Skysplitter

Back's been spasming all morning and getting worse. Sorry guys, but I have to bail. Hope it's an awesome day for y'all!

I've been out of the DR loop for a bit, but I fondly remember the first picnic! Turns out that the stars are aligning on my calendar and I can attend this year. I'll bring a friend (updated the spreadsheet) and will be bringing a pie of some sort, an agua fresca of some sort and a watermelon salad.

Someone mentioned my little 3 day Iceland guide was useful, but the link I posted is dead, so here's new link. Iggl, just do it!

When I was out in LA earlier this year, I got lunch with a friend at a ramen shop, just to see what the fuss was about. Now, I could've easily misordered, but I remember eating and thinking "uhhh, this is it?" and just wasn't impressed. With Marumen being 5 minutes away from my house, I figured I should go check it out. I've been twice and now keep pestering my friends to go with me as I now see what all the fuss is about. They start you off with edamame that have been dusted with honey powder and chili flakes, and now, clearly, I need honey powder in my life. I've ordered the Shio, once with all the recommendations and once without. If you order with the recommendations (extra pork belly and extra egg) then come hungry because good lord, it is a ton of food. The pork belly was amazing both times and the broth was fantastic and rich and damn tasty. The pork fat just melts into the soup. Noodles were also great, good texture, and never got super soggy. I got their chicharrons first time I went and the order was MASSIVE but a nice, popping companion for dinner. And a bargain at $3. Both times I've been were after the chef change, so I can't speak on any before vs. after. I have no ungodly idea how to add images to this post, but here's the Shio ramen and the chicharrones.

Reykjavik has some pretty great food, but as others have pointed out, it IS expensive, especially the alcohol. That being said, I didn't have a bad meal there. I wrote up some reviews over on Trip Advisor, but my favorites were Kitchen Bar (dinner), Slippbarinn (drinks), Saegriffinn (I found the whale sampler enough to get a taste for it, and opted for arctic chard otherwise), Cafe Haiti (breakfast or lunch) and Reykjavik Roasters (coffee). Trip Advisor, while somewhat useless for other locales, was pretty handy for food and planning excursions. I think there's an app for happy hours, aptly named Appy Hour, which can dial you in to what's on at the bars. Iceland has a good craft beer scene now that's legal, and some are quite good. I highly recommend Extreme Iceland for bigger excursions, and yes, the Blue Lagoon is a tourist trap, but it's also worthwhile and relaxing. Don't forget to take a walk on the trails around the Blue Lagoon, especially if there's snow on the ground (quite beautiful with the volcanic rock and such). My trip report/guide that I've punted off to a few friends is here. Have a wonderful time, but be flexible with your schedule. While we were there in January, there was a massive wind/snow storm which shut everything down for a day, so we had to juggle some things around

Hah, sounds like we had the same experience. I couldn't sit at the bar and have the full menu because it was "busy", which as a solo diner, peeved me. Also, I had a delightful red wasp as a dining companion, but what can you do about that. The pork belly, corn, tomato and pea shoot salad was really good. I recalled thinking that several of the appetizers looked really good, so I should've just ordered those for dinner. Sturgeon- ok, just another piece of white fish on a place. The quinoa cakes were interesting, and the watermelon/celery/kalamata tapenade was also interesting, but didn't blow me away by a long shot. Dessert had 2 problems. 1, and this is no one's fault, is that I have a weird tolerance for peanut butter. Peanut butter from a jar or in a candy? Fine. Peanut butter ice cream? My stomach revolts. Apparently it does with peanut butter cake as well - I had no idea. But since white chocolate is an abhomination, the pudding dessert was out. But the second problem was with the dessert itself. Now, it's been a long time since I've had a tart-tatin, but I've cooked with plantains, so I can't explain why the plantains were rock hard to the point that I wanted to ask for a knife to cut them into bite size pieces off the top of the cake. The tart tatin, which after consulting google, was a very high cake with the plantains on top. And it was dry. Like how long has this been sitting around the kitchen dry. And I don't think that's tart tatin. But yeah, I mean, I was seriously disappointed. It made me want to go back to Orlando that night to the Ravenous Pig! I WANT THAT GRILLED CHEESE AGAIN!

