Sections
  • Cutest Dog Contest
  • News & Politics
  • Things to Do
    • This Week
    • DC-Area Events Calender
    • Washingtonian Events
    • Neighborhood Guides
    • 100 Best Things to Do in DC
    • How to Spend 3 Days in DC
  • Food & Drink
    • 100 Very Best Restaurants
    • Brunch
    • New Restaurants
    • Restaurant Finder
  • Home & Style
    • Health
    • Parenting
  • Shopping
    • Gift Guides
  • Real Estate
    • Top Realtors
    • Listings We Love
  • Weddings
    • Real Weddings
    • Wedding Vendor Finder
    • Submit Your Wedding
  • Travel
    • Best Airbnbs Around DC
  • Best of DC
    • Doctors
    • Apartment Rentals
    • Dentists
    • Financial Advisors
    • Home Improvement
    • Industry Leaders
    • Lawyers
    • Mortgage Pros
    • Pet Care
    • Private Schools
    • Realtors
    • Wedding Vendors
  • Magazine
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Subscription
    • Current & Past Issues
    • Features and Longreads
    • Newsletters
Washington’s Best
  • Apartment Rentals
  • DC Travel Guide
  • Dentists
  • Doctors
  • Financial Advisers
  • Health Experts
  • Home Improvement Experts
  • Industry Leaders
  • Lawyers
  • Mortgage Professionals
  • Pet Care
  • Private Schools
  • Real Estate Agents
  • Restaurants
  • Retirement Communities
  • Wedding Vendors
Privacy Policy |  Rss
© 2023 Washingtonian Media Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Skip to content
Washingtonian.com
  • Search
  • Subscribe
  • Menu
Washingtonian.com
  • Subscribe
Reader Favorites
  • Cutest Dog Contest
  • 100 Very Best Restaurants
  • DC-Area Events Calendar
  • Brunch
  • Neighborhoods
  • Newsletters
  • Directories
  • Washingtonian Events
More
  • Subscribe
  • Manage My Subscription
  • Digital Edition
  • Shop
  • Contests
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
Sections
  • News & Politics
  • Food
  • Things to Do
  • Washingtonian Events
  • Home & Style
  • Editors’ Picks
  • Events Calendar
  • Health
  • Longreads
  • Parenting
  • Real Estate
  • Shopping
  • Travel
  • Weddings
  • Cutest Dog Contest
  • News & Politics
  • Things to Do
    • This Week
    • DC-Area Events Calender
    • Washingtonian Events
    • Neighborhood Guides
    • 100 Best Things to Do in DC
    • How to Spend 3 Days in DC
  • Food & Drink
    • 100 Very Best Restaurants
    • Brunch
    • New Restaurants
    • Restaurant Finder
  • Home & Style
    • Health
    • Parenting
  • Shopping
    • Gift Guides
  • Real Estate
    • Top Realtors
    • Listings We Love
  • Weddings
    • Real Weddings
    • Wedding Vendor Finder
    • Submit Your Wedding
  • Travel
    • Best Airbnbs Around DC
  • Best of DC
    • Doctors
    • Apartment Rentals
    • Dentists
    • Financial Advisors
    • Home Improvement
    • Industry Leaders
    • Lawyers
    • Mortgage Pros
    • Pet Care
    • Private Schools
    • Realtors
    • Wedding Vendors
  • Magazine
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Subscription
    • Current & Past Issues
    • Features and Longreads
    • Newsletters
Food

Sausage King

Two brats, please.

Written by Kate Nerenberg
| Published on September 24, 2008
Tweet Share

Thirsty Bernie Sports Bar & Grill in Arlington (2163 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington; 703-248-9300) has quickly won fans for its stacked-meat sandwiches and house-made bratwursts. The he-man menu is the creation of chef Jamie Stachowski, whose charcuterie was one of the best things about Restaurant Kolumbia. When he and his wife, Carolyn, closed that K Street eatery a year ago, Stachowski—who claims to have worked in 27 restaurants since he was 14—was a man without a kitchen. So what did the burly chef do? He holed up in his garage and made meat.

Watch a video of Stachowski making sausage

Stachowski’s “lab,” as he calls it, attests to his passion for charcuterie, an age-old process of preserving meats. On a recent visit, a gallon of beef’s blood sat on a shelf—“Always have to have beef’s blood on hand,” he says—and two salt-cured venison legs in white cloth hung from the rafters among hockey sticks and fishing poles. When his meat grinder roared to life, the power caused the lights to flicker. All around him, in plastic boxes and industrial-size refrigerators, duck prosciutto, pepperoni, and salami were hung to dry.

Stachowski has been experimenting with curing and butchering since 1973, when he was ten years old and living on his family’s farm near Buffalo. He says slaughtering chickens with his grandfather was a life-changing event: “I’m a regular guy, but the minute that went down, I wanted to be the throat cutter.”

Thirsty Bernie is not the only place diners can check Stachowski’s skill at curing meats. His country pâté is on the menu at Redwood in Bethesda, his handmade sausages at Mendocino Grille and Wine Bar.

This article appeared in the September, 2008 issue of The Washingtonian. 

More>> Best Bites Blog | Food & Dining | Restaurant Finder

More: Best BitesCooking at HomeFood TrendsFrom the Magazine
Join the conversation!
Share Tweet
Kate Nerenberg
Kate Nerenberg

Most Popular in Food

1

27 Exciting New Restaurants Coming to the DC Area

2

Best of Washington 2023: Things to Eat, Drink, Do, and Know Right Now

3

The 100 Very Best Restaurants in Washington

Washingtonian Magazine

October 2023: Best Brunches

October 2023: Best Brunches

View Issue
Subscribe

Follow Us on Social

We'll help you live your best #DCLIFE every day

Follow Us on Social

We'll help you live your best #DCLIFE every day

Related

A Theatrical Mexican Restaurant Opens Soon From the Owner of Le Diplomate

A Pizza and Oyster Bar Is Opening Inside Union Market

Georgetown’s Swanky New Sushi Den Goes All in on Luxe Ingredients

Oyster Oyster Is Opening a Garage Next Door With Pizza and Pinball

More from Food

Take Our Restaurant Survey and You Could Win Dinner for Two

National Coffee Day: Deals and Drinks to Try Around DC

These DC-Area Restaurants Will Offer Government Shutdown Specials

No, You Can’t Really Dine All Night During DC’s “Dine All Night”

National Landing’s Splashy Outdoor Food Hall Will Open Next Week—Here’s What Else Is on the Way

How a DC Chef Helped Develop McDonald’s New Mambo Sauce

Filipino Restaurant Hiraya Is Opening With Rainbow Lattes and All-Day Breakfast

The Salvadoran Pan con Pollo Is One of DC’s Best Chicken Sandwiches

© 2023 Washingtonian Media Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Washingtonian is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Privacy Policy and Opt-Out
 Rss
Get the best news, delivered weekly.
By signing up, you agree to our terms.
  • Subscribe
  • Manage My Subscription
  • Digital Edition
  • Shop
  • Contests
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs