Brisket sandwich at Standard

Standard, the upstart Logan Circle barbecue spot and beer garden that earned two stars and a place in WaPo critic Tom Sietsema's Fall Dining Guide, is closed for the Thanksgiving holiday for most of this week. On Friday, however, proprietors Tad Curtz and David Rosner are "firing up the smoker and the patio heaters again" for a final "10 days of FUN before our last hurrah of the year on sunday, december 4th," according to an email from management. The (mostly) outdoor venue is shutting its gates for the winter but is expected to return on Mar. 1.

Photo by Chris Shott

Last August after complaints about noise from live entertainment, county officials found Westover Market in violation of their current zoning code, which limits outdoor seating to 9 seats and does not permit live bands. Since then, according to the Arlington County website and posts at ARLNow and TBD, owner Devin Hicks has worked with the county to make necessary changes to operate as a restaurant and apply for a live music permit. Upgrades include accessible bathrooms, proper kitchen facilities, a 20-seat restaurant, a small bar, and expanded outdoor seating with tables and canopies.

Despite an outpouring of support, the home of the Great Wall of Beer has continued to face complaints about sound levels and smoke from outdoor fire pits. Tonight's meeting is intended to be a forum for the community to come up with solutions the owners can present to the Arlington County Board of Zoning Appeals at an upcoming hearing this spring.

If Arlington County and its citizens can solve this dilemma, it will be a step down a more permissive track toward nightclubs and live entertainment in Arlington. Allowing an outdoor beer garden (granted one that is often filled with children dancing to the soft music of acoustic guitars and which closes by 10:00PM on weekends and 9:00PM on week days) could help Arlingtonians shed the bad wrap against fun some of them have been racking up lately.

Photo courtesy of Westover Market

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Photo of a grilled cheese sandwich by Flickr user pirateyjoe via a Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license

No time to waste, let's get straight to the news.

• Capitol Hill Sporting Goods at 727 8th St. SE will soon be replaced by a funky new tavern serving up American fare and offering live jazz and blues. (The Hill Is Home)
• During President Obama's trip to the Subcontinent this past weekend, the Indian government provided him with an extra 12 food tasters in addition to his usual first line of culinary defense. Now what happens when he goes to eat for free at Ben's Chili Bowl? (Food Safety News)

• Apparently 90 percent of all American households eat turkey on Thanksgiving. If you find yourself falling into that category, well, then this item is for you. (Northern Virginia magazine)
• The McRib sandwich and Facebook were somehow made for each other, notes WaPo's Jim Shahin. (All We Can Eat)
• Hey, Biergarten Haus, look out! A new Bavarian beer garden is on its way to 720 L St. SE. (Prince of Petworth)
• Alejandra Owens is hosting what might just be the first ever Twitter Turkey Summit this Wednesday in which you can discuss how not to ruin Thanksgiving dinner. (One Bite At a Time)
• Former IndeBleu chef Michael Hartzer is pairing up with the owner of Bourbon to open the Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Adams Morgan. The selling point? One thousand kinds of whiskey. (Going Out Gurus)
• Thanksgiving Day is hectic enough on its own, why go the extra mile and make homemade cranberry sauce? (Serious Eats)
• The CityVista building at 5th and K Street NW will be the site of a handful of future joints, including Michael Landrum's newest endeavor: Ryse, an "urban bakeshop/cafe". (WeLoveDC)
• PETA sympathizers look away: Executive chef Wesley Mortono at AGAINN has announced plans for a series of monthly dinners celebrating the fall hunting season, starting with Nov. 16's wild game meal. (Girl Meets Food)
• Just what we need: another burger joint. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay plans to throwdown a Bobby's Burger Palace on K Street NW. (Washington Business Journal)
• The folks over at Thrillist have a sneak peek of The Atlas Room, which opened this past weekend at 1015 H St. NE. (Thrillist)
• I'm calling bullshit on the USDA. The agency wants us to lose weight but eat more cheese at the same time. (New York Times).
• Alyssa Shelasky, author of Apron Anxiety and fiancee to Good Stuff Eatery chef Spike Mendelsohn has announced that her blog will soon become a book. (Apron Anxiety)

Photo by Robyn Lee via SeriousEats.com

It's Monday, which means it's time to dig into a big, heaping plate of food news. We start with an item close to home:

• Amsterdam Falafelshop is looking to franchise. Where and when? The guessing (begging?) game begins. (DCist)
• New Tex-Mex joint to replace AM PM Carryout at 14th and V: Liquor license and sidewalk cafe, oh my! (Prince of Petworth)

