reedm

Their Ashburn "snack bar" https://www.foursisterssnackbar.com/ is reliably quite good/excellent as well.

Ahso remains our runaway favorite in the Ashburn area. In addition to their regular menu, they offer ramen on Mondays, Tacos on Tuesdays, and burgers on Wednesday (the Ahso burger, which is available every night, is a great choice). They remained very creative throughout the pandemic, and I believe they were able to retain all of their staff. Wonderful people. While the regular menu is excellent, I think the microwine dinner, which consists of four courses and wine pairings, is a great value at $85. We have enjoyed the chef's counter a couple of times for special occasions, which consists of 6 courses + pairings for about $130. There are a plethora of Indian spots in the area--Saffron and Rupa Vira top our lists. @Genericeric's suggestions are quite good as well. Which places let you down?

It has been a few years, but I have been to Nak Won a number of times. My daughter attended Fairfax HS, and one of her friend's mom owns Nak Won. (I do not have any Korean heritage, and I've never even been to Korea, but I enjoy many Korean dishes. Read: I am not an expert). We enjoyed every visit to Nak Won, and it seemed to be a favorite with the local Korean community. They also operate(d) a catering business next door which seemed popular. That's not much to go on, but I'd certainly recommend Nak Won.

I was stationed in England for several years, and I can attest the chicken did indeed taste fishy. I was also told that was because the chickens were fed fish meal.

That place is certainly expensive. Two of my close friends have been there at least twice, and I think their tabs were in your ballpark. What were your highlights?

I'm very sorry for your loss. My information is dated, so perhaps others will weigh in if the places I mention have taken a turn for the worse, but here are a few spots in Virginia. Green Pig Bistro was my local go-to restaurant a few years ago. Ambar for Eastern European cuisine. Bangkok 54 for Thai.

We finally managed a return visit, this time with four of our friends, and we had a fantastic evening. The food and drink were amazing, and despite the COVID protocols in place, the hospitality was wonderful again as well. While all of the food was wonderful, we agreed the Bison tenderloin was a standout dish. Fork tender, with a delicious smokiness. We opted for the reserve wines, which were also wonderful. I'll leave it to the wine experts here to judge the selection, but I found the dessert wine pairing to be especially nice. This time, we spent the night at Hopkins Ordinary, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The proprietors were as nice as could be. (What's in the water in Sperryville?) I too believe Three Blacksmiths is one of the very best restaurants in the area.

I gave up trying to find a local source, and bought a couple of cans on Amazon. Thanks for the suggestions!

I bought these KF94 masks. Excellent quality. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08LBRZD78?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details

That's a beautiful tribute. Very sorry for your loss.

I didn't know that was possible. How did you do it?

Following a friend's champagne recommendation, I bought a bottle of Mailly Brut Reserve Grand Cru. (About $40 at Total Wine) For my tastes, it was one of the best champagnes I've ever tasted.

Feeling faint....can barely type...

My neighbor gave me a sizable jar of uncut moonshine. I'm interested to know if anyone here has any tips/recipes. I'm not into the apple pie types of flavors, if that narrows the options a bit. Thanks and Happy New Year!

I ended up just doing without--added a splash of red wine vinegar for acid, then seasoned the sauce generously. The result was delicious--I'll probably do it this way next time i'm in the mood for beef wellington. I burned the first batch of puff pastry circles--the directions called for 20 minutes, which is far too long. I highly recommend the potato gratin recipe--they were easy to make, but my were they tasty! (Didn't make the sticky toffee pudding yet)