I was wondering as I sat on the second floor of Quinn's in Capitol Hill -- what exactly is a Gastropub? According to Wikipedia:A gastropub (or gastro pub) is a British term for a public house which specializes in high-quality food a step above the more basic "pub grub." The name is a combination of pub and gastronomy and was coined in 1991 when David Eyre and Mike Belben opened a pub called The Eagle in Clerkenwell, London.[1][2]
The concept "helped create a truly British culinary scene" and "arose from a conscious effort to promote great food in well-loved places."[2] Gastropubs have been described as the Anglo-equivalent of the French brasserie or the Japanese izakaya [3]
The concept "helped create a truly British culinary scene" and "arose from a conscious effort to promote great food in well-loved places."[2] Gastropubs have been described as the Anglo-equivalent of the French brasserie or the Japanese izakaya [3]
There was some pretty interesting menu items at this particular gastropub -- kind of french in influence, but also pubby. Such things as fried frog legs with bleu cheese and hot sauce, wild boar sloppy joe, beef tongue po boy. I personally had the duck on toast with quail eggs and sweet onions, mussels with chorizo sausage and a rubarb tart. Pretty tasty stuff. Sure, there were lots of thing boasting foie gras and other frenchy delicacies, but I went with what I knew I would like and I have to say that they did it pretty well. Try it if you're looking for something familiar -- and adventurous at the same time.
