eatruneat

I've gone back twice, because others wanted to go and I don't get out much anymore so who am I to quibble? Chicky Pep No 2 and the Hot Nug are both really good chicken sandwiches. I'd give the edge to the Hot Nug for originality. Cool ranch onion rings are pretty great as well, very addictive. It's a good sandwich shop. Wording on the menu is too cute by half, but food is good.

But wait...there's more. Tom posted on Instagram that he is still trying to offload the last of his wine, liquor, and beer and is selling them at cost. Always looking to buy good wine at a decent price, @MichaelBDC and I headed over this afternoon with a list of seven wines. We left with 10. The list of remaining wines (as of two days ago) can be found here. He says they are mostly on the lower end but that is just fine with us. As we left, he asked us to spread the word so here I am, spreading the word. He'll be around 3pm-6pm tomorrow, cash/check/AppleCash preferred.

Piccolina has become my go to for grabbing "coffee" with colleagues and people who want to catch up. Sometimes "coffee" really means an adult beverage and/or a pastry. More recently, I met up with colleague on parental leave so our babies could look at each other from their respective strollers while the adults had lunch and dished. I had the porchetta panino. I ordered it once before and wasn't impressed, but this time it was really good. Pork was nice, juicy, tender. A garden salad was also involved. Baby had some bread and loved it. Should have ordered her some toast and butter.

Took the baby to meet with a friend for lunch on Tuesday. We split the assiette de rillettes to start. A very very good rillettes with lots of pork on three slices of very good baguette. Gave baby a piece of the bread and she happily munched on it for most of the meal. She also tried a little bit of cornichon and liked it a lot. I had the wild mushroom quiche for my entree and wondered how something so simple can taste so great. I just loved it. The side salad was good as well and appropriately dressed. Baby had a slice of tomato from the salad and agreed. My companion had the avocado croast (griddled croissant, avocado, poached egg, pickld onion, and gruyere cream. He raved about it and I really enjoyed the bite he shared with me. A lovely lunch spot for a Tuesday afternoon.

Any good dim sum experiences in Virginia lately? Now that we are regularly driving to Falls Church for the baby's swim lessons, we thought we'd check out some dim sum as well.

Co-worker and I went here with our spouses. Many bottles of sake were had so the evening is fuzzy but I remember everything being phenomenal and very creative. But you know what I was sober for? Getting called out by the host when our party requested that we sit together. When we made this request, the host responded loudly for the whole restaurant to hear, that we were the last people there and if we had made the request when we made our reservations he could have accommodated us but now we are SOL. I was really shocked that the response to our seemingly simple request made discreetly received was a public tsk tsking. I responded by saying that I made this request at the same time I was texting the restaurant about @MichaelBDC's shellfish allergy, so I had assumed the request had been seen. My co-worker also noted that we were five minutes early for our reservation. The host did not acknowledge these points we made and was in the middle of telling us to figure it out and take our seats when fortunately one of the couples offered to move so we could sit together. This was absolutely bizarre behavior from the host and started a much anticipated splurgy dinner on a very sour note. I think the chefs behind the sushi counter felt bad and tried to make it up to us with a better attitude throughout the night, especially once we kept the sake orders flowing, but as blurry as the rest of the evening was I remember the sting of that greeting very clearly. Given the price, I wasn't rushing to get back regardless. But now, I can't even recommend this place.

We've been to a few Lee's Sandwiches in California. It's a good standby when you don't want to take a chance on the other options. We'll have to add the one here to the list so we can compare with the others.

Baby's swimming lessons are around the corner so @MichaelBDC and I stopped by and picked up some sandwiches and other treats as a trusted friend recommended this place. We both got the Dac Biet, and while it was pretty good, it wasn't the best we've had in the area...by far. I also picked up a Che Ba Mau, and it was barely passable. Wouldn't order it again. @MichaelBDC also got some banana dumplings and beef jerky. I had a bite of the beef jerky and it was too dry and not great. We went to Banh Mi DC pre-baby and will go there again this weekend for a more recent comparison.

