Jump to content

Search the Community

Showing results for tags 'Vienna'.

  • Search By Tags

    Type tags separated by commas.
  • Search By Author

Content Type


Forums

  • Actualités
    • Members and Guests Please Read This
  • Restaurants, Tourism, and Hotels - USA
    • Washington DC Restaurants and Dining
    • Philadelphia Restaurants and Dining
    • New York City Restaurants and Dining
    • Los Angeles Restaurants and Dining
    • San Francisco Restaurants and Dining
    • Houston Restaurants and Dining
    • Baltimore and Annapolis Restaurants and Dining
  • Restaurants, Tourism, and Hotels - International
    • London Restaurants and Dining
    • Paris Restaurants and Dining
  • Shopping and News, Cooking and Booze, Parties and Fun, Travel and Sun
    • Shopping and Cooking
    • News and Media
    • Fine Arts And Their Variants
    • Events and Gatherings
    • Beer, Wine, and Cocktails
    • The Intrepid Traveler
  • Marketplace
    • Professionals and Businesses
    • Catering and Special Events
    • Jobs and Employment

Calendars

There are no results to display.

Categories

  • Los Angeles
    • Northridge
    • Westside
    • Sawtelle
    • Beverly Grove
    • West Hollywood
    • Hancock Park
    • Hollywood
    • Mid
    • Koreatown
    • Los Feliz
    • Silver Lake
    • Westlake
    • Echo Park
    • Downtown
    • Southwest (Convention Center, Staples Center, L.A. Live Complex)
    • Financial District
    • Little Tokyo
    • Arts District
    • Chinatown
    • Venice
    • LAX
    • Southeast Los Angeles
    • Watts
    • Glendale
    • Pasadena
    • Century City
    • Beverly Hills
    • San Gabriel
    • Temple City
    • Santa Monica
    • Culver City
    • Manhattan Beach
    • Thousand Oaks
    • Anaheim
    • Riverside
    • Palm Springs
    • Barbecue
    • Breakfast
    • Chinese
    • Cuban
    • Diners
    • Food Trucks
    • Hamburgers
    • Korean
    • Mexican (and Tex
    • Taiwanese
    • Thai

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start

    End


Last Updated

  • Start

    End


Filter by number of...

