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Coastal Flats, American Seafood Chain by Great American Restaurant Group


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From a November 13th post of mine:

Sad, but a confirmation of my post from September 30th. We ARE worthy of the Philly original, not a vanilla shopping mall competitor to P. F. Chang's regardless of whose name is on the marquee. There will be long lines of the curious for the first few months; let's see if they are still there next Spring.

Coastal Flats, a locally owned "original" if you will, ultimately will be the pre-eminent Tysons Corner I dining destination.

Just glad that Zora liked Coastal Flats which, really, is not bad at all................

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Given the weather prediction for the upcoming week it's time to revive this thread.

...

Other than those mentioned (Hank's, Legal Seafood, Kinkead's), where else can one go for a good lobster roll? Is it still on Zola's menu?

This is purely an FYI - I've never even been to Coastal Flats - but I just received an email about a limited-time only, $19 Lobster Roll Special.

Anyone tried it yet?

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This is purely an FYI - I've never even been to Coastal Flats - but I just received an email about a limited-time only, $19 Lobster Roll Special.

 
Anyone tried it yet?

 
I've had Coastal Flats' lobster roll a couple of times (at the Fairfax location). I think it's usually available -- and the price was around $20. So I'm not sure how much of a "special" this really is. That said, it's a good roll, probably not as good as one in New England where the lobster is freshest, but I think it's quite tasty and reasonably priced. But my favorite part might be the roasted corn on the cob that comes as the side dish.

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Went to Coastal Flats last night since we were in the Tyson area. We had called ahead at 630 and were told it was around 1.5-2 hours. I had expected more like an hour at that time of night (not realizing how popular the place is) and we were about an hour away from getting there, so we ended up in the bar for a bit. Ended up being much more like 1.5 hours, but we had time for a round of drinks in the bar and a couple apps. Both the mojito and caipirinha were suprisingly good. Better than a few of the restaurants that I've been to where mojitios and caipirinhas "fit in" with the theme. The spinach and artichoke dip has a nice little saltiness from the parmesan cheese and was one of the better that I've eaten.

I think I've heard someone say that the bread was like a crack-filled donut. That sums it up nicely. The bread is small balls of bread, about 50% larger than a Dunkin Donuts munchkin, and tastes similar to an unglazed/unsugared munchkin, with just a touch of sweetness in it.

At our table we had the wood grilled salmon, filet mignon (for a non-seafood eater), and the filet mignon with crab cakes. Everything was quite well cooked, service was quick and friendly, though the runner did auction off the plates. Didn't have the desserts as we were fairly full and wanted to kill some time in the mall and then get dessert before the movie we were going to, but a number of them sounded delicious.

Overall, the place didn't absolutely wow me, but it was probably the best food I've ever eaten at a mall. I'm also very glad to see someplace other than Cheesecake Factory with a 1.5-2 hour wait at the mall. I'd certainly have no qualms about going back the next time I'm at that mall (which is extremely rare).

Oh, and BTW, there's a movie ticket kiosk on the ground floor... so if there's a huge line at the kiosk outside the theater (which there was last night) duck down to the ground floor where there wasn't a single person at it. Our movie was late so we knew there wouldn't be a line when we went back up there like there was around 7 when we went by, but we saw the place on the ground floor and decided to go ahead and get the tickets early anyway...

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I think I've heard someone say that the bread was like a crack-filled donut. That sums it up nicely. The bread is small balls of bread, about 50% larger than a Dunkin Donuts munchkin, and tastes similar to an unglazed/unsugared munchkin, with just a touch of sweetness in it.

They used to be called 'drover's rolls', back in the day when they were first served. Don't forget the slightly sweet poppy seed butter that comes with it.

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Despite hearing good things about the Great American chain of restaurants from Siestema and others around, I'd never gone until last night due to a lack of a car in the area. Being one of those guys who occasionally likes some of the facets of a chain, I was really pleased with my first visit to Coastal Flats.

First of all, I know its been said before, but those little fried balls of cheese-filled dough... While the rest of the meal was really good, give me a beer and a basket full of these and I'd be good to go. The crab and shrimp fritters had nicely-sized pieces of seafood inside and a sauce that wasn't too timid with the spice. As for the entree, I had the shrimp and grits. A few moments before my food arrived, a waitress walked by with a plate, and I remarked to my companion "hmmm, I'm glad I didn't order that." Well, it turned out I had. I was expecting a more traditional dish of the "wet" grits, what came was more of a polenta cake-style presentation. Luckily it tasted a lot better than I was expecting, and I turned out to really like it. Add in the chocolate waffle for dessert and very good service, and I think I've found my new chain of choice.

