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Kibbee Nayee

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Everything posted by Kibbee Nayee

  1. Kibbee Nayee
    Count me in, Don!
  2. Kibbee Nayee
    We were downtown -- which, by the way, is quaint and nice -- and it was around 2:00pm. We noted that Foode closes at 3:00pm and re-opens at 4:00pm, so not wanting to intrude on family meal or transition to dinner service, we ended up at Peter Chang. It was a solid meal, led off by delicious scallion puff cakes and dry-fried eggplant. (I'm not a fan of the Dining Guide clumping all the Peter Chang restaurants into Multiple Locations, while restaurants like GARG get broken out separately....)
  3. Kibbee Nayee
    Heading to Fredericksburg with LadyKN on Friday or Saturday, July 5-6. Any updates to this list?
  4. Kibbee Nayee
    Aabshaar closed earlier this year, and the location is now Des Pardes Restaurant and Sweets. It's apparently a Pakistani restaurant, with no website. The Facebook page is linked.
  5. Kibbee Nayee
    Lititz is the gem of Lancaster County. My sister-in-law grew up there and I spent many memorable times there. The Wilbur Chocolate retail store is right in the middle of town -- Wilbur Chocolate was made there before Cargill bought them. The Lititz arts and craft show in August is well attended by local artists and craftsmen. The town is as quaint as it gets. I would consider retiring there if the road to Lancaster wasn't a horrible one-lane mess known as Rt 501.
  6. Kibbee Nayee
    I don't know why these restaurants are treated as separate entities. The only things that are really different are the names. Try to order a salad without sun-dried cranberries. I know, I've asked. Sorry, that's the way it comes. I say I don't like gummy bears or ju-ju-bes in my salad, and I'm told I can pick them out. Try to figure out what a short-smoked salmon is. Every GARG restaurant has it on the menu. Jambalaya pasta? I prefer my jambalaya with rice. Drunken rib-eye? It's prepared in salt-forward sludge masquerading as marinade. There's no real difference in these restaurants, even down to the deafening din that characterizes the ambience. Why do we even break them out separately in the Dining Guide, while clumping all of the Clyde's restaurants together?
  7. Kibbee Nayee
    Better part of this decade and no updates on one of my favorite little gems in Vienna? They are having an afternoon tea this week, and if anyone hasn't tried Cafe Renaissance, or if you enjoy afternoon tea, please go for it.
  8. Kibbee Nayee
    I agree, and I always support the locals. I'm not a fan of chains, and when I see a menu with so many items, and knowing that a real chef isn't in the kitchen, who thinks of these concepts and why do they (seem to) succeed? Shipments of corporate supplies, supplemented by Sysco, assembled by barely-over-minimum-pay kitchen staff, with a heightened sense of disinterest and lifelessness. Why even bother? Can anyone really convince me that it's better than Applebee's, Olive Garden, Chili's, TGI Friday's, or similar...?
  9. Kibbee Nayee
    Chicken corn soup is one of the more delicious and defining dishes that Lancaster has gifted our world. (If you try making it at home, a good substitute for the rivels would be spaetzle.) Think of those autumn festivals, which are designed to be mini-Octoberfests in that they showcase the finest ingredients from the harvest season, and also as fundraisers for the local volunteer fire companies. The best of best of the corn, and the best of the best of the chickens, are brought together for a celebratory feast. I typically buy at least two gallons of chicken corn soup from the Lampeter fire hall festival, and freeze one gallon. The other gallon is devoured the same day.
  10. Kibbee Nayee
    Katt -- As a former Lancastrian who assiduously avoided the tourist throngs, my suggestion is to hit the volunteer fire halls in the autumn. Tourist traffic tends to wane after the school year begins, and the volunteer fire halls usually have the best food in the autumn, with or without a mud sale. The chicken corn soup on the eastern side of Lancaster County is absolutely spectacular, and the shoo-fly pies are homemade.
