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buzzy

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Everything posted by buzzy

  1. >>"If there's a better burger in the DC area right now, I'd like to know what it is." Don...thanks for writing that. I've been preaching Melt for about 10 years. The people that know, know. Everyone else looks at me and says "The best burger is in Leesburg?" like that couldn't possibly be true. We live about 30 minutes away and only get there about 4 times a year. But man are those burgers good; especially the buns. I also love that the "tip" line is a donation to an animal rescue group. One thing; several years ago, the owners were talking about opening a location inside the beltway but I haven't heard a word since then. Anybody? cheers bz
  2. Friday night, my wife and I took my 18 year old daughter and her best friend down to the 9:30 Club to see one of their favorite bands (don't ask). Since this was part of my daughter's 18th birthday present we went to the original Pupatella at around 8pm (the 930 Club show was a very late one with the doors OPENING at 10pm...again...don't ask). It had been a while since we'd been there with the staff taking the orders at the table. We ordered 4 different pizzas, the Brussel sprouts appetizer and some beer & water. My daughter's best friend had never been to Pupatella and ate her white pizza complete, loving it. In my mind it was 2010 again (yes that was 12 years ago!) I am at the point in my life where I will not eat shitty pizza. I'd rather wait months and go to the handful of places I love, Pupatella Arlington or Reston being on that exclusive list. I went for my favorite, the Prosciutto Arugula and it was perfect. I wish Enzo and family and all the wonderful employees of this operation continued success with their expansion.
  3. In today's Washington Post, Tim Carman listed his 10 Favorite Casual Restaurants of 2021. He said his list could have easily consisted of 20 places. Number 10 on the list? Yanzi Noodle. He also broke the news that the new Fairfax, VA location will open on January 8th. https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2021/12/27/best-casual-restaurants-dc-2021/ cheers!
  4. I just read on an Annandale Facebook group that the shopping center that leases to Duck Chang's has been sold. Apparently Duck Chang's has to do significant upgrades to its space to have its lease renewed. A Go Fund Me has been set up to assist in this endeavor. I grew up in Annandale, but don't get there as much. But every time I'm in Annandale I pick up "to go" food from Duck Chang's. Hopefully they can continue on. https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-duck-changs?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=m_pd share-sheet&fbclid=IwAR2QWAMw6Vr0SkXIjAjXCopzUCRH62TzNh6FVORaynFCDYCRLjBaPLzwvsU
  5. Big fan of Liberty BBQ, especially their fried chicken. Had it when they had their Sunday Brunch, had it for lunch a few times. My family loved it so much, Christmas Eve two years ago, we ordered it for family dinner. It did NOT travel well at all. Everyone kind of looked at their plate, wondering what it was. Liberty Fried Chicken...eat at the restaurant.
  6. Driving home from a Doctor's appointment in Fairfax VA, I passed the old Thai By Thai location which now had a sign up that said Yanzi Noodles. I jotted the name down and Googled it when I got home. Saw that Tim Carman had raved about their location in Maryland. When I went to the website, it stated the following; "Important Notice After close to three years with our friends in Rockville and living with and continuing to battle this awful pandemic. We regret to announce that our lease in Rockville NY Mart has ended and we will be closing September 28. But all is not lost, we are excited to announce that very soon we will be opening a brand new location more spacious and better able to serve our customers. Please stay tuned for more updates. The new location is: 10955 Fairfax Blvd,Suite 108 Fairfax VA 22030" No idea if its actually open yet or when that will be.
  7. I've said it on other posts regarding Philadelphia Hoagies, but my go to, twice a month is Primo Hoagies Leesburg . They're a franchise, but they are a Philadelphia franchise. In Philadelphia they often rank high for Best Hoagies in the area...odd from a City that pride itself on every local corner hoagie shop being "the best". I often get the "Primo" which is just Prosciutto, Fresh Mozzarella, roasted red peppers. I add onions, oil, vinegar and balsamic vinegar. All served on a seeded roll. After a bite, you can practically here the neighbors talking about what a great year the Iggles are going to have...