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Despite hearing good things about the Great American chain of restaurants from Siestema and others around, I'd never gone until last night due to a lack of a car in the area. Being one of those guys who occasionally likes some of the facets of a chain, I was really pleased with my first visit to Coastal Flats.

First of all, I know its been said before, but those little fried balls of cheese-filled dough... While the rest of the meal was really good, give me a beer and a basket full of these and I'd be good to go. The crab and shrimp fritters had nicely-sized pieces of seafood inside and a sauce that wasn't too timid with the spice. As for the entree, I had the shrimp and grits. A few moments before my food arrived, a waitress walked by with a plate, and I remarked to my companion "hmmm, I'm glad I didn't order that." Well, it turned out I had. I was expecting a more traditional dish of the "wet" grits, what came was more of a polenta cake-style presentation. Luckily it tasted a lot better than I was expecting, and I turned out to really like it. Add in the chocolate waffle for dessert and very good service, and I think I've found my new chain of choice.

I love the shrimp and grits. I believe it's also at Carlyle.

BTW, the dish is named "Sauteed Shrimp & Creamy Grit Cakes", so I'm not sure why you weren't expecting a grit cake. :angry:

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Overall, it was very much better than we expected from the motley crowd of cheerfully damned people waiting in the bar. Milady had the shrimp with grit cakes, which were more like spoon bread but were very good. She said it was had been a long time since she had eaten perfectly cooked shrimp. I had the sesame tuna salad entree, which was also good but could have had more tuna.

The most important thing, however, was dessert. She had the white chocolate bread pudding, the key lime pie for myself. I thought the key lime was fantastic- it wasn't too sweet or sour. My wife thought it may have been made without sweetened condensed milk and liked it very much. Her bread pudding was also very satisfying, with a hidden volcano of caramel in the middle and topped with vanilla ice cream. She had gotten a large piece of brownish skin on her fork out of the ice cream and thought that it was great that someone had used real vanilla beans in the ice cream, even leaving a little of the seed in. When she found a second one that was more green than brown, I got up the nerve to munch it.

It was a scallion. Both pieces were scallions. We started straining the ice cream through our forks, trying to find more scallion pieces. It's a testament to the power of sugar that our taste buds were so smacked around by then that we didn't notice any scallion taste in the ice cream, though I imagine they just ended up there from the various flying and chopping in the kitchen. The waiter saw us scourging our ice cream and laughing maniacally and we told him why. He looked horrified, as he had the check in his hands and was dropping it on the table.

Random scallions in non-scallion friendly food would generally earn one free dessert, but what to do when they've already had dessert and you've printed the check? We told him it was fine and it truly was- we were there on a gift card from work, so it really didn't matter. We had a great time. I would definitely call ahead to get put on the list, otherwise you're looking at a long wait in Barnes and Noble trying not to punch twee teenagers in the throat.

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I tried Coastal Flats in Tyson's on Thursday at dinner. There was no significant wait. I went there primarily because of a number of recommendations that I go there after my disappointing experience at Legal Sea Foods in Tyson's.

The restaurant is noisy, but the service was attentive without being overbearing or overly friendly. My iced tea was never empty, our food was promptly delivered, and the salmon was cooked exactly right. I had one of their standards, the short smoked salmon. I was concerned about the sauce, but it was served on the side, and the glaze on the fish seemed to be designed more to hold the smoke flavor than anything else. My dish was served with their cauliflower mash as a side. I'm not sure what's in there besides cauliflower, but it tastes like maybe some heavy cream and potato.

During the dinner, I related our story of the Legal Sea Foods disappointment to the waiter. The manager came by and asked about it again. A few minutes later, the waiter told me that the restaurant was buying desert for my wife and me to make up for our last disappointing dinner at Legal Sea Foods.

So, I had the strawberry shortcake and my wife had the bread pudding. The strawberry shorcake could have benefited from a few more berries. The bread pudding had to have had a calorie count into the four, perhaps five digits. I think I gained a pound or two just sitting in the booth with it. As you'd expect, it was pretty yummy, but I'm glad I didn't eat it, or I'd still be there, unable to move.

I have to say this is the first time I've even heard of a restaurant going the extra mile to make up for a disappointing experience at a competing restaurant. But I was certainly impressed. Coastal Flats, at least, knows how to cook fish.

