Kibbee Nayee

I'm not sure how many restaurants draw the mayor when they do something new, but John's is opening an outdoor dining area, to be called Oasis on Ellis Street, and Mayor Willie Brown will be among the dignitaries to launch it.

I'm going to take incoming, but I have had enjoyable Italian subs on very good soft sub rolls from Bozzelli's in Springfield. The Metro is their classic Italian, and they just brought back their Luton Jet, which is a Man vs. Food gut bomb of a sub. This is a family-run business that has been operating since 1978, so I will support them as long as I'm in this area.

I love Thai Ghang Waan, but I seem to be a chorus of one until your post. Their shell-shrimp (goong gleur) and spicy pig liver salad are absolute faves.But everyone raves about the other places, so I wanted to get a ranking.

Meandering a bit off topic, but how would the DR community rank the Thai restaurants in northern Virginia? Thai Square, Bangkok Golden, Elephant Jumps, Rabieng, Thai Basil...?

Rice and Noodles via UberEats was our Friday night dinner hook-up, and it was more than good enough. High quality Thai in our delivery area is sparse, but with Thai Ghang Waan in Springfield and Rice and Noodles on Franconia, the options are above average. Soft shell crabs with penang curry was the hit for me, larb gai and ginger fish was my wife's favorite, and the Rice and Noodles appetizer sampler, the egg fried rice, and "Crying Tiger" (marinated flank steak with tamarind sauce) gave us enough leftovers for lunch today. Soft shell crabs don't typically travel well, but this order made it in good enough shape to be enjoyed about a half hour after it left the kitchen.

I can't tell you how much I love this place. For me, the perfect day in San Francisco includes Swan Oyster Depot for lunch and John's for dinner.

Whenever I go to San Francisco, which is at least yearly, I go to John's Historic Grill at Union Square. It is San Francisco, all rolled into a restaurant (and bar). The steaks and the lamb chops are top notch, the drinks are generous, the cioppino is world class, and the ambience is all San Francisco.

I'm surprised my comments are not on this string. I have eaten here often. The food is good, as in private club good, but not fine dining. I would compare the food favorably to the Tower Club, or some of the better Officer's Clubs in this area. The atmosphere is in keeping with the stiffer military clubs in the area. These are the places to go for a meal, in normal times, when conversation is actually easy.

Tortilla Coast was convenient to the Cannon House Office Building, so meeting the staffers for lunch was always convenient. Happy hour was almost all House staffers, and it was something of an institution in that neck of the woods. They'll need a new watering hole when normal, whatever that is, resumes.

Too many to list. My concern is whether or not they will still be there when it becomes safer.

Bumping this because I am in dire need of high-quality soft shell crab dishes in northern Virginia, pick up or delivery, and I'm hoping to get some worthwhile suggestions. For reference, yesterday's Uber Eats delivery from Yindee Thai in Springfield was barely worthy of being fed to cats. Help?!?!

I haven't been there in about 20 years, but 20-30 years ago, it was the best sub shop in the area. The Italian Store seems to have surpassed it in terms of current reputation.

I agree that the restaurants in that area will get crushed, but I am a Mama Ayesha's fan. On days where they have the stuffed cabbage special (malfoof) or the kibbeh nayeh is fresh, it's as good a Middle Eastern meal as can be had in that part of the District, and it has survived for generations.I have a feeling it will be there post-pandemic. I'll play wait-and-see on Lebanese Taverna, but their take out business has been strong. But the rest of them...? Probably not going to last.

Goldbelly just delivered two muffulettas from Central Grocery..It arrived in great shape - packed yesterday, arrived today, just enough soak of olive spread into the bread. The bread held up well, and the packaging was perfect. It was pricy -- $102 for 2 sandwiches, but it feeds 4 people. I wouldn't order it again at that price. I am thoroughly enjoying it, but I can see how it might be considered a bit too salty. I'll try Italian Store's version soon enough to compare. (EDIT: On the second day, after scraping a bit of the olive spread off, the muffuletta was a bit better. Maybe that's sacrilegious, but it works. The olive spread was just too salty.)

Thanks to the pandemic and virtual lock down, I hadn't had a decent banh mi sandwich in a few months, so I had a hankering. I drove to DC Sandwich, arrived at 11:30ish on a Friday, and the line was short. Social distancing was practiced nicely. I ordered the #1 combination, the #7 meat ball, plus 3 crispy eggs rolls, and a few of the scattered dishes on the table leading to the order window. I agree with Dean on the egg rolls. Really good and satisfying little flavor bombs. I took everything home and devoured both banh mi -- I'm not a fan of the actual rolls themselves, but the insides were very good. The meatballs, whatever they're made from, are delicious, and the various cold cuts on the #1 come together with the veggies to provide a crunch and soft combination of textures that hits the spot. Those other dishes were also good, and made for some nice weekend noshing. I don't know how they put them out on the table without refrigeration -- many Vietnamese restaurants do the same thing -- but they hold up well over a few days in the fridge at home. One dish was sliced mystery meat over lettuce and cucumbers with a nice dipping sauce, and another was slightly sweet rice cake with a topping of minced pork and shrimp. I greatly enjoyed both of them.