Kibbee Nayee

I sort of see your point. I think it looks pretty reasonable with the typical 2 Amy's, Breadline, Pete's Apizza, Malaysia Kopitiam, Tackle Box, Tacqueria Nacionale and Dukem, among others. Not bad but not overly compelling. It's probably the "cheap" thing that hurts the District on this one, because CitiZen, Palena, Komi, Vidalia and a couple dozen more on the high end trounce the 'burbs. The Virginia list may be more interesting for me, with Shamshiry and Lebanese Butcher, Ravi Kabob and Ray's Hell-Burger, El Pollo Rico and Honey Pig, Eammon's and Four Sisters....I could eat my way up and down that list all year long. If I lived on the Maryland side, I would be all over that list too. Joe's Noodle House, the Wheaton El Pollo Rico, Bobby's Crabcakes, Cuba de Ayer, Burger Joint....there's good eating all up and down that list.

Hear, hear! Nicely observed and written, DR. Shamshiry is in my rotation. It's one of my go-to lunch places in Tysons. I'm always amazed at how many different tastes and textures can be concocted from a simple platter of kebobs, rice, veggies, spices and bread. This is Persian comfort food. A separate kebab-only discussion might be interesting too, with Ravi high on that list, not to mention Lebanese Butcher and Aabshaar....

Could it be the Blackthorne Inn...? http://www.blackthorne-inn.com/dining_dinner.htm

This place scares me. Went to the Kingstowne location with friends who had a gift card. It takes seafood to the level that PF Chang's takes Asian food. There's the trendy communal table running the length of the bar, the signature "bang bang shrimp" on the appetizer menu, crab cakes made with something, and generally 50+ identical menus around the country with no real chef in the kitchen. Yawn...!

Delia's was jam-packed at lunch today, including Fairfax County's finest at one table. I had the always superb Greek salad topped with souvlaki, and my companion had the excellent Peruvian chicken with sides of rice and salad. This is Springfield's comfort food headquarters. Ever wonder what to do on that weeknight when nobody feels like cooking, and Dad wants man-food like a whole Peruvian chicken, Mom wants a healthy Greek salad topped with grilled chicken or souvlaki, one son wants good pizza, another son wants a cheeseburger with fries, and daughter wants veal parmesan? You're thinking you'll need to hit a loud and mediocre food court or one of those incredibly indifferent Town Centres to accommodate all the various tastes. Think again, and head to Delia's.

Up front admission -- I'm not a fan of GAR. I think their restaurants are too loud, and the food is just not that creative. There has to be a central kitchen behind all of that ubiquitous short-smoked salmon and garlic mashed potatoes. No real chef can be in those individual kitchens, pouring out all those dry pork chops and too-salty ribeyes. Tried Mike's tonight for what might be the 15th time. Never my choice, but I get invited out a lot. First of all, I like the decor. I'm a big baseball fan. But who the heck decided that the sun-dried cranberries are a good addition to every salad? You get the same cloyingly sweet sensation and texture of Gummi Bears. I thought I finally found something on the menu worth ordering -- breaded chicken cutlets over pasta with a brown butter sauce and mushrooms. Sounded good, bit I wish I tasted more than salt. The food is consistently dreadful, which makes it consistent with Coastal Flats and Sweetwater. You can consistently count on these places to be incredibly loud, have consistently mediocre food and consistently perky wait staff. They are, uh, consistent. The GAR restaurants are, in my humble opinion, a waste of a good opportunity to eat well at another restaurant.

I think Escoffier and I will do a recon of Chutny and Aabshaar and post highlights here....

Years ago, when it was good, Kinkead's did a pretty good job. Haven't been there in about 3-4 years. I like the Bobby's recommendation. It's on my hit-list. I have not yet tried the crispy fried 'Buffalo" oysters at PassionFish, but this place knows how to fry (I love the fish tacos) and the rest of the menu is darned near impeccable.

Ugh!

From a food standpoint, this place is really a disappointment and unnecessarily so. It is a fine music venue and I've seen many acts over the past couple of years. But they have a captive audience, so they decide to serve crap when they could easily upgrade the menu and the quality to something akin to a GAR or a Clyde's without a whole lot of effort. Here's the point. Most concerts begin with an opening act at 7:30 and the main event around 8:30. But if you get there any later than about 6:00pm, your choice of seat is off in a corner or on the fringe. So you have to get there too early to have dinner at RT's or Del Merei just to get a seat, and you're sitting there for two hours with nothing to do but eat and drink! And no outside food or drink is allowed, either. Even worse, when the concert is over, the kitchens at RT's and Del Merei are closed! (Although Friday night after Delbert McClinton, girlfriend and I walked over to the bar at RT's to call a cab and have a drink, and we ordered the Cajun Popcorn (crawfish) at the bar. Yummy!) The menu selection at the Birchmere is dreadful. The wings are passable, but the dipping sauces are out of a jar. Nachos are a pile of glop on top of flaccid chips. Beef Prison Chili came out of a can. The salads are mostly out of a bag, and feature some strange concoctions -- the King Cobb Salad has three fried-hard clumps of what appear to be chicken nuggets on top, and McDonald's actually makes these better. The Smokehouse Ribs had a little bit of flavor but were clearly prepackaged and reheated. Their pizzas appear to be pre-frozen and popped in the oven at the Birchmere. So, in summary, the Birchmere is a great venue to catch a concert, but a horrendous waste of an opportunity to eat a good meal. Fortunately, they serve alcohol, which is why we always take the cab....