Wayne Rash

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Ate at Coastal Flats yesterday (Saturday) for lunch. Busy but we were seated immediately. The Great American Restaurants really shine for their service: our ice teas were never empty and I like that any server walking by will clear your plates, take your credit card, etc. Hubby had the grouper fingers (fish & chips) and loved it. I had the two noodle shrimp salad and it was outstanding. Wonderful collection of flavors and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We split the flourless waffle for dessert which was amazing. Highly recommended!

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Watching Coastal Flats in Fairfax Corner is like watching neurons fire: it's insane how much stuff goes on, how many different places and directions things are all going at once, and, despite the chaos, how things end up forming something coherent in the end. The host stand is manned by an army, servers move through like they're standing on conveyor belts with plates put together on an assembly line, and the place is always packed. I don't know how they do it.

I've never seen anyone flustered. I've never seen anyone in the weeds. I've never seen anyone not look like they knew what they were doing or where they were going. The servers always know the menu.

They must have a killer training program and business plan.

I am in teary-eyed awe of their corporate efficiency.

Oh, and for this part of town the food isn't bad either. Try the crab fritters.

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The Great American Restaurants really shine for their service:

I'm a big fan of the GARs, particularly the shrimp and grits and the corn and crab chowder avaiable at most of the resturants, but have actually found that sometime their service is "too" good. To make sure the next plate (salad after soup; entree after salad) doesn't come out while I'm still eating the last, I often have to tell the server that I'm not in a hurry.

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Without a doubt, the best burger I've had in some time was served to me yesterday at Costal Flats. First and foremost among the reasons why it was so good was that it was cooked to a perfect medium rare (and my wife's medium burger also looked spot on). [indeed, I've long felt that the most common reason why burgers fail to live up to expectations is that they're not properly cooked to customer (read: my) specifications (imho, see Burger7, BGR, Five Guys, Elevation Burger).] Following that reason, it was also of ample size and wonderfully juicy, with a complimentary set of toppings and a plain bun that held it all together. Oh, and it comes with a serving of shoestring fries. $11 for the order. Nothing fancy, here, just a quality burger done right...and worth returning for!

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Without a doubt, the best burger I've had in some time was served to me yesterday at Costal Flats. First and foremost among the reasons why it was so good was that it was cooked to a perfect medium rare (and my wife's medium burger also looked spot on). [indeed, I've long felt that the most common reason why burgers fail to live up to expectations is that they're not properly cooked to customer (read: my) specifications (imho, see Burger7, BGR, Five Guys, Elevation Burger).] Following that reason, it was also of ample size and wonderfully juicy, with a complimentary set of toppings and a plain bun that held it all together. Oh, and it comes with a serving of shoestring fries. $11 for the order. Nothing fancy, here, just a quality burger done right...and worth returning for!

100% agreed. One of the better burgers I've had.  If I wasn't concerned about my diet, I'd order their burgers more often rather than a salad. :(

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Downtown Crown location in Gaithersburg opened last month and we had dinner there this week with the in-laws.

It was definitely the best meal we've had in Gaithersburg in ages, and quite possibly in all of MoCo.

BL-2nd grader had the calamari to start and ate 95 percent of the app portion.  He then had the salmon, which disappeared in 4 bites. (I swear, we feed him at home...)

In laws had the trout, with the pecan coating on the side and really liked it.

Mr. BLB and I both had the hanger steak with mushrooms and spinach.  We also had the field green salad.  The salad was perfectly dressed, the steak was flavorful and tender.

Service was friendly without being over the top.

It wasn't noisy like Bonefish Grill and the food was1000 times better.

It was a definite winner all around.

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Downtown Crown location in Gaithersburg opened last month and we had dinner there this week with the in-laws.

It was definitely the best meal we've had in Gaithersburg in ages, and quite possibly in all of MoCo......

........

It wasn't noisy like Bonefish Grill and the food was1000 times better.

It was a definite winner all around.

This is GAR's first restaurant in Maryland, although years ago when the same principles operated Fritzbee's and before they converted to their current group of restaurants, they did operate Fritzbee's in Maryland.

It would seem this entree into Maryland is getting off on the right foot.   Very professional restaurateurs.

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GAR does calamari really well, and Coastal Flats' take on it is tasty, too - even though I'll always be partial to the lobster ginger sauce at Artie's.

The Coastal Flats version uses a sweet and sour sauce.  It's like an upscale - and I know this isn't exactly a stirring example to choose from - take on McNuggets, only with squid.

