Kibbee Nayee
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Everything posted by Kibbee Nayee
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No posts on this place in a a year and a half? GF and I had lunch at the Moby Dick in Kingstowne today. Mind you, Kingstowne is trying to be as indifferent as Reston with chain after chain after ever-loving chain. Crowds were seated at sidewalk tables at every conceivable chain after ever-loving chain on a pleasant early spring day. I'm certain they were eating indifferent food. Take the same parkway about 25 miles west and you can get the very same dreck. We were trying to grab a quick lunch because we hadn't eaten anything in about 12 hours, and I spied Moby Dick. In we went. I had the Combo II with salad (spicy beef roll (kubideh) and chicken kabobs) and she had the seafood kabob (swordfish) with salad. The lengthy wait (a good sign that the meal was prepared fresh) was punctuated by the bread that was baked fresh in the nearby oven, accompanied by a cucumber-yogurt sauce. We had seconds of that. During the wait I checked out the rest of the menu and the prepared sides in the fridge case, and concluded I would be back to try some more possibilities. This place isn't Shamshiry, but it certainly hits the spot and is worth repeat visits. In fact, if you're close to a Burger King (and this place is) and you're tempted, go here instead. GF's seafood kabob came out with perfectly cooked swordfish cubes and the most delicious charred onions I've had in long, long time. My chicken kabobs and kubideh were cooked to perfection, and a piece of each on a small piece of bread with the cucumber-yogurt sauce and whatever I felt like adding from the salad were bites of heaven. I left with a nicely full belly and an awakening that Kingstowne has a few possibilities that do not need to be avoided. Unlike the Reston Town Center... -
Back today for lunch. Saeed was running a busy dining room with a few "parties" of elderly diners occupying a few large tables. Ocean, the chef, offered my companion and I a few menu options. We chose the mussels and the branzino. Wow! The mussels came in a 'broth' of wine, butter, herbs and pepper. I'll be full for a few days because I sopped liberally with many pieces of bread. The branzino was, very simply, the best seafood dish I have eaten in recent memory. It was Eric Ripert good. I joked with Ocean afterwards that it would be my death row meal. Cooked to perfection and served with a parsley reduction sauce, with sides of roasted beets/turnips and fingerling potatoes. This is a destination dish.
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Thai Cafe, Springfield
Kibbee Nayee replied to scubauna's topic in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining
Welcome to the board and some of us love to "eat up" Springfield reviews. I have not tried this place yet, but it would be helpful if you were to contrast your experience here with Tommy Thai (take Loisdale next to the Mall over Franconia and 395 until it becomes Commerce, then turn into the K-Mart plaza) or Pasara Thai in Kingstowne or Panisa Thai in Burke. All are close by, all are very good and all should provide adequate context for Thai Cafe. Panisa even merited a Washington Post review. -
Girlfriend and I stopped into Tommy Thai for the first time tonight. We had no expectations, and the place was mostly empty on a Saturday night. Nice decor, somewhat spartan but spare and uncluttered and clean. Too bad it was so empty, as that bodes ill in this market. But the food was gooood! Bright, fresh and vibrant flavors, and somewhat surprising. Appetizers were the Sriracha Shrimp and the Sundried Beef. To die for. Nice and spicy on the shrimp, crunchy but moist on the beef. Moving to the standards, we had Pad Thai and Drunken Noodles. All I can say is that they compared to some of the brightest and most flavorful around the northern Virginia area, on a par with Sakoontra and Tarin Thai. I will return, and hopefully it will still be there.
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Armand's in Old Town tends to be genuine, but I'm not a fan of a lot of bread in my pizza. Put me down for New Jersey - New York pizza. Always remember, the best French food in the world is available in France, the best Chinese food in the world is available in China, and the best Italian food in the world is available in New Jersey.
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I may have forgotten to mention that the service was spotty, and that's being generous. We were ready for our check and the waitress disappeared for something like 15-20 minutes. I agree with your assessment, especially considering all the 'genuine' Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai and Japanese within a mile or two....
