Fans of fast food and craft brew will get a mouthful tonight at The Big Board on H Street NE, which is co-hosting a beer dinner with the folks from D.C. own's Chocolate City brewery. On the menu: "Animal-style" french fries in homage to the West Coast's heralded In-N-Out Burger chain, veal sweetbread "McNuggets," and a braised beef short rib “Mexican Pizza,” a la Taco Bell, among other dishes, each paired with beers selected by the guest brewmaster. Price is $60 per person.

Hungry for something else? Oysters maybe? We've got the scoop on half-shell price specials galore in the new and continually updated Y&H food events calendar above. Click on each link for more info.

Got something tasty going on? Send event listings to hungry@washingtoncitypaper.com

In an unabashed attempt to be as whorishly SEO-friendly as possible this week, Y&H procured a pair of the strangely popular sandwiches from our neighborhood Mickey D's. (Priced at $2.79 a piece in Adams Morgan.)

My initial impression: Is it really so difficult for McDonald's to make these frickin' things? The meat looks oddly similar to the McNugget, only flatter and more rectangular shaped. The toppings, including some slices of onion and a few tart pickles, don't seem that different from those on any other McDonald's sandwich. And that signature "tangy barbecue sauce" the thing is smothered in—undoubtedly the best part of this otherwise unremarkable lunch—tastes the same as the stuff you dip your nuggets in.

On the whole, the flavor reminds me of some semi-decent airline food that I had on British airways back in the mid-'90s. (And I'm not entirely sure what kind of mystery meat that was, either.)

My dining companion (if you can even call this exercise "dining") was far less generous in her assessment, especially noting the unpleasant aftertaste. "I want to wash my mouth out with soap," she concludes. "It is not something I would offer my worst enemy."

Photo by Odochi Ibe

It's the first firm launch date after various vague reports pegging the official start of business anywhere from early this week to "within days."

The storefront remained shrouded in newspaper on Tuesday evening despite a reader tip earlier in the afternoon suggesting, "They were definitely open today."

While Y&H was unable to sample the already-heralded pork and chicken meatballs, I did manage to snap the above photo of the interior through a small hole in the papered storefront. (Eater DC has a similarly sneaky photo.) First impression: Looks a lot like the inside of a Chipotle—save for the noticeable rack of Sriracha bottles lining the right wall.

Photos by Chris Shott

The doe-eyed cashier seems puzzled. "What's that?" she replies.

Maybe she's playing dumb. But, if Aberdeen burger joint  Grab-N-Go is indeed trying to rip-off the West Coast's heralded fast-food chain In-N-Out, as the latter company claims in a recent trademark-infringement lawsuit, then employees aren't letting on.

This seems in keeping with the company line. "Livid" proprietor Gus Siperko told the OC Register that he'd never "even heard of In-N-Out" until he received a cease and desist letter in May. If anything, Siperko suggested, Grab-N-Go more closely resembles fellow burger chain Five Guys with its similar red and white interior.

Young & Hungry recently dropped by the much-in-the-news Maryland eatery, conveniently located along Rt. 22, just off I-95, to check out the disputed food and decor for himself.

I couldn't help but notice the barrel of peanuts, located immediately inside the front door, which seems to lend some credence to Siperko's Five Guys defense.

Admittedly, it's been a few years since I set foot inside an In-N-Out. So I texted my brother in Los Angeles for the quick skinny on what defines the chain's signature off-menu "animal-style" burger. "Grilled onions and their 'spread' sauce (aka thousand island)," he replied. "I would quadruple triple-check that though." (Turns out, he's pretty spot on, though company's "not-so-secret menu" posted online spells it out specifically as "extra spread" sauce. Oh, and there are pickles, too.) "Animal style is less some kind of sacred recipe as it is a fun gimmick that makes In-N-Out an experience," my insightful sibling added. "Don't know if that's really rip-off-able. Secret menus are pretty common."

Grab-N-Go's gimmick isn't such a secret, or even a pseudo-secret. Its alleged "animal-style" knock-off is posted in plain sight and big letters. It's called the "wild style burger," and it is, indeed, quite similar to In-N-Out's not-so-secret formula.

Grilled onions? Check. Special sauce? Check. Similar to Thousand Island dressing? A quick bite confirms it; further verified through subsequent drippings.

The biggest difference: Grab-N-Go's version features not a single but a pair of patties by design. Very Five Guys-esque.

At this point, I'm beginning to side with my Left Coast contemporary at OC Weekly, who wonders, "if it's not so easy to tell whether a place is similar to Five Guys or In-N-Out, why isn't In-N-Out going after Five Guys, arguably their biggest and most able competitor?"

Later, as I drive-off, armed with a soggy bag of leftover fries, my gaze is immediately drawn to a strangely familiar-looking Italian restaurant nearby, curiously named The Olive Tree.

Is Aberdeen the knock-off capital of Maryland, or what?

Photos by Chris Shott

Photo by BillyTFried/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Image courtesy of Consumer Reports

NBC Washington

Photo by Bobak Ha'Eri/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

The ANC also took the unusual step of asking the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment, which will decide the fate of Chipotle’s request on July 19, to extend the fast-food exemption only to Chipotle and not to subsequent tenants. It’s not entirely clear why this extra layer of assurance is necessary, though perhaps Chipotle’s neighbors find burrito bowls served in slick digs less threatening than other bowls.

Photo by tacvbo/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

Photo by Chris Shott

Yet more proof that McDonald's food can stand the test of time, though perhaps not in the manner the company would like.