11 replies to this topic

[zoramargolis]

[Split off from Pauli Moto's Asian Bistro thread]

Go to Coastal Flats instead. I had lunch there last week, and it wasn't bad at all.

Edited by DonRocks, 06 June 2006 - 08:29 PM.

[Joe H]

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................

[treznor]

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...

[beezy]

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.

[jparrott]

I thought they were called Ozzies?

[genericeric]

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.

[dgreen]

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.

[hexerei]

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.

[wrash]

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

[lieutjenn]

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!

[DanCole42]

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.

[LowellR]

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.