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Had a few business related meals and my company's Christmas Party at Hoang's in Falls Church. I'm surprised it hasn't been written about, but I think I understand that. With all the genuine Asian food available all over the Falls Church area, this little restaurant would never really be my first choice. But if I had a "Pan-Asian" choice strictly PF Chang's and Hoang's, I would pick Hoang's in a heartbeat. Add Cafe Asia to the mix and I would pick Cafe Asia for food, Hoang's for atmosphere/ambiance and PF Chang's for service. The food here is credible, not special. The lunchtime menu is a once-over Asia, and the flavors are fresh and bright. But if you have a real hankering for Thai, or Chinese, or Vietnamese, then go to one of the many options available all over Falls Church.
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Dining in Tysons Corner Malls
Kibbee Nayee replied to Joe H's topic in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining
From people on the Board of the Tower Club, they are dreading the traffic snarl that the Metro construction will create, in an already too-congested Tysons, but they're not entirely certain what that will mean for restaurant traffic. For those who work in the Tysons area, it will probably mean hunkering down at local bars and restaurants until the traffic dies down at rush hour. For those outside of Tysons, it will probably mean avoiding Tysons like the plague for a few years....just passing along the Tower Club concerns.... -
I don't like the GAR chain. It's either the smoke from the bar, the ear-shattering noise, or a menu with darned few options that I find appealing. As Tom Sietsema pointed out with Jackson's recently, everything came out of the kitchen too sweet. I noticed too much salt on many occasions, including the Drunken Ribeye at Coastal Flats and the Grilled Pork Chops at Mike's. I'm very tired of the short-smoked salmon on every menu -- do they truck these around from a central kitchen? Same with the basil redskin mashed potatoes? -- and who the heck thought that sun-dried cranberries in just about every salad was a good idea? More and more, I'm finding myself avoiding the GAR chain. I haven't quite gotten there with Clyde's yet, but I have a feeling that's coming.
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Hit Konami with girlfriend last night. It was OK, probably not worth seeking out for a return visit, but the sushi was reasonably fresh -- albeit cut on the smallish side -- and the Kirin Light seemed like a perfect accompaniment. Nothing specific to complain about, but nothing stood out as being exceptional either. A business colleague mentioned that Sukara down the street was a better bet....
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First, happy to hear Chef Massimo is doing well. I had a RW lunch yesterday at Domaso. My first observation was the open kitchen, and it ran without much commotion or chaotic frenzy through the lunch service. (Actually, my first observation is that the hotel is pet-friendly, and that threw me off a little.) The new chef (Massimo De Francesca?) appeared to be in calm control. Also, the stalwart of the dining room at Tivoli, Tony, has settled in nicely at Domaso. But the place has an uber-chic feel that will be difficult to get accustomed to. I had the baby arucola salad and the vegetable sandwich. Neither could be described as special in any way, but they were well prepared and honest to their ingredients. I could have ordered more interesting fare but it was, after all, Ash Wednesday, so I tried to be a little abstinent. I skipped dessert. My companion had the same salad and the bolognese, which he claimed was very good. I'll give the place a few more tries at lunchtime, because upscale options in the Rosslyn area are limited. But I can see myself adding it to my list of only-go-there-if-someone-else-is-paying places.
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Missed the transition on that one.... Stopped by LB yesterday and picked up the lamb ouzi and the mixed grill. Lebanese comfort food on a chilly February evening....yum!
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Hey....there was a House of Pizza run by Greeks in Millersville, PA. I haven't been there in 30 years, but I remember fondly the greasy pizza topped with canned mushrooms, accompanied by a pitcher of Genessee Cream Ale, as my standard date night fare....could it be the same chain? Yes, I grew up in Lancaster County, in my pre-foodie days, where the standard compliment for food was "That's not spicy at all!" and where a bottle of Heinz 57 was on every restaurant table.
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Quick return visit last night for carry out. I've been feeling under the weather and had a hankering for the egg drop soup, which is almost creamy with egg and loaded with chicken flavor, and really hit the spot. Also ordered the Kung Pao Chicken, which is a little different from standard Americanized Chinese fare by virtue of what seems to be Thai peanut sauce as a backdrop, and with nicely consistent triangle-shaped thin slices of white meat chicken that were tender and juicy. Call it comfort food, Americanized Chinese style, but with hints of authenticity here and there. Darren Ho is the owner, and he works the dining room like a part host, part entertainer, part birthday party clown. He and his wife Maggie try to learn everyone's name and make every trip there an up-tempo event. Sometimes it works, and sometimes I'll take the carry-out.
