goodeats

I sort of disagree with you, Kibbee--I think there are little gems and think Merrifield is a great place to go for simple cuisine. Mostly Asian, with folks forgetting Pho Cyclo and Elephant Jumps as nice contenders, in addition to Four Sisters and Sea Pearl. It's not going to "wow" but it's steady, comfort food, and pretty satisfying, especially for the food-to-price ratio.

In the &$*% field - I am a bit upset the IP Buddy app is no longer "supported" or free. Now it costs $1.99 for the "new" IP Communities app. Arg. Surfing Safari from now on....

I wouldn't call this place awful, but the food-to-price ratio was hard to justify, as it was "higher than average pricing." Little man and I went a few weeks back; it was nice to say "hi" to Pete and Paula -- we seem to run into each other in sushi places, but great to see each other's children. I wonder if jpbloom went on an off-night; the fish I had was fresh, the roll was wrapped tight, but not cut as well. Little man happily scarfed everything down without complaints. However, the two rolls plus a bowl of udon left my wallet more empty than expected; especially compared to Maneki Neko in Falls Church (my usual go-to). I think I might have to choose to order wiser if I come here again.

The interior seems to have gotten brighter -- I can see more inside now. The menu looked new but the wings are as good as ever. Plus the addition of a Sriacha honey dip sauce helps too. Still a really good, solid bar to hang out, watch sports, drink good beer and catch up with friends.

Thus far: *Appetizers: Scott Johnston +1 - Deviled eggs and picnic supplies Pat +1 - Curried Turkey salad and pistachio cranberry biscotti (dessert) *Main: agm +1 - ribs and macroni n' cheese Banco +1 - something "main-coursey" monavano +1 - braised beef sliders sparkycom - coffee-chipotle brisket *Dessert: Barbara +2 - pumpkin cheesecake goodeats +1- cupcakes? TheMatt +1 - vegan baked goods weezy - gluten-free lemon bars (and a veggie plate of some sort) *Food Undecided: DanielK +3 goldenticket +1 John William G lperry (?) LuvTeddyBears8 + FunGuy porcupine (?) thistle **Compiled based on previous responses. Apologies if left someone out. Please sign up!!! (Especially new members!!!!)

Little man and I will be there late. I miss you all and have missed posting too. Since we'll probably be there closer to 4pm, we'll bring some sort of dessert.

To Mr. LPerry - such awesome news! Beauty memoralized - such art.

How does the banana pudding compare with Bayou Bakery's? I'm such a big fan of Chef Guas's recipe, but, due to sheer laziness, Clarendon is much closer than Courthouse...

This is more of a vent post but under peer pressure from lunch with friends, I ordered a "Virginia peach" salad that had 4 thinly sliced peaches with a portion size that is HALF of a Chopt salad for $11 or $12. Needless to say, I left hungry and a bit irritated if it wasn't for the "Art of Video Games" exhibit nearby as a saving grace. I probably should try it again, but the ratio isn't tilting in this place's favor....

Little man starts K in the morning. Not sure ehat the new lunch rules are though. When he was tired of sandwiches, I would try wraps, quesadilla, or crackers with assorted meats, cheese & fruit.

I thought it was that the original folks that ran it didn't run it this year, so we had none until FreshFarm picked it up. Maybe AB can answer why it's on Thursdays?

Caramel? Or maybe with Vanilla whipped cream?

Shaved ice! Bingbingice.com. Hate posting from phone but way too excited. $4 a bowl with 4 toppings and syrup/condensed milk. The person there is Andrew--he's Taiwanese American and a CIA grad. Authentic down to the machine of my childhood days. He has strawberry, mango, red bean, lemon jelly, grass jelly, barley, boba pearls and two more. There until 7pm.

Congrats to Qualia Coffee too! I understand 3 stars will be using Joel's cold concentrate coffee in one of their brews. Found out through Twitter through Tim Carman's post story. (sorry if there are typos. I don't have Internet again until Friday, so am phone posting. I hate it.)

It is horribly loud but really a nice throwback decor of the old apothecary days. Love that Gina and Sebastian are now working together. Also love block ice for cocktails (it was a funny sight to see Sebastian cleave the ice with a veggie cleaver.) Must try the punch. Very small space so it was packed by 6:15p. Bar was packed by 5:30, I think. This was last Friday night. Food was good -- we only ordered small sides and they were nicely done. Would go back definitely for drinks and to try a few more things.

RWB: disorganized, price on par w/ arrowine. Nice selection but it's been a good six months since ive been in.

Green tea cupcakes with marshmallow frosting. It was tasty.