Last day of service is next Saturday, June 29. From Instagram: Friends and Followers, Thank you for 24 great years. I am ready to do something different. Our last day of service will be June 29th. It was a great run. We had a lot of fun and made many friends. Thank you for all of the great memories. Tom Power https://www.instagram.com/p/C8dopm0OSyd/

Have gone to the K St NW location a few times. The pulled lamb and the brisket tamales are two things I would definitely come back for. As mentioned above, the pork was really really good as well. After the opening week, lines have dissipated and there's steady traffic now. I don't really like bbq but I have to say this place might convert me.

Can't believe no one has posted about any of the concepts at Love, Makoto yet. But I am probably the #1 offender and am rectifying the situation. Love, Makoto & Love On the Run are both part of a Japanese Food Hall concept at Capitol Crossing (2nd St. NW & Massachusetts Ave. NW). Love, Makoto features three sit individual sit down restaurants: Dear Sushi (sushi), Beloved BBQ (Japanese BBQ) and Hiya Izakaya (skewers) while Love on the Run is a fast casual concept offering salad, ramen, soba, sandwiches, sushi rolls, soft serve, donuts, and probably some stuff I am missing. This is a welcome addition to the neighborhood and we have gone several times because it is good and convenient. A few quibbles here and there, but glad it's an option. Here is a run down of the places I've visited. Dear Sushi - My aunt was in town a few weeks ago and offered to take care of the baby so @MichaelBDC and I could have a little date night. We booked a table at Dear Sushi and looked forward to some magnificent raw fish. Dear Sushi serves only omakase for $85 a person with the option to add on at the end. Sake pairing is $40 a person. The omakase offers an old school/new school concept, so basically one fish offered as a traditional nigiri and as a non-traditional nigiri. The fish was outstanding, especially the salmon, but if you eat sushi regularly you might find the options to be ho hum. Snapper, salmon, bluefin tuna, yellowtail, fatty tuna. Great, but what about uni, mackerel, scallops, prawns, all the "jacks", sea bream? Some are on the add-on menu for extra $$$$. Sorry, but this is a set menu where everyone eats the same thing to make it more convenient for the kitchen than an omakase experience geared towards the customer. We experienced this because their solution to @MichaelBDC's shellfish allergy is to replace the shellfish with tuna. That was great the first time, but as the only option, especially when they clearly had other fish? Lame! I would only go again if I went with a beginner sushi eater who wants quality fish but didn't want anything too adventurous. Beloved BBQ - We went with some friends while I was pregnant and did the omakase menu with some additional sides. Back then omakase was a comparison between US and Japanese beef so you get the same cuts and compare the two different countries. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. The beef was very very good and we really enjoyed the udon mac & cheese. The broccolini was fine, but not worth ordering unless you are desperate for a vegetable. Fun for a group but be ready for the meat sweats. Hiya Izakaya - Went for happy hour while my brother was in town. Probably my least favorite of the three sit down concepts. Skewers were fine but a little dry. My favorite was the tuna crispy rice. Would go to Daikaya over this place. Love on the Run - We order from here at least once a month. I love the soba noodle salad, the soft serve, and the donuts (not in that order). Chirashi bowl hits the spot when I want some raw fish but don't want to get sushi. Spicy chicken sandwich is good too but I don't care for the fries that come with it. Feel like the food itself is usually $2-3 more than I'd want to pay, but I keep coming back so they are doing something right. Now, time for some soft serve.

I've been making up for some time away from sushi, so @MichaelBDC went to Sushi Taro to celebrate his birthday. We did the Kaiseki menu again and while not as amazing as I remembered, it was still damn great. As Don said above, the sushi is just a step above a lot of very good sushi spots around town. Price has gone up $15 since we were there two years ago, but it still worth every penny.

The fact that you remember this thread from six years ago. 🧑‍🍳🤌

My family -- Vietnamese Buddhists -- does not consider fish sauce part of a "chay" or vegetarian diet because an animal has died in the process. They have their own vegetarian fish sauce, usually made with mushrooms. Dairy, honey, butter, and eggs however can be used when eating "chay" but is pretty rare (except for eggs) in Vietnamese cuisine anyway.

Not sure about Thanh Van but Chay has been getting a lot of good press and its vegetarian and vegan offerings. https://www.chayrestaurant.com/ Any decent Vietnamese restaurant will give have vegetarian and vegan options. If you are looking to stay in Eden Center proper, Rice Paper and Truong Tien have good vegetarian options. Not sure if they are vegan but I'm not sure what would make them vegan and not vegetarian since there's no dairy.