mdjordy

I can't even imagine what the restaurants are going through these days, but.... Here is an opportunity for them to pivot and shine (lemonade out of lemons), but the same skill that went into creating a great restaurant experience needs to be transferred into the carry out experience. We have done pick up/ delivery at a couple of places and the experiences have been sub par...packaging and timing issues. We have had meals at Equinox, Sugo, and Mon ami The black plastic containers are ok- unless the food is overstuffed and pasta comes out as a solid chunk. Unlike eating in a restaurant- the food probably wont be eaten for at least 30 minutes and probably more like 1+ hour. How does the food react to this delay? The successful meals we have had have come in the aluminum 1/2 size pans with lids (more like the surface area of a plate). Plenty of space, no need to be over stuffed, the food reheats in a regular oven well- lid on for moist items, off for crispy... We also prefer the family meal style of ordering, makes things a bit more special than carry out- I am guessing easier for restaurants as well. Even non family style- the entree and sides could be placed in its own pan. If pans cost more than plastic containers- have an up-charge if needed, well worth 50 cents if the meal is better or more special. Timing is something I think also should be manageable, especially with orders placed in advance. Pre Covid, they were taking (more) orders on the fly and sending it out to the dining room in a reasonable amount of time. If the kitchen so so busy, 1 hour waits for carry out orders- I am guessing the volume is adequate to allow for proper staffing. Everyone wants this to work...comments are just my thoughts on how to make this work better.

any sense of menu? expanded?

Joyful bustling- lots families with kids. Happy energy- not noise

Took a bit of searching this thread for details on the Pizzeria, lots of food fighting going on above. But went last night and was totally surprised- in a great way. Friday night at 7:15 place was 110% full, lots of energy. Was seated right away, either mgr or owner was super nice explaining how business has been trending up and he was so happy and appreciative. Guy loves his job! Took a little bit of a wait to place our order- we could see the servers attending to other tables, but once she came- she was very helpful in describing and recommending dishes. Drinks came quickly, 4 choices of red including a very pleasant Barbera- Bricco Dei Tati – Piemonte 2014. Eggplant parm appetizer was a couple of slices not breaded, clearly sautéed in olive oil- not deep fried. Great garlicky marinara sauce, sliced basil, and mozzarella- classic and done well. Wish there was bread to soak up the sauce. Tomato and fresh mozz salad was the only let down- bland crappy tomatoes. Pizzas- always get a classic margarita and server suggested the brussel sprout pizza. The crusts were perfect- slight char, pillowy edges- great flavor. Next time I'll ask to be cooked a bit longer for structure, but we really loved it. The Brussel sprout pizza was a white pizza-mozz and provolone, small amount of sprouts and crumbled sausage. Server suggested a side of sauce which was great- same sauce as eggplant, now had some bread (crust) to soak it up. No leftovers to take home. Server suggested their Nutella pizza- came quickly- same crust...sliced into 8 smaller pieces that were separated on the plate. Lots of gooey nutella and sprinkled with powder sugar. Worth every calorie! Pizzeria Da Marco- great option in Bethesda!

Bit of a different take on the sandwich. I also had both sandwiches--quick tip, download the app and order/pay- then you bypass line. Both sandwiches were very juicy under the super crisp breading. Spicy had a slight kick. The Classic didn't have a ton of flavor, but perhaps it was too hot to tell. I would say that if you have to do a fast food lunch- this is much better than anything offered at McDs- would not wait in a line, but it would do the trick.

Costco has it, imported from Italy

totally agree on stir fry. I tried both thin and knife cut---knife cut was a clear winner for me. Much more texture/bite. Too hot to try the soup, but they look amazing.

Inside of the NY Mart in Rockville is a small Asian food court. Been some turnover- the main steamtable place has changed. Still have dumpling place/sushi place/bakery. Yanzi Noodle just opened. www.yanzinoodle.com I got a small Rice noodle soup with roast pork and mushrooms- as the add ons. I wanted #4 but they were out of fried pork, so they made it with roast pork. The inside page of attached menu image describes the base for all soups- spicy 'snail' broth, pickled veggies, etc. The soup was fantastic- spicy, with some numbing...no "snail-fish" flavor, a little bit sour- but amazing. Full of silky rice noodles-slightly smaller than Udon, fried tofu, roast pork, mushrooms, pickled veggies and peanuts. Peanuts really were great on the soup. Crunchy and salty. The only downside were the cheap plastic spoons/forks. IMG_1364.HEIC IMG_1642.HEIC IMG_2476.HEIC IMG_5006.HEIC IMG_5144.HEIC

Totally agree about the small grilling area. It could only cook about 1 order of meat at a time- that could be a problem if they really bring 5 items. The grill was quite impressive with a downdraft ventilation system around the perimeter...no "stinky clothes, like Honey Pig".

