I will be keeping an eye on Brookland Pint's beer menu to see if they pour Logsdon again -- or often.

3.  Well, it's not that far from Brookland to DC Brau so I popped over, got myself a pour of On the Wings of Armageddon, plopped myself down at a small empty table and as the place filled up, Maceo asked me if he could share the table I was seated at. He plopped down and we fell into easy and fascinating conversation about all sorts of things ranging from his service in the Peace Corps in Senegal to the world of beer in the District of Columbia to his four visits to the newly opened Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, including visits to the museum with his parents.  We had a great talk and I wouldn't doubt if we sit down over beers again some time.