Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'Potomac Run Plaza'.
Found 2 results
-
Asad opened a new place in Sterling called 1947. It has been open a few months but I think he might close it down due to lack of diners. My issue with Asad is that he is always in expansion mode. He should be focusing on ensuring that his restaurants are financially stable before deciding to expand. -
I was asked recently to go to Hooked with a friend of mine that lives in Herndon. I was a bit surprised when she asked. "You have no problem driving into Georgetown on a weeknight (Wednesday)!?", I exclaimed. "What the fuck are you talking about Tony!?", she shouted back. By the way, I get that statement a lot from people, mostly women. After a few more moments of conversation, we finally figured out the disconnect and met up at Hooked, a small seafood restaurant in a strip mall out in Sterling, VA. I will say that I was a bit shocked when I heard the name, but while this restaurant will by no means be confused with Barton Seaver's gem in Georgetown, I do have to say that it is a very nice place to have out here in the suburbs. The restaurant is small, maybe seating for 20 people on the floor and another 10 at the bar, and pretty nicely decorated. It feels cool, but not pretentious, a bit out of place in the strip mall that it is located in, but not so foreign that it seems ridiculous. We got there at 5:00, super early, and it was empty, but when we left at 8:00, pretty much every seat was taken. The service was second to none, not in a "professional" manner, but in a "we love that you are here and will do anything that we can to make you happy" way. Doug, the front of the house owner, was extremely friendly and very knowledgeable. He quickly picked up on the fact that we weren't your run of the mill diners and was willing to talk to us about business and wine and the industry and whatever else was on our mind. He did so mostly at the beginning, because it was empty, but still did a good job taking care of us as the night went on and they got more crowded. Nice wine and drink list, we were deciding between three wines and he promptly poured us a taste of all three. We picked one we liked, of course I don't remember what it was, and it was a great bottle at a very reasonable price. He makes a mean drink too, as we would find out later. The menu was pretty straight forward, but had some interesting notes (you can check out the whole menu at www.hookedonseafood.com). Good balance, meaning that you can make it a light night or an expensive night depending on your mood, and pretty creative at the points that it needed to be creative at (they don't seem to add crap just to add it). There was four of us and we all liked our food, the miso sea bass appetizer being the best of the bunch. The portions were solid sizes, well worth the money. The only miss was the mile high mac and cheese, bland even though it was trying not to be. The sushi was pretty good as well, something that was a nice addition to have as an appetizer or to share, probably not where I would go to have a sushi dinner though. There was a service snafu though, the mac and cheese was missing for 15 minutes, and at the end of our meal Doug promptly brought us out four after dinner drinks, a piece of cheesecake and a piece of chocolate torte (or something along those lines), all on the house. The drink included some Bailey's and some chocolate liquer and some cream and some vodka, but it wasn't overly sweet and wasn't heavy, so we all liked it a lot. The desserts were above average, but nothing great. I may be mistaken, but I am pretty sure that they get their desserts made by a guy that they know who works at Le Cirque in NYC. Either way, nice way to end a meal, not memorable, but clearly good. Overall, there wasn't a lot to dislike about Hooked and a pretty good amount to like. I think that they are serious restauranteurs that want to make an impact on the dining scene in the suburbs, but they don't take themselves too seriously, an attitude that we found refreshing. So, next time you guys are way out in the country, I would check it out. Like I said, it is not directly comparable to many of the places that we have all grown to love in the city, but it is a good step in making the suburbs a bit more exciting these days.
