yeah

Check out a 2nd floor room at the Double Tree.  You can access the hallway from street level and walk 100 feet to your room.  Larger rooms have kitchenettes.

This was the Annandale one.  Interesting history of that location, from being the area's first BonChon location to becoming Chi Mc and now "Chi Mc in name only."

Chi Mc was firing on all cylinders this past Saturday.  Every wing juicy, meaty, nothing over-fried or over sauced (have had this issue with Bon Chon and Pelicana, respectively). Fried gizzards were an unexpected hit with 5- and 7- yeah old as well. 

Kabobs for four today from the Lee Hwy location were excellent. The green sauce bright and tangy, all meats charred and smoky, naan warm and crusty.  All the textures and flavors we needed to break up the monotony of our increased home cooking.  Everything about this place is suited to the moment--local biz serving comforting food that also travels well.    

On 10/5/2019 at 6:06 PM, deangold said:

Pelicana is next door to The Block.  It is small with a bar on one half and tables along a banquette on the other. The music is loud without being obnoxiously so but the hubub from the guests can get quite loud.  The bartenders are earnest rather than really skilled.  

...

Highly recommended but you can OD on fried foods easily.

Way too much sauce on the chicken at Pelicana. The joint would function surprisingly well as a sports bar--big TVs, good views of them from all seats--but our meal was ruled a death by drowning in sauce.  Should have heeded the server's subtle between-the-lines to get it without the sauce.  

The eggplant parm at the Ballston location is excellent.  Excellent ratios of sauce to breading to cheese to eggplant.  Eggplant texture was perfect, not mushy at all. And on top of a bed of fresh, springy pasta.  Having tried most things in the revamped Ballston food court, Cucina al Volo is the one place I'd recommend unreservedly.  

On the topic of by-the-slice from a grocery store--the North Old Town Harris Teeter is much better than you might think, but only when Al is controlling the oven.  All bets are off otherwise. 

On 4/12/2019 at 1:41 PM, zgast said:

Ava's is the pizza place.  I'm a fan.  Also really like Awful Arthur's for seafood in St. Michaels.

10 hours ago, zgast said:

They all ended up going in here.  For casual seafood (maybe semi-casual), try Awful Arthur's.  I can also second the Ava's recommendation.

FWIW, I really enjoyed the selection of raw oysters at Awful Arthur's last month.

Thanks for the recommendation above to visit Oxford.  We went on a day when both the Creamery and its affiliated coffee place, Oxford Social, were closed.   All was not lost though, as it was a beautiful day and we could easily improvise a picnic lunch at Oxford Town Park with sandwiches from The Oxford Market.  Mine was a riff on a reuben with some very tasty cole slaw inside.  The park is shaded and has several picnic tables and a spectacular view of the Tred Avon.  

Rise Up Coffee's location right on Rt 50, just past the Hyatt on the left, has a full breakfast menu, which they've branded as Bad Eggs. Biscuit sandwiches and huevos rancheros were all solid wins here. Coffee wasn't spectacular (we hit the Ceremony Roastery in Annapolis on the way over, so it was bound to be a come-down) but was easily better than anything else we tried in Cambridge. Very nice space inside and a good crowd coming through getting their morning pick-me-up, so eating in is a good option.  

Spending a few days in the Cambridge/Easton/St Michael's orbit, will have two young kiddos in tow.  Many good suggestions upthread here, but could use an update. 

On 3/20/2019 at 8:05 AM, yeah said:

What are the chances of Ara Yaki being available for an early Saturday dinner? 

No ara yaki for me on Saturday, but the hamachi kama was similar enough and quite delicious.  The beets were very flavorful and refreshing as well. 

The set Spoken English breakfast available at Brothers and Sisters (the lobby) is excellent.  Congee with bonito flakes and wonderfully woody shitake mushrooms, perfectly broiled salmon with crisp skin, egg in dashi stock with salmon roe.  All very savory, so the fresh fruit is a helpful offset.  Endless coffee as well. Not "cheap" at $25 but so much more satisfying than the oversweet dessert/booze brunches nearby.

What are the chances of Ara Yaki being available for an early Saturday dinner? 

The Kubideh here last week melted in my mouth.  Lean, not in any way rare or even "medium," but doesn't suffer for it one bit.  Bread is wonderfully fluffy and slightly charred as well.  Even left over several days later it has held up very well.  

Yup, same one.  This area is not in my usual orbit; my being there had more to do with a large mouse named Chuck than anything else.  I did walk by Blue Ocean, it looked open, but that's all I got. 