Joined

  • Start

    End


Group


Skype


AIM


Jabber


Yahoo


ICQ


Website URL


MSN


Interests


Location

  1. I often poke fun at Tom Sietsema for his disregard of Lebanese and Levantine cuisine in our area. But he just did a very nice review of Zenola in Vienna. It's on my list for a try-out in the next few weeks, but his review probably complicated the reservations list. The owner ran Cafe Paradiso for a while, and is now settled into the former Le Canard pace in Vienna. I'm dying to have a few plates of the Kibbeh Nayyeh. See --> Zenola.
  2. I just returned from a week in Vienna and Salzburg with the signature dinner at Vienna's Walter Bauer, arguably the city's best restaurant (now that Steinereck has been reduced to one star). A small, intimate chef owned restaurant with eight tables and remarkable E59 and E89 prix fixe prices for 5 and 9 course dinners with less than a 50% markup on wine-this is directly comparable to, say, Citronelle in D. C., da Fiore (Venice), Violon d'Ingris (Paris) for ambience and quality of presentation. A wonderful experience that my wife and I will look forward to returning to; an absolute must for anyone travelling to Vienna. Also, near Stevensphaltz (the 12th Century Cathedral), is the city's pre-eminent grocery store, Julius Meinl. I spent almost two hours in it one day and returned yesterday morning for another hour. From Gallo Grand Reserva carneroli 2003 arborio to the best Sprossenbrezen I have ever tasted to 2002 Kracher #11 this is the best indulgence in a city of many indulgences of excess. Both Germany and Austria are famous for bread that is unavailable in the U. S. Julius Meinl is the home of what may be the best bread in all of Austria. Sprossenbrezen is, for lack of a better description, a multiple seeded inch thick soft pretzel with four or five different kinds of seeds and a crispy, buttery crust encasing this that is just not found on this side of the Atlantic. Other seeded breads and rolls, some dark and some light, run the gamut of fantastic expectations: we must have purchased eight or nine different heavily seeded rolls in an attempt to sample as much as we could. The Sprossenbrezen ranks with any baked good I have ever had anywhere in my life! Serious. It is THAT good! For arborio the Gallo Grand Rserva is almost impossible to find, whether in Vienna or in Panzano or Verona or Alba. Meinl had four one kilo boxes and I bought two. For cheese Meinl's shop must rival most Parisian shops with at least seven to eight hundred square feet of space including at least three staffed counters of specialties, a number of which I have not seen in France or Italy. The wine shop and cellar are extensive, notably displaying Alois Kracher's fantastic and sometimes ambrosial dessert wines including his 99 point (Parker) 2002 #11 and 98 point #10 and #12. All were E 60 or less; in America you can double these prices but this is really meaningless since you won't find them, especially the 10, 11 and 12. (With Kracher the higher the number the sweeter the wine) The #12 is 4% alcohol and doesn't actually qualify as a wine. I opened a bottle and shared it with some friends in our hotel: this may actually compare to the '90 Avignonesi Vin Santo which the WS and Parker both gave 100 points to. Pure thick, syrupy orgasmic nectar. And it has not spent as much time in the bottle as it really should have to age properly! I brought back five more bottles (all that they had)and will not open the first for at least several years. This compares to the best Hungarian Essencia ('93?), Dal Forno's '97 Recioto and the Avignonesi mentioned above. (These are all VERY different dessert wines but they represent the best of their style; Kracher's #11 and #12 compare favorably in their own "style.") I've had many other Kracher tbas and other sweet wines; this is his best. In fact one of my goals is to be able to open this wine a few years from now along side of an Avignonesi Vin Santo and a Dal Forno Recioto, all representing what I think would be an ultimate orgasmic blowout of sugary excess, each in their own styles. I should also mention that Vienna and Salzburg were both cold this year. Very cold. The high on Sunday was about 16 F. In Salzburg there was about 50 cm of snow on the ground. That's two feet. With two feet of snow and below freezing temperatures even the most beautiful of cities can be less than inviting. It is good to be home.
  3. In the "every cloud has a silver lining" category, I am now eagerly awaiting the opening of his "Chase the Submarine" on Church Street! I had not heard that this was in the works.
