Scouting Report: Scottish Beef

‘The Common Man’ dropped into Againn (pronounced A-Gwen, a Gallic term, $$), a well-conceptualized and sophisticated Gastropub, tonight for a burger and beer to scout it out for future visits. Loved the large space with huge windows looking into the urban environment of 10th and New York Ave, NW. The bar was jammed so they accommodated me with the bar menu in the restaurant, thank you to the chef for going outside his comfort zone.

The burger tasted extremely fresh and is made from the Scottish Highland breed which has remained mostly unchanged as a breed for hundreds of years, which adds value to the already bloated burger scene here in DC, and also indicates the meat is not from disaster/gigantic cattle feed yards. The meat was great, but perhaps a tiny-bit under seasoned harming the caramelized onions as the beef didn’t meld together as well as it would’ve with a better salt balance.

However, everything on my plate (except I imagine the farmstead cheddar cheese) was house-made: the bun, the pickle, the fries, the ketchup, and the aioli which is such a simple yet amazing concept that escalates the meal by ten-fold. And I could taste it, absolutely made the meal.

Bottom-line: Go check it out. I’ll be back for the charcuterie as they offer a board with more house-made treats, and the wine list was extensive. I’ll probably avoid the bar menu this time even though there are other interesting selections, seeking out the more refined menu to see truly what the chef has in his repertoire.

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