  11. Kibbee Nayee
    I believe Wee Willie Keeler of your beloved Orioles hit .434 in the 1890s, but those were dead baseball slap hitters who “hit ‘em where they ain’t” and benefited from fielders gloves that were more like paper plates. Didn’t Hornsby hit .424 one year? And he was right handed so that was amazing. And yes, Joltin’ Joe was a swordsman. When he was later married to Marilyn Monroe, and they did a USO tour of the troops in Korea, she got a huge ovation from thousands of troops. She asked him if he knew how it felt to get cheered by thousands of fans, he responded “Yes I do.”
  12. Kibbee Nayee
    While I agree that he would have batted .413, I posit that (1) .413 is not appreciably more amazing than .406, and (2) Joe DiMaggio would have still won the MVP because of the hitting streak.
  13. Kibbee Nayee
    I know there's a following for GARG restaurants here, but when I see "neo-industrial space" in the comments, I think of the typical ear-splitting din of GARG restaurants and why they are so unappealing to me. I also assume with the Tex-Mex egg rolls, the Charleston salad, and the Louisiana pasta, they are also pushing the same menu at all of their differently-named outposts. Short-smoked salmon, where are you? --- Blue Ridge Grill (Bob Wells)
  14. Kibbee Nayee
    I'm hopeful that the Amish and Mennonite communities will continue to get along as they always have, despite what goes on in Lancaster city....
  15. Kibbee Nayee
    That building appears to be the old Hess’s building, where I sold women’s shoes in the 1972-ish timeframe. Ah, the stories I can tell....
  16. Kibbee Nayee
    I had two lunches at Le Bledo this week. Both were very good. Lunch #1 was the combination cold cuts banh mi, and I splurged with $2 extra for double meat. It was a winner of a sandwich, with plenty of umami for my liking. Lunch #2 was the vermicelli bowl with grilled pork, with an extra $2 for 2 small chả giò. Tasty and quite good. Le Bledo is getting to be quite reliable, as far as Springfield Vietnamese food is concerned.
  17. Kibbee Nayee
    Perhaps my visit caused Saison to lose a star? Or, more accurately, Laurent Gras got 2 stars right out of the gate, and his planned renovations will likely vault it back to 3 stars. I've eaten at Dominique Crenn's 1-star Luce at the Intercontinental Hotel a few years ago, and it wasn't quite the quality that Saison is today.
  18. Kibbee Nayee
    We salute you! And now, to find a delicious steak dinner at a reasonable price in our area....are we stuck with Bobby Van's, Medium Rare, District Chop House, Urban Butcher? We need another Ray's!
  19. Kibbee Nayee
    I'll agree with your concept that there has to be a more refined measure of OPS. One thing OPS misses by a mile is whether or not the hitter is having a hot streak. I'm a big fan of OBP over batting average, and I like Slugging Percentage as a standalone stat because of how it rewards total bases, but I don't think adding them together creates a true measure. However, I'll hand it to OPS -- if you look at the top OPS lists, you'll find that the best hitters are always represented, and nobody who can rake is missing from the list. Don't get me started on WAR or fWAR....!
  20. Kibbee Nayee
    Our boss took 20 of us out to lunch today at Equinox. We had the room right next to sidewalk seating all to ourselves. The menu was shortened to a common appetizer of Yellow Tomato and Pineapple Gazpacho, choice of 3 mains -- Manna Spiced Breast of Pennsylvania Chicken, Early Summer BBQ'd Norwegian Salmon, and Turmeric Scented Fusilli with Shiitake Mushroom Bolognese -- and a dessert of Banana Fried Roll with Chocolate. The gazpacho was OK, but nothing sensational. I wouldn't return here for that dish. I chose the salmon because it was served with sweet peas, corn succotash and lemon-crab beignets. I would have preferred the Pennsylvania Chicken, but it was served with Rappahannock Asparagus, red onions, and yellow pepper coulis. I should have gone with the chicken, because the salmon was overcooked. The salmon itself could have easily been mistaken with an entree from Red Lobster, but the sweet peas, corn succotash, and beignets lifted the dish. The fried banana roll was decadent and sensational. It was the highlight of the meal, and I don't normally eat dessert.
