PandaHugga

I went to Kaz yesterday for lunch for the first time in ages (even though I work two blocks away). Unlike my usual practice, this time I had a bento box lunch (the soft shell crab deal) along with a side of uni (sea urchin). It was all fantastic, though a bit pricy ($30 all in, with tax and tip). I need to go here more often.

I have been to Harry's a few times, for lunches and dinner and never had a bad experience; in fact I would say the experiences have been very positive. Granted, it's been a while, but I was just talking with someone about going there when I return from a trip in mid-Sept, so if I go I'll post a review.

Alas I wound up having to have a working lunch (at Kaz Sushi Bistro in DC) so could not make it today. That fried beef in something or other is a great dish, and one that I have not had in a while. I am going to try very very hard to make it to next week's outing if at all possible, as my last hurrah before a month away.

Joe and I have had discussions about the relative merits of DC as a restaurant city, especially as compared with my home town, NYC. I continue to think that DC is not at the same level as NYC or even San Francisco when it comes to European style foods, primarily since I have yet to find places in DC that can compare with the middle-of-the-road places one finds so easily in those two cities for Italian, French, Brazilian, etc Western cuisines. Where DC does do well is in the cuisines of countries that have undergone violent political upheaval (such as Ethiopia, El Salvador, etc), since I believe that the representatives of these countries' diplomatic corps wind up staying here after their countries have a coup d'etat, set up restaurants (for lack of anything else to do) and become something of a phenomenon. What else could possibly explain the number of Ethiopian restaurants in DC? Furthermore, since DC tends to have a transient population (Joe is about the only person I know from the area), people tend to think that the food back home was better.

I go to A&J in Annandale on a sporadic basis, essentially going either when I suddenly get a craving for their stuff, or if I happen to be in the neighborhood, which is rare. But I was there this weekend with my partner's Chinese teacher for lunch, and we wound up talking about something I had noticed for some time--with one exception, any non-Chinese there were accompanied by Chinese people. I am not sure whether this is because of the location, or because the menu is a bit restricted, or some other reason, but there is really no reason for "foreigners" not to go here, since the food is fantastic. For those not in the know, A&J is a Taiwan-based chain, called "Ban Mu Yuan" in Chinese (means half-acre field) with locations all over Taiwan, Beijing, California, Rockville and Annandale. They are specialists in "small dishes", such as dumplings, noodles, vegetable dishes, etc, though they also have more substantial fare, like pork ribs, fried chicken and other meats with rice. It's all very authentic, and on weekends you can even get Chinese breakfast foods like soy milk and "you tiao" (fried dough sticks). Prices are very good, too, though be warned that they only take cash.

I managed to persuade Chef Zhang to make the Chen Cang beef for the lunch that we held on August 2 at the restaurant, and I impressed on him that it was a very popular dish among our crowd. Perhaps he will bring it back before long. Also, he said that if you call a day in advance or so and tell him you'd like it, he'll make it for you, so that could be an option for you. (If you do call, make sure to pronounce "cang" as "tsang" and not "kang".)

I'm a friend of JoeH, having met him countless times through CH and been at his home occasionally (once for the risotto...). I even had lunch with him today, where he read the article and was pleased that it came out fair and balanced (how I hate that phrase). I also find that I don't agree with all (or sometimes much) of what Joe has to say about dining, and of course he can be bombastic etc (so can I), but he definitely has a passion for food, and for the DC area, and for all the things we should be passionate about if we are members of this and similar fora. I think it's a shame that CH banned him, and find that since he left that "other board" has become rather boring.

My experience of BreadLine is that some things are just the best they could possibly be, while others are pretty run of the mill. The breads, by and large, are among the best in town, so that's a plus right there. And he does some really good fillings for them. Some things, however, are just ho-hum. I guess you have to know what to order when you go there. And another thing, their air conditioning is just awful, so if it's really hot out when you go, plan to take your lunch back to your home/office.

I would be very much up for a dinner at Joe's despite it being at the other end of the universe from my house. As for comparing it with A&J, they are very different places--A&J is a very "northern" style place, serving primarily the sorts of small dishes you can find anywhere in Beijing or Taipei (it's a Taiwan-based chain, though they have branches in Beijing now), while Joe's is a Sichuan place (its Chinese name, E'mei xiao guan comes from the holy mountain of Sichuan).