  8. I've only been to Black Hog once, on a business dinner while traveling solo through Frederick. I got the ribs and could choose between dry rub or sauce or half & half. I went half & half and for the life of me I couldn't tell you which I'd choose in the future. Both types of ribs were super meaty and beautifully cooked. I thought their ribs were truly out of this world. But the real reason I'm raising this thread from the dead is because theburn.com website out of Loudoun County announced that Black Hog has signed a lease and will be opening in early 2020 in Ashburn VA at the Riverside Square shopping center that's currently under construction on the north side of Route 7. Also, anything jayandstacey posts about is alright with me... cheers!
  9. Last time I visited Wooboi, about 2 months ago the sandwich was good. I went yesterday at 3pm and it was otherworldly. I've never had a chicken breast as crispy & spicy on the outside and moist on the inside (sorry for those of you who hate the word "moist"). The pickles were sweet, the slaw acidic, the sauce creamy. The fried okra was amazing, as was the portion...seemed more like Five Guys Fries, overflowing onto the aluminum tray. On social media they were teasing a 2nd location, but haven't heard anything else about that. Anyone?
  10. I'm told this is located where The Weiner's Circle used to be in Herndon. Heard about this "Hot Chicken" place through friends. Stopped by before work and got 3 Hot Chicken Sandwiches for my coworkers and myself. We all agreed it was the best chicken sandwich we had ever had. The chicken is at 5 levels. If you order it at a 4 or 5 you have to sign a release. Don't know if that's real or theatre, but I can tell you that a level 2 heat was pretty damn hot. One of my coworkers was sweating. The sandwiches are chicken breast, toasted buns, vinegar based slaw and unbelievably tasty pickles. If I read correctly, they have Hot Chicken pieces with an emphasis on wings. They also have fried Okra that I'm going to try next time. Open weekdays 11am to 7pm.
  11. I've said it before and I'll say it again; the closest you are going to get to a real Philadelphia Hoagie in the Washington DC area is Primo Hoagies in Leesburg, VA. Just down the road from Melt Burgers, Primos is a Philadelphia chain, but a completely legitimate chain. They have several types of Italian Hoagies and the ones with the sharp provolone are amazing. The bread isn't Amorosos (but then, neither was Taylor Gourmet's after a while) but its very good. Considering Sarcones Deli in Philadelphia has closed, Primo's is my go to spot. PrimoHoagies Leesburg, VA 703-771-6398 210 A Fort Evans RdLeesburg, VA 20176 I'll also throw out there, if I'm getting a Cheesesteak in the Washington DC area, it's going to be at Capriotti's in Rosslyn VA. They're known for "The Bobbie" but their Cheesesteak is very respectable and rarely mentioned in discussions like this.
