Our Picks

This place is pretty good and I would recommend/return. Any other spots in DC/Bal that focus on yakitori? I've only been here twice but I'd say it's around the level of Yakitori Totto (maybe better food at Totto, better overall experience at Momo) and several notches below Torishin, both in NYC. Momo is a fair bit cheaper though.

Charm City Night Market was a success. I arrived a bit later in the evening, and the crowds of people in that part of town, blew my mind. Hopefully this will be the an annual celebration of diversity in the city of Baltimore, as well as reviving Chinatown.

After a very expensive omakase dinner at O-Ku, I woke up wishing we had gone to Ogawa instead.

looks like we've reached the end of the corn at the market in Falls Church, anyway.  Tomatoes are dwindling, the okra is starting to feel woody even when young & little.  Lots of nice little potatoes and turnips and beets showing up, peaches fading and apples & pears coming on.

The M.R.E. ups its game:  A Breakthrough for U.S. Troops: Combat-Ready Pizza, by Dave Philipps, September 20, 2018, on nytimes.com.

Sign on door says Old Dominion Pizza Co. coming soon. Maybe third time is a charm with pizza at this location. 

I find commerce, cloaked in patriotism and military pride, to be stomach turning. It is the "mission" of Mission Barebecue.  

I find the playing of the National Anthem at noon to be absurd. I love  our country. I love barbecue. This place gives me the creeps and is not for me.

Went to the next-door Latin market yesterday and Holkaido is shuttered with a sign that says closed for remodeling .

I wonder if it may be permanent ?

We had a great meal for our  25th Anniversary the other week at Komi.  Service was personalbe and professional.  Highlights were the amberjack with bebere, the grilled watermelon, stuffed dates, corn tortellini, and of course the goat.  I don’t know how they got corn that sweet in the tortellini.  Also, bergamot soda was great for this no drinker.  My only question was the mild flavor in the Italian summer truffle for the pasta course. I was expecting something funkier.  Kudos to Komi!

Their Rockville (on the Pike across from Congressional Plazas) location has closed. For lease sign out front and it's been removed from their website. 

At this point, so many people are getting into line for 5 in order to put their names in for later, that it probably makes sense just to have only (or mostly) the people who want to eat early stand in line. I haven't been going super often, but I have noticed over time that many of the people lining up at opening are requesting call backs for later. They are good at evolving their business model based on changing circumstances (i.e., people realized how they could get de facto reservations by standing in line and now the restaurant is adapting).

I have become partial to their goat cheese stuffed lamb meatballs with tomato sauce.  The duck spring rolls with peach duck sauce and curry mustard are also tasty and quite a bargain when on the happy hour menu.  Sometimes I make a meal around just those two items.  A small greek salad with salmon on top I have also found satisfying.  This also a reliable venue for friends and family from out of town.  There is just enough variety on the menu to satisfy the young folks as well as us geezers folks no longer so young.  I would agree it is not necessarily a destination restaurant, but if you live, or find yourself, in Arlington it is definitely worth toddling on over every now and then.  They also offer gluten-free pizzas.

rose's is now rolling out same-day reservations. 

I wrote this in a PM to Don back in 2016, not sure why I didn't just post it here, which I will do now: 

My 26 year old son is really into the whole beer thing.  He manages a restaurant that specializes in it. He thinks Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA tastes like a combination of rail vodka and paint thinner!

When I was at LB I thought mostly the same thing about the service.  Perfectly attentive and without any weird long breaks, but slightly overly formal.  Did not enjoy inquiring for more details about how a dish was prepared only to simply be read back the list the same list of ingredients used again... *I did like the somm we had at least.

Has anyone been here lately and noticed a small snack menu near the business cards at the podium? I quickly scanned this thread and didn't see any mention. I had dinner here a few weeks ago and it wasn't handed out at the table/counter so they're probably not supplements to the set menu. I remember asking about it on my way out but can't remember the answer. Maybe it's for guests waiting for their tables to clear? Or takeout?

The tips above still apply, here's some other Taipei bits from a trip earlier this year:

Rainy day lunch w/ the kids at Taco Bamba Springfield today & it was SO good-first time in a while that I ordered all new stuff & it was worth it.  I got a sope w/ tinga, tostada Tong Po Pork-chorizo, mint, basil, larb sauce, onion, cilantro, charred serrano salsa, chicharron, & street corn (I shared ). Tom got 3 tacos-al pastor, Ricky Bobby, & high on the hog, E got 2- taco bamba & arabe.  I am SO happy when I get good food, despite the rain, I almost floated home.

I’ve only eaten at Springfield & Vienna locations (& none of us have tried DC), but the kids think that Springfield has the edge. It was packed today & no complaints, aside from how messy I got, hands & face, eating all the delicious food.

Next time, I’m going to have another Foo Fighters taco-I think the small one I got the first time was an aberration, & it tasted delicious.

I just submitted my Pillsbury Bake-Off entry, inspired by the blueberry peach coffee cake that I made for the picnic.  It's open for entries until the 12th at noon Central time.

All I kept thinking while reading these three sentences was, 'perfect parent.'

I've been here a few times this year, and I'm a fan. The menu appears to have turned over a fair amount since I was last in, but the Pan-Seared Scallops with Coconut Risotto are fantastic, and the wings are always a winner. I don't think you can really go wrong, I've enjoyed every meal I've eaten here, and I'm always surprised it isn't busier. 

We finally used the last of the gift card yesterday, walking back after the Nats' game. I'd already used about 1/3 of it,  not too long after my last post, by walking in and ordering takeout food (which wasn't all that easy to do, but the employees were nice about facilitating it.) Our server yesterday was great, but the whole experience made me glad I have no reason to go back any time soon. I'd looked at the menu ahead of time, and they've changed the in-restaurant menu from that. While all of the burgers on-line are listed as coming with tomatoes, the ones you can actually get--at least at the Capitol Hill location--come with arugula instead. I'm okay with arugula, but it's tomato season, and I'd much rather have them on my burger than arugula. I didn't dismantle my Bistro Burger, but the greenery was probably baby arugula rather than mature, as it wasn't that strong in flavor.

I hate writing this because I could be wrong and I don't want to be one of those people, but the fries were not as good as they used to be and seemed cookie-cutter frozen. 

This week's projects involved turning a boatload of organic Gala apples from the orchard into dehydrated slices, applesauce, maple bourbon apple butter, and salted caramel apple butter. Some of the applesauce will likely go into a cake or muffins tomorrow. I just got an apple corer -- so much faster than quartering and cutting the core out! -- so dehydrated rings will be coming soon. Chutney will likely also be forthcoming because I'm not sure how much more apple butter I want to make.

the bf and i checked out himitsu's monday "supper club" last night, which i ringingly endorse.