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hopsing

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Everything posted by hopsing

  1. hopsing
    My husband and I went a second time last night and all was still good. Service was much improved this time. My husband adored the squid ink pasta with seafood dish, declaring it better than many dishes we had in Italy. I had the daily special, lobster ravioli. Totally decadent and delicious, albeit a little too salty. My husband was not excited about the spinach salad. He still loved the fritto misto and I still loved the fried oysters (another special). All in all, this place is a keeper and I hope others will check it out soon because I don't want this place to go out of business--there, I've said it.
  2. hopsing
    I used to like Vapiano's Ballston for their pizza and their happy hour wine prices. However, I went about a year ago and had a really bad pizza. I never went back. Too many other reliable pizza places around; no need for me to retry one that gave me a bad experience. I'll cry all the way to Bronx Pizza, Piola's, or Wiseguys...or of course, Pupatella's.
  3. hopsing
    I'd written this place off years ago, but a couple of events made me try again. One was a gal pal lunch organized by a friend who had held her wedding reception there. The lunch was a good deal - $13 for salad or soup, entree, and raspberry sorbet. I had the onion soup and it was very pleasant - not so salty like it is at La Madeleine. My entree was a seafood crepe -very nice. The sorbet was rich almost like a gelato. The second event was a happy hour sponsored by an organization I volunteer for. Again - pleasant sitting outside in the courtyard with acceptable\y-tasting house wines for $4 - I had the shiraz. I figured it was time to check the place out for dinner again and dragged my husband Friday night. I made better picks so I think I liked it better than he did. We loved the mushroom strudel, onion soup, warm brie and honey, prosciutto-wrapped dates. We liked the mussels (fresh but broth could have been more interesting). The crab cakes and pork sliders were disappointing. Mixed bag. What I really love is the wine store associated with the restaurant. You can buy the bottle there at retail prices and drink it for dinner (a corkage fee of $5 or $7 depending on price of wine). We had a bordeaux that cost $25 (including corkage fee) that I had recently drank at a different French restaurant for $45. That is a true bargain...just need to figure out how to drag my husband back again.
  4. hopsing
    Rarely have I been this impressed by a new restaurant. My favorites were the fritto misto, fried oysters (daily special), and the squid-ink pasta with seafood. The seafood was fresh, fresh, fresh! My seafood pasta dish was uniquely flavored - I think olives were involved. We also had the pasta with pork sausage and caprese with fruit. Those were good but not great. Good variety of red wine in a wide range of prices. Service was friendly but not very efficient. My fried oysters were sitting at the kitchen counter too long so by the time it was served to me, they were cold. After complaining, they were replaced by a fresh, hot batch and the taste and freshness was stunning. The wait for food was also long. However, it is a new restaurant and the food is great, so I will cut them some slack because the food is so darn delicious.
  5. hopsing
    I finally made it to Wiseguys today. I was there around 12:30pm and the line was about 6 people ahead of me. It's a small space so it doesn't take long for the "line to be out the door." Anyway, the line moved okay fast and the pizza was delicious. I had my usual childhood meal of 2 cheese slices and a Coke. And it was Mexican Coke I got or as I like to call it Original Coke. The crust tastes like real bread. Outstanding plus the slices were big. In fact, the pizza guy replaced a skinny slice to give me 2 big slices. That is what I call customer service! Many people get it for takeout to eat in their office so I was able to sit at their indoor counter. Does this mean I will abandon my old faves, Bronx Pizza and Piola. Nah, I like the variety. This may be my new carryout pizza pie place to replace Joe's Pizza and Pasta (way inferior). Too bad they don't deliver.
  6. hopsing
    I like the GARG and if they are considered robotic then maybe I like robotic. I'm going to Coastal Flats tomorrow and look forward to their delicious bacon cheeseburger. I've been going to GARG restaurants since Carlyle was called Carlyle Grand Cafe. All the dinners haven't been winners, but many of them have and I have to say I am impressed by their food quality, friendly and efficient service, and price points. Do I wish all restaurants were like GARG. No! I like variety but I am really glad that GARG is in business and doing well.
  7. hopsing
    I would like to visit it but I'm worried about the parking situation there on a Saturday night. Where should one park?
  8. hopsing
    This thread makes this Brooklyn gal want to head off to Wiseguy's as soon as possible. I walked by last week and saw that they had Mexican Coke (that means the original Coke to oldsters like me). A "real" Coke and a NY pizza slice--just like when I was a kid. I hope to experience that nirvana when I go to Wiseguy's.
  9. hopsing
    It is a bit far-flung but I enjoyed Miss Minerva's afternoon tea in Culpeper. They had the best food and a great variety of tea to choose from.
  10. hopsing
    I've been to China Wok twice now and it is my go-to place for Peking Duck. The rest of the food so far is pretty good too: Singapore noodles, fried seafood with broccoli, pan-fried meat dumplings. There is a lot of buzz about Peter Chang (including from me) but I like this place too.