  4. https://www.sushiyoshivienna.co/ The a la carte sushi may be more expensive since 1 order = 1 piece but they have many varieties of fish. For lunch I had Boston Mackerel, Spanish Mackereal, and Horse Mackerel, in addition to Sardine, Yellowtail, Yellowtail Belly, and Uni. Each piece was between $2 to $3 dollars (the sardine was $1.85) sushi_yoshi_sushi_a_la_carte_.pdf Due to the impending snowpocalypse, I also ordered some fried squid legs (kara age) and something they called seafood pancake. The squid legs were medium sized fried 1 leg at a time and not a clump of squid legs like fried calamari. The legs were a little chewy, but I suspect that's how they're supposed to be. Nevertheless, I enjoyed them without the tartar sauce that came on the side. Not on the website are two pages of specials, of which 1 was labeled Japanese small plates (lots of grilled jaws and fish). The seafood pancake was one of the specials but it's nothing like a Korean seafood pancake. This is really a rather large fishcake topped with some tempura shavings and a slightly spicy soy based sauce. The first bite was a bit fishy but I soon got used to the favor and enjoyed the dish. This is the best sushi in Vienna (not many others in the area - Sakana, Sweet Ginger, Sushi Yama, Konami are others I've been to) and the additon of other specials makes this place one of the best yet unsung Japanese restaurants in the DC area.
  5. So it seems Bonaroti might be getting something other than a Potbelly within skipping distance of it. I noticed this place taking over what used to be the storefront/restaurant of Wolftrap Catering, and it seems to have a nice concept in mind - even if the location might be lethal: Clarity Vienna Facebook Page @clarityvienna on Twitter The pedigree is certainly something to raise an eyebrow at, being owned by Jonathan Krinn, formerly of the 2941 Restaurant, and Jason Maddens, formerly of the Central Michel Richard in DC. Just from looks alone this appears to be something different from a simple Maple Ave. Restaurant clone, but there's no information on the menu or cuisine past guessing what a 'freestyle American bistro' would serve. Also, no one's posted about it yet from what I can see, so I figured I'd get the ball rolling.
  6. Located on Church Street in Vienna about a block from Bazin's, I was excited when this little pizza shop opened about a week ago, but was fully expecting to be disappointed. Paula and I sampled a few slices on Saturday and I left extremely happy. The slices had the appropriate amount of cheese, grease, and char that a good New York-style pizza should have. This pizza was as good as, if not better than, Tony's New York Pizza in Fairfax. Plus, it is less than 5 minutes from my house. Their menu is extremely limited right now, only serving pizza by-the-slice or as full pies (one size only). Their menu notes that they will also be serving calzones and other items in the future. This Jersey boy's pizza prayers have finally been answered...again.
  7. I'll preface my post with this: I don't know shit from shinola when it comes to authentic Chinese food. Don, feel free to trash this note if it's not helpful - I won't be offended The Lotus Garden opened 4 days ago, so there's a chance the food and service are still a work in progress. Their web site is here. Their speciality is Cantonese cuisine with hand-pulled noodles. They've got the standard Americanized Chinese dishes we all know and love, but I think the "Chefs Specials" are their focus. Mrs DrX and I split a bowl of Chicken Sliced Noodle Soup ($8.25). It was...interesting. The noodles were rustic and fairly tasty. The sliced chicken breast was dry and flavorless and included rib bones and cartilage for our gustatory challenge. I realize the "real" Chinese chicken dishes include cleavered chicken parts, but I'm such an amateur, I don't know how to eat this stuff, especially in a soup. The most disappointing part of the soup was the fistful of fresh cilantro which completely overwhelmed any flavor the broth may have had. Occasionally I could pick up some pepper flavor, but mostly it was cilantro and cilantro with a lingering aftertaste of cilantro. I burped cilantro 20 minutes after we finished our meal! I had the Steamed Chicken with Ginger and Scallion in Chef's Special Gravy. Let's see...the positives...hmm...the plate it came on was pretty and supported the food fantastically. I'll admit that maybe this dish just wasn't for me and that it's actually a good dish to people who know the food, but I didn't like it. My dislike started with the cooked chicken face that accompanied the dish. The steamed chicken was dry (is that possible when steaming?) and the sauce was bland and was boring to me. The rice side dish was cold. Cold rice? Really? Of course, it used cleavered chicken parts and most of my time was spent peeling off the rubbery, fatty skin and prying