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Kibbee Nayee

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Everything posted by Kibbee Nayee

  1. Kibbee Nayee
    Just enjoyed another fine birthday meal at Layalina last night. I am unabashedly a fan of this place. It is all of mom-n-pop graciousness, honest food great service, good value and warm atmosphere. Mezze covered the table and we variously chowed down on kibbee footballs (my 15-year-old son ate 12 of them), hummus, baba ghanouj, tabbouli, and beets with tabboulli. And, of course, kibbee nayee! Everything was fresh and flawless. The smokiness of the baba ghanouj and the absolute comfort of the kibbee nayee were highlights for me. Last night, it was Rima's chicken for me and girlfriend, while the kids variously enjoyed warak enab (stuffed grape leaves), shish taouk (chiken kabob) and more kibbee footballs. The warak enab was very nice, with the grape leaf cigars served over pita and yogurt, and with a nice mound of braised lamb shank meat in the middle of the plate. Even my finicky 10-year-old son gobbled down the chicken kabobs with gusto. Sam is a gracious host. And the kitchen didn't miss a beat even though Rima was out of town on a vacation to Kuwait and Syria. This is my comfort headquarters, and last night did not disappoint.
  2. Kibbee Nayee
    OK, now we're getting somewhere. I might add the Lebanese Taverna in Tysons 2, Cafe Renaissance in Vienna, and .... has anyone tried the new Equinox in the space that Colvin Run was once located across from Tyson 1 ... ?
  3. Kibbee Nayee
    Kind of desolate out there now. My favorite dining choices in the general Reston-Herndon area are really down to Zeffirelli's, PassionFish and El Manantial, with an occasional sushi place here and there. Nothing in Tysons is worth a diversion right now, although whenever I'm trapped there by traffic late in the day I'll gladly hit Lebanese Taverna or Shamshiry. Even wandering farther into McLean there aren't a whole lot of options outside of Tachibana. Yet, that side of the county generally has some wealth, but not necessarily discernment. Steakhouses and chains appear to be doing well with the young-ish and well-heeled IT crowd, or so it seems....
  4. Kibbee Nayee
    By the nature of what I do for a living, I get asked out a lot. Thankfully, I rarely have picked up a tab at a GAR restaurant.
  5. Kibbee Nayee
    More than happy to tilt with you on this one. I have had many horrific meals at GAR establishments, and have seen the Sysco truck parked at all of them throughout the mornings. And in the case of Mike's and Sweetwater, the kitchens are somewhat on display. Never saw the trained monkey flinging sun-dried cranberries or salt at any of the dishes coming out of the kitchen, but they sure taste like he's back there. And as far as service is concerned, the robotic feel at the GAR places in no way compares to the genuine mom-n-pop friendliness at the family-owned places. Never once saw a Sysco truck at the family-owned establishments I frequent throughout Springfield and Burke. There's honest food and a family feel at Aabshaar, Ravi Kabob III, House of Siam, Tommy Thai, Canton Cafe, Delia's, Village Chicken, El Sabor Bolviano and a dozen or so others. And you can actually carry on a conversation with your dining companions at these places too!
  6. Kibbee Nayee
    Too bad. Back on p. 1 of this topic, I noted that a friend of mine on the Board of the Tower Club made the point that this is the absolute wrong time to try to bring high-end dining to Tyson's Corner. Many disagreed, and I'm really sorry to be right on this one, but until Tyson's traffic mess is resolved, and until the economy allows more than just IT executives' expense accounts to support the high-end dining market, Tyson's will remain a restaurant wasteland.
  7. Kibbee Nayee
    Some people have a soft spot for the GAR chain. I personally find them appalling. First, they are uniformly too noisy for a pleasant meal with conversation. Second, I swear there's a trained monkey in the kitchen of each one of them, with one hand in a bucket of sun-dried cranberries and the other hand in a bucket of salt, making sure that each dish that comes out of the kitchen gets one or both flung at it to excess. Third, the creativity of menus are cringe-worthy -- must I have short-smoked salmon on every menu and all over it, and must I have those vapid garlic mashed potatoes as my side for every entree? Fourth, the quality of most ingredients conjures up the Sysco truck, at best. I could go on, but why bother? This is a religious war around here, and I am decidedly anti-GAR. And getting back to the heart of this topic, I have had better meals at M&S Grill than I've had at Mike's or Sweetwater or Silverado.
