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horacebailey14

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Everything posted by horacebailey14

  1. Recently ate at Ellie Bird in Falls Church and had a wonderful meal. We found the food to be playful, inventive and delicious. Really good cocktails as well. The space is nice, parking is easy and free, and the service was great. Overall very similar to Rooster & Owl, as one would expect, but we actually liked the desserts much better at Ellie Bird. Other menu highlights for us included the fried oyster larb, cacio e-lote, and lamb shank. We'll definitely be back! (I didn't see a topic for this yet, but please move or re-tag as needed.)
  2. Agreed. We recently made it back after several years and the food and beer were just as good to us as 5-10 years ago. Well worth the trip.
  3. Not sure what to say other than to add to the chorus of "this is amazing." For years we wanted to try Little Serow but could never make it to eat there. Finally got around to trying their takeout menu and we're now kicking ourselves we didn't go sooner. Won't that make mistake again. Pork ribs, dry chicken curry, green pumpkin curry, all amazing. Our two year old ate so much of the green curry I barely got a taste.
  4. Takeout dinner from here the other night. We can confirm (not surprisingly) that the biscuits are delicious. We also got the duck, trout wrapped in bacon, grits, sprouts, braised greens, and Brunswick stew. Overall a very tasty meal. Only critique is that the duck and trout could have been crispier, but I think it was mainly an issue due to carry out, not execution in the kitchen. Reasonable prices and portions were ample. Great space too, both indoor and out. I like this place and hope it makes it through. It's a neighborhood restaurant and since it's in our neighborhood I could see going there for years to come.
  5. 100% agree about the cheesecake. I'm typically not one for cheesecake, but this was spectacular. Also spectacular was everything else we ordered: pizza, fig/tomato salad, lamb gyro (with that homemade pita!), squash with yogurt, olive oil gelato, goat cheese blackberry gelato. Happy Gyro is executing takeout with a level of craftsmanship and care that puts other places to shame. We got the speck pizza and the flavor and texture blew me away. I was admittedly a little skeptical of how good these pizzas could be compared to other top notch pizza places, but I was delightfully surprised. What's the spicy kick in the goat cheese blackberry gelato? Maybe cayenne? That kick makes it even more addictive than it might be otherwise.
  6. We got it last month, it was great. We were planning to go dine in person back in March but obviously those plans got scrapped. Eventually we saw they had the $75 takeout and decided to try that out. All the food was delicious and it traveled very well. I had the steak with brown butter hollandaise and now that's the only steak I ever want to eat again. The burrata and watermelon appetizers were great and very interesting. I'm not sure how to judge if it was worth $75, but I can say we thoroughly enjoyed the meal. This really seemed like a place we would have loved to dine in person. The cocktails look very interesting, and I know we could have gotten them to go but it's just not quite the same. I really hope this place makes it through, someday when this is all over we'll go in person.
  7. Padaek this past weekend was great and super easy. Order online and pickup only takes a few seconds. The Ping Muu was delicious, Tam Mak Houng was spicy hot in the best of addictives ways. The flavors of the crispy catfish were amazing. I wish we knew all the herbs that were included. It would have been perfect in the restaurant, just suffered slightly from being in the packaging on the ride home.
  8. I will pile on the recommendations for the takeout at Tail Up Goat. We got it a few weeks ago before they opened the dining room. The lamb was phenomenal (as always) and the dessert was perfect (as always). Amazing deal for $45. I'm happy to see they're keeping the takeout going for now as dining in isn't really an option for us for a while. More than happy to do takeout though and support a favorite place of ours until we can go back in person.
  9. We got a takeout feast from 2Amys last night. Porchetta sandwich, bean salad, anchovies, two pizzas, and sorbet. Everything was delicious and traveled well. We re-crisped the pizza in the oven when we were ready to eat. A bit of a schlep for us as well but well worth the effort.