OK, since you wandered that far down Backlick, allow me to suggest a few more. Le Bledo Bakery across from the Brookfield Plaza (where Chutney is) is a surprisingly good Vietnamese lunch counter type of place. And on the same side of Backlick as Chutney, but across the street, is Sahm Oh Jang, the best Korean food south of Gamasot. And then, of course, there's Delia's, where the souvlaki topped Greek salad is my comfort food, and where the Peruvian chicken from the former Tumi is some of the best in the geographic area bounded by El Pollo Rico in Arlington in the north and Don Alberto's in Woodbridge in the south. Join me for a walking tour any time!

Now you have my attention. I have often dined at both of these marvelous Cantonese restaurants, and if any other restaurant is in their league, I'm there with a bib on!

While we're at it, there's plenty of good eating within walking distance. Tommy Thai and Canton Cafe are the best of the restaurants in the K-Mart Plaza itself. Directly behind the K-Mart is the Manila Cafe, which may be the best Filipino fare around, including roast suckling pig on weekends. Malek's is out in front of this plaza, around the corner from the Giant on Old Keene Mill, with good pizza and some credible Ma-and-Pa Greek food. And if you want to hike down Backlick over the Old Keene Mill overpass, Aabshaar is the best Pakistani food in the area.

Have to agree. Last night, the Dogfish was available on tap at the Red Porch, but that was the highlight. The Mile High Nachos were gut busting but otherwise mediocre. I grabbed a couple of Maker's Marks (she wouldn't pour me a double, but gave me two singles) and then a Ben's Halfsmoke All-the-Way and nestled into the game....yes, the smokie is better on U St.

Sounds like they tried to do a cioppino, which is heavenly in San Francisco. There are ways to not screw it up. Remember, this place is a shadow of its former self, which was very good 10-20 years ago. Zeffirelli's in Herndon bought Da Domenico's a few years ago, and the chef from Da Domenico's now works at the Herndon flagship. I'll still do Da Domenico's when I'm in Tysons and need nice atmosphere and quality pasta, plus the occasional surprise like the eggplant parmesan.

Directly across the plaza from Canton Cafe and Trader Joe's.

I would respectfully request a Tuesday or a Thursday, but I will acquiesce to the coordinator. I've been to China Star only once and it was a holy experience.

Count me in on this one!

Amen!

Well, if I were stuck in Farragut Square and I really wanted good Vietnamese food, I would spring for the $20 cab ride each way to Present in Falls Church. But that's just me.... The Metro will take you via the Orange Line into Arlington (I think you need to walk over to Farragut West), and Minh's (2500 Wilson Blvd.) and Nam Viet (1127 N. Hudson St.) are near Clarendon. Cafe Asia is credible but I'm sick and tired of these pan-Asian fusion places. But occasionally, they get something right. It's just that, the day you show up looking for Hanoi beef soup, they're getting the Pad Thai right....

Got you covered. I have eaten at La Hacienda and I find the food to be pretty good. It's a nice mix of Central American and Mexican, and it's authentic enough to draw a very Hispanic clientele. And if you want "Tex Mex" (yuk!), there's the minimally adequate Tippy's Tacos across the street. But my suggestion might be to cut through Lorton to Rt. 1 and head south a few miles into Woodbridge. There are many, many Hispanic restaurants all along both sides. Some of the best char-broiled chicken around is to be had at Don Alberto's. You have to go El Pollo Rico in Arlington to find anything better. It also has a full menu of Latino fare in a spare setting with lots of Latino families in the place. I've heard good things about El Charro on Dale Blvd. as well, but I haven't tried it yet. Keep in mind, you're going to pass a lot of places on Rt. 1 your friend also cannot find in China -- Five Guys, Dixie Bones BBQ, and the like -- but the quantity of Hispanic places on Rt. 1 is daunting. Go get lost and have a ball.

I think Layalina is a better selection than Me Jana, but it's about a mile and a half south.

Korean sushi is ubiquitous in our area. Probably more common than Japanese sushi. Woo Lae Oak has its own sushi menu and sushi chefs. Had the dragon roll, one of the tempura rolls and a Tysons roll, but the mouthfeel, texture, flavor and quality were notches below PassionFish. For my money, PassionFish offers some of the best sushi in Fairfax County right now. Companion had Daegoo Mae Un Tang, or codfish stew with assorted vegetables and tofu. She is Chinese, was looking for something authentically Korean, and came away thoroughly disappointed.

All I can say is blecch! This place has fallen to mediocre food, indifferent service and astronomical prices. That's the triple witching of restaurants. Tonight I had the Bibimbap, which is usually not tasteless. The sushi was credible but about three or four quality notches below PassionFish. A companion's soup dish of tofu, chicken and shrimp was declared so-so. The service decided that the half hour between when we wanted the check until when we received the check should be highlighted by a disappearing waiter and a decided effort to avoid eye contact. My children used to enjoy the Pentagon City location about 20 years ago, because cooking at the table was a novelty and it was declared the favorite of the Korean Embassy by a few of the local periodicals. The place in Tysons truly sucks.

There goes Jake's security clearance...!