Kibbee Nayee

And then you're kind of stuck in a situation where you can send it back, in which case they might do something unmentionable to your order, or suck it up and eat what arrived in front of you....

I had lunch at the Eleanor, in the NoMa area under Elevation apartments. I'm nor recommending it, by any means, but it isn't terrible. It's just unremarkable, unless you want to go bowling for some reason. Let me say up front that I hate any waitstaff that doesn't write down an order. I have NEVER received my exact order from someone who just listens to your order and thinks they can remember it well enough to convey to the back of the house. Thus my burger, ordered medium rare with an egg on top and a side of salad, came out medium well with bacon on top and a side of fries. (Note -- the fries were very good.) Two of my companions ordered the rib eye, which at $26 should have been thicker than the 1/2" slices that came out. One companion ordered what looked like a reasonable lobster roll, but he wasn't raving about it. The menu has no rhyme or reason, and certainly no central theme. It's a hodge-podge of dishes that don't fit well on the same menu, like Greek salad, General Tso's wings, the aforementioned lobster roll, and "mussels and fries" (better known as moules et frites). Let's see -- Greece, China, Boston, and Belgium...?

That's the one!

And local (and visiting) VIPs. I remember a few years ago, I was walking in the front door, and walking out the same door at the same time was Mark Warner. We brushed each other slightly and I said an automatic "excuse me...." and then realized who it was, and immediately added "....Senator." He gave me a big smile and a nod.

No reviews in 3 years? I was hosting a group of millennials at my firm for lunch, and they chose Bangkok 54. I was the check-picker-upper, and I didn't dissuade them -- Thai Square is only a few blocks away, but what the heck, I hadn't tried Bangkok 54, so why not? I would say it was OK. My dish was the lunch special chicken krapow with a fried egg. I was a little surprised that the fried egg was demolished to the point of being a McDonald's-type hard chunk of yolk, and also with over-fried edges. The flavor of the chicken krapow was good, and mixed with the dome of rice it came with, was a decent-sized serving for a lunch. The egg was a puzzle. Maybe I'm missing a Thai nuance here. One of my companions was native Cambodian, and he enjoyed the same dish better than I did. Another companion was native Nigerian, and he had a "Thai-spicy" drunken noodles with tofu. There were mostly empty plates all around.

There is a big piece of our dining scene missing these days -- the all-you-can-eat roast beef establishments. I remember 101 Royal, which was behind but attached to the Holiday Inn in Old Town -- now the Virginian. All-you-can-eat roast beef plus salad bar for $15.99. Of course, that was 30 years ago. Tom Sarris, Sir Walter Raleigh, even Blackie's on occasion -- these places don't exist any more. It may be economics, because they certainly exist in Las Vegas. Why don't we have these delicious destinations anymore?

Three of us dined here tonight, and it was the same place it always was. The decor is vintage Old Town, there was the obligatory VIP in the back room, the prices are on the high side, and the veal was spot on. We all three enjoyed the Veal Landini, as unimaginative as that may have been, but the meal was quite good. There are many other Italian establishments in Old Town and everywhere else in the DC metropolitan area, and quite a few of them are better than Landini Bros. But there are darned few that have Old Town charm oozing out of its pores more so than Landini.

If my hazy memory serves me, there was a Blackie's outpost in Springfield, and I availed myself often. In the '80s, Blackie's in Springfield and Sir Walter Raleigh on Rt 1 in Alexandria were on the affordable side of my family's beef fix. Throw in Tom Sarris in Rosslyn and you have some wonderful memories of which there are darned few these days....

I can tell you that the one in Springfield is a separate entity.

I am aware of the thread for Hai Duong in Eden Center and Loehman's Plaza. The Hai Duong in Springfield's Brookfield Plaza appears not to be affiliated with the others. Lady KN and I had a very nice lunch at the Springfield Hai Duong today. They have been open for about two years, and the place always caught my eye as I drove through Brookfield Plaza in the past. Quite a lovely and clean place with an expansive Vietnamese menu that claims authenticity. It's certainly now in my Springfield Vietnamese rotation -- Springfield is not Falls Church, but it's certainly the high minor leagues to Falls Church's major league of Vietnamese cuisine. I had the crispy spring rolls (cha gio) - plenty of flavor and texture, if a bit greasy - and the pho house special combination - beefy broth in the middle of the scale of richness. I really don't like the noodles, but I worked around them. The bits of beef cuts were pleasant enough to make me come back in cooler weather for sure. Lady KN enjoyed the lotus roots salad with shrimp and pork, plus the baby clams with pork over rice in a clay pot. She raved about how refreshing the salad was, and we had to bring home the clay pot dish because we were stuffed. A few tastes of it confirmed it was good. The downside is that they have no liquor license. That seems to be the case with many of the Vietnamese restaurants in Springfield -- Saigon City has wine and beer, but Le Bledo, Pho 495, and Pho Hong Anh are dry. Again, the menu is expansive -- one table's bird's nest seafood combination looked delicious -- and the claim of authenticity will be explored at length over time.

I like how this thread has explored iconic Philly sandwiches. A few miles west in Lancaster, there are a few semi-iconic sandwiches that you'll rarely see anywhere else. Liverwurst, or braunschweiger, with onion and mustard on rye -- that's a Lancaster sandwich. Lebanon sweet bologna with mustard on white bread is also a Lancaster classic. Or fried bologna/scrapple/ham loaf (your pick) with onions on a bun. I post this on September 27th -- Lancaster was the capital of the United Staes for one day on September 27, 1777.

There are plenty of places to get a good cheesesteak in and around Philly. Pat's and Geno's are not those places. Locals don't eat at Pat's and Geno's.

Not to be forgotten is that ketchup is the national condiment of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A righteous Pennsylvania restaurant will have salt, pepper, and ketchup on every table. Heinz may hail from the western portion of the state, but it is the official brand of Pennsylvania ketchup. And only in Pennsylvania is ketchup on a hot dog acceptable.

Well, both are Italian beef sandwiches. I think the differences are subtle. My definition -- others may have their own definition -- is that Chicago is sliced roast beef on a roll, dipped in the jus, and covered in giardiniera. In Philly, the beef is usually wet, but the whole sandwich isn't always dipped, and is served on a round kaiser bun. Also in Philly, you're not likely to see giardiniera as a topping, but you are more likely to see ketchup as a topping. You almost never see ketchup as the topping in Chicago.

I agree. Never have I ever uttered the words "Whiz wit" in my life. Give me provolone every time. Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia should get a shout-out. Carmen's and Spataro's are two of the better cheesesteaks I've enjoyed. Wit-out Whiz.