I need to jump on the Ravenous Pig bandwagon and wish that it magically transports itself up here. I flew into Orlando on the way to Tampa and stopped in for lunch. Spoiled me for the rest of the trip. And of the three pig logo'ed restaurants I've been to this year in the south (Cochon and The Refinery being the others), this one was the best. I got the gatherer salad with "mixed baby lettuces, beets, goat cheese, avocado, pistachios, herb vinaigrette" which was beyond ridiculous. For every crunch, there was a smooth counterbalance. Advocado and goat cheese? My new favorite combo. And I think, but can't promise, that the herb vinaigrette had basil in it. This is a salad I'll remember to some time to come, so don't bonk it if you're there, get it. Then came the grilled cheese. Odes should be written to this grilled cheese. I desperately wanted to go back on Sunday before my flight and get one for the plane I liked it so damned much. Just a simple grilled cheese you say? Hah. It was a grilled cheese avec "arcadia peach & rhubarb jam, pepita pesto, grilled radicchio, goat cheese, aged swiss, sourdough". SaltysweetcheesycrunchyFABULOUSNESSonnaPLATE. And then. How can there be an and then? And then it was pan fried in delicious butter. I'm drooling writing about it. As a solo diner, I was happily seated at the bar, and the bartender was fantastic. Informative, friendly, kept everything going for the restaurant. The servers are intensely proud of their food ("Ready for the best grilled cheese of your life?") and it borders on pomposity, but who cares when the food backs it up?! I don't get to Orlando often, but if I can schedule a long layover, it's worth the car rental and quick drive up to Winter Park.

Alrighty, I'm back, so have at your review. The pork belly was indeed amazing. Everything else? Ehhh, stay tuned for my review of the Ravenous Pig in Orlando. Hands down favorite of the 2.

Haha, funny how the world works! Hopefully the good meal karma will be in full swing when we stop by this week.

Joe- I'll be down there this weekend for the hockey game and will be eating there and at Cafe DuFrain. (And Ravenous Pig in Orlando for good measure when I get off the plane.) I'll post a review when I get back!

I've been here to order takeout a few times, ordered delivery and finally ate in the dining room proper last night. My usual takeout dish is the Chicken and Cashew in Taro Basket, which befuddled me at first but which provides a nice crunch. But nice big pieces of onion, red and green pepper, and of course the cashews and chillis. The thai fresh rolls are a bit of a disaster since they're cut up into small pieces and fall apart too easily, so if tempted, just ask them not to cut them Crispy Tilapia with Ginger Sauce the other night was pretty delicious, crispy (not greasy) and chockful of ginger. My friend got the Basil Fried Rice with chicken and he enjoyed it. I've often ordered from the co-owner, who's as nice as can be, and the service is pretty good in the restaurant, albeit a bit overattentive. So for me, it's a good neighborhood thai joint in a general Gallows Rd area where the offerings aren't always enticing for takeout (an illustrious Wendy's, Chipotle, NoodleHouse, the rather meh Jasmine Garden, you get the idea) and it's not bad as a date place either.

I'm in! I used to work right near Orso and had to jump into DC from time to time. Closest metro is East Falls Church. I don't know about anyone else, but I could pick a few people up/drop them off from EFC if it makes life easier. As for coming from Maryland, yeah, enjoy your wait in traffic. If you can make it to Chain Bridge, and then stay on Glebe/Williamsburg, you'll at least be moving the entire time - here's a general map if it helps- http://tinyurl.com/2bbplfh Let's you avoid Lee, 7, and the delightful backup on Arizona. Edit- oops, looks like I hit the "post" button too late

Always wanted to explore Eden Center more than I have! Any date there works fine as of now.

I'll actually be working in downtown DC for the next 3 days (McPherson Square area) and would love to hit up some happy hours since I'm always jealous from across the bridge in VA when you all Whim It Up in town So- any places to check out this week and/or anyone want to Whim It Up avec moi? I kicked through the past few pages and saw alot of discussion about frogs (hey, mine had a baby bird's HEAD in it's stomach) and snow, but ah, then I stopped, heh.

Having worked up in Camden a few summers ago, I give Francine a big thumbs up. I think there was another restaurant (something like Natalie's) which got more buzz, but the locals didn't like it, and since I hung out with the locals, ended up at Francine a number of times. Fantastic steak frites and great cocktails. If Boynton-McKay is still open, that place had great coffee and morning pastries (I really want their strawberry coffee cake recipe), and they did a mean breakfast too. I don't really remember any standouts from Belfast or other places, but since where I worked prepared 3 meals a day, I usually ate there (sadly )

No problem, I like any chance I can get to play photographer!

You know you're in for it when the words Dean, duck fat and DonRockwell.com are mentioned in one sentence. All you can do is hope your lunch was light enough, the company great enough, the drinks delicous to live up to what ended up being just an outstanding evening of food and friends. I certainly have never dreamed duck could be put on a plate in so many ways and that I would never get one bit tired of duckduckduckduck on 10 dishes. Today I still can't figure out what my favorite dish was, but certainly I'm still daydreaming about the duck liver rumaki, the duck bahn mi, the duck ravioli with "duck cream" that should be illegal it was so perfect, and of course, the duck butt. I've been away from Dino for too long and I was glad to be reminded that I need to kick myself into getting over there more often. Without further adieu, here are the pictures: Dino Duck Dinner Photos Feel free to comment away, make any corrections, or enjoy the visual fest and kick yourself for not going.