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I'm not understanding the gushing love for GAR on this site....I have eaten at all of them, and the menus are more-or-less the same. The appetizer menu is just Sysco-to-fryer-to-table food, and If you want cranberry gummy bears in your salads or the ubiquitous and ill-defined short-smoked salmon on every menu, or the same side dish for most entrees, here is your place. Yes, smiling waiters with clean shirts are the norm, but c'mon, this is lowest common denominator food for the masses.

I was recently invited to a business lunch at Clyde's in Tysons. I looked at the menu, and saw seasonal items, different side dishes with each entree, any variation on a dish that you cared to throw at the kitchen, and the same smiling waiters with clean shirts. I ordered a salad topped with salmon, and the differences between what I had and what GAR offers was clear -- I could get the salmon any way I wanted it, and not short-smoked. I chose grilled, and a companion chose blackened (both were cooked perfectly). The greens were freshly prepared and washed, not scooped out of a bag. The dressing options were wide and flexible. And there weren't cranberry gummy bears anywhere in sight.

Yes, I know Clyde's is just Clyde's, but thankfully, it's not GAR.

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Coastal Flats is #94 on this list: http://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/boosting-sales/top-100-independents with sales above $10 million annually.

That's an amazing list, and I've eaten at more than a handful of these places. Lots of mediocrity on this list.

I note that Clyde's is well-represented on this list -- Old Ebbitt is #3, The Hamilton is #15, Tower Oaks is #71....GAR dots the back half of the list with Jackson's, Coastal Flats and Sweetwater. Not sure what any of that means on a list that features the worst restaurant in America, "Guy's American Kitchen & Bar" at #26....

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 Not sure what any of that means on a list that features the worst restaurant in America, "Guy's American Kitchen & Bar" at #26....

Most of the music I like never saw any of the Billboard top 100 lists. Not sure what that means, either.  Some things are art.  Some things are business.  There is probably room for both.  Life is too short to be hating on GAR.

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Most of the music I like never saw any of the Billboard top 100 lists. Not sure what that means, either.  Some things are art.  Some things are business.  There is probably room for both.  Life is too short to be hating on GAR.

This is a legitimate point of view.

Another is that life is too short - and too precious - *not* to be hating mediocrity, especially when the name is thrown in your face on a daily basis (it's thrown in mine on a daily basis, although honestly, I think GARG does what they do (serve the masses) very well: I eat at the Merrifield Sweetwater Tavern several times a year - I know what I'm going to get every single time, and I almost never leave surprised or disappointed).

I see both points of view having validity.

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I'm not understanding the gushing love for GAR on this site....I have eaten at all of them, and the menus are more-or-less the same. The appetizer menu is just Sysco-to-fryer-to-table food, and If you want cranberry gummy bears in your salads or the ubiquitous and ill-defined short-smoked salmon on every menu, or the same side dish for most entrees, here is your place. Yes, smiling waiters with clean shirts are the norm, but c'mon, this is lowest common denominator food for the masses.

I was recently invited to a business lunch at Clyde's in Tysons. I looked at the menu, and saw seasonal items, different side dishes with each entree, any variation on a dish that you cared to throw at the kitchen, and the same smiling waiters with clean shirts. I ordered a salad topped with salmon, and the differences between what I had and what GAR offers was clear -- I could get the salmon any way I wanted it, and not short-smoked. I chose grilled, and a companion chose blackened (both were cooked perfectly). The greens were freshly prepared and washed, not scooped out of a bag. The dressing options were wide and flexible. And there weren't cranberry gummy bears anywhere in sight.

Yes, I know Clyde's is just Clyde's, but thankfully, it's not GAR.

You have beaten this horse to death.  We get it - you are not a fan.  Move on.

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You have beaten this horse to death.  We get it - you are not a fan.  Move on.

Yes, Bruce we do all know you despise GARG. There's no sense in your bringing this up any more, truly. Why bother? Let other people have their say. You're a respected member here - go ahead and treat others with the same respect.

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I'm not understanding the gushing love for GAR on this site....I have eaten at all of them, and the menus are more-or-less the same. The appetizer menu is just Sysco-to-fryer-to-table food, and If you want cranberry gummy bears in your salads or the ubiquitous and ill-defined short-smoked salmon on every menu, or the same side dish for most entrees, here is your place. Yes, smiling waiters with clean shirts are the norm, but c'mon, this is lowest common denominator food for the masses.