• The Culinary Ambassadors' guide to eating through a proper Oktoberfest. Wolfgang, pass the kraut. (Serious Eats)
• Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show is coming back to the District in November. (Northern Virginia magazine)
• We have two words for you: Beer garden. This Saturday's 17th Street Festival will have live music and a beer garden. Did we mention a beer garden? (Borderstan)
• Get 'em while they're hot: Afro-Portuguese inspired Nando's Peri-Peri opens a new location in Silver Spring. (Thrillist)
• The guy seriously has no reservations.  TV bad boy Anthony Bourdain is writing a graphic novel about "ultraviolent food nerds." (MTV)
• Leave it to a group of Washington doctors to politically attack McDonald's.  Ba da ba ba ba, I'm lovin' it. (Treehugger)
• It hurts so good. Men's Health has named Five Guys one of the worst foods in America. (WeLoveDC)

Good morning, Y&H Nation. We're running behind today in more ways than one. Y&H is still neck-deep in this year's Young & Hungry Dining Guide, so the blog may be a little thin over the next couple of days. Work with us here, folks.

In the meantime, here are the most-popular items from last week:

1. Drinking the World Cup: Biergarten Haus Opens Friday (*)
2. Chef R.J. Cooper Leaves Vidalia
3. Roberto Donna Pleads Guilty to Felony Embezzlement in Arlington County
4. Fire Station 1 Restaurant and Brewing Co. Could Open on Friday
5. DC Finally Getting a German Beer Garden? The Lagerheads Share Their Outdoor Picks in the Meantime.

* A certain light-drinking Budweiser beer was, once again, a popular item among readers, but we’ve stopped counting it.

Early this summer when the weather was ripe for it, several of you joined in our plea for a local outdoor space to grab steins of German beer and enjoy brats in the open air. Temperatures are now cooling off, but it seems that our prayers will be answered soon.

Russia House co-owner Aaron McGovern is heading up a project on H Street that could help fill DC's beer garden void. According to last month's Capital Community News, Biergarten Haus, a 5,000-square-foot German restaurant, will occupy the two store fronts adjacent to Rock N' Roll Hotel (where NorthEast Salon and DC Sanctuary used to be).

McGovern is planning a menu full of traditional German fare for his new restaurant, and an outdoor beer garden that we hope will satisfy the nostalgia of all those lucky enough to have been to a real Bavarian biergarten in Germany. As you can see from the Weltenburger Kloster photo above, that means long wooden tables under the shade of trees, space for plenty of people longing for some gemutlichkeit, an occasional oom-pah band, and most importantly, lots of great German beer. We're not sure how well the location will allow McGovern to deliver on all these stipulations, but there will be twelve taps, and that's a good start. We'll see about the polka. More details and our outdoor drinking spot picks below.

If all goes well, Biergarten Haus is will open its doors sometime this winter. The grand opening will surely be too cold to enjoy the outdoor space, but the Lagerheads are certainly looking forward to singing a few rounds of Ein Prosit there come spring. Although last week's weather was dreary, this week promises to be unseasonbly warm in DC, so if you are looking to take advantage of your final chances to enjoy beer outdoors, below are our picks out of what is available. What are yours?

• 1. Wonderland Ballroom – The long wooden picnic tables and spacious, tree-laden space at this Columbia Heights neighborhood bar bring us back despite their lackluster beer selection. There's usually at least one German beer on tap and always a handful of craft brews (usually Sierra Nevada, Anchor Steam, Lagunitas, or Lancaster), plus a few Belgian imports. They have much better things on the menu but we love those chili dogs (be sure to ask for cheese and onions).

• 2. RedRocks Firebrick Pizzeria – Just down the street, these guys have a similar but more cramped feel to Wonderland, with small wooden picnic tables and cover from trees and umbrellas. RedRocks has a much more robust craft beer selection, comprised mainly of regional craft breweries (Victory, Troegs, Dogfish Head, Brooklyn, Allagash, Ommegang) and some well-chosen imports. While you're there, take advantage of the great pizza, of course!

• 3. Cafe Berlin – This Capitol Hill restaurant offers a truly German experience with regard to beer and food (and often clientèle), but is not so great on prices. If you want the real thing and demand an outdoor space, this is it. If you just want the German part and don't mind being indoors, we recommend Cafe Mozart (on a Tuesday when Sylvia is on accordion) or if you're up for a bit of a roadtrip, Blob's Park.

• 4. Galaxy Hut - While the outdoor space isn't as open as the other bars on this list, the muraled walls and gaint tin can table in the back (our favorite) make this Clarendon spot unique. The tater tots are cheap, plentiful, and delicious. Most important, the beer list is outstanding and changes frequently. Among their 20 taps and around the same number of bottles, we always find something we haven't had and are rarely disappointed. Draft beers come in goblets, pints, or pitchers, which can get a little dangerous because of the many high-ABV beers available (if you bring friends and are willing to share, you should be okay). Plus there's rock on Sunday and Monday nights. A perfect combination.