  10. We recently ate at Estadio and had a lovely dinner. It's an old favorite of ours from way back when and we were happy to discover it's still so enjoyable. We went on a Saturday and the place was packed. Gin and tonics are a must for us and they didn't disappoint. We had a selection of some old favorites and some dishes we hadn't ever tried. All great. The menu is the same as years ago, but why change? We go here every year or so to eat well and to feel nostalgic for all those tapas we once ate in Spain. I'd be disappointed if they got rid of the classics.
  11. We returned to the U St location after a long absence. Our general impression was that the flavors were not as good as before. Still tasty, but not as overwhelmingly impressive. The salted caramel just didn't pack as much flavor as I remember. Also didn't like that they changed the ordering options. You used to be able to order as many small scoops as you want and pay by the scoop. Now the scoops are bigger, and you have to order one, two or three from the set price list no matter what. Not as convenient if, like us, you want to try as many flavors as possible.
  12. We lived in Woodley Park for a while and I think you answered your own question: "conference attendees and zoo traffic." That's a lot of foot traffic and you've got to appeal to the masses. We never went to any of the places in Woodey Park itself, wasn't worth it. Our only two exceptions were the breakfast buffet at the Omni (but don't tell all the tourists waiting at Open City) and the Gin Joint back in it's heyday.
  13. The Queen B's at Buttercream are delicious. We were craving them last week after having recently had an incredible Kougin Amann in Montreal, at the aptly named Patisserie au Kougin Amann. The version in Montreal is different, it's a large disk, about 14" across, that they slice into wedges and serve. It might be the most amazing bite of food I've ever had. After having one piece we immediately ordered another, and then went back the next morning and ordered two more. The Queen B's are very good, but not quite the same thing since they're baked as individual portions. Also, Buttercream Bakeshop is an absolutely gem. Couldn't find a thread on it, but they consistently put out some of the best baked goods around.
  14. I'm not sure why, it's readily available. Maybe too off topic but we buy Benton's bacon directly on their website to eat at home. Including shipping it's $13.50 a pound. It's a steal. The bacon at our local farmers market is $16 a pound and not nearly as good.
  15. We went for dinner last week and were thoroughly impressed. The food was outstanding and the service was impeccable. The balance of flavors, textures and temperatures on all of our dishes was perfect. We had the 4 course menu, which was plenty of food, and the little extras they gave us along the way were a great touch (including a generous pour of a desert wine). We prefer cocktails over wine, and ordered two of their signatures, both well-balanced and complex enough to keep me sipping happily throughout the meal. Fiola is an outstanding restaurant and deserves its star, but is the food worth what we paid? It depends. Even though we loved our meal there we probably wouldn't have gone had we not been given a gift card (hello daycare!). We were discussing at dinner that as good as the food was, was it twice as good as places we've eaten that cost half as much? Probably not, but that's an objective measure for something that is inherently subjective. It felt like we were paying for the service as much as the food, which isn't a bad thing. The service and ambiance at Fiola were incredible, and certainly made our evening very memorable.
  16. We enjoyed our dinner here the other night. It's not traditional sushi, but we're not sushi purists. The food was tasty and the service was great, that's all that matters. We had the smoked salmon tataki, octopus salad, crab salad, creamy scallop roll, headhunter roll (eel), and several pieces of nigiri. Best bite of the night, hands down, was fresh uni from Hokkaido. Everything else was very good, but hard to top that. We thought the dishes were well composed and there was a particular focus on texture. The creamy scallop roll surprised me with how well the contrasting textures worked together. Drinks and desserts were fine, nothing special, but good enough to accompany the rest of the meal. The standouts were clearly the fish, as it should be.
  17. Thai Square continues to be at the top of their game. I'm not sure if they do delivery anymore, but it's close enough to our house that we often get takeout. We've probably had 15 or so dishes over the past couple months and finished every bite of all of them. Crispy duck and papaya salad are still highlights. I also really like the green curry, especially with the small eggplants they use. The menu has a huge variety of spice levels. The pad see ew had no kick and was a bit sweet. The country curry and pad ped moo pa are two of the spiciest dishes I've ever had.