I was recently invited to a business lunch at Clyde's in Tysons. I looked at the menu, and saw seasonal items, different side dishes with each entree, any variation on a dish that you cared to throw at the kitchen, and the same smiling waiters with clean shirts. I ordered a salad topped with salmon, and the differences between what I had and what GAR offers was clear -- I could get the salmon any way I wanted it, and not short-smoked. I chose grilled, and a companion chose blackened (both were cooked perfectly). The greens were freshly prepared and washed, not scooped out of a bag. The dressing options were wide and flexible. And there weren't cranberry gummy bears anywhere in sight.

Yes, I know Clyde's is just Clyde's, but thankfully, it's not GAR.

You have beaten this horse to death.  We get it - you are not a fan.  Move on.

This is a legitimate point of view.

Another is that life is too short - and too precious - *not* to be hating mediocrity, especially when the name is thrown in your face on a daily basis (it's thrown in mine on a daily basis, although honestly, I think GARG does what they do (serve the masses) very well: I eat at the Merrifield Sweetwater Tavern several times a year - I know what I'm going to get every single time, and I almost never leave surprised or disappointed).

I see both points of view having validity.

Yes, Bruce we do all know you despise GARG. There's no sense in your bringing this up any more, truly. Why bother? Let other people have their say. You're a respected member here - go ahead and treat others with the same respect.

@KN.  I think you should continue to write what you feel like writing.  Opinions of different types are the health and lifeblood of forums/communities of this ilk.   That is my opinion.

After reading some of the above I looked at several GAR menus;  Coastal Flats, Arties, Silverado, Carlyle, Sweetwater....and then stopped.

The above referenced salmon dish is on all of them.  LOL.  I didn't know that.  Sort of funny, but also sort of interesting.  It must be a dish that works for the chain on many levels.  It might not work for all diners (as with the observant and opinionated KN)...but it must work for far more often than not.

Just interesting.  I believe GAR started in the 70's with pizza, changed course into Fritzbee's in some VA and MD locations, converted the Fritzbee's into some of their current restaurants in the 80's and continue to move forward as a restaurant group.

I think they are an excellent group of professional restaurateurs.  That is distinguished from presenting plated masterpieces.  I've dined at different GAR restaurants many times over the decades.  I don't recall ever being disappointed and don't recall ever being wowed, but always satisfied.

Having several restaurants on the list provided by Mark above simply states that some of their restaurants are very large and do an enormous volume of business.  They have been on those lists for several years.

Similarly with Clyde's.  Both chains in my estimation are similarly professional; both have made that list for some number of years.  Both have managed to serve incredible volumes of meals for an extraordinarily long time and must be profitable at least most of the time.  That is an accomplishment in my eyes.

One interesting personal tidbit on Clyde's is simply over the years (decades actually) I've heard people I know, who start stepping up to better restaurants who go to a restaurant in the Clyde's group and rave about it.  It amounts to the best they've been to at that time.  That has been consistent.  I heard it a short while ago again.

One might say they serve to the masses...so what in my book.

As to the list of 100 largest independent restaurants;   19 of them are in Las Vegas.  Wow.  It suggests several things:

  • There is a lot of capacity and an availability to build huge restaurant spaces in Las Vegas--far more so than in most metro regions
  • Tourists, visitors, and convention goers spend enormous amounts of money on food.
  • Vegas reportedly has in the realm of 40 million visitors/year.   DC has about 18 million/year.  
  • I'd bet Clyde's group restaurants downtown do a lot of tourist business...I'm doubtful that is the mainstay of the GAR restaurants or the Clyde's restaurant with huge volume in Rockville. (just guesses on my part)

I personally think, KN, you should continue to speak your mind, even so far as your perspective on the GAR restaurants.  It wouldn't keep me from dining at any one of them, though the next time I visit one, I'll check to see if the short smoked salmon is on the menu.  HaHaHa.   That is rich.

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@KN.  I think you should continue to write what you feel like writing.  Opinions of different types are the health and lifeblood of forums/communities of this ilk.   That is my opinion.

[To clarify once again - and this is not singling out Kibbee Nayee who is a valued member of this community - stating virtually any opinion is fine. Stating the same opinion, over and over again, detracts from constructive discussion, and is not fine.]

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For the record I've tried Clydes and Tower Oaks Lodge more times than I can count and been disappointed routinely.  Loud with unresponsive staff and don't get me started on the inane Thanksgiving reservation policy TOL has.

