jpbloom

A quick update for those who remember Church Street in its prime. The sit down location closed about a year and a half ago. Since then it has been operating out of the Lombardi's location for delivery and brought to the car carry-out only. During that time it has gone downhill progressively but I think this week's pie is the end for me. The dry, hard cardboard-like crust did not have enough sauce or cheese to add the desperately needed moisture (or even flavor). It's really a shame because this has been our go-to since it opened.

Got an email from Roberto's mailing list that it is available for reservations by email for opening tonight. Assume it's at least a modified soft opening since there does not appear to be any other notice of opening.

Northern Virginia Magazine is reporting that Frank Pepe is coming to Alexandria in the Alexandria Commons shopping center. The lease was just signed so no anticipated opening date mentioned. I enjoyed my one visit in New Haven so I'll at least give it a try.

We were near Herndon yesterday and looking for something interesting for lunch. We had read about Enatye so decided to give it a try. This is a hidden gem and I'm surprised it doesn't get more discussion. No, it's not the best Ethiopian we've ever had but it was solid across the board. We got the combination for two so we had a Yebeg Alicha and a spicy beef Tibs with five vegetable sides and I would not hesitate to order any of them again. Nice to have a reasonable option to driving downtown. We'll be back.

While I'm sorry for your experience, I'm glad it's not just us. This had become our go-to carry-out Chinese and while I hate to say we were regulars, we did carry-out about once every three weeks during the lockdown. The past several visits have been awful. We, too, have had forgotten entrees, pancakes, sauces, etc., and the food has been flavorless across the board. While we have not found other reliable options in the area (and we've lived in Vienna over 25 years), this is no longer even a consideration.

Another victim of the pandemic, this time a classic (although admittedly I was never that big a fan) - Amphora has closed in Vienna. It was already well established when I moved here in 1995.

Bazin's in Vienna has them on the menu routinely as a starter.

Thanks for the reminder. I haven't been to the Italian Gourmet in years, probably since Chase The Sub/The Sandwich Shop opened. Based on today's experience alone, the sandwiches are quite good but not great. I'll probably stick with The Sandwich Shop as my first choice but will include this one in the mix to sample more of their wares.

We've done carry-out from Clarity pretty much once a week since this all started, having been to the restaurant the week before everything shut down. The smoked and grilled stuff has been wonderful and the composed meals were actually a great deal. Fortunately for the restaurant but unfortunately for us, they are now putting more emphasis on the parking lot restaurant so the carry-out offerings are more limited and no longer as good a value. The smoked items are still worth getting. We almost went to the parking lot restaurant this week for my wife's birthday but it's only a six course tasting menu and she can't eat that much at night anymore.

There may well be specials in the future. Right now the menu is somewhat in flux. The menu might be "boring" but it's basically what I expect at a bistro.

Desperate for something good after a week of really bad wine at a bad resort, we decided to try somewhere new to which we could bring our own bottle. We decided to try the recently opened Parc de Ville in Merrifield. This is a self-titled French Bistro and Wine Garden from the owners of Chez Billy Sud, located in the ill-fated former Gypsy Soul and Requin space. While they've tried to give it a slightly more bistro-ish feel, the space doesn't look much different from its days as Requin. While the menu is still in a little bit of flux relative to what is on the website, things were handled much more efficiently than I would have expected for a restaurant opened only one month. Service was very good, attentive without being oppressive. Staff was friendly but not over familiar. Timing worked well, even though I dawdled a bit with my appetizer. The food was very good for a bistro type of restaurant. This is not trying to be fine dining but that's not what we were seeking. My wife really enjoyed her onion soup, a touchstone for her which has been disappointing in a number of places recently. She opted for an omelette for her main which she thought was a very good lighter menu option. I started with a chunky meaty pate which was just what I wanted - very tasty. I had really been hoping for the lamb shank that is the online menu but, alas, it is no longer available with nothing comparable as a replacement. The steak frites was actually very good, the NY strip a better cut than you normally see in that dish and cooked exactly to order, but it was really a second choice and was picked largely because of the wine I brought. Several people near us had the duck confit which looked very good and will likely be my or my wife's order on our next visit. The wine list is largely bistro level, not bad but nothing really exciting. The roughly 3x retail mark-up will probably lead me to keep bringing my own ($25 corkage, nothing on their list, which is not online). Overall I'd give this a solid B+ at this point. It was an enjoyable meal at the level advertised with good food and service. I've never been to Chez Billy Sud so I can't give any comparison to that. We will definitely be back.

Northern Virginia Magazine is reporting that Trummer's will reopen after renovations "sans 'on Main' with a new menu for a rotisserie-themed, upscale-casual, family-friendly restaurant." That sounds like a press release but I'm not really sure what it means. Anyone have more information?

Too late to help Chef Geoff's, which closes in Tysons this week.

Honestly I had never heard that (so I guess for me at least the "quietly" is accurate). If that was the criteria for the award, then bravo.

I've lived in this area for 41 years and worked downtown for 35 of those years. Annie's has never come up in a food discussion, I've never been tempted to eat there and nobody with whom I've dined has ever suggested going there. What exactly makes this a James Beard American Classic?