  18. We've tried all three soups and the chicken wings with coconut rice. I think the Mee Kathi is our favorite, definitely with the tofu. The chicken wings are spicy but addicting, I only wish they'd come with more pickles. We've been twice and they've hooked us as regulars, especially since our son likes being in the food court so much. At noon on a Sunday I think every table eating Lao food (including us) also had a stroller.
  19. Many thanks to those who posted above about how good the takeout at Haandi is. We were craving Indian food the other night and infant bedtimes meant takeout was in the cards. After some quick searching through the forums it was an easy decision. Lamb vindaloo, chicken biryani and a stuffed naan. All great! We even had leftovers for the next day.
  20. We're fans as well. Went here for the first time last week and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. We had smashed cucumber, okra, carrots, duck, and fish curry, with lime pie for dessert. Every dish was spot on, but our favorite was the carrots. Can a carrot be that good? When it's cooked that well with those sauces - yes. Food is always the focus, but a lot of thought about everything else clearly went into making this place what it is. The dining room is open but not too loud. The service was excellent. The staff are friendly without being stiff, and the 90's rap playing on the speakers made me smile.
  21. This place is great! I love the sign, I love the small space, and I love how when you walk in you just see hundreds of pies right in front of you. What could possibly be a more welcoming sight? The quiches and savory pies had great flavor combinations. The sweet pies were outstanding. And the crust on everything was delicious of course, beautifully buttery and flaky. So often dessert pies are sickly sweet but the three we tried here were perfectly balanced. My favorite was definitely the key lime. We got mini 4 inches, but afterwards realized they sell some flavors by the slice. We'll know for next time as I suspect that yields a better crust to filling ratio.
  22. Amazing! Can't believe it took us so long to drive to down to Springfield to check this place out. Best Afghan food we've had in the area. Surprised to see it so packed on a Tuesday night, but they were kind enough to squeeze us in without a reservation. We split kadoo bouraanee, mantu dumplings, vegetarian platter, braised lamb shank, and chicken lawaan. All incredible. The chicken stew was especially good I thought. The kadoo turnovers were addictive, I easily could have eaten another 5 of them. This place is a gem.
  23. We went for a hot pot lunch at Mala Tang over the weekend. Overall, very tasty and we'll definitely be back. Dan dan noodles and pork dumplings for appetizers, both great. I thought the dan dan noodles were particularly good, spicy and loads of flavor all at once with great texture on the noodles. We all wanted spicy broth, but they still give individual bowls anyway. Not a complaint at all, just different from how I've had hot pot elsewhere. All the veggies and meats were fresh and well prepared. Broth was very good. Could even have used a bit more mala, but we also didn't notice the fix-in bar until well into the meal. An oversight on our part. Service was prompt and friendly. We'll definitely be back again soon, especially to try more of the non-hot pot menu.
  24. A few friends and I went to check out The Block last weekend. Overall, fun atmosphere, lots of choices and good food. We got there at 11:45 on a Sunday and by noon all seats were taken. Lots of people also just stopping in to get something to go. We tried pork belly buns (good, but the pork could have been a bit more tender), chicken nuggets (deliciously crispy and spicy), chicken rice (my favorite), poke (didn't try this one but everyone else was impressed), Thai tea boba (I'm a sucker for this anywhere, but this was a very good version), and ice cream (good stuff, especially the coconut). The ice cream place does donut sandwiches, but we were too full. I like the anachronism of this place in its location. Our country would be much better off if abandoned stripmalls everywhere were converted to Asian food halls.
  25. Weekday dinner here the other night. We hadn't been since just after they first opened. A lot has changed. First, no ramen. Second, pretty pricey. In general all the dishes we had were good, but nothing wowed us and nothing was worth the price tag. We were a little surprised by the menu, when I think of Momofuku and David Chang I don't think of Hangar steak with bernaise. Is this thrown on there for the tourists? We enjoyed our first visit long ago but now it just feels like it's regressed to the middle. I don't know what to make of it, but then I again I don't know what to make of most of CCDC. Who exactly is shopping at all those luxury stores?
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