zoarster

Another super-fast way to do a good search of the forum is to Google (without the quotes) "site:www.donrockwell.com" and then whatever you're searching for, e.g. site:www.donrockwell.com komi It's basically the equivalent of the Google advanced search trick, but it does it in one fell click instead of two.

I'm in with a +1, if you haven't called yet...

Do you know what kind of bus we'll be using? We went on a wine tour last year and they used the Boomerang Bus, which didn't work out too well for us...

ugh... my +1 is out, so I think that makes 4

I'm in for the 8th, with a tentative +1 -Adam

Any idea what the menu will be?

Definitely agree that this is one of the best sushi places in Vienna if not NoVA in general. The chirashi is non-conventional (sashimi and rice served in separate plates) but delicious, and the quality of the fish, especially the salmon, is always spot-on. Servers seem to have a pretty high turnover rate, though, and some of them aren't really familiar with temaki orders--our favorite a la carte order of an ikura temaki has confused more than one server there.

We decided just today to give the Rooftop Terrace brunch a try after getting a two-for-one deal. I have to say, I'm not sure if it was worth it even at that price, much less the normal. As noted earlier, the variety is there--they have pastries, a cheese spread, entrees (breakfast and savory), a nice selection of salad-ish grub, an omelet bar, and a raw bar. That said, the quality of none of the food was very good. The cheeses were all passable, although we found the bleus way too ashy for a Sunday morning brunch. Then again, we don't like ashy cheeses in the first place, so that may have been a matter of taste. The pastries were edible, but tasted like they came from a good supermarket bakery, not the kitchen of a restaurant. The entrees were pretty disappointing. The prime rib was okay but nothing special, and my girlfriend liked the pancakes. The rest of it was best described as uneven--home fries were sometimes a perfectly-done blend of caramelized onions and potatoes, and at others a mushy mess. Although neither of us tried the roasted chicken, we saw some people coming out of the kitchen looking shocked because it seemed like the chef cut a whole quarter of the chicken off and dumped it on their plates. Salads were all blah... the mozzarella with pesto was probably the best of the bunch that we tried, but even that was seemingly hit or miss depending on how much pesto got on any one specific ball. Omelets had way too much oil and turned into a mess on a plate, not nearly worth the wait. Raw bar was a split verdict for us. My girlfriend hated the oysters, saying they were too salty, but I thought they were decent--no great flavors, but edible if you have an oyster craving. Desserts were, in keeping with the rest of the meal, okay. Nothing special.

We went to Malibu Grill a while ago and came away unimpressed. The meats were all either cold, dry, or both, and the salad bar was disgusting--wilted greens, premixed options drenched in too much sauce/dressing, and other items that had just been sitting out for too long. For our money, we like Texas De Brazil in Fairfax--you can normally get some kind of deal (the latest is $40 per person on Easter, including a drink and dessert), and the meats are spot-on. That said, though, we've never tried Fogo de Chao.

On a related note (and resurrecting this thread)--any ideas for a good crabcake in and around Washington, DC? We were thinking Cantler's in Annapolis (which should give you an idea of our range) but open to other suggestions!

Grr... just mistakenly deleted my old post because I hit the "add reply" button instead of the "post" button below. I guess it comes with being new to the forum! Anyway, great experience at Komi tonight. Their Greek wine selection is great, and I think most of our dishes were commented on already so I'll save the space and highlight the best part of any meal--dessert! They had a tangerine creamsicle to start, which was spot-on and a great palate cleanser while having a taste and style all its own, which is hard to find; most restaurants I've been at have either "blah" palate cleansers or dishes that claim to be palate cleansers but actually have so much flavor on their own that they'll linger on the palate, defeating the purpose of a palate cleanser... Then there were the Greek doughnuts, which were our favorite dessert, a light but satisfying end to the meal that blends a honeyed taste with a perfect texture--but these were overtaken by our new favorite dessert--FROZEN BAKLAVA! This was a real treat--I never thought Komi could pull off a dessert better than the doughnuts, but, as is often the case at Komi, they did, somehow. The dessert is a different take on baklava with a temperature and texture all its own--cinnamon ice cream with wafers of crisp phyllo dough. Also worth noting is the great waitstaff. Even though we go only a couple times a year, they treat us like old friends... they remember things that came up at our last visit and will check back on us. It really gives things a personal touch and reminds us that they go the extra mile to make the dining experience great and personable.

Just went to the Everything but the Quack Duck dinner at Dino and it was amazing! Dan and Dean, pay no attention to the detractor (attendees will know who I'm talking about) because this was an amazing dinner for a great value. Thanks again to Dan for setting the event up and Dean for cooking up an amazing meal!