Getting anything new, not loud, with well-trained staff and more than edible food that we can take the in-laws to in the greater Gaithersburg area is a big deal.  It is a really big deal for my household.   I don't really care who owns the place or who doesn't.

(Of course in the realm of true confessions, I thwacked my Mr. BLB last night and said Beck.  We should have tried Beck. Next trip.)

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The Clyde's Group and GARG are both the sort of local chains that many cities would utterly kill for.

Personally, I'd like to see (1) more variety among the GARG menus (that short-smoked salmon does sound like the punch line of a joke) and (2) more consistency among the Clyde's locations (example: like Willow Creek Farm and Reston, don't like Tysons).

Funny thing about GARG: You can see evidence of their influence, like that chopped cole slaw, on the menus of restaurants run by (IIRC) GARG alums, like Blue Ridge Grill and Ford's Fish Shack. So that says something about GARG, or about the residents of this area.

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Perfectly serviceable meal yesterday at the new Coastal Flats in Gaithersburg.

Service was excellent. Food was nothing special, but everyone was satisfied with what they ordered. Good for (small) groups when it's hard to go to one place where everyone's needs/limits are met.

Note: not good for large groups - they have no tables larger than 6. Weird, considering the size of the restaurant.

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Note: not good for large groups - they have no tables larger than 6. Weird, considering the size of the restaurant.

This is true I believe with all GAR restaurants. Their philosophy, as I understand it, is that people prefer booths, so they max out the amount of booths they can place within each location.

Plus I have a hunch that big parties are more hassle than they're worth for many restaurants. I don't have data to back that up, and I'd love to hear restauranteurs on the subject.

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Is he is going to review every new instance of every chain. Seems like waste of time to me, both to write and to read.

Yeah it's a worthless review, especially because he literally only has 2 paragraphs dedicated to the food! There's a lot on the design, on the chain, their reasoning for going to Maryland, etc.

Plus it has one of my least favorite cliches of his: fishing metaphors for seafood restaurants. He gets very cutesy in his writing (e.g., "grape juice" for wine, "meat market" for steakhouses, etc.). But the fishing ones are the worst.

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This could be a sad commentary on the state of my age and our place in suburbia.  Or it could be a commentary on how we own our situation and make the best of it.

But we bar crawl Tysons Corner.  Specifically Tysons I (the non-Galleria version).  Its halfway home.  It has parking.  It has bars.  It has food.

I spent too much time deciding whether to place this post in the 'Dining in Tysons' thread, or this one, but the fact is, we always end up at Coastal Flats for food.

Coastal Flats is less consistent than it once was - that is subjective.  And it is more expensive - that is not.  But compared to the italian place and La Sandia, its gourmet.  Gordon Biersch has the beer - not great beer, but I'd venture to say a better list than Coastal.  And Seasons has...  tiny desserts?

But this is supposed to be about Coastal Flats.

Was there twice this week.  The first trip, we had the Simply Grilled Chicken ($14) with couscous and tomato/cucumber salad.  The chicken actually tasted grilled, the salad was light and fresh and the couscous wasn't overbearing.  I would not go out of my way to go to Coastal Flats, and wouldn't go out of any way for a dish called "Simply Grilled Chicken", but dang it if this didn't hit the spot on a hot summer night.

Two nights later we're back, intending to eat dinner.  Start with a beer and a glass of wine and mistakenly venture from our usual order of Blue Crab and Rock Shrimp Fritters ($10) for 2 Baby Cakes ($7) - mini crab cake sandwiches.  I think where we went wrong was when the bartender (who was by-the-book GAR friendly) described the dish down to the ingredients (I don't need to know about the shrimp paste in my crab cakes).  But out came an asian slaw totally over-powered by a sweet mayonnaise-based sauce on a bun with a 'crab' cake mixed somewhere in there that was so bad we both were turned off from eating dinner.

But man, that grilled chicken hit the spot.  He looks to the left (generic italian spot, La Sandia), he looks ahead (beer), and looks to the right (a restaurant with a serious identity crisis called Seasons 52), and looks forward to having that chicken again next week.

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I agree.  My old company moved to Tyson's Corner when the subway stop opened up, so I am having lunch more often at Tyson's to visit with my ex-colleagues.  Totally agree with the restaurant landscape in that basement.  Had a horrible "pizza" at Brio, mediocre meal at Seasons 52, and boring burger at Gordon Biersch.  Coastal Flats definitely is the winner in that group.

I did have an okay couple of meals at the new Barrel and Bushel upstairs, but still prefer Coastal.

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