dgreen

Motier Clifton now open. https://www.motierclifton.com https://m.facebook.com/motierclifton/

Yep. Made in house. They don’t fall apart and they double them up for each taco.

Four years later, I finally tried this place. Twice in the last couple of weeks and I'm sure quite a few more times in the future. A wide variety of tacos are available from the "normal" options (carnitas, al pastor, carne asada) to some more adventurous choices (buche - hog stomach; tripitas - intestines, I think). They also have goat and lamb and lengua and others. Tacos are under $2 (either $1.69 or $1.79, I can't remember). They also have tortas, burritos, sopas, and my wife ordered chilaquiles today which was good and a fairly large portion (she brought half of it home). There are two types of salsa with decent, but not overpowering, heat and a toppings bar with jalepanos, cilantro, onions, beets, and more. I'm going to call this place "authentic". In our two visits, it was busy both times and we, along with one other person on our first visit, were the only non-Hispanics. The cashier speaks some English but certainly isn't fluent. That didn't stop my wife from trying to ask several questions about her order which I believe went mostly unanswered. When the orders are ready for pickup at the counter, the lady only calls out numbers in Spanish. No worries, though, they recognized we might need a little help with that and made sure we got our order when it was ready. Facebook Page

Always good to hear about successful data/IT government projects. It’s nice to work on, and contribute to, something like that.

I don’t remember which teacher or what grade it was in, but I had a teacher tell us this by using a surprise quiz (rather than a hanging) one day next week. For some reason, I remember that above a million other things I was told in school.

Man, this sucks. Sitting in the parking lot now on my way home the airport and see the sign. Booooo!

Went to Ginger for an office lunch. Horrible. $26 for a smallish plate of seafood drunken noodles. Absolutely no spiciness to it at all. I'm glad I just ordered water because those who ordered iced tea or a soda noticed they were $5 when the bill arrived. $5. For iced tea/soda. At least there were free refills for that $5. MGM and National Harbor must combine for the worst collection of restaurants in a small geographic area. ETA: Oh, and they refused to do individual checks. They scanned cards separately by the amounts we told them to put on each card, but wouldn't give each person a separate check.

And parking isn't that expensive if you can't get it validated (which you easily can). If you're willing to pay Mon Ami Gabi dinner prices, then the extra $4-5 for parking doesn't seem like a deal breaker to me.

I've been going to the Fair Lakes location for many, many years. I want to say I first found it in the mid-90s. It's been a go-to for our family. Unfortunately, my last two visits there have been disappointing. A few weeks ago, I called in a to-go order: large white pizza and a large antipasto italiano salad. They said it would be 20 minutes. I probably arrived at Tony's about 15 minutes later. It was a Friday night and they were really busy. The pickup line was back to the door. I waited in line, paid, and stepped aside to wait. At this point, we were probably just over 20 minute time since I called in my order. I could hear the owner telling callers on the phone that their orders would about 30-35 minutes while I waited, so I assumed might be a few minutes late. Not a big deal. I can wait a few extra minutes. After about 20-25 extra minutes (and seeing some people who ordered after me get their food), I asked the owner if he could check on my order. His response was, "Did we call your name?" I said they hadn't and he just told me that means it's not ready and they'll call my name when it's ready. A few minutes earlier I saw him dealing with an angry customer and just didn't feel like pressing him on my order with a response like "I ordered 45 minutes ago." Maybe 10 minutes after I asked about my order, they called my name and I was on my way out. Interestingly, at that time, my pizza was already boxed and sitting on top of the oven. They were waiting on the salad that whole time, as best I can tell, which seemed really odd. The pizza was no longer hot, so I popped it in my oven when I got home. The food was still good and I assumed this was just an outlier on a busy Friday night. Sunday night, my youngest son wanted a calzone so we went to Tony's. They weren't busy at all. Only about half the tables were full and nobody was in line in front of us. My son ordered a meat calzone, I ordered a steak and cheese, and we added some cheese fries. The calzone came out in normal time. It's just reheated like the pizza by the slice orders. And then, again, the wait started. My son (9), who is not a particularly fast eater, finished his calzone before anything else was delivered to my table. The steak and cheese came out about 30 minutes after the calzone. When that was delivered, I said, "We also ordered cheese fries," to which he responded, "They are on their way." We received non-hot (but also not cold) cheese fries about 5 minutes after the steak and cheese. Interestingly, the subs and fries come from the same side of the kitchen as the salad that apparently took ridiculously long to make in my previous visit. I'd prefer to keep Tony's in my local rotation. I'm sure I'll go again, but if I have to wait again 40+ minutes for a sub or salad or whatever, then I might have to move on. I hope it was just an unlucky coincidence in back-to-back visits. I'm considering sending them an email, since I really want it to remain a good restaurant. Anyone familiar with how complaint emails are received in the restaurant industry? Are they taken seriously?

Hen Penny is new to RTC, serving chicken. Haven't been in a couple years, but there was good Mexican in the back of Lake Anne Market & Deli.