off little pieces of meat from the bone and cartilage. I ate less than half the dish. I just got tired of working so hard for such flavorless food. Nancy had the Steamed Shrimp with Garlic Sauce. It consisted of about 8-10 large, butterflied shrimp coated with jarred garlic sitting on a bed of hand-pulled noodles in a garlicy sauce. We both thought it was tasty, but the garlic was 10x more than was pleasant (this coming from people who loved eating at The Stinking Rose in San Francisco). The shrimp were cooked very well. I thought the noodles were cooked about right for Chinese noodles, but my Nancy said Four Sisters cooks theirs al dente, so she was disappointed. Our server was very friendly, but didn't have a solid grasp on English. She told us it was her first day when we were having trouble ordering. It was obvious in that we had to show her our choices on the menu and she needed to mark them with a pen. I saw the soup get set on a cart outside the kitchen several minutes before someone else (not our server) picked it up and brought it to us. It almost went to another table, though. We had to ask for water after we finished our hot tea (which was good, but leafy). There were about 6 servers milling about, so it's not like they were overwelmed. Our entrees came out separated by several minutes, but maybe that's the way it's done in China. Europeans tend to bring food while it's hot, right, regardless of trying to serve the table at the same time. There's a large window looking over the kitchen where you can watch the chef make the noodles. It's quite a show. Several people left their tables to stand and watch. If you're bothered by ducks hanging by their necks, then you may not be able to see past them to watch the noodle puller, though. If you like duck tongues, pig blood, duck webs, jellyfish and pig knuckles, then maybe this is the place for you (they have them all). Serenity, a little east on Maple Avenue, and China Star also try to cater to real Chinese food eaters, in that all specials are written in Chinese and never English. Maybe this is Lotus Garden's target demographic, too. I'm interested to hear what other Rockwellians think about Lotus Garden. I'm willing to try it for food that I know, but our first impression was not good. Things that seem odd: over 200 dishes on the menu right off the bat after opening and that their hours state they close at 2-3AM, depending on the night.
  8. I was surprised to not see a thread for Joe's Pasta and Pizza. After all its been around for decades in various locations; the North Arlington and Vienna locations remain. Its simply a mainstay as a neighborhood restaurant. Admittedly I know or more properly knew and was friendly with Joe. So I'm a fan of the restaurateur and his restaurants. Quality of food? Well even as I ate at the different locations quite a lot, I'd never call it the best quality. I would call it great value and friendly, and a perfect place for inexpensive Italian comfort food. My personal favorite were always the buffets, and my recent trip took me back there. Do you want to fill up on Italian comfort food? Go to Joe's. Eat up. In fact, pig out if you can. Then nap for the rest of the day and be glad you didn't have to cook. For my tastes the buffet and the roasted chicken within it were always the highlights. Now for many many many others in the areas where they have been ( North Arlington, Vienna, formerly Fairfax, Gaithersburg, and Bailey's) I've known its always been both a dependable takeout option, and its an absolutely great place for families, kids and groups. The pizza? Well as much as I liked Joe, it was never my favorite. But the buffet. Had it again recently. It still is a great deal. In my book emphasize the roast chicken and add some other items....and its a terrific way to fill your tummy with Italian comfort food and leave the cooking to Joe et al.
  9. To complicate things a bit, I was a frequent customer at the Italian Gourmet in Vienna about 20 years ago. As I recall, it had a short-lived and not as good sibling in Herndon, I believe.