Opened Wednesday next to MOM's market in Rockville. Mini chain, other locations out west. Soft opening-10% off. I went last night and suggest waiting and paying 100%. Very awkward- from being seated-to waitress-to mgrs-to owners-cooking at your table, etc. They have 2 options. AYCE BBQ or Hot Pot-or both. $24.99 for BBQ at dinner. 16.99 at lunch. more options on dinner selections. I had the BBQ. Your waitress takes your order for up to 5 meats/seafood. They then bring bunch of marinated veggies, nothing special. She also mentioned that you can order as many appetizers as you like. I ordered Japchae. That was delivered with the meats. The meats were just placed next to me. Nobody explained or turned on BBQ/ After about 10 minutes, a mgr asked how everything was- not sure why he didn't notice raw meats sitting there. I asked if I should cook- or how it works. He got the grill going and then he started cooking. Never really answered if I should be doing this. Short ribs with bones, very flavorful. Thick rib eye, just ok-dry, tasteless. Brisket (prime) very thin and boring. Another manager cam by and asked how everything was..I asked if they had sauces I could order. He then said I was supposed to serve myself at the Salad bar...had no idea, nobody had told me. Chalk that up to opening blues. Tried a couple of more BBQ options...still found it hard to figure out who cooked-or to order from. Bottom line is...I think it could be good, just not yet. If/when you're very hungry it could be a good option.

"Alex Ovechkin Celebrated His Birthday with Balloons, a Fruit Tart, and Peking Duck" by Scott Allen on washingtonpost.com

Went for lunch today...small place, seats probably 25-30- Cash only. Pictured- #6 YiBin Noodles and Spicy wontons. Noodles were great- perfect bite/texture. Topped with a dry ground pork mix, some pickled veggies. and ground peanuts. Spicy, both red pepper and sichuan peppers- so traditionally spicy and numbing spicy. Lots of garlic! The wontons had a similar taste and mouth feel with respect to spices, soft wrappers, almost transparent. Couldn't tell what was inside. Would definitely go back to explore the menu- would not order both of these dishes, since they were similar. Most other customers were eating larger soup like dishes.

Yu Zhou.... great Sat/Sun small dishes served from the lunch steam table counters. Lots of choices, many times lots of pointing. I love the long beans with ground pork, vinegar peanuts, plate of rice-with fried pork/hard boiled egg/pickled greens and gravy (sounds strange...try it), etc. Be prepared for the owner to be working the register, which slows things down greatly. He is NOT a multi-tacker and forgets about ringing people up when the phone rings.....

the menu

Opened in Rockville a few months ago. Very unique menu/style of Asian restaurant. Main part of menu are skewers-lamb, chicken, squid, mushroom, tofu skin, corn, escargot, etc... All about $2.00 per single skewer. Heavily seasoned with cumin, lots of cumin and a sweetish ketchupy sauce over top of each skewer. We tried- chicken, eggplant (the best one), squid (chewy and bland), Mushroom, and tofu skin. Would need a bunch to fill up, very small. I don't think I would make these a part of my next trip here. We had "spicy and sour Mungbean noodles"...really good. A bowl of noodles and Chinese Broccoli swimming in a fiery- oily- peppercorn- vinegar sauce. We loved this dish. We also had Singapore Seafood Rice- also quite good. Rice was very light and fluffy, not much sauce/oil. Good amount of squid and shrimp and looked like roasted pork cubes. Had some heat with red pepper flakes. Came out formed like a pyramid with some shredded fake crab...don't judge- it was good. Small restaurant with maybe 20 seats. Very friendly waiters, helpful with menu choices. They were doing a brisk carryout business- one guy was getting large trays of skewers. Interesting place...would definitely go back on focus on menu beyond skewers.