Penn Quarter should be open in a few weeks. In Reston Town Center, they opened Hen Penny, a lower price point fast-casual establishment. Not sure if it gets its own thread or not. --- [For sure. DR]

Tried it. It was a pretty good burger. Fries were definitely frozen. I saw an employee pull a bag out of the freezer, open it, and dump them in the fryer. The owner (I assume) was very nice. Kids loved it. One son said "I wish I could have another burger." We will definitely try it again. As I said earlier in this thread, we'd really like a good burger place out this way so hopefully this place can deliver.

Is this the right thread for the K ST NW location? [Yes] Had lunch there yesterday since I was attending a conference at the convention center. Just want to give a shout out to the employee who went the extra mile to make things right for me. I ordered my meal and waited. I noticed that some people who probably ordered almost 10 minutes after me were receiving their food. The employees also noticed and checked on my order and found out that something got messed up. I guess it was lost somewhere and the kitchen hadn't even started preparing my meal. The employee repeatedly apologized and took my order again. He fully refunded my payment and told me to go ahead and grab a drink out of the cooler while I wait. He apologized a few more times and offered to grab me another free root beer when he noticed I was done with the first. I declined and told him he's done plenty. Later, he offered something free if I ever come back in when he's working or he can write me a note in case I come in when he's not there. I declined that, too. He then jokingly said he'd go across the street and buy me a coffee, but I'm pretty sure he would have done it if I wanted him to. We had a brief conversation about how too many places don't try to make things right when they make a mistake. It's nice to see an employee who is clearly empowered to make such decisions. He definitely did all he could and more. It's been a long time since I was at a Ray's joint. I didn't know there was a location nearby and was excited when I saw him come up on my Google Maps search. Food was good as usual and the employee displayed over-the-top customer service once he realized what was going on. In my opinion, that man deserves a raise or a promotion or a bonus or something.

It's open in Centreville. It's on the Lotte Market side of those shopping centers, in the corner next to Minnieland. Glad to have it in the neighborhood.

Forgot to mention that I think the plan is to open Silver Spring this Fall and Penn Quarter early next year. Both in old Austin Grill locations.

I had the opportunity to attend the Friends and Family dinner at the new Hen Quarter in Alexandria. For starters, Hen Quarter is significantly better than Austin Grill. I know, not saying a whole lot there, but I had some concerns since it is still the same company. However, something I learned is that Thompson has created another group within in the company to handle the new restaurants and they are running the show. The exterior of the building has been painted and the interior contains a lot of wood and some "southerny" décor. As you walk up the stairs to the second level, there is a bourbon bottle chandelier. It's a nice, clean space. My table tried biscuits, fried green tomato, kale and mango salad, short rib, and chicken and waffles. Everything was good. The short rib was a perfect medium rare and the chicken was crispy. The biscuits came with house made butter and jam. The cheddar and corn waffle was also served with house made butter and a bourbon maple syrup. They use sous vide. The waiter was nice but seemed a bit nervous. Food was a little slow to come out, but not horribly late. My seat was fairly close to the open kitchen, which was a bit loud. A quieter spot away from the kitchen would be better. I don't drink so I can't comment on the alcohol selection, but looks like they have a good-sized list of bourbons. Overall, I think it seems like a good concept and I wish them luck. Main dishes are $17-34.

I excitedly opened this thread when I saw the title because my wife and I keep saying to each other "I wish we could get a good burger near us." Unfortunately, the pics on that menu look awful. I will let someone else try it first and report back.

I will be in Ottawa next week. I'll be on my own at least for lunch and dinner Sunday and breakfast Monday and Friday. Monday through Thursday night will likely be with a work group so I'll just go wherever they go (some dinners are already pre-arranged). I'm staying downtown on Queen Street and won't have a car. Hull and Byward appear to be in easy walking distance and seem like good areas to explore (I'll spend all of my free time Sunday wandering around). Any updated info is appreciate!

Ciao Gelato opening soon next door.

Here is a link: 02/12/16 - "Redskins-Themed Restaurant Coming Soon in Loudoun County, VA" on m.redskins.com

Made a reservation at The Hamilton. I have to finalize the final count 24 hours before the reservation and they say they'll charge my cc $25/person who doesn't show up. That's the best deal I've found so far.

I guess there's a reason the downtown location isn't on the web site and nobody answered the phone?

Zaytinya wants a contract up front. Boss Shepherds menu looks rough for vegetarians. Basically limited to a salad and some sides? Chef Geoff's looks promising. Web site allows for reservations up to 20 people, but doesn't include the downtown location for some reason. I called the downtown location and nobody answered. I'll try back later.

The vegetarian options at Acadiana seem a bit sparse.

Argh! Woodward wants the minimum purchase and private room, too!!! I even said it's ok if we're not all at the same table and they said "We don't do that." I'm not even sure what that means. I guess I could have two or three people call in separate reservations to get us as separate tables, but then we could be at opposite ends of the restaurant (which may not be a big deal, but preferable if the tables are near each other). This is frustrating.