Marty L.

Maybe not so outrageous after all - according to their website their chef is, in fact, "Joe," original owner of Joe's Noodle House.

So is it Hunan cuisine? Sichuan? Taiwanese?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Anyone been since the chef left?

Candy Sagon did the review. 2 1/2 stars.

Yes, but take heed of the Editor's note at the end: "Chef John LoBuglio resigned just before press time, and his replacement has not been named."

In other words, not a good sign; and all bets are off.

Huong Viet is better than Four Sisters, you wouldn't be going for the service or the atmosphere. It's divey but delicious. Love the lotus root salad with pork and shrimp, their caramel fish and some of the noodle soups.

Yup, on the Eden "exterior," the top choices are Huong Viet (remarkably consistent after all these years) and the new Tay Do. There are some gems in the "interior," as well -- not only for sit-down meals (e.g., Nha Trang, for rolls of ground pork wrapped in rice paper, minced crab soup, and roast quail), but also for, e.g., banh mi (e.g., Nhu Lan, at 6763 Wilson Blvd., #14). There's a lot of turnover inside, though, and not a lot of reliable reports on the web in English, so the interior can be hit-or-miss.

I still have not made it to deli city for their Pastrami!

The pastrami isn't the thing at Deli City -- it's fine, but it's a national brand from Chicago (blanking on the name). The corned beef, made in-house -- that's what you want. Lusciousness is exactly the way to describe it.

More than any restaurant in town, Bebo Trattoria has a dichotomy between its food and its service. . . . The service at the bar here has gotten even worse, if such a thing were possible. It would be one thing if people working the bar were clueless, indifferent, or arrogant, but combining all three of these with a complete disconnect between front-of-house and kitchen makes for an intolerable, unacceptable dining environment.

OK, this has gone well beyond the point of absurdity, right? At some point here we ought to get some notion of *why* the service remains abysmal beyond belief at a restaurant whose kitchen is of such high quality. You're right -- it's a very transparent, unapologetic mix of cluelessness, indifference and arrogance. (In fairness, I haven't been in a couple months, but I assume there's no reason to question reports such as these suggesting the situation hasn't changed.)

Quite obviously, none of these folks was hired because of their skills or experience in the food industry. Why on earth does Roberto Donna put up with this? I hate to suggest this, but it almost appears as if he doesn't have much of a choice who he hires for the FOTH.

I've had two pizzas since the regime change and mine have had no change.

"New dough"? "Regime change"?

Huh?

I was there last week -- all the old faces, including Peter Pastan, and no discernible change in crust. Did I sleep through something?

I tried to upload them today but seemed to misplaced my USB cord.

Just give Komi a call -- I'm sure Bill won't mind delivering you a USB cord. Just think of the p.r. coup!

Well, the person who just answered the phone affirmed that Peking Cheers is serving szechuan food cooked by a new chef -- but caution, something might have gotten lost in the translation.

Both times I've had the bread at the Ashburn location I've thought it was pretty bad.

The bread at Moby's suffers from 2 Amys inconsistency syndrome: When it's left in the (sufficiently heated) oven long enough, and if it doesn't sit for more than a couple minutes after emerging, it's fabulous. But there's a tendency to undercook, especially when they're slammed, and in those cases, it can be disappointing. I'd say about two-thirds of the time, it's great -- at the Bethesda locale, anyway. 2 Amys crusts are subject to a similar risk, unless you specify that you want it well-done (or if the oven is over 600 degrees), in which case the ratio of great to mediocre goes up considerably.

Where can I find a big bowl of Pozole that doesn't suck?

There's a little taqueria in the Chevron gas station plaza in Gaithersburg -- Taco Bar, 3 Russell Avenue, at Fields Road -- no frills at all, but decent tacos and a very fine bowl of posole.

I had one of the best bowls of pho I have ever had at Pho 75 last night. The broth was layered in delicate flavors to an extent I have never tasted.

Which location? Falls Church? Rockville? Arlington? Herndon? Langley Park?

Do we have a sense of whether there is a material difference among them?

Yup, it's me. Not much to say about CD -- extremely bland, cookie-cutter food every time I've been. Worst french fries ever. But folks I respect, such as Smokey, claim to have found some gems in the rough, at least at the Wisconsin Ave. location (at which I've only eaten two (dull) meals). See this thread:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/170113?que...blah&user_name=

I don't know anyone, even those who admire CD, who think it's within the same universe as 2 Amys, which when it's on is just about the perfect neighborhood restaurant. (The little crostini are great, btw -- last night including a delicious prosciutto/parsnip combo.)

About Cactus Cantina, the less said, the better.

Do not eat at Cafe Deluxe or at Cactus Cantina. By all means do eat at 2 Amys. This is the easiest choice imaginable.

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Cafe Deluxe (crackers)