  8. Kibbee Nayee
    Let that be a lesson. Avoid national chains. In almost all cases, the kitchen is indifferent at best, and horrific at worst. That said, there are two exceptions. The first is that the bar at the chains usually don't suck too much. Just don't order any food there. The second is that our local chains, which are not national chains, don't suck as much as national chains. These include Clyde's, GAR, PassionFoods, Andres and a few more. Although I happen to think GAR sucks like a national chain, but if you're ever in one of their bars, see the first rule above.
  9. Kibbee Nayee
    Masa 14 is at 1825 14th St. Antonio Burrell is top notch, prepares outstanding small plates, and the cocktail selection is nice.
  10. Kibbee Nayee
    I'm honored to be in agreement with you, Vickie. Tom Sietsema had some extremely positive things to say about you this past weekend in the Dining Guide, and I for one can't wait to try the pictured roasted chicken from your kitchen.
  11. Kibbee Nayee
    I have now eaten at both of the Village Chicken places, the one behind Whole Foods and the one on Backlick that shares its space with El Sabor Boliviano. These are very good lunch counter and carry out meals, with rotisserie chicken starring on the menu, but also with nice gyro meats and and a menu that blends the meats into sandwiches, tops salads with them and mixes them in Village Check specialty bowls with rice and chickpeas or various other sides. It's hard to go wrong here -- for about a $7 lunch today I had a Cuban sub, with ham and pork and cheese on a small sub roll, with a side of fries (nicely tossed in a stainless steel bowl with a salt and cayenne spice blend) and a fountain drink. The people behind the counter are clearly Hispanic, but the fare has tinges of Mediterranean all over. The sides are on display in the glass counter, and they looked very good. I still can't quite figure out the sharing of space with El Sabor Boliviano on Backlick, but I'm OK with it because it doubles the pleasure and doubles the fun....and doubles the requirement to pay at the two separate cash registers.
  12. Kibbee Nayee
    Yes, special kudos to Antonio who had to man his kitchen but sent two spectacular dishes -- the fried chicken and the brisket. Yum. I'm still in a coma...
  13. Kibbee Nayee
    What an awesome picnic. Some of the finest food and drink I have ever consumed at one place at one time. Kudos to all, especially the pig, and special recognition to the guy who brought the Australian Riesling, a 2000 vintage Nigl, with about 18% alcohol. I have the cork. Nice wine....
  14. Kibbee Nayee
    [if I did my search correctly, I cannot find a separate entry for Sorak Garden. But if I'm wrong, our leader will redirect this post.] I am a sucker for Korean buffets, and the Total Buffet on Rt. 50 at Rt. 28 in Chantilly is one of my usual haunts. I had lunch with a friend at Sorak Garden today, and it was quite good. The Korean sushi buffet itself is worth another trip. There must have been 20-25 different types, including soft shell crab roll and very nice tuna and salmon nigiri. Then there was the soup station, which I avoided, but the waitress came by and offered miso soup which I gladly accepted. Not sure if the miso soup was at the soup station or not, but 2-3 large pots were on heaters at the soup station. The hot and cold foods -- salads, panchon, beef/brocolli, chicken/pepper, mung bean paste, kimchi and on and on -- were pretty good, although not nearly in the category of the better Korean restaurants. Overall, this is a deal at about $15 per person, and I ate more than what would be considered a pro-rated bargain. It was also nice to see a lot of Koreans in the place, making me feel like it is acceptable to the indigenous population. I wish I had a tour/taste guide to help me through the various options, because I probably would enjoy it even more. The place was relatively packed at noon. This place is worth a return trip or more, and anyone wishing to try a $20 Tuesday here is more than welcome to generate some attendees.
  15. Kibbee Nayee
    Get in line!
  16. Kibbee Nayee
    About a week ago, a table of four of us enjoyed some lovely Saturday afternoon lunch menu items in the spare dining room that was about one-third occupied. All meals were very good, with fresh ingredients and lively flavors. This place is edging out House of Siam in Springfield in my immediate rotation, mostly because House of Siam has meager portions. My particular favorite was the soft shell crabs -- two crabs lightly fried, then stir-fried in a lively garlic-basil sauce. The presentation and the flavor was quite nice, and the price tag of about $15 was not bad either.
  17. Kibbee Nayee
    About a week ago, at Rice and Noodles in Franconia, I had a lovely dish of deep fried softshell crabs in garlic basil sauce. It was quite enjoyable. In fact, delectable.
  18. Kibbee Nayee
    I applaud your taste in youth sports. But not your taste in seafood....
