Kibbee Nayee

On 8/8/2020 at 2:45 PM, DonRocks said:

It has been a long time since I've investigated this hypothesis, but I used to find that Vietnamese restaurants - often nondescript Vietnamese restaurants in strip malls - do really well with softshells, and price them gently to boot.

Japanese restaurants charge more, but their saucing just works with me.

Putting Don's hypothesis to the test, DoorDash and Hai Duong restaurant in Brookfield Plaza, Springfield, provided us a very nice dinner. This dish was a hit, loaded with softshells and spiced just right.

Cua Lột Chiên Bơ (Fried Softshell Crab With Butter)

Thanks to Uber Eats, Thai Ghang Waan served dinner for us last night, and it was very good. Springfield's best Thai, but worthy of consideration for slightly-Americanized Thai across northern Virginia. Here's what we enjoyed last night -- and for lunch today:

Spring rolls -- 3 small and crispy vegetarian spring rolls with a slightly sweet dipping sauce.

Larb Gai -- Really good minced chicken with refreshing scallions and lime juice.

Spicy Seafood Salad -- Seafood combination in fresh chili and lime sauce.

Steak Thai Ghang Waan -- Marinated grilled steak chunks with pickled vegetables in a spicy sauce.

Pad Cha Talay -- Spicy seafood stir fry with Thai herbs

Thai Ghang Waan is legitimately good "slightly" Americanized Thai, probably the best Thai food this side of Elephant Jumps.

Bob and Edith's in Springfield is a guilty pleasure of mine. I like their diner breakfast fare, served all day long. The food is OK, and consistent, but the service is never quick. I haven't been to Bob and Edith's since the pandemic outbreak....and I haven't tried the chili dog.

21 hours ago, captcourt said:

Any reports yet?  she asked, hopefully.

House of Dynasty in the Hayfield area of Alexandria has them on the menu -- General Tso's Soft Shell Crabs and Peking-style Soft Shell Crabs. Uber Eats helped me sample the latter.

Lots of crab, maybe as many as 4 soft shells cut into bite-sized pieces and sauced with the typical on-the-sweet-side Americanized Chinese brown sauce. It might have been on the heavy side, but it certainly rang my soft shell crab bell. Leftovers will be for lunch today.

I have been enjoying House of Dynasty on and off for about 35 years. It is venerable and reliable, although some of its dishes have changed over the years. They are on the slightly-too-much-sauce side of Americanized Chinese dishes these days, but their menu is still very dependable.

Just now, DonRocks said:

It has been a long time since I've investigated this hypothesis, but I used to find that Vietnamese restaurants - often nondescript Vietnamese restaurants in strip malls - do really well with softshells, and price them gently to boot.

You have just sent me on a mission. I will report back dutifully.

My research so far -- northern Virginia only -- comes up with RT's in Alexandria and Green Pig Bistro in Arlington on Fridays.

I'm looking for other candidates.

23 hours ago, MarkS said:

Annapolis Seafood Market has had them every time i go in, which is often.  Cantlers and Mikes have them as well. 

Mike's in Springfield?

Can't say I ever enjoyed an experience at Matchbox, mostly because of ear-shattering noise levels.

2 hours ago, susan said:

Is that recent? Where?

Time to revive this topic. We're nearing the end of soft shell crab season, and I'm on a never-ending quest to find the best versions in northern Virginia. Most of the available versions I've come across are from the Americanized Asian restaurants that deep fry them and overly sauce them. So I contacted Tom Sietsema and posted it on his chat today 8/5/2020.

The answers so far are Tracy O'Grady's Green Pig Bistro in Clarendon, where it appears as a Friday special, and RT's Cajun/Creole restaurant across from the Birchmere in Alexandria. I'm looking for others.

Back to Americanized Asian restaurants, one of my faves is Yamazato near the intersection of I-395 and Little River Turnpike. It has the Spider Roll, which uses soft shell crab, so I'm tempted to ask if they offer a soft shell crab standalone dish.

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.

1 hour ago, Ericandblueboy said:

I thought these are hailed as the best in the area but I agree with you that they're just okay.  I like Santini's better but they don't give you a lot of meat.  So where in NoVa is there a good Italian sub/hoagie?  

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.

17 minutes ago, noamb said:

How does Thai Ghang Waan (In Springfield) fit into this list? It used to be our favorite up to a year or two ago, but after a couple of less good meals it dropped off our rotation.

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.

24 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

I suppose I know Thai Square’s menu as well as anyone, so if anyone has any questions, please just ask.

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.

14 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

And the name "John's Historic Grill" positively *screams* local! 😇

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.

On 7/2/2020 at 1:14 PM, DonRocks said:

"Union Square Shopping, Dining & Travel" on unionsquareshop.com

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?!?!

15 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said:

Does this store have good stuff?  Never been, will check it out soon.

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.