Pho Duong in the shopping strip at Pickett Rd and Main St in Fairfax City was excellent on a rainy, cool Sunday afternoon.  Had it with skirt flank and added little else.  Broth was wonderfully aromatic, skirt flank pieces were a perfect balance of fat and lean.   Can't speak to the rest of the menu but this was strong pho. 

Was in town last week and thought we'd give this a try.  General comment: the plating and presentation, not something I usually care about or notice, is very strong here.   A few highlights:

Mole Sampler:  All four were complex, smokey, with fairly subdued but still present heat. The serving size is also fairly large, we needed as second helping of tortillas, which were fresh and very tasty as well, just to eat half of it. 

Pulpo: Perfectly tender, smoky, and served atop a "pancake" stuffed with black bean.  Somewhat reminiscent of your favorite Mt. Pleasant pupusa but lighter and much more subtle.  Excellent dish, kind of amazing at $17 for those keeping score at home. 

Bacon wrapped quail:  This, also stuffed with chorizo, ventured into "turducken" territory, but was served with the most incredible "pan de elote" I've ever had.  Moist, with all sorts of savory and sweet interplay with a distinctively corn flavor overall.   Might recommend trying to get an order of just that.  Seriously. 

Pastel de queso fresco:  Cheesecake, but the queso fresco gave a very light tang, offset well with the blackberry sorbet.  It worked.

Thought I'd pop in here to note that Westover Market: The Market, is anything but Closed, per the heading on this thread, and remains a great asset to the neighborhood.  After talking up Stachowski's half smokes to some friends and then inviting them over for lunch, I thought I'd be able to casually pick up a package from Harris Teeter Saturday AM. No such luck as they appeared sold out.  Returning to Westover as a fall-back option, I see they were sold out of them as well.  Must be lots of demand for them, or some kind of production issue at Stachowski.  So, a bit desperate and wanting to vent a bit, I walked up to the butcher and asked if they had any half smokes.  "No problem, have a box back here from Baltimore, how many ya need..."  

Long story short, these smokes lacked a bit of the snap and spice of Stachowski's, but they remained excellent after some time on the grill (they came raw), every bit as good as what Ben's serves, and arguably better due to the higher heat of my outdoor grill, vs the flattop.  Potato salad and slaw both well exceeded what you'd pay $7.99/lb for at HT as well.  So I go from total disaster (I was considering just hot dogs for all...) to something interesting and delicious,  all thanks to the excellent butcher that operates next to the Beer Garden.  If, as has been implied, or even stated directly during the various debates about zoning, the Beer Garden subsidizes the existence of the Market, by all means, go have a pint outside this week.  

Recent good bites/sips here: 

ACME Bread Company's cranberry walnut loaf.  Will not discuss what % of this immense hunk of bread I consumed in under 24 hours. 

Blue Bottle's "New Orleans" Iced Coffee

Farmer's Market Salad from Cowgirl Creamery

Yeawife loved everything from Delica's bento boxes,  I enjoyed the salmon chowder. 

"Thomcord" grapes--imagine Concord grapes with edible skin and less chewy center. $2.99 for a clamshell, I think it's a lb.  Excellent. 

We loved Shark on the Harbor last week.  Had never been to West OC but enjoyed the lively harbor atmosphere of the place; hard to describe but very different feel from the main island.  Server was very accomodating to two and four-yeah old's various food allergies, even serving us the peanut-infected amuse bouche away from the table so we could enjoy it without fear of exposing the kiddos. Bread service with pimento cheese, garden salad, crab cake, 2.75 can of Natty Boh, wins all around.

Rosenfeld's continued to cook perfect eggs over easy, serve real bagels, and graciously provided two band-aids when two-yeah-old wiped out and skinned her knees on the outdoor patio.  Loyal customer for life. 

If you end up at Fish Tales (as many do) the Red Snapper tacos were surprisingly delicious.  

Finally, just go to the boardwalk and let your 3 year old do some rides at Trimper's.  Indoor, out of the sun, great retro feel. 

Dropped in just last week for the first time in more than a year. Forgot how good just the straight up "Italian Sub I" is.  Bread is excellent, as are the hot peppers, and everything is proportioned just right.   

I find the both the body and flavor of the iced coffee here superior to most alternatives, including Compass. 

Heading over in a couple weeks.  Any updates, or should I just eat at Rosenfeld's Jewish Deli all week? Could do a lot worse!