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The title of this thread includes Springfield, and a search of "El Pollo Rico Springfield" reveals an address at 7031 Brookfield Plaza, and a phone number that doesn't have El Pollo Rico at the other end. I suspect it is closed...? That would be surprising, because other Peruvian restaurants are thriving in and around Springfield.
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I pass it numerous times and although I'm tempted to try it, when I have a hankering for serious Vietnamese food, Four Sisters is only about 3 miles away from this place....
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A quick Web search shows a mysterious presence of El Pollo Rico in Brookfield Plaza in Springfield. I know Brookfield Plaza like the back of my hand, and there's no El Pollo Rico there. Is it a past location or maybe a future location...?
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I used to work across the little park from Gerard's Place. I was amazed at how talented was the chef but how poorly attended was the restaurant. It had a blue-haired lady clientele, for the most part. It never seemed to meet expectations, for whatever reasons, even though Gerard himself may have been one of the more accomplished chefs in the city. It was like Gerard's Place was trying to be Cafe Renaissance in Vienna.
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Yes, Canton Cafe will feed you well for dim sum. But raise it another notch on the weekends and go 2 miles down Franconia Road to Sampan, and you will be uplifted. Mind you, I will be back and forth between them, with the annoying lure of the best Middle Eastern 'dim sum' in northern Virginia (Mediterranean Gourmet Market two doors down just disembowels dim sum with mezze). But if I am well resourced and plenty in the green, I'm oh so there...
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Wow. Six would brace him for a night of serious drinking. I doubt I could do more than five myself....!
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The story on the radio was that Obama walked to the counter and said "Where's the food?" They ended up enjoying a half smoke on a steamed bun with mustard and chili and onions, along with chili fries. The President Elect will probably have to hit the gym pretty hard today.
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Lately I've been attending events where drinking to excess is the norm, and therefore I've been taking taxi cabs to and from. I make it a habit to debrief the drivers on their favorite places to eat. This place gets as many mentions as Mediterranean Gourmet Market in Franconia, so it has the cabbies' seal of approval.
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Whichever Matchbox you go to, take ear plugs. I can't enter one anymore unless I'm alone. The noise is deafening.
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I hate chains. I loathe chains. Starbucks, Outback and McDonald's are at the top of my hate list. Starbucks wins the special prize by creating the "barista" and the faux-chic jazz atmosphere. I call it burned coffee. Yuk.
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I have the moniker of Kibbee Nayee, so I should know something about Middle Eastern fare. My mother may be the best Middle Eastern cook in the world, but since she lives 120 miles away, I have to have a substitute. I've been all over northern Virginia, the District and southern Maryland. There is no better Middle Eastern food in this region than Mediterranean Gourmet Market. Fair warning, this is a deli/market more than a restaurant. There are only a sparse few tables scattered between a few rows of grocery shelves, but the magic is in the back, wherein lies the kitchen and wood-fired oven. The Lebanese "pizzas" that emerge from here dwarf the chic nouveau flatbread places cropping up all over our beloved 'burbs. But don't stop here. The little mini-pies, loaded with any of meat, labne (thick yogurt), cheese, spinach or kishk (a yogurt-sesame paste) are delicious and fortifying. Then there's the mezze, an assortment of anything you can imagine, but lifted higher than the current Middle Eastern standbys. Try hommus (the best around), baba ghanouj, tabouli, lubieh (green beans) and bamieh (okra) bil zeit (braised in tomato sauce), stuffed grape leaves, olives, and on and on. If you're able, move on the main courses, where chicken, lamb and beef shish kabob highlight the offerings. There's also gyros and souvlaki, which may be a tip of the hat to the Greek neighbors of the Lebanese, but if you taste these versions you'll understand, culinarily speaking, that these delicious dishes came from the Lebanese-Syrian region and were taken over by the Greeks. Interestingly, whenever I ask a taxi cab driver where they like to eat, they invariably point to this haven of the best of Middle Eastern cuisine. Thankfully, it's only a few miles from where I live, but if it were 100 miles away, I would still be a regular.