  11. hopsing
    I had a BGR lobster roll in 2013 and it was perfectly awful. Didn't taste at all like lobster and it came in the slider rolls. Never again! I did like the lobster roll at Coastal Flats I had a year ago. Also came with fries and roasted corn on the cob. Not cheap ($21) but I thought it was worth it.
  12. hopsing
    It's true. I am not an expert but I like food and this forum has been helpful in many ways. I look at it every day to see what people are saying. I generally don't go to the real trendy places, but this forum will talk about any restaurant, good or bad, trendy or sleepy. It's a gem!
  13. hopsing
    I was walking through Rosslyn and noticed 2 new pizza places: Wiseguy Pizza and Spinfire. As a pizza lover, I am all in favor of new pizza places opening up. I look forward to Veloce and trying out the 2 new Rosslyn joints.
  14. hopsing
    From the new menu, I see he has my beloved mussels with smoky fennel broth from Liberty Tavern. Liberty Tavern no longer has that dish and even when it did (after Liam left), it didn't taste the same. Can't wait to have it again!
  15. hopsing
    I want to give a shout-out to Hamilton management for dealing with my alleged food poisoning incident in January. Somebody contacted me a few days after - they have a food safety consultant. She had discussed my case with the kitchen and although there were 30+ servings of my dish the same night, nobody reported being sick. She chalked it up to norovirus. I was impressed with their follow-through after an email I sent. I think many other restaurants would have just ignored me.
  16. hopsing
    We went Saturday night. I wasn't that crazy about the pizza. The crust wasn't horrible - a bit soggy, but the so-called "fresh roasted" mushrooms were rubbery and tasteless. Plus it was a premium $4 topping. I also didn't like the parmesan/romano they sprinkled on it. I hate romano and will tell them to leave it off if I ever have pizza here again. We did enjoy the eggplant parm and meatballs. Myhusband liked the Caesar salad. He thought the lasagna was so-so and I had a taste and thought it was too bland. We also enjoyed the varieties of wine by the glass. My donut was also disappointing. It was a small filled donut with tons of granulated sugar around it. I guess for $2 it was okay. Bottom line: we will go back but probably not for pizza. I don't think Willow has anything to worry about regarding flatbread competition.
  17. hopsing
    We haven't been there in so long. I remember their burgers were very good and decadent! Will have to give it a try again.
  18. hopsing
    I love the GAR restaurants. Good food, friendly and efficient service, nice ambiance. What is not to like. Maybe not the most creative food in the world, but when I go there I'm pretty confident I'll have a good meal for a decent price. It is part of my rotation. Their burgers are terrific as are the short ribs. My husband likes the salad (he likes the dried cranberries and walnuts) and the trout which also has walnuts--maybe redundant but it is not a big deal. I guess to each his own. Not a Michelin restaurant, but still pretty terrific in my opinion.
  19. hopsing
    I will definitely give this place a try being a pizza lover and it being walking distance from my house. I noticed a groupon but it didn't look like I could spend $40 for 2 people on just non-alcohol items so I'll go without the coupon. I do enjoy Willow flatbread and is my benchmark for flatbreads. If you want a really bad, bad flatbread, try the Margarita flatbread at Brio in Tyson's Corner. Sliced winter tomatoes, non-melted mozzarella, tiny slivers of tasteless basil on top of what feels like matzo.
  20. hopsing
    I went to the LPQ Farragut West location for breakfast the holiday Monday. The coffee was good but as Tujague notes the little pots are not good for keeping coffee hot. I wanted a waffle but my spidey sense made me ask if it was freshly made. No, they just heat it up. What about the brioche French toast. Yes, that was fresh. Well, it wasn't bad but it wasn't my idea of French toast--not sure if there were any eggs used. Next time I'll stick with the baked goods and forget the hot stuff.
  21. hopsing
    Looks like they got rid of my beloved pork belly and polenta app, but they added some interesting stuff I'm willing to try. Their wine list looks like it shrunk and is rapidly getting out of my price range!
  22. hopsing
    This restaurant is in our regular rotation. We always get the Taverna Special which is a sampler of spanakopita, grape leaves, moussaka, pastitio, green beans. We always like it. It includes foccacia-style bread and a small Greek salad. What's not to like? Top it off with a Kouros Red.
  23. hopsing
    I ate at Rice Paper a couple of months ago at lunch and was not impressed. I ordered some grilled pork dish with vermicelli noodles and the pork was very very dry. Since people seem to like Rice Paper, what are they ordering there that is so good?
  24. hopsing
    Can you elaborate on the loss of quality control? I've eaten a couple of times recently at the Spout Run location and it doesn't seem any better or worse than it used to be. Crowds are less so it is easier to get a seat--maybe that is due to lack of quality?
  25. hopsing
    Maybe the restaurant's food is better in Europe. I was surprised how much better the Egg McMuffins and coffee were in China compared to US versions.
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