burgr

las vegas, nv

website

the restaurant is called BurGR - get it? - GR for Gordon Ramsay. oh, so clever. anyway, it's a burger joint in the planet hollywood casino. their milkshakes are served with a british twist - each shake comes with pudding on top. for example, the strawberry shake comes with coconut pudding. apparently british people like pudding. the shake was fine. the burger was fine. if you're craving a gourmet burger while walking the strip, this place is as good as any. but i wouldn't make it a priority.

spotted pig

new york, ny

website

our walking tour of manhattan continued after the high line through the meatpacking district and into the west village (where we managed to hit all 5 marc by marc jacobs shops). when it was snack time, i decided to lead christine and val to the spotted pig, which started the whole "gastropub" trend in nyc. as far as i can tell, "gastropub" means that a restaurant has uncomfortable seating, an impressive beer selection, and excellent food (often inspired by british pub food).

val ordered a beer, the ladies had grapefruit juice (very good) and we ordered a round of bar snacks for the table. although famous for their deviled eggs, they must have been having an off day because ours were too vinegary. the fries, however, were amazing! extremely thin and crispy, they were covered with sprigs of rosemary and thyme. christine was brave enough to order the "roll mops" - which are pickled herring topped with creme fraiche - it was surprisingly tasty. spotted pig has figured out how to make british pub food gourmet and appealing.

elephant & castle

washington, dc

website

there's an elephant & castle in the west village. i've walked by a few times, thought it looked interesting, but never tried it. when derek and i walked by elephant & castle in DC, i thought it was a branch. it's not. unfortunately.

it is, however, a theme restaurant. the theme here is british pub food. the quality of the food here is okay, but prices are reasonable. it seems like a good spot to meet up with friends for a cheap drinks and bar snacks while you're downtown. i enjoyed my curry chips (apparently a popular british pub snack) - french fries with curry. for my entree, i had a decent shepard's pie. anyway, it was good, but not great.