ulrath

Got carryout from Thai Basil this week because I had a craving and I wanted to give the place another chance.

Another "meh" experience. The place must have changed regular cooks or Nongkran has taken a step back from the kitchen which has caused it to lose its way. Pad Thai was decidedly mediocre and the Thai Samosas were only ok. I need to take a break from here.

Does anyone have any recent reviews on this place? I plan on taking my wife there for her birthday next week. The recent reviews on Washingtonpost.com have been decidedly negative.

The guy seems to have moved on. Its a shame because he was good. I tried the Pollo a la brasa. It wasn't bad.

I'm not sure if this necessitates a new thread or not but we went to the South Riding outpost, Vintage 51 last night.

It was a rainy night and I would say that the place was about 25 percent full. We arrived around 6:20 ahead of another family we were dining with. We immediately put in an order for an appetizer and a kids meal. When you are dining with a 2 year old, you are on the clock. The other family joined us around 6:40 and we put our dinner order in about 5 minutes later. Our appetizer and kids meal came out around 7:00. Or order came out around 7:20. At that point, my friend's wife had to leave with their son as he was starting to melt down. We wollfed down our food and bailed about 20 minutes after our food arrived, taking most of it home.

The beer:

My friend and I each had the purgatory pilsner. Reasonably priced and tasty.

The food:

My son had the lamb and gnochi kids meal. Hands down the best kids meal we have gotten at a restaurant. He demolished it and what was left did not make it past Mom and Dad. Mom doesn't even normally like lamb.

I got a burger which was solid. It was no Ray's hell burger but I would not mind getting it again. We also had the tater tots as an appetizer which were very good. My wife had the salmon which she enjoyed. The kid's meal came with a scoop of gellato. My son had the blueberry gellato which was "ok".

The service:

Margaret was great. She knew we had kids and were on a clock and did everything she could to speed things up. She was hamstrung by the kitchen which seemed to be understaffed. She also remembered exactly what was ordered and caught that they left the grilled onions off my burger. She got a good tip.

Other tables around us with kids looked stressed and anxious to be receiving their food before their children melted down. Hopefully the kitchen was having a bad night because the food came out slow. 30 minutes for an appetizer seems a little long. If the place was any more full they would have had a problem on their hands.

All in all this was a good place, ideal I think if you were not dining with children. The drink selection, ambiance and food makes it a good alternative to the other South Riding options. If you have kids you may want to consider going elsewhere, coming early, or bringing something to distract them. While the food is good, your kids may not be able to handle the wait.

Flay was there for a throwdown. A Pad Thai throwdown. I meant to go but I couldn't get away. I have taken cooking classes here and can attest that the ingredients used in all the recipes are fresh and authentic.

This is my second favorite Thai place behind Thai Square. Head and shoulders above the other Thai places in Chantilly.

As you can see above, I used to be a huge fan of this place. I've been there three times since the Bobby Flay appearance and have noticed a serious decline in quality. Twice the food has only been average, once it has been downright bad. All three times the service has been poor as well.

Hopefully things improve but I no longer recommend this place.

For what it is worth I tried the fries last week and I liked them...

We tried Bernie's yesterday and I may be hooked.

I got carryout after a doctor's appointment.

The Super BLT, at 8.99 was 8.99 worth of awesomeness. Fresh crisp bacon on three slices of bread I am already craving another one.

The meatball sub is one of the better renditions that I have had. Maybe even better than the Italian Store. The meatballs were excellent, as was the bread. The only thing the sandwich needed was grilled onions and peppers.

I also got the chili which was a solid choice. Their other soups looked good as well.

The only disappointment were the deserts. Teh red velvet cake and the chocolate "frog" only ranked as average. They may have been sitting a while.

Having lived in Centreville for 7 years I am not broken up about this. I've eaten breakfast several times here and at Yorkshire. Yorkshire is far better. If you're in the area and want a 2,000 calorie breakfast, give Yorkshire a try.

No updates in a while so I figured I would chime in. This place is my goto local chinese restaraunt. As long as you don't order anything that is on the American Chinese Menu. Order from the Sichuan sounding dishes and you will be ok.