  10. For me and my dear aged mother, the main casualty of Friday night's storm was the cancellation of today's matinee performance of Don Giovanni at the Barns at Wolf Trap (well, actually, my mother's house in Fairfax was without electricity from 10:30 pm Friday to 4:00 pm Saturday; I suffered no such tribulation in the Kalorama Triangle). We had planned to have lunch before the opera at Plaka Grill in Vienna, which is right on the way. When we learned of the cancellation, we decided to have the lunch as planned. Plaka Grill is in a dreary little strip mall on Lawyers' Road just off Maple Ave, next door to a Papa John's. It's quite a bare-bones sort of place. You place your order at the counter, and they give you a little stand with a number on it to put on your formica-top table so they'll know where to deliver your food. You fetch your own plastic forks and knives and paper napkins. But the service is friendly, cheerful, and efficient, and the food is delicious and inexpensive. We split an appetizer of dolmadakia, which was five grape-leaf rolls with a filling of lamb, beef, and rice, drizzled with a lemony sauce, served hot. They were actually very hot, and tasty beyond my expectation. Then we had "Chicago Gyros", which resemble every gyro you've ever had, but taken to a higher level. The pita wrapper was chewy but tender, the pressed meat stuff was tender, moist, and flavorful. The gyros were rounded out with lettuce, tomato, and tzatziki, and I'd have to say that these were the best gyros I've ever encountered. The one order of dolmades, two gyros, and two bottles of Bass ale came to just over $29. No wonder this place is popular. I wouldn't go a very long way out of my way to eat here, but gosh, what a good lunch I had at such a trivial cost.
  11. Greetings Rockwellers, Just got off the phone with Patrick Bazin, the former executive chef at Occidental in D.C., who is poised to welcome guests to his new namesake restaurant tomorrow evening. Bazin has about two dozen dishes on his debut menu, including items like a Southwestern chicken soup with black beans and grilled radicchio, ricotta ravioli in a Meyer lemon sauce and a "double thick" Iowa pork chop served with vanilla sweet potatoes and braised Swiss chard. Most appetizers appear to be under $10 and the entrees top out at $26 for the crab cakes. The restaurant is located at 111 Church Street NW in Old Town Vienna and doors open at 5 p.m. for dinner. Just thought you'd like to know.....
  12. I am surprised that this little jewel of a fine dining establishment doesn't receive more fanfare. It's tucked in a the back of a strip mall a few doors down from the Virginian on Glyndon St., just off 123. Cafe Renaissance is not that big -- the main room might seat 50 on a Saturday night, and the little room off the front side might seat another dozen or so -- but it is probably the most comfortable and romantic dining room in northern Virginia. From the white tablecloths with fresh cut roses, the tuxedoed and attentive wait staff, the paintings and murals on the walls...this is where you take the significant other for a romantic dinner. Of course, that means it's not a guys-night-out kind of place, or one of those loud bistros where you have to shout to be heard by your dining companion. Saeed and Soraya are the Persian couple who own the restaurant, and Ocean Joseph is the Turkish chef who runs the kitchen. Ocean's food is the best kept secret in northern Virginia. He generally nods in the direction of Italy with a few Turkish riffs tossed in. The mussels are spectacular, with a garlic-y broth as the base, which I sopped up with almost a whole basket of bread. My girlfriend then enjoyed a tower of salmon, monkfish and crab cake, sauced with a wine and butter reduction, with a wonderful carrot puree that was poached in Grand Marnier for 4 hours. I had a mixed grill of lamb and steak, each bit tender enough to be cut by my fork, and sauced with a raisin glace. On previous visits I was able to enjoy my inner European foodie with pate, sweetbreads and calves liver. But whenever I have a hankering for a big pile of mussels, this is where I come. For flair, Ocean is experimenting with different dinnerware shapes and sizes, and he is also exploring some new twists on recipe themes. I'm looking forward to tasting the evolving repertoire over the coming months. A word about the extensive wine list -- Kirby Pope, who runs the Vienna Vintner in the same strip mall -- and worthy of a whole write-up on his own -- helped put together a very thoughtful and extensive wine list for Cafe Renaissance. You're not likely to find a better wine list this side of 2941. When you're in this part of Vienna, a visit with Kirby prior to a bucket of mussels from Ocean is about the best way I can imagine to enjoy a few hours of the good life.
