Inauguration Eats
Inauguration weekend has presented us with a dusk-till-dawn buffet of eating opportunities. Some of our favorites:
Friday/Saturday Breakfast
The forthcoming Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken is celebrating President Barack Obama’s swearing in by serving up “Obama Then” and “Obama Now” doughnuts.
Pastry chef/founder Jason Gehring pays tribute with the “Obama Then” — a
chocolate-glazed doughnut drizzled with caramel sauce and sprinkled with Maldon smoked sea salt, and the “Obama Now” — a honey-glazed, oatmeal raisin doughnut topped with crumbled granola. There’ll be 300 of the specialty doughnuts — orders capped at six per person — each day, with sales beginning at 8:30 a.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday and continuing until they’re gone.
Astro Doughnuts Inauguration Pop-Up: 475 H St. NW; starting 8:30 a.m. Friday, 10 a.m. Saturday
Sunday/Monday Lunch
Michael Landrum, proprietor of the Ray’s the Steaks/Classics/Hell Burger empire, is taking the whole day-of-service thing to heart, putting his money where many mouths are likely to be: feasting on 2,013 free Li’l Devil cheeseburgers to be handed out Sunday and Monday at Ray’s to the Third.
“It’s my way of taking a great day … and adding a local flavor to it,” Landrum told HOH of his philanthropic strategy.
The free one-third-pound cheeseburgers will closely mirror Obama’s meal during his 2009 stop at the then-fledgling burger haven: topped with Vermont cheddar cheese and tomato (Obama also requested lettuce), with an optional side of Dijon mustard (a source of derision among burger purists/right-wing haters). Orders will be limited to one per customer.
Landrum merely requests everyone contribute at least $5 per order — a flat fee he plans to hand over to local chapters of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington (Sunday’s haul) and Alexandria (Monday’s take).
“They don’t even know about this,” Landrum said of the $10,065 (2,013 x $5) he’ll fork over to the posts. He has pledged to make up the difference for any free riders.
“I’m not celebrating the foodies of America,” he asserted. “I live the audacity of hope every day.”
Ray’s Inauguration Giveaway: 1650 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va.; starting at 11:30 a.m. Sunday and Monday
Monday Breakfast
Hill Country will throw open its doors extra early on Inauguration Day with a pop-up taco stand.
Beginning at 8 a.m., consumers can fuel up with specialty breakfast tacos, including brisket and egg.
Tacos will be two for $5, with fresh coffee and hot chocolate rounding out the menu at $2 a pop. They’ll crank them out until 11 a.m., and then the restaurant will resume service of its regular menu at 11:30 a.m.
Hill Country Breakfast Taco Pop-Up: 410 Seventh St. NW; 8 a.m.-11 a.m.
Monday Dinner
Should a fancy-schmancy ball not be in the cards, why not go the luau route?
Jack Rose Dining Saloon will fete our Hawaiian-born commander in chief with a rooftop pig roast and Kona Brewery tap takeover. Specials include: $4.40 cans of Kona Longboard, $6 Kona drafts, three-for-$6 Spam sliders, $7-$15 cocktails (served in fresh pineapples) and $12 plates of roast pork with assorted sides.
Confidence is high everyone there will get lei’d.
Jack Rose Inauguration Luau/Tiki Pig Roast: 2007 18th St. NW; starting at 6 p.m.