Some of my favorites:

Dan Dan Noodles

Street Wontons

Fish w/ Pickled Vegatables

House Chicken

Sliced Beef w/ Black Pepper

Hunan Tofu

I work nearby and the Dan Dan Noodles make for a good cheap lunch.

We were there yesterday. I usually get the Mendel. This time I got the Wierner Shnitzel. So much for ordering to the strength of the menu. I should have stuck with the sandwiches.

The Centreville location just opened and I had a coupon for two free slizes with the purchase of a drink. I agree with the post above.

eh.

I had a slice of peperoni and sausage and a slice of some kind of white pizza with ricotta. The second slice was probably better but I would classify both as adequate. Tony's and Ciro's are both better.

Tried the Pit Stop for a second time this weekend. I got a small container of pulled pork (a little pricey at 10 bucks, I suspect the sandwich has the same ammount of meat.) and a half rack of ribs for 13. The ribs were better than last time. Not as smokey and a little more tender. I still wouldn't rank them over Dixie Bones which I last visited a month ago. They were also not as good as the ribs that you used to get at Ben's Whole Hog BBQ back in the day. They are good ribs, just not great.

The pulled pork was quite good. I would rank it a solid 7.5-8 out of 10.

The news here is that the Pit Stop may have some competition.

On saturday while running errands I stopped by the BBQ stand at the intersection of Pleasant Valley and 50 behind the yellow building, next to the car dealership. I had a pulled pork sandwich (6 bucks) which may have been one of the best that I've had. I'd rank it a good solid 9 out of 10. I actually went back yesterday at one and he was already closing up shop. He had sold out of everything. I will be back in two weeks to try the ribs so we can have a full comparison. As it stands now, I like this stand's pulled pork better than the Pit Stop. Prices seem a little lower too. Look for a full review in two weeks.

In any case, I see there's a space on Broad St in Falls Church announcing a soon to come branch.

Looks like one is opening in Chantilly next to the Shoppers.

There's an interesting little drama going on in South Riding, with two competing roadside pupuserias less than a quarter-mile apart. Who will win the war between Cerrito's Pupuseria and Pupuseria Hernandez? Twinsdaddy, please keep us posted.

Cheers,

Rocks.

I tried the one in the Chevron gas station when they just opened up. Wasn't great but it has potential. I talked with the owner and she had just opened the place up. The other one is in the old BJ's crab shack space. I have not tried them since they changed hands.

Went here for a late lunch today. Had the ribs and baked beans. 21 for a full rack. 2.50 for a side of beans. Both were very good. The ribs are larger and meatier than dixie bones, a little smokier and not quite as tender. That being said, its the best BBQ for miles.

There is a another stand that is set up near pleasant valley road. I am not sure if they are related to this one. Has anyone tried it?

I plan on trying the place on Gilbert's Corner this weekend. I live in Centreville and work in Chantilly so I have tried several of the BBQ places around here.

Willard's in Chantilly - Too inconsistent for my tastes. I have been 5 times. I have had 1 fantastic meal, 1 good meal, 1 average meal and 2 horrible meals there.

Jammin Joe's - Tried it once two years ago. Neither my wife or I were impressed. The ribs were dry and the pulled pork oversauced.

Dixie Bones - Still my favorite. I've never had a bad meal there.

The gas station in Aldie - Haven't been in in years but when he used to do the smoking there in front of the building the ribs were good.

Whole Foods in Fairfax - They smoke their meats in house. Its actually suprisingly decent. A solid 6 or 7. I would go there over Willard's. The kitchen sink combo is a great deal. 4 meats, three sides for 14 bucks. Works out to 3 or 4 pounds of food. They also smoke sausage, turkey and duck. I've gotten them before and made some excellent jambalaya.

I went yesterday afternoon. The line was outside but they were controlling who went in based on table availability. The mob was actually handled very well and the quality was good as usual.

Of course, with the national media attention it is becoming harder to get a Ray's fix. The only logical solution is for Michael to open up a place in Centreville.

I stopped by a few months back and was one of those guys who was out of luck as they had just run out. Gonna have to come up with an excuse to get out there again. How does the place compare to something like dixie bones? (best local ribs IMO since Ben's left us).