I have an office just up the street from BreadLine so it is all I can do not to eat there every single day. I was there on Monday this week and had the BLT (I always get them to make it on ciabatta rather than whatever they normally use) and noticed that the bacon was rather on the well-done side. I thought about the bacon being so well done, and initially thought it was odd that it was done this way, but I came to realize that it was a good thing that it was, since it added a lot to the flavor (it did not actually taste "burnt", though it was quite dark) and of course enhanced its crispiness. I also am not fond of their piadine, nor the sausage pizza thing they do. But the soft-shell crab sandwich (again, on ciabatta rather than brioche) is sublime.

Wegman's also sells the buns, opposite the deli counter. And I once took the plunge and bought their lobster salad and found it made a perfectly acceptable lobster roll.

People have been posting here and "elsewhere" about the perceived decline of quality at China Star ever since Chef Zhang moved on to TemptAsian. Having dined there tonight I can proclaim that rumors of China Star's death have been greatly exaggerated. While Chef Liu has yet to come up with a large number of "signature" dishes, there are a few unusual dishes that are worth trying out. Also, the more standard dishes continue to be made very well. Our dinner tonight consisted of the General Kwan beef, a dish of "crispy duck Sichuan style from the (Chinese language) specials menu, and the old bamboo tower roasted fish (though it is called something like roast fish with scallions and has no bamboo tower anymore. All of it was excellent, though the duck's flavor was rather subtle (I am hoping that the flavors will develop in the fridge, since we brought a lot of leftovers home). So, bottom line is that no one should feel that China Star is now a no-go because Zhang has left. Certainly the fact that the place was packed--mostly with Chinese--when we got there at 6pm, implies that the local Chinese population is not staying away.

I understand that some of you may not be familiar with Sichuan Village, so here's some info for you. Sichuan Village is owned by the same people who used to own Formosa Cafe in Crystal City, but for reasons known only to them (and their geomancer) they are now operating in Chantilly, on Route 50 just east of Route 28, in the same shopping center as Il Mee Korean bbq. Most of their business seems to go for the buffet, which is very large, reportedly not bad, and popular with the scads of newly-arrived Chinese tourists en route from Dulles to their hotels. This is another of those Chinese restaurants that has a separate menu for Chinese and another for "foreigners". However, I don't believe there is a huge difference between the two. The Chinese-language menu is a laminated sheet, printed on both sides, with about 100 dishes or so on it (btw, they also have a website, http://www.sichuanvillage.com/, where you can see the menus for yourself). When you arrive, they seem to ask everyone if you're there for the buffet or "the menu". By all means, go for the menu. We have been there about 7 times or so, and only once did we feel that we had a lousy meal. That time the place was really hopping with Chinese attendees of a jewelry convention at the nearby Dulles Expo Center, and the staff could not cope. All our other meals have been exemplary. Among their stand-out dishes are the "crispy skin whole fish", "ma po bean curd", "boiled fish with silky bean curd" and "cumin chicken" (these are my translations, not theirs). They generally tone down the spice for anyone (including Chinese) who do not explicitly ask for it Sichuan-style. Prices are reasonable, service is very friendly, though sometime slow, and the range of dishes is commendable. Only fault is that they don't make their specials menu available in English.

I recently read an article in the Chinese-language "New Times" that the #2 chef at China Star, Chef Liu, is busily developing his own specialized menu, which should be rolled out in the coming weeks. I go to China Star pretty regularly, and will happily post as soon as I have encountered it.

Hi there everone. I'm the "James G" to whom John B referred above; since I have been called a Panda Hugger (and worse) because of my Chinese affinities, I figured this would be a good nickname for me here. In any event, the staff at this restaurant are very helpful, I find, and extremely eager to please their clientele. I think it may be necessary to express to them your intention to have authentic dishes in order to steer clear of the more Americanized dishes, but I hasten to remind people that not all authentic Sichuan dishes are meant to be incendiary or numbing. In my many visits to Sichuan I rarely experienced dishes (other than hotpot; that's another story) that was really too hot to eat, and I am confident that the dishes were not "dumbed down" for the foreigner. If anyone needs any Chinese restaurant/menu help, I'm happy to oblige.