Tackle a Trip to the Beach – in the Dead of Winter
Baby, it’s cold outside – definitely time for a trip to the beach. For those who have trolled the streets of DC seeking shore, sun, sand, and waves, they are usually in short supply in an urban setting, but it can all be found on the streets of Georgetown.
Tackle Box, located at 3245 M Street NW, is a haven of seaside delights, complete with an ambiance reminiscent of favorite shore shacks. Exposed brick walls, buoys, and picnic tables create a waterfront ambiance in perfect harmony with the restaurant’s menu of an array of sustainable seafood, farm fresh produce, and homemade desserts. Background music of favorite shore standards from Reggae to surf pop conjure images of beach blankets and blaring radios…or iPods…depending on the age of the imagination.
To start the day, the restaurant offers breakfast – choices of everything from bagels to omelets with a choice of fillings from house-cured Tilapia ‘bacon,’ ham, chicken, and assorted veggies to bagels with a choice of spreads and blueberry and banana-nut muffins. From lunchtime on, the restaurant’s Maine Meals ($13) include a choice of fish, either grilled or fried, from the ever-changing blackboard menu which can include bluefish, calamari, shrimp, scallops, and trout—just a few of the numerous selections. Add two side dishes from classic cole slaw to organic vegetables fresh from local farms, and a choice of accompanying sauce like spicy marinara or garlic aioli, and the surfside meal is complete. A Tackle Box Meal ($9) includes fish, choice of sauce and one side. Also available are New England style lobster, clam and shrimp rolls. From the West Coast, fish tacos with cabbage, pico de gallo, sour cream, and chipotle sauce are featured. In the cooler weather, hearty soups like clam chowder warm from the inside out. For those craving the seaside barbeque, chorizo, burgers, fried chicken, and hot dogs are also menu ‘Mainestays.’ Curbside pick-up and delivery are offered.
The real deal comes in the form of Lobster Pot—an array of seafood direct from the local clam bake—lobsters, clams, mussels, chorizo, fresh corn on the cob, bliss potatoes, and grilled lemons set upon a bed of seaweed to boil ($34.99), feeds two or more.…although they can be made to feed upwards of 500. Tackle Box’s signature spice blend and melted butter complete this favorite. For those dead set on having this experience at home, the Lobster Pot can be delivered door to door in its own stove to table container. Lobster Pots can also be ordered online.
On Wednesdays, fish tacos are half price; on Sundays, feast on a Lobster Bake – a Lobster Pot, drinks, and a slice of blueberry pie for $40.
What would this Americana on a plate repast be without something sweet? Pastry chef Heather Chittum offers a selection of brownies, cookies, and of course, her very own blueberry pie – voted DC’s best.
The real story here, though, is the fact that the ocean that exists is an ocean that’s being saved, if even one fish at a time. Like its sister restaurant, Hook, just next door, Tackle Box’s eco-friendly practices are merely a reflection of a deeper ideology: the two things that link every human on the planet are food and environment and we, as human beings, cannot live without either. Even cups and dining utensils are made from vegetable fiber that is completely biodegradable. King Neptune must be smiling in the waves out there.
