Thing 85: Regional Food and Drink (RFD)

Continuing on with the exotic beers theme, after boiling wort and drinking chocolate donut stout, we rendez-vous'ed at Regional Food and Drink, or RFD, for some dinner. Located in the heart of Chinatown, this lively restaurant and bar has a beer list as thick as a comic book and a bar staff that will ruthlessly make fun of you if you attempt to order anything 'lite' or with the words 'silver' or 'bullet' in them.

RFD, owned by the same beer nuts that brought us the Brickskeller, boasts over 300 kinds of bottled beers from all over the world and the largest list of beers on tap in the city. I mean, take a look at this beer list! It's so long it's a bit overwhelming, and quite often I just have to close my eyes and point. The staff is remarkably knowledgeable though, and if you describe what you're looking for, they can often point you towards a new and interesting take on it. This time, I stuck with Jever, a German pilsener I've had before, and it was light and quite tasty until -- ahem -- the bulk of it ended up in my lap.

The crowd is the usual hip, well-dressed, mostly white mix of hipsters and frat guys that fills Chinatowns most nights. We were there fairly early in the evening and already it was full and loud; we had to shout over the music and noise to be heard. It seems a good place to go before going out for the night, or a good place to watch a game, with their ample TVs and a few couches to make it feel a bit more like home.

As I've mentioned before, Chinatown is now so replete with national chains and boring fast food joints, that RFD and its epic beer list are a welcome change of pace.