  13. Years ago, I enjoyed several meals at Sunflower Vegetarian Restaurant in Vienna. I thought many times about returning, but for whatever reason, I just never seemed to get there. Then about a month ago, I returned. Then I went again. And again. And yesterday I found myself in my car, having just ordered a Curry Paradise lunch entrée for $5.95. In the parking lot at the back of the restaurant, enjoying a quiet meal by myself, I took two bites of the dish, and then I started laughing. I started laughing because the food was so unbelievably good, the latest in an unbroken string of terrific plates at Sunflower. From dish-to-dish, from day-to-day, this place is consistently good - one of the few restaurants in the entire area where you can seemingly throw a dart at the menu and hit a winner. Golden Nuggets are marinated yuba wrapped with shredded shiitake mushrooms, soy protein and bamboo shoots in a druggingly delicious house brown sauce. If you serve this dish to a child, or even an adult, they’ll have no idea they aren’t eating meat. Forget the health/vegetarian angle: this place is great! And even if you’re a college football player, you can walk away from a meal here stuffed to the gills, entirely satisfied, and still somehow managing to feel healthy and not weighed down. White And Green Jade is layers of steamed spinach with “very precious” bamboo fungus, Chinese jujube, Chinese wolfberry, fresh enoki mushrooms and sweet corn in a light ginger sauce. If some of these terms are unfamiliar, their menu has an entertaining and informative glossary in the back which is a perfect way to pass the time while waiting for your food to arrive. Staffed mainly with Asian-Americans, it still manages to have a funky, flower-child feel to it. They don’t serve alcohol, but offer up an interesting selection of juices and teas. The only thing to avoid are the desserts, which are simply not good because they use no eggs, dairy or sugar. If I lived closer to Sunflower, I’d get carryout lunches several days a week, and if I was forced at gunpoint to pick just one restaurant in the Washington DC area where I had to eat every meal for the rest of my life, I would choose Well, I guess I would choose Citronelle. But Sunflower would at least get a thought. This food is perfect for carrying out and reheating in the microwave, and will easily stay fresh in the fridge for a second night because of the airtight containers and vegetarian purity. As they say on the menu, “Everything is free of MSG, and only organic flavor enhancers, such as kelp powder, kombu, sea salt, canola oil, nutritional yeast, gomashio, barley malt, brown rice syrup, and vegetable stock are used.” Sunflower is only one exit outside the beltway (take I-66 to Nutley Street, take a left on Route 123, and it will be almost immediately on your left) and is only a twenty-minute drive from the DC line without traffic. Their website is here. You'll thank me, I promise you! Rocks.
  14. The Dining Guide does not contain an entry for Bonaroti's, so it appears. Yet, here is some of the finest 'burbs Italian around, ranking with Zeffirelli's in Herndon, Da Domenico's in Tysons, and A La Lucia in Old Town. It has the charm and visual appeal of Cafe Renaissance down the street, a deep connection to the community (with "Chris Cooley's Bresaola" and Spaghetti "Chris Cooley" on the dinner menu), walls of pictures of friends and local dignitaries, and a menu that really warms the Italian heart beating in all of us. I had the veal osso buco for lunch yesterday and I was blown away. The large pieces of veal were fall-off-the-bone tender, and it was covered with a thick, brown almost stew-like sauce, and accompanied by risotto that was cooked to perfection. It was delectable. This is a hearty lunch, ruining my New Year's resolution on, like, day 3. I had been here many times in the past and then I sort of forgot about it, but after yesterday, it's going into my rather spare McLean-Tyson's-Vienna-Fairfax Rt. 123 rotation.
  15. Thank the (somewhat undersized) scallop entree at the (somewhat overpriced, somewhat underrated) Church Street Cellars for sending me and my young dining companion on a dessert hunt, lured by the scent of a sign in the alley leading to the (somewhat underrated) Rose Restaurant, and allowing us to stumble, completely randomly, onto The Pure Pasty Co., opened just last week. What's the difference between a pasty and an empanada? An enthusiastic Michael Burgess was manning the register, having sold out of Sausage Rolls ($3.75), and having just three pasties left in the case. Me that I am, I bought one of each (Traditional, Slowdown Veggie, and Cornish Masala, each $6.00), and the Cornish Masala was very good. As the website touts, "It's all in the crust," and that's what I was thinking while scarfing it on the way home. Especially with the addition of a food cart, this could be a successful operation - it's super simple, no frills, grab-and-go, and carryout only. I've never had a Pasty before today, and they're worth trying. To date, I think I'm the only person in the world to do a daily double of the (somewhat over-catered) Max's Kosher Cafe and The Pure Pasty Co. Thing is, I was so emotionally drained by my meal last night at our 4th Best Restaurant that I needed to ground myself in simple street fare. Drained not by the meal itself (I've had worse meals, even this week), but because I've been toggling back-and-forth between issuing a methodical trashing of what was, at best, a banquet-quality dinner, and more accurately, something no better than you'd get when ordering room service; and exposing, for the sake of the Greater Good, a friend for being an incompetent megalomaniac because, you see, it's not J&G's fault that restaurant writing in this town has largely devolved into a bipolar star-fucking crisis of self-absorbed complacency, coexisting with a plastic, Ikea-bought bowl filled to the brim with cold, squiggly, noodles of nothingness. Cheers, Rocks