  21. Kibbee Nayee
    Yes, it was my birthday week, and yes, it was high time for my namesake kibbee nayyeh from George and Lilian. This may have been their best effort yet. Allow me to point out that this is a hybrid grocery and restaurant. They have been at this location for a good 15 years, and they have a solid following in the Middle Eastern community here in northern Virginia. George has lost some weight as a result of some serious Lenten sacrifice, and he looks good. Lilian broke a bone in her back a few months ago, and she wears a brace and gets along slowly. But the quality level is really quite high. The kibbee nayyeh was my main reason for coming here, but we put in our typical assortment of off-the-menu orders. Wow, was this feast delicious. The kibbee nayyeh was the best ever, and the warak enab -- grape leaves stuffed with rice and meat -- was sensational. Likewise, the cooked kibbee footballs were the best I've ever eaten anywhere, with a thick layer of meat on the outside and a flavorful filling of walnuts, onions, and spices inside. I can't say enough about the perfection of each dish -- the hummus was creamy and delicious, the baba ghanouj was smoky and luscious, and the meat sfeehah was as good as it gets. Tabbouli, spinach ftayer, and labneh rounded out the feast. The feast was accompanied by fresh bread and olives from Mediterranean Bakery....I'm still in a food coma. The images are of the kibbee nayyeh before and after. A few more bites of the after disappeared after the picture was taken, and the rest was cooked for a leftover treat.
  22. Kibbee Nayee
    Thanks for calling out my hometown. I grew up there, and while it has certainly changed over the years, it retains a charm that I haven't seen in very many places across the country. A few points to add: If you haven't taken a day trip to Lancaster in July-August-September with a cooler in your car, you are missing out on some of the best produce and meats within a 3 hour drive. In September, you can bring home a gallon of life-altering chicken corn soup, and Washington Boro tomatoes will make you spit out Jersey tomatoes. In addition to Witness, the last 20 minutes of "Boys from Brazil" was filmed in Lancaster. The director, Franklin Schaffner, is a Franklin and Marshall grad, and gave the commencement speech when he was wrapping up the filming of the movie. (I am a Franklin and Marshall alumnus). Before anyone knew anything about concert venue music, the Clair Brothers of Lititz invented it for the Rolling Stones and a number of other touring bands in the 1960s and 1970s. They gave birth to Rock Lititz, and as Kat points out, they host the great bands of the world for sound checks. In 1982, Bruce Springsteen did a surprise "pop-up" 20-minute set at the Village Nightclub in downtown Lancaster after working on the sound in Lititz. Imagine the crowd's reaction, and a few of my friends were in the audience. The single-family-owned grocery markets dotted throughout Lancaster County have spoiled the local population. John Herr's in Millersville, Stouffer's of Kissel Hill, Shady Maple in East Earl, Oregon Dairy (on the Oregon Pike), Martin's in Ephrata, Yoder's in New Holland, and more ... Wegman's is a step down from these places, and yet Wegman's has just moved into Lancaster for some reason. Yes, explore Lancaster. KN
  23. Kibbee Nayee
    That's reassuring, because I love soft shell crabs and crab cakes, so your words are reassuring. I will remain steadfast in my search for this delicacy. And Dave, I'm honored to dedicate my 2000th post to responding to you!
  24. Kibbee Nayee
    I love Clyde's, at least in part because I know how much attention to detail and resources are devoted to decorating each restaurant -- and also partly because the Clyde's happy hours are among the best deals in town. I had lunch with a friend at Gallery Place today, and the Babe Ruth mural inside the front door is the most spectacular eye candy of any restaurant in the DC metropolitan area (for me). Lunch today was merely OK. I was excited to order the soft shell crab, and for $16.99, it seemed like a good deal. But what arrived was a scant little crab on a spare bed of watercress salad. Everything was delicious and went together quite well, but it was a kiddie portion. Nonetheless, I will return again and again to enjoy the baseball-themed art gallery, probably at happy hour.
  25. Kibbee Nayee
    I went into one in Germany in the 1980s, and ordered a beer. I vowed at that time I would never voluntarily set foot in an American McDonald's until they served beer.
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