  19. Kibbee Nayee
    My Gawd....get thee to PassionFish. At its best, Kinkead's was never what PassionFish is. This is our seafood temple, and Jeff Tunks 'gets it'.... I've been in Washington for some three decades. Originally I had to go to Crisfield's to get good seafood. Then there was Vincenzo, near Adams Morgan, with its unique dishing of Italian seafood. Then there was Kinkaid's with all of Bob's surliness, but the run was relatively brief. The staff adds absolutely nothing to the experience. Nothing now compares to PassionFish and we are fortunate to be in its presence. You would even be hard-pressed to find better sushi, let alone seafood.
  20. Kibbee Nayee
    I will add that, if you can find Kazuhiru Okochi behind the sushi bar at Kaz Sushi Bistro, you can coax an excellent omakase out of him. Otherwise, the fare there is average these days. My experience in enjoying fine sushi was elevated when, thanks to a recommendation from Eric Ziebold of CityZen, I tried Sushi Sam in San Mateo, California. It was an incredible experience, and thus far in the DC area, only Koji at Sushi-Ko has compared favorably. Then there are the Korean sushi places in the 'burbs that are tolerable if you're looking for that style of sushi. Yoko in Vienna and Herndon and Makaku Sushi Taro in McLearan Square in Herndon are both excellent examples.
  21. Kibbee Nayee
    OK, I'll start. This board will weigh in all over the place. You will hear many say it's Sushi Taro. Some will point to Tachibana in McLean. For me, it's the Sushi Table with Koji at Sushi-Ko on Wisconsin. By the way, not to be trifled with is PassionFish in Reston. Its sushi offerings are really excellent, even though it's really a seafood restaurant.
  22. Kibbee Nayee
    Had lunch today at PS7s, outdoors on a perfectly beautiful Friday. What a great venue, on the promenade facing the building at 801 I St. The OMFG sandwich was appropriately named and a pork-lover's delight. Loaded with pork and with a brothy dip of pork jus. I would return just for that sandwich, but, there are too many other things on the menu to return for....
  23. Kibbee Nayee
    You're going to get a lot of viewpoints on this board. My choice is Old Ebbitt Grill -- lots of variety, lots of turnover, and (drum roll....) half priced during happy hours! I happen to think that the oyster offerings at all of the other Clyde's restaurants are pretty good too -- Gallery Place and Beauregard/Mark Center are my favorite alternatives to Old Ebbitt Grill, but the turnover and freshness at Old Ebbitt can't be beat. At PassionFish in Reston the oysters and other raw bar items are displayed in front of the kitchen. You can shop with your eyes (and nose) there.
  24. Kibbee Nayee
    To each his own, and you will certainly get a lot of opinions on this board. But if I had $150 burning a hole in my pocket, I would go to one of the 'national treasure' chefs we have in this area -- Jose Andres, Eric Ziebold or Koji Terano -- and just say "feed me"....
  25. Kibbee Nayee
    I have to admit, this place is growing on me. I've always liked the interior -- nice Old Town mahogany bar area, and the dining area is the best in Old Town with a soaring glass ceiling and rustic brick walls. I can happily enjoy hours on end in this kind of establishment. Of course, the interior was nice under Portner's and Bookbinder's ownership, but the food wasn't as good. [On top of that, Old Town itself is the anti-Town Center, with a look and feel that is not Disney-esque, but that is a rant for another time.] Dinner tonight was a hit all around. Three of us began with mussels, two of us with the arugula/bacon/dried tomatoes and one with the wine/garlic/tomatoes. These were impeccable mussels, nicely cleaned, big and meaty, and giving off a generous broth for sopping up with crusty baguette. If I were to plan a progressive meal in Old Town, these mussels dishes would be on the front end of the menu. In fact, on a rainy day, and accompanied by a computer screen full of good reading and a nice glass of beer, this is where I would settle in for a pleasant passage of time. By the way, the beer list is very good here, and the wine list isn't bad either. Both are well thought out. We went with lighter main courses because of highly caloric lunches earlier in the day. Mine was the roasted chicken wings off the appetizer menu, with two dipping sauces, celery sticks including the underrated feathery tops, and six juicy, meaty and perfectly cooked wings -- 3 mid sections and 3 drummettes. Delicious. Companions had the grilled salmon salad and the fried chicken breast, and declared both to be worth ordering again. This is good food served by a considerate kitchen, with a friendly wait staff and an excellent interior. Like I said at the beginning this place is growing on me.
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