  16. Mrs DrXmus and I had lunch at The Sandwich Shop this afternoon. We were there a little after noon and the place was about half full. There wasn't much more business before we left around 12:30. The inside is unchanged from Chase the Submarine, I'm fairly certain. I had a Cuban sandwich which I enjoyed. The bread was a ciabatta, so some would have a fit, but it was quite fine for me. The ham was replaced with a couple of slices of salami, which I liked very much. I got an order of fries which were great, if slightly undersalted. They seemed to be battered and were crispy as expected and creamy on the inside. Mrs DrX got a turkey sandwich which should have included fresh mozzarella, avocado, tomato, lettuce and a cranberry mostarda. She doesn't like out of season tomatoes, avocado or condiments, so it ended up being bread, lettuce and mozzarella. I don't think they added the vinaigrette she'd asked for. The turkey itself was tasty, but she got bored with the sandwich by the end. Every sandwich comes with a cup of a few pickled onions, a few bread and butter pickles and a spear of what I'm guessing is a half-sour (I'm no pickle pro, so I wouldn't bet on that) which were all terrific. There were breakfast sandwiches on the menu for earlier in the day. For the rest of the day I saw some salads, veggie options and other side dishes. I couldn't find a web site and I didn't memorize the menu, so I can't expand on the options any more than this. The sign on the building still says "Chase the Submarine" but there's a sheet of paper in the window that says "The Sandwich Shop".
  17. While out in Vienna recently, I got a recc on a nearby coffee place for a quick pickup that I'd never have found otherwise and thought I'd share. Caffe Amouri is about 7 months old and is at 107 Church St NE in Vienna in a pretty non-descript strip mall. I'm guessing this is probably the best coffee spot in that immediate area and maybe top 3 in NoVa. I instantly give points to coffee shop purveyors who roast on site since you know the java is fresher that way and most don't do this due to the cost. Coffee was excellent. Owner very nice and there's a brand spankin' new, yellow and gleaming steel fairly high tech roasting machine right in the front of the cafe. My only pick, a minor one, is how they positioned and use the machine. It's set up like one might expect at a science museum and reminded me of the Way Back Machine. It has a velvet rope around it, a few scattered coffee burlap sacks for effect and it's connected to a laptop with its own stool. But maybe not so cool to run it during the day as they do since it's right next to the tables and makes a ton of noise. Amouri has a thread on Yelp (like every other retailer on the planet it seems) but I wanted to point it out here since it's very good and may help someone out that way desperate for a quality cup.
  18. I've gone to Pho -N-More in Vienna twice now but I still haven't tried their pho. Instead, I've tried a couple of Thai-ish noodle soups. The first was Tsunami: "minced pork, mixed seafood ball, bean sprout, chinese broccoli, crushed peanut, cilantro n scallion in spicy broth." This tastes suspiciously like floating market noodle soup at Nava Thai - a sour and spicy soup with a brown broth. I'm not saying it's great but it's good to know that I don't have to go to Wheaton for FMNS. Today I tried the Tornado: "a new version of “Pad Thai” minced chicken, tofu, preserved radish, bean sprout, green bean, crushed pea­nut, cilantro n scallion in spicy broth." It wasn't really spicy, more sweet and sour in a clear broth (a flavor combination that's not my favorite). Both times I also ordered a plate of spicy basil stir fried with mixed veggies - reasonably tasty. Menu
