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December 08, 2005

THE American Steak House

Back in September, while I was in Washington, DC and involved in a counter-demonstration at Walter Reed against a bunch of anti-America war cockroaches activists, I mentioned Fran O'Brien's Stadium Steak House, an establishment that buses in patients from Walter Reed who have been severely disabled while fighting the Global War On Terror and gives them a comped dinner to show a part of their gratitude to these brave warriors who represent America in the fight for freedom around the world and for the continued security of the United States of America.

While I was in Washington in the last few days, I took a couple of wonderful people to dinner there, and it was a marvelous experience.

The establishment is decorated with genuine football memorabilia(remember great tackle Fran O'Brien?) and photos of numerous celebrities and members of major political families and political figures on a background of wood panelled walls(the atmosphere is incredible). There are both bar and dining room seating{my party and I sat in the bar}, and the crowd on any given evening consists of a mix of formal and casual. There is a lively bar filled with a mixed clientele of locals and tourists(the eatery is located in the basement of the Washington Hilton).

The food is to die for.

On the last visit, I enjoyed a crab cake appetizer that contained no fillers(in a delicious lobster cream sauce), then an entree of rare ribeye steak that literally melted in my mouth and a sizeable, succulent, meaty lobster tail that could only be described as awesome.

On the side was this enormous bowl of home-made mashed potatoes that deserved some sort of global award(a famous house specialty).

I'm one of those people who travel with a voracious apetite, but there was so much density to the nectar-of-the-gods provender that I couldn't finish it all.

My companions revelled in Maryland Cream of Crab soup, a platter of jumbo lump crab cakes and a mouth watering, lobster-dominated seafood platter.

I had the opportunity to meet and chat with Hal Koster, one of the two owners, and he was every inch the patriotic American I expected he would be given the restaurant's "do rather than talk about" policy of honoring the soldiers who have sacrificed so much in the name of freedom.

I'll be spending a lot of time in the Nation's Capital in the future, and Fran O'Brien's Stadium Steak House will be my Number One Eatery.

Anyone who visits Washington, D.C. and doesn't have dinner and libations at Fran O'Brien's will be missing out on an essential dining experience.

Trust me on this one.

Posted by Seth at December 8, 2005 09:05 PM