Bibiana comes to mind but only since she just came back from Italy. BB has gone downhill--the last two times, though six months ago, were so salty that I wish I only had beer and not food. B&B is nice for beer and quiet downstairs, but I don't know why I'm not keen on their cooking. Proof always has a nice wine list as does Cork--can't go wrong with the cooking there. I've also been hearing good things about Art & Soul again and the new Hank's Oyster opens tonight on Cap Hill. Hope this helps.

Okay, growing up with Kingsford, I really don't know the difference or any other. What makes one "like" one type of charcoal over another? What does one look for or are the criteria to "good" charcoal? Thanks.

Menu, courtesy of Mr. Robert Dyer's blog. Still no official website.

Here's an old Chow link. I thought I saw them in WF the other day, but am not completely sure. I also thought one can get those in that little florist row down by Florida & New York Avenues on Eckington NE?

Well, if you are wandering around the Courthouse area, and find yourself in need of a refreshing morning beverage, I highly recommend their Iced Ginger Coffee. The ginger adds a kick like their chicory coffee, and the ice just cools you down, or at least for me it did. The day my mom, little man and I went for lunch, their special macaroni and cheese had bacon and country ham. Mom and little man were equally hooked and little man looked like he hadn't eaten in days with his portion. Felt like he was a competitive eater-in-training. It was an extra porky day, as we also split a Bayou BLT. I think we would have ordered a second portion of the mac and cheese were it not for the beignets and house-made pudding. I haven't been to Rice to Riches in NYC, but I definitely feel like Chef Guas's pudding is some darn fine, real thick, honest-to-goodness pudding. The day we went, a baby shower was hosted there as well, with a special order, multi-layer cake (it looked like a crepe cake but wasn't). I forgot the name of the cake and can't find it on their website, but learned that you can special order cakes from them. Can't wait to try that out. It has been too long since I visited and now can't wait to save up to go back.

Thistle - if you go next time on a weekend evening, please make sure you made a reservation on OT before you arrive. They do not take names when I went this past Saturday evening, and if it weren't for the handy OT app, my friend and I would have waited longer than the half hour from first inquiring for a seat to the OT reservation. I highly recommend starting out with the Sugarcane Rum drink (sadly, I can't remember the cocktail name). It was really refreshing on a hot day like it was on Saturday and even better than their house margarita. We started with the Tequeñones, which is like an egg roll stuffed with just cheese. It comes with an order of three of cigar lengths and just delicious (mostly I think because it was deep fried and melted cheese). The accompanying aioli of some sort and a jalapeno-based house sauces accentuated the cheese flavor according to my friend; I abstained because both contained either garlic or onion. My friend ordered the Ocean Mix ( grilled tilapia with 4 shrimps and topped with homemade lemon caper sauce), which while nicely done, didn't hit things spot on, according to her; rather, she enjoyed trying my dish, the Tropical salad (grilled chicken breast, papaya, mango and tomatoes, served on a bed of lettuce dressed with olive oil and lime juice - onions omitted). They were sensitive to my garlic/onion allergy, which is always nice, grilling up a lightly salted, but perfectly moist chicken breast to go with the salad (which was the only thing other than cheese and dessert that I could have -- all the other dishes had garlic, onion or both). I was, again, really appreciative of their care. Lastly, never skip dessert here. Or at least, don't skip the Quesillo Borracho (creme caramel). It is nicely made and set, with a creamy taste that is not cloyingly sweet, but rather reminiscent of the Taiwanese style ones I grew up with. Definitely put this place on your radar if you haven't already.

Well, I really appreciated their system. This was for carry out, though. At least when I went one late night when my mom and I were tired and she was craving BBQ, it was nice this place was open and friendly. Many props to service for the following: 1. Explanation of their system to a first-timer. 2. Patience to the carvers for being conscious for my allergy. Not only did the carver wipe down the knife used to carve the ribs, both he and the weighing server changed out their gloves to avoid cross-contamination. Needless to say, I am grateful. We ordered to go: 2 beef ribs, 2 pork ribs and 1 bourbon pecan pie. Please avoid the pie. It was not worth the $6 and sadly, it tastes like something from an average grocery store bakery--gooey, lump mess with the minimal number of pecans to qualify it as a "pecan pie." Mom liked the beef ribs, but thought it paled in comparison to Blue Smoke in NYC. It was tender but not as flavorful. The pork ribs were moist compared to Blue Smoke, but lacked flavor as many commented above; however, it made a nicely shredded pork sandwich for the next day. I really appreciated their service on that late night (it's so late I can't even recall what night it was anymore!).

Defiance at last! Can't post link but the Presidio Social Club challenged this law on Bastille Day since it's located on Federal land. Am surprised no one has posted this yet...