Let’s assume for a moment that you don’t want to grill and that you don’t have any friends kind enough to invite you to their barbecue drunk-a-thon on the Fourth. Where do you turn? Well, Y&H has some options, including a couple with smoked meats for those who just can’t celebrated America’s birthday without an animal sacrifice.

Mmmm, animal sacrifice.

• Jamie Stachowski will be grilling his artisan sausages at Red, White & Bleu in Falls Church from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The charcuterie master will be tending the charcoal grill at the wine and gourmet food shop, cooking up veal bratwurst, kielbasa, merguez, and linguiça for customers to sample. Stachowski will also have some rabbit terrine, country pate, and other “meat surprises” to try. All samples will be free, but the shop is hoping, of course, that you’ll be enticed into buying some of Stachowski’s meats to take home — and maybe a bottle or two of wine to go with it.
• Mr. P, one of the top 50 performers on Y&H’s 2009 Dining Guide, will be working the Fourth at his usual spot: the Safeway parking lot at Rhode Island Ave. NE. Aside from his amazing spare ribs, which are smoked to a charred, crispy, and succulent state, Mr. P will also trot out a new item: barbecued short ribs. He tells me they will be a permanent part of his menu.

• Asia Nine not only has some patriotic rolls available — the red-white-and-blue tinted Firecracker Roll and Independence Roll — but also a special BBQ Grab-n-Go Menu. The latter features such entrees as Thai barbecue chicken and Laos grilled steak, which you can have boxed with sides and ready for transport to the Mall. The specials run through July 9.
• Cashion’s Eat Place is not taking any holiday on the Fourth. From 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., chef John Manolatos will be serving up a picnic spread of hamburgers, brisket sandwiches, and Maryland blue crabs. You can also call ahead and order a picnic basket for two for $40. Call (202) 797-1819.

Speaking of picnics, the Post has compiled a list of restaurants that will be packaging their food for carryout on the Fourth. And if you’re looking for more Fourth-oriented restaurant specials, the Washingtonian has an authoritative list.

Happy Fourth, everyone.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Much of the region’s inauguration-themed food and drink, ranging from an all-Hawaiian menu at fyve restaurant lounge at the Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City to deep-dish pizza at Rustico in Alexandria, will roll out later this week. But here at Young & Hungry Central, we’ve been combing the area, trying to find those inauguration eats already out there. Here’s what we’ve found:

The Dream and The Spirit: These specialty cocktails are available at all five restaurants in the Passion Food Hospitality group, including Acadiana, D.C. Coast, and PassionFish. I tried them both at Ceiba, on 14^th Street NW, and completely bought The Dream. This hand-warmer of a drink is served in an Irish coffee glass; the bourbon provides just the faintest hint of alcohol burn to counter the drink’s sweet butterscotch and caramel flavors, while the orange garnish adds both a fruitiness and a welcome hit of acid. I’d sneak a flask of this stuff onto the Mall, if I could. It’d make the whole waiting around for the Grand Moment more bearable.

The Spirit, by contrast, lacks the complexity of The Dream. I enjoyed its lychee flavors, but found the cocktail, with its triple threat of Champagne, grape juice, and St. Germain liqueur, too fruity by half. This is not a time for frou-frou drinks.

Galena Cellars “Eric the Red” Marechal Foch, Illinois: I asked the bartender at Oya Restaurant & Lounge what she thought of this French-American hybrid grape from Illinois. She made a face and said not much. She poured me a sample so I could figure out if I wanted to invest in an entire glass. After the single courtesy sip, I knew I didn’t. I found the wine’s extremely ripe fruit flavors off-putting; they were so up in my face that I didn’t even notice the grape’s acidity, which, as sommelier Andrew Stover later told me, gives the wine good balance. I include Stover’s comment in the name of fairness to this underdog varietal, which he says is similar to pinor noir.

Obama and Biden Rolls: This may be the only time I’ll actually choose Biden Bush over Obama. Asia Nine’s Biden Vice President Roll Presidential Lame Duck Roll, with its deep savory roasted duck and sweet and spicy accents, is superior to the one-note wonder known as the Obama President Roll, which essentially tastes like spicy, toasted sesame seeds. For an extra $3, you can pair either roll with a glass of sake, which comes with these little wisps of gold leaf floating on the top. The waiter explains that gold is a sign of success and wealth in Japan. I tell him it’s a sign of success and wealth in the United States, too.

Image by Flickr user Eden Weaver

This handy little compendium of ideas comes courtesy of ZagatBuzz, D.C. edition. Among other
tidbits, ZagatBuzz notes:

At Fyve in the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City, DC will get a taste of Hawaii (poke, macadamia-crusted mahi-mahi) in à la carte offerings or as a $48 prix fixe from January 13th–20th; PS 7’s is focusing on Illinois regional cuisine (who knew there was one?) in a four-course $65 prix fixe; and, finally, Asia Nine is rolling sushi with politics in mind, i.e., a lean, green Obama roll (filled with vegetables) and a Lame Duck roll (roasted duck, cucumber and soy nuggets).