I'm headed out to, but don't know of any place good out there. Was thinking of hitting up Bamian in Falls Church...but if anyone has ideas closer to George Mason, let us all know! I'd rather battle the delightful GMU traffic post-concert rather than before the main act (missed many an opening act due to the parking situation there, ugh.)

I'll be in Vegas in April for a geek convention (NAB) and an old friend of mine will be there too. She wants to buy dinner and suggested Bouchon. From what I've been reading here and on other websites, it sounds like it does a fab breakfast/brunch but is not so hot to trot on dinner. Since the Bouchon's website seems to be undergoing some maintenance, I can't dial up a menu with pricing. So can anyone suggest other places on price point with Bouchon that would be better worth our time? Joe H is making a good case for Joel Robuchon, especially with their prix fixe menu. Any other places I should consider? I've got other nights mostly covered which will be considerably less expensive, but if anyone finds any gems in the meanwhile ($75/pp ish, sans alcohol) then please do post away.

I'm not exactly sure either, but MIAB only has kebab type entrees, that's it. Also, their location and visibility are (imho) better than LB and potentially less intimidating. I asked one of my coworkers if we should do a smackdown of MIAB vs LB (I have not wandered over to LB yet, I have no idea why, I just haven't) and his response was - "eh, there might be more options over there, but this place is cleaner". Do with that what you will, but the aesthetic of MIAB does seem very purposeful.

Ok, so Meat In A Box is finally open as of today. Hours will be 11:30am-9pm during the week and it sounded like 12-evening on the weekends after they figure out interest. The inside only seats 2 at this point, but more seats are promised, and they have 2 outside tables. The place is run by a husband and wife team, and what looked to be a younger brother and maybe 2 mothers in law (hah). It's very cute and clean inside, and I wonder if they'll take advantage of the monster hallway on the side of the kitchen. They take paper and plastic ($8 minimum) and have easily accessible restrooms. It's a basic kebab place and they serve (ground) beef, chicken or veggie (I may have this wrong, not listed on the menu I have, but I thought I saw it up on the board), and shish kebab skewers on a homemade pita with diced tomatoes and onions, with a side of some sort of sour cream (those of you who are more knowledgable will know what it is and enlighten me I'm sure!). You get them by groups of 2, 4 or 10, and they come, yes, in a box. The hummus appetizer was pretty sizable and I wished for more pita bread. They also have dolma and a yogurt dip as apps, baklava and fruit for dessert. They've also got this ice cream sandwich concoction with homemade saffron and rosewater infused ice cream... I may have to go back to sample this. I got the chicken and beef combo skewer meal- 6.99, and the hummus- 3.99. My coworkers got the same and we all agreed it's pretty solid, tasty, and we'd go back again for sure. For me, I couldn't finish what I was given, which is a good problem to have I reckon. I thought the chicken was more seasoned/marinated than the beef was, but YMMV. And at the 6.99 point, it's pretty comparable to the other lunch time eateries in the area. So there you have it. I did not, for the record, ask about any similarity to the Justin Timberlake song

I don't know much about it other than I drive by it everyday and sometimes walk by it on my way to Super Chicken for lunch. Once it opens, I'm sure my coworkers and I will swing in. The name is just too hilarious not to

A group of coworkers and I stopped in on Monday (our first stop was Kareoke Idol, but they're closed on Mondays ) and for 1pm on a Monday, the place was actually somewhat busy. I'm lame and got the Duck Tamarind dish again, my coworkers got the Cow on the Open Field, summer rolls, and one of the crepe appetizers for a meal (which, as an appetizer, is HUGE). We also asked about getting the green bean/asaparus dish, and the waiter wanted me to pick one or the other. I asked about a mix and they did it, albeit for $12.95 which strikes me as expensive for vegetables, but it was delicious, so I didn't really complain. All the food was as great as the last time I was there, service was great and the coworkers were happy. It is rather too expensive for my usual lunch haunts, but on the other hand, it's a really nice change up. I'll have to try takeout sometime soon. Mel- how was the pork vermicelli?

I had the pleasure of being at the table with the rest of Tyson's Corner crew and the food and the company were great. Right off the bat it was clear our waiter was out of his league dealing with us so the manager strolled over and guided our ordering. I saw Rock's post downstream about the MSG in the cooking, but couldn't say if it was included in our dishes or not. That being said, I have to second everyone with saying the standouts of the meal were the shrimp (and I'm not even the biggest fan of shellfish) and the crispy fish. I also really liked the duck, but then again, I haven't met a well cooked duck that I didn't like The presentation of the Treasure from the Sea and the Rockfish was ridiculous, but in a good, entertaining sort of way. The waitstaff were pleasant and attentive throughout the meal. I'm really glad that EricandBluueboy and DanielK organized our butts into actually going anywhere for lunch, thanks guys Next time I'll be sure to bring my camera.

Rocking. See y'all tomorrow