Not sure how I could forget about it but the Churros here are quite excellent. Of course, with a name like Don Churros they better be. A special shout-out to the Churros rellenos with caramel. Yummy.

I haven't seen a thread for this restaraunt yet and I thought it deserved a shout-out.

Don Churro is a South American restraunt located in the cullinary mecca known as Chantilly. Its on the back end of the Sully shopping center near Bungalow Billiards and the new Lotte.

This place is rapidly becoming one of my go-to places by virtue of the good food and its proximity to my office.

I talked to one of the owner once and he said that the menu consisted of their favorites from south american cuisine. The menu consists of tapas and full sized entrees.

Some of the tapas are really quite good. Our favorites are the Papa rellena (frided mashed potatoes filled with ground beef) and the Chicharron de calamar (fried calamari). The Gambas al alillo are also delicious.

My wife has enjoyed the sandwiches (Barros Luco and Churrasco Palta). From the entres I have had the Pescado al grill, Fritada, Hornado and Bandeja Paisa. I'd reccomend all of them.

The only miss we have had on the menu is the Coclo con queso which quite literally is a piece of corn served with cheese. The cheese was good but the dish did not work for us.

Most important for us is that its been a pretty easy place to take our one year old. He's been pretty content to sit in one of our laps and shovel pieces of potato, ground beef and avacado into his mouth. If you're stuck in Chantilly and don't want to go to Sichuan Village or Thai Basil, give this place a try.

Their website is at: http://www.donchurrocafe.com/

In other words, if you want to drink to "I can't remember what happened in the third inning" levels

How did the Sports Bog get a hold of my opening day itinerary? Looking forward to the dogfish head offerings.

My last meal at Lightfoot was a couple of years ago, for dinner, and they served perhaps the single saltiest dish I've ever tasted (the Oysters Rockefeller). Dinner that evening was pleasant, but I'm SO glad I went back for lunch yesterday - the first day of nice weather in recent memory - and got to see the dining room in daylight hours. As many of you know, Lightfoot is a wonderful renovation of an old bank, but the sunlight really makes the darkly wooded room shine.

I can't say I cared for the Grilled Cheese of the Day (overpriced at $14.50), a too-gooey jalapeno-cheddar on homemade cheddar bread, served with a spaghetti-sauce-like spicy tomato bisque that worked well as a dipping sauce, but not as a soup. Our chipper server happily substituted a very good Caesar salad (with anchovy) for the green salad the dish was supposed to come with.

The BLT&C ($11) was the winner of the day, the "C" being an unnecessary slice of Provolone which is nearly undetectable because there's so much smoked bacon on the sandwich. Served on good, thick-cut (homemade?) white toast, this wickedly good BLT came with watercress (which I like on my BLTs, especially when it's softened by something such as Lightfoot's garlic-pepper mayonnaise). The plum tomato was an excellent choice for this February sandwich, served with passable homemade fries and throwaway coleslaw. If you're craving a good BLT, and you find yourself near Leesburg, this is your option.

Cheers,

Rocks.

I'll second the review of the BLT&C. I've had it there twice and it is excellent.

Anyone know if there will be any downtime between the two locations? We had planned on taking my father in law to RTS this sunday for his birthday.

This place is a favorite in the lunch rotation, but for some reason I had not been in a long time. Lunch was a nice dish of Pad Kra Praw, but the interesting was all these pictures around the restaurant of Bobby Flay. Seems like he came for a Throwdown. Click for pics. That makes at least 3 places in the VA/DC area that have been featured to my knowledge.

Flay was there for a throwdown. A Pad Thai throwdown. I meant to go but I couldn't get away. I have taken cooking classes here and can attest that the ingredients used in all the recipes are fresh and authentic.

This is my second favorite Thai place behind Thai Square. Head and shoulders above the other Thai places in Chantilly.

I've been to the Leesburg location and I'd rank it behind Baja Fresh and Chipotle. And probably several other similar places I haven't been to yet. I just really didn't like it very much. I remember everything tasting the same.

We used to get carryout here occassionally back when they gave out buy one get one free coupons all the time. I'd only eat there if it was half price. The Nachos aren't bad but honetly Baja Fresh and Chipotle are better.