  12. I got a note from my friend Ron in Centreville, who's originally from Philadelphia. I'm originally from Northern Virginia but lived in Philadelphia for 9 years and I've told Ron that the DC/Northern Virginia area doesn't have any solid Italian restaurants that I've been a fan of. He's recommended Filomena's in Georgetown and Zefferellis in Herndon. I haven't made it to either establishment yet. The note he sent me through Facebook said "Hey, have you checked out Ciao Osteria in Centreville? It was named one of the 100 Best restaurants in the US by OpenTable.com". I don't know what that means. I don't know how one comes upon receiving that honor, but we took notice. I'm telling my wife about this place and she asks where its located. I look it up on Google Maps and I'm thinking, "Don't tell me it went into that old Ledo's location, which became a Scottos location which then became a Pomodoro location for all of 4 mos" Sure enough, that's where it is. My best friend from Grade School, Brian, who is my daughter's godfather is visiting from LA and we took him to Ciao Osteria for a New Year's Eve dinner last night and we were really happy with our visit. The interior is absolutely charming. Very hard to believe it's the same space. It's very warm and cozy. With the Christmas decorations still up the place sparkled. I had my standard draught Peroni while my wife had a glass of Negra Amaro which was nice and then a glass of the Montepulciano which she also liked. We started with the Bruschetta appetizer for $9 and the Burrata for $16. Both were good. The bruschetta bread was a little heavy, but fine otherwise. The burrata seemed like it cost a lot for a little, but it tasted sublime. Really smooth and delicious. I went with the Spaghetti Carbonara which was excellent. There are so many hack restaurants that can't get such a simple recipe right and these guys nailed it. My wife had the Gnocchi Tricolore which were gnocchi dumplings with pesto, cream and meat sauce arranged to look like the Italian flag. This too was wonderful. Light and flaky dumplings and all three sauces were great, with the meat sauce being our favorite. My friend Brian got the chicken special which was moist and delicious. The owner, Sal, came by the table to talk to us and he was a genuinely nice host. He spent a lot of time talking to my 10 year old daughter who was drawing in her sketch book. When he saw that she was drawing Manga he told her about the extensive time he spent in Asia while in the military and really connected with her. We ended the evening splitting three desserts; Mango mousse (nothing special) the tiramasu (very good) and the showstopper an ice cream Bomba which was a combination of citrus sorbet and white and dark frozen chocolate -it was amazing!. The restaurant has a beautiful pizza oven and they've apparently applied for VPN certification. I'm a Pupatella disciple, so next time I'm going to try their pizza. So nice to have such an excellent Italian restaurant only 5 minutes from home.
  13. I have elderly parents in Annandale that my kids and I visit every other Sunday to help out with chores, shopping, going to Mass etc. A part of our "ritual" has been to stop at Dulces and pick up Empanadas for everyone. Amazing how much my kids love them. Sadly, went yesterday 12/14 and there's a FOR LEASE sign and a note from the landlord that the renters had evacuated the premises. Anyone know anything else? buzzy
  14. In this post, I spoke about what Primo Hoagies would do to the expansion plans of Taylor Gourmet. I feel that now more than ever. Now, time to sit back and let the best sandwich win buzzy
  15. Call me crazy, but if you're NOW OPEN and you have a website, don't you usually throw the menu up there first? just a thought... buzzy
  16. Edan So help me God, if you steal my pizza frites idea!!! gehr
  17. I've got two words that will scare the owners of Taylor Gourmet; Primo Hoagies. They opened in downtown Philadelphia, not very far from Sarcones and all the local places that make Phillie hoagies what they are. And they did gangbuster business from the start. Why? They are authentic and good and reasonable. Nothing "Gourmet" about them. Real blue collar food and good prices. Recently visited Ocean City MD in June and ate their twice. If they opened in the DC or the suburbs, Taylor Gourmet would close up shop soon after. There's just no way they could compete. http://primohoagies.com/main/?page_id=14
  18. A couple quick notes about Centreville; 1) Anybody know why Fratelli's Italian Restaurant closed? Really, really solid red sauce Italian. Chicken lasagne to die for. Nicest group of people running it. But it was always empty...hey, wait a minute...that might be my answer, right there. Seriously, anyone with any inside scoop know what's up? I see there's already a Thai restaurant that has moved in. 2) After years of always going to Charlie Chiang's we heard about Sino's and got take out. Entire restaurant was packed tonight. Overall pretty happy with what we got. The Peking Duck was to die for. Hot & Sour soup was appropriately both hot and sour. So many places make a bland, boring, tofu laden H&S soup, that I can often tell if I'll like a place by that soup. buzzy
  19. You know, I live less then a mile from that location in Centreville and its been taking so long to build, I figured it was a new firehouse or something. At the very least, I've been looking for a sign that says "Future home of ____" If they're taking all this time to build a Mexican restaurant, I pray that its good Mexican. I haven't found a really good Mexican restaurant in this area. buzzy
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