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liz2041

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Everything posted by liz2041

  1. liz2041
    "good lord, people!" Jim Vance rocks.
  2. liz2041
    Lost Dog on Columbia Pike now has wifi. (which is very good b/c if you sat at the bar you couldn't even get a cell signal)
  3. liz2041
    If you ignore the rest of the room and just focus on the bar itself, the bar at TNT is stunning.
  4. liz2041
    FYI - see below from the website. We went to the Linden dinner last year and it was PHENOMENAL! Watching and listening to Neal and Jim work together is tremendous fun. And, of course, Tarver King's cooking goes without saying. I highly recommend this evening. (It appears from the website that the Inn is closed until Jan 10th) Linden Vineyards April 3 & 4 Two nights are available for guests to partake in the most popular event at The Ashby Inn. Jim Law will be in attendance to share insights and wines from a variety of vintages, showcasing some of the best that Virginia has to offer. Spaces are limited, make reservations soon. The multicourse menu with wines is offered for $119 per person plus service and tax.
  5. liz2041
    At TNT, order the Metal Surrenders cocktail. You will not be disappointed. (well maybe the next day you will if you have 3 of them...). I have tried about 5 or 6 different cocktails, mostly bourbon based, and enjoyed them all, but this is definitely my favorite. I took a picture of the menu description but am too challenged to figure out how to get it up here. So here is what's in it: Smooth Ambler Old Scout Bourbon Massenez Creme de Peche Sorghum pine cone water Agostura and house-made peach bitters. If you want the Drink on the Nightstand cocktail that was just in the new issue of NOVA magazine and raved about elsewhere its no longer available, which is a bummer. For a while you could order it off menu but they are finally out of the ingredients to make it. Also, there is much debate elsewhere about their fish and chips. I love them both. Definitely more than Brennan's up the street. The fish is very filling (the small is plenty big) and not greasy. Chips are solid and the curry sauce is awesome.
  6. liz2041
    Salmon curry, chicken makhini, chicken tikka masala, the eggplant dish, and a lamb vindaloo. I think that was it. There may have been a tandori but I can't remember for sure. We had a couple of different naan (but none of them were that spectacular).
  7. liz2041
    We had a group dinner at Haandi Falls Church last week. In my personal opinion, this is one of the best in DC. It is certainly the tops in NOVA. We were Dehli Club addicts for a long stretch and, while that is still very good, Haandi takes it to another level of flavor. I haven't been to Heritage in a while, so I feel a taste test challenge coming on, but I am already planning our return to Haandi in the near future. It just kills me that I lived so close to Haandi for over two years and didn't discover it until recently. No matter, it is worth a drive across town any night of the week.
  8. liz2041
    Definitely do it now! Both of the upstairs school house rooms have fireplaces!
  9. liz2041
    We ate at the upstairs bar a few weeks back. The space is very nice, big but still cozy feeling at the same time. About 5 or 6 seats at the bar, some tables, some couches, a pool table and that game where you slide the silver disk thing across the sand. I would take a group back there. The bartender was nice and engaging. The food...meh...it was just ok. We only ordered a few small things. The butternut squash soup was ok but needed a kick. The brie was fine but I wouldn't order it again. The fried chicken sandwich was good but the sweet potato biscuit part wasn't that great. Evening Star was a once a month at least destination for us in the past. We will certainly go again, but not rush to get there.
  10. liz2041
    Joe H - I am so, so pleased to read your review of the Ashby Inn. In my snide defense of the Inn, I unwittingly undercut the very point I was tryng to make about the internets. Anyhow, I think my hasty reaction was driven in part by the fact that your opinions on restaurants and wine mean a great deal to many strangers on this board like myself and I was fearful that it would have an impact you might not have intended. I truly hope a review from JoeH will lead people to try the Ashby and the phenomenal talent of Tarver King and Neal Wavra. We have eaten there many times (once three time in the same weekend!) and have never been disappointed. My only disappointment is that I can't live closer to it to experience it more regularly.
  11. liz2041
    Wow was my reaction as well. Notwithstanding the whole hurricane/no power thing, you fail to mention if you even left a message or how far apart you spaced your calls. Admittedly, you were talking about it "tonight" and posted at 9:45. Whatever. This is why it is good practice to take some deep breaths and a few minutes to put things in perspective relative to what is going on in the world around you before hitting send in this electronic age. I will pass along to the owners of the Ashby Inn that I will make every effort to visit there in the next 2 weeks.
  12. liz2041
    The Giant on Columbia Pike is wide open and not crowded. So is the coffee shop across the street. There were people in Eamonns and Taqueria looking like they were in there opening up. Bob & Ediths was open as always.
  13. liz2041
    I know this discussion is about cooking it, but has anyone found any decent jambalaya in the area? The bar at Evening Star had a respectable version back in the day even if the presentation was off. Although they have a wide, deep and decent menu at Dogwood Tavern, the jambalaya I had this weekend was not even passable. I love to chow on it in the fall for some reason. It makes me miss my many visits to N.O. years ago when I was too busy drinking my way through the city to realize how awesome the food was. Any recommendations of someplace to order a decent version it around here would be greatly appreciated!!
  14. liz2041
    We had lunch at the Artisan Grill in town. It was decent enough. Clearly it is the place in town to go after Sunday services. We have also eaten at the Speakeasy in the Mimslyn Inn. We were there on a Friday evening. It was last year so I don't remember what we ate. The food was just ok but probably better then other choices in town. Just as Artisan is for the church going crowd on Sunday, the speakeasy is apparently the hangout for the chamber of commerce folks and town bigwigs on a Friday evening. The people we met were insanely nice.
