Stetsons isn't the only bar that that has discontinued Budweiser beer. One of my favorite Mexican joints, Los Tios in Del Ray, has removed the ubiquitous lager from its menu recently as well. In fact many bars I've frequented don't carry Bud.  Kev29 who commented on my recent post thinks that DC just isn't a Bud heavy kind of town...

...And sorry, but this just isn't a Bud heavy town anymore. But with all the incredible beers you can get on tap nowadays, who cares?

I think there's more to it than that. Sales of Anheuser-Busch InBev's flagship brand have been trending down nationally for some time, as lighter products from Coors and Miller gain market share spurred by recipes that were inherently lower in carbohydrates.  Budweiser has answered with Bud Select and Select 55 but it is too late; And as Kev29 asked, who cares?

Well I do. I love an ice-cold bottle of Bud.

While drinking one of the cities coldest at Cashion's Eat Place (they claim to keep one cooler set to 31 degrees) I talked with the bartender, George Manolatos, about our shared love and how we ended up hooked on what many view as piss.

George told a tale of sneaking into an icebox in his father's garage after mowing the lawn on weekends. Apparently his old man stocked can after can.  The jig was up when his father noticed excessively eager lawn mowing habits.  He must have been cutting grass twice a week in winter.

My first Bud came in the form of a six pack given to me by a snack shack employee with questionable morals. It was August and I waited until the 14th hole to open up my first can. After a few hours of sloshing around in the bottom of a golf bag in 90-degree heat, a warm geyser of froth gushed forth.

Needless to say, that day I had trouble understanding why people even liked beer, let alone drank it till it came out of their ears. I kept at it though and I've been drinking Bud ever since. Our stories made me curious for others' tales of first encounters with alcohol, whether stolen away from a parent's liquor cabinet, or guzzled at a high school keg party.

So when did you first imbibe?  And did the experience foster a life long brand loyalty, or does it still leave a bad taste in your mouth?

Follow scottreitz on Twitter

As I was walking back to the office after my first Red Hook Lobster Pound truck experience in Adams Morgan — more on that later — I noticed that Cashion's Eat Place was closed for the evening. More than closed, in fact. Chairs were upturned and resting on tables, while workers were doing something inside.

I poked my head in the door and asked the woman on the far side of the dining room if I could take a picture. She asked who I was. I stupidly uttered, "a blog," as if my entire existence had been boiled down to this microscopic bit of real estate on the 'net. (Hmm, come to think of it...)

Anyway, she said Cashion's was closed essentially for cosmetic renovations. The owners are redoing the floors, repainting the walls, that sort of stuff. The neighborhood operation, founded in 1995 by Beard winner Ann Cashion before she sold it 12 years later to her sous chef John Manolatos, will reopen for business on Tuesday, August 31.

So says the window sign, a picture of which is below the jump.

It's been more than two years since Ann Cashion and John Fulchino sold Cashion's Eat Place to long-time sous chef John Manolatos, who promised to uphold the standards of the beloved Adams Morgan eatery. Manolatos and his partners even said as much on their Web site.

Restaurant Rater dcdiner, however, isn't buying it. Take a look at this brutal assessment:

The reviews here are very old, when Cashion's was in fact a wonderful restaurant that I visited frequently. Things have gone downhill dramatically.

In fact, the departure of Ann Cashion has had disasterous consequences. I had a Sunday brunch there on 01/10/2010. The food was pedestrian at best – tasteless scrambled eggs and boring potatoes. We could have eaten at any number of nearby (cheaper) diners and had much better food at less cost. On top of that the waitress, without the slightest hint of concern, announced there was no bread because of "delivery problems". Sorry, at a place like that you expect some wonderful muffins or rolls at brunch, not a surly waitress announcing "tough luck".

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY – my once favorite restaurant is long gone, and the current management, made aware of these issues, made it clear they're not interested. ANN CASHION – WHY ARE YOU ALLOWING YOUR NAME TO STILL BE USED BY THIS POOR EXCUSE FOR "FINE DINING"?

Do you have a different take on Cashion's? Then what are you waiting for? Sign in (or sign up) and give us your review!

Photo courtesy of Cashion's

The future home of AM Wine Shoppe

Justin Abad, the co-owner and general manager of Cashion's Eat Place, calls the AM Wine Shoppe his solo project. Is that to say, then, that the gourmet wine/antipasti shop in the former Skynear space is your John Lennon, break-away moment?

"Yes, but the Beatles will always be my first love," Abad responses with a laugh.

In other words, Abad may be the owner of AM Wine Shoppe, but he will have Andrew Akre, a former Cashion's employee, run the neighborhood-y place for him. Abad will continue to focus his energies on the Adams Morgan restaurant, he says.

Still, Abad is investing plenty of time putting the new store together. He's hired former Jackie's chef (and former Cashion's line cook) Sam Adkins to consult with Cashion's chef/co-owner John Manolatos on the shop's small menu. Adkins will also execute the menu of housemade salami, marinated vegetables, stuffed peppers, and other antipasti.

There will also be Italian sodas (made to order), some imported cheeses, and a few housemade sandwiches for sale, says Manolatos. Just simple sammies, he adds, like salami on good bread with olive oil. Stuff like that.

The shop will feature an 18-foot-long farmer's table, where some antipasti will always be available for nibbling. There will be daily wine tastings, too, Manolatos says, but AM Wine will not have the necessary license to allow customers to open their newly purchased bottles. "If you purchase it, you can't drink it on premises," Manolatos adds.

As for the wine selection, that is Abad's department, and he plans to stock between 50 and 70 bottles — at least at the outset. The owner would like to ultimately offer about 150 bottles, but he wants to "see how things go" at the beginning before increasing his inventory. About 75 percent of the wines will be in the $15-$25 range. The other 25 percent, Abad adds, "will probably be on the higher-end range."

Abad has no plan to focus on any particular region, although he admits that his palate "tends to be kind of Old World." That doesn't mean, however, that Abad plans to sell only austere, European wines that need 10 years of aging before they're drinkable. No, he plans to sell the "more reserved," less fruit-bomb-oriented wines from all over the world.

It will be the kind of place, Abad says, where you pick up a bottle on the way home from work, not a place where you shop for $150 bottles for your cellar.

The AM Wine Shoppe will be open seven days a week, Abad says. As for an opening date, the owner says, "We're ambitiously going to say Dec. 1." It will probably start as a soft opening, he adds.

AM Wine Shoppe, 2122 18th St. NW

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