  19. This little brewing restaurant is in Vienna VA next to the WO&D Trail. Great to get to by bike but if you are in your car you will find it in an industrial area at 520 Mill Street. Didn't get a look at the inside as I had my dog...but the outside has a patio and a grassy area where kids , dogs, and frisbees are welcome. I had a flight of beers, and while not a beer connoisseur, I like the wheat and the stout. The list is immense along with some wine and homemade sodas, so there is bound to be some libation to your liking. I am not writing this post about the drinks....it is about 2 shrimp which were served to me atop some Anson Mill Grits. I have hated shrimp for the past few years as I find them tasteless. This place was the exception, I don't know if it was a one day fluke but the shrimp I had there reminded me of the shrimp I had in Basque country at Etxebarri. They were exceptional. We also had the Duck Liver mousse and Roasted Pimento Cheese. They were both worth ordering again. A charcuterie plate with homemade crackers rounded off our meal (well rounded off may be an exaggeration)....but it was all good and the prices were not bad at all. I would go back for the shrimp alone.
  20. So it's taken slightly shorter than forever for this place to open (in the former Jerry's Subs & Pizza spot near Jammin' Java), but I noticed tonight they've finally gotten around to it. Just from the looks of it, it appears to be a very simple, no-frills family-style Italian place. It's (at least visibly) not trying to be or compete with Pazzo Pomodoro (or Bonaroti, for that matter), and the prices definitely reflect it in their menu, which wasn't very easy to find since Google hasn't gotten a chance to cache this place's website yet...thankfully, though...I found it: here's the menu. I really hope this place lives up to the six potential friends & family 'five star reviews' it has on its Facebook page, because I've wanted a nice place to pick up some decent Italian food locally for dine-in and take-out without having to pay an arm and a leg for it (Joe's, I'm looking at you). The reason I question the Facebook reviews is that two of them mention pizza, and I fail to see where that is on their 'full menu,' and two of them might have been posted before the restaurant had even opened. I guess I want this place to be the equivalent of those "Pomodoro" local chain restaurants in the area that serve decent but not hideously-overpriced Italian fare. I'll post a proper review sometime this week.
  21. Drove by earlier tonight and new sign on the window. Couldn't find anything on the internet. Any word on this new place?
  22. Indian food is one of my favorites, so when a friend invited me to join her for lunch at Diya I was a little surprised: I'd never even heard of it. But I'm always happy to try something new. The first thing that struck me about Diya was the smell - like a hotel ballroom, except in the bar, which smelled like bleach. The second thing was the size. It's huge. But whatever. It's the food that's important, right? The buffet that day had vegetable fritters, yellow dal, saag paneer, channa, aloo gobhi, salad and a few different chutneys, raita, goat curry, tandoori chicken, butter chicken, one or two other savory things that I didn't try, and kheer and gulab jamun for sweets. "All the safe choices for an American audience," I thought snarkily. "Except for goat curry. That's promising." So how did it taste? Bland. Brown. Boring. Muddy. Mediocre. If I'd closed my eyes only texture would have told me what I was eating. Not one dish had the complexity and vibrancy that makes Indian cuisine so enticing. Later I queried several other friends, friends whose judgement I trust, food-loving friends, friends who post on this board. Everyone said it's a really good restaurant. So I suppose I was just a victim of an office worker style lunch buffet. In Diya's defense, I'll state that I haven't yet eaten anything wortwhile at an Indian buffet (including Masala Art, my current favorite), with the exception of the late, lamented Connaught Place, torn down by the City of Fairfax in order to create a parking lot, may it rest in peace (the restaurant, not the parking lot). Has anyone else been to Diya? Care to defend it? Tell me that it was an off day or that I need to go for dinner instead?
  23. What I find incredible about this is that at 1:27, there is a very slight, almost imperceptible, mistake that nobody has probably even noticed before; yet, Spock gives a very slight, almost imperceptible, wince. Coincidence? I hate to piss on the party, but this music is not what Spock is playing. (But this is - it's by Ivan Ditmars.)
  24. Ate at Turmeric pre-concert last month (Brandi Carlile and First Aid Kit - I know, kind of the opposite of death metal and prog rock). Not too shabby. Nice space and tasty food with good service. Is it stunning? no. Does it suck? Hell no! I'd put it in the solidly good bordering on very good mark overall. It's pretty convenient to Wolftrap, too - not right next door convenient, but close enough to make it an easy pre-concert place to try.
×
×
  • Create New...