  15. liz2041
    We are fans of William Jeffries, affectionately known as Billy Jeff's or BJs, and are known to frequent several time a month. The food is consistent and solid. It is defintely different then the other restaurants in the group - Rhodeside, Ragtime, etc. If you are looking for a menu similar to those places there are a few items that come close, but it is a notch or two above. Tremendous hits include the pork carnita wrap, the skirt steak wrap, tomato basil soup and the burgers. From the main menu, the crab cakes and the chicken are consistently good. They have the honey pepper wings like Rhodeside but they just don't nail it quite like the other does. The oysters are also generally a good bet. The shucking wasn't that great originally, but much improved of late. The bartenders ad servers are engaging and friendly. The beer choices are great. Same with the hard stuff. The wine by the glass could use help but that is probably more of personal preference. This is a great place to watch a game, meet a group of friends, or hunker down during a weather event (or power outage). It is a great addition to the Pike and, as stated above, a nice alternative to our neighbors to the north.
  16. liz2041
    Had lunch here last weekend. We had the miso ramen and the soy sauce based. The miso was much better. I suck at chopsticks, so it was a good way to eat a very tasty, satisfying meal but not eat too much of it. The +1 was there before and had the spicy ramen. He branched out to the soy and sort of regreted the choice but declared that it was good nonetheless. If this were a bit closer to home, I would go more often. At 1:30 on a saturday there were about 5 or 6 other tables. AJ was full, obviously, but it was nice to see a "crowd" here at the later lunch time. I look forward to going back during cold weather and chowing down again. It's not on par with Toki but certainly worth a return trip.
  17. liz2041
    We had a great experience at Vidalia a few weeks back. We hadn't been there in well over a year and went sort of on a whim. We have decided to go more often. I should have written more contemporaneously and they don't have a current menu on the website so I can't remember everything, but here are the basics. We did the tasting menu so we got 10 different menu items between us, which was fun and we went all over the map. The major hits were the angolotti, the scallops, the crabcake and the lamb. If they post a menu, I will update but we were not disappointed by any of the servings. I did get a porkchop from the left side of the menu for the main and it was very good but just way too big. I would stick with the right side once you are that far in. Oh and we started with the mac and cheese, well, just because. It was very very good. The service at the bar was fantastic and we even got a run through the kitchen at the end. It was a bit depressing that there was only one other couple at the bar/in the bar area the whole night. People are missing out.
  18. liz2041
    We ate here on Saturday and between 4 of us managed a deep dive on the menu. One thing to note is that the "baby" burgers are no longer that. They are 3 oz for a single or 2 3 oz. patties for a double. I like the new size much better and the truffle version is as good as ever. They aren't huge by any stretch, but you can eat just one without jonesing for more as I usually did for the smaller version and then move on to other good things on the menu. The pork slider was a patty not pulled, but according to the eater, it was great. The steak in the steak frites could have marinated a bit longer but it was quite good as well. The wings are not quite as jarringly spicy as they used to be but they had a lot of flavor. Squash croquettes were good. I like the winter version of their croquettes better but would order these again. The runaway smash hit were the popcorn ball things. The biggest problem we had with that is that there are only 3 and there were 4 of us - much bickering ensued and we should have ordered more. But instead, in our biggest fail of the night, we ordered the cheese and meat board b/c we wanted to mix it up. Holy christ, 5 bucks for a piece of salami about the size of a half dollar and about a cm think. Same for one of the pieces of cheese, it was literally 1 inch square. We could have had 18 more popcorn balls for this embarrassment of a cheese and meat tray. Good thing we were a couple of wines in because we got a very good laugh out of it. All in all, I am glad that it has taken the spot on the Clarendon list. We hit it about 2 or 3 times a month and it never disappoints. Also, I really like the Thurston Wolfe red blend they have. As an FYI - we ordered it directly from Wolfe and it was only $14 a bottle.
  19. liz2041
    I don't know good Ethopian food from bad, but as an FYI a new restaurant appears to have opened in the spot (briefly) occupied by Sangam on Columbia Pike a couple doors down from Thai Square. I have no idea how long it has been there, but sign says Ethiopian food so there you have it. I hope they have better luck then previous tenants.
  20. liz2041
    Oh shit, this just ruined my day. This has been our go-to in Clarendon since it opened. Always great service, an awesome selection, phenomenal and consistent food. For some reason that I can't explain right now, I always considered 3 "above the fray" of the rest of the neighborhood. I wish them all luck and hope they re-open somewhere else soon. p.s. - re-open on the Pike!
  21. liz2041
    Ashby Inn.
  22. liz2041
    Sorry, Johnny's has been satisfying hungry little leaguers for at least 30 years. It isn't going anywhere. (not saying that I like the pizza, just that it is almost as much an instution in Vienna as the Inn or the Virginian).
  23. liz2041
    Last Friday at 8:30, the server in our section got 6 different cards from a 6 top. From my view, I could see her at the machine running the cards. It took almost 10 minutes. She was extremely apologetic when she finally returned to take our order, but since I saw the reason for the delay, I felt badly for her and said don't worry about it. The gentlemen at the next table did not know the reason for her absence and it was clear from their conversation that they intended to tip her less because of the delay in bringing them another round of drinks. So, I agree that it is nobody's business how you choose to pay, but that doesn't mean that others are not impacted because of a situation where the server has to run many cards. This may be neither here nor there, just an observation.
  24. liz2041
    There is one by GW now also. Actually, it has been there quite a while. It is between Circa and the circle, right across from the hospital. The make your own salads here are quite good. You get to decide between large and small and what type of lettuce. Then just hand it to the salad-making guy and pick from the huge list of stuff to go in it. I find it is better and much less expensive then the Sweet Green around the corner.
  25. liz2041
    We often end up on La Strada's patio in Del Ray. Although the food is sometimes over-salted, it is consistently consistent and you can usually get a table outside without a wait.
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