Ericandblueboy

Not impressed with brunch - had a disappointing da lu mian (overcooked shrimp and mostly inauthentic ingredients - made with typical lo mein noodles), chicken roll (better at Bob's Noodle Bistro), scallion pancake (flavorless) and you tiao (better than A&J's but not as good as Peking Village). For northern Chinese brunch, I still prefer Peking Village. If anyone knows of other places, please let me know. I haven't been to Joe's Noodle House yet.

How was the pizza average or less than? Please give specifics. You didn't mention what you ordered and what's wrong.

Bailed on golfing but we had lunch at Mojitos & Tapas - they have outdoor seating and we have the dogs with us. The good - lechon asada - shredded roast pork with diced onion, very flavorful and tasty Galician octopus - very tender The middling - fried yuca - this is fine by itself but the sauces weren't as good as Crisp & Juicy's beef - empanada - too much fried crust and the filling was mediocre cheese quesadilla - I threw some lechon in there to spice things up manchego cheese with serrano ham - lots of flavorless cheese The poor - tortilla espanola - not seasoned at all...needs salt and pepper! The inedible - fried calamari - looks like Sysco product.

Will try to squeeze in 9 holes at South Wales before the weddng starts at 4:30. Thanks for the rec on mojitos & tapas. I'm thinking lunch there either Saturday or Sunday and hit Iron Bridge the other day.

A pathetic attempt to garner more attention from 1 already doomed and 1 soon to be doomed D list celebrity wannabes?

I only saw the show once. It seems that people were grabbing fridges and Michael didn't grab the one behind him before Anita's crew grabbed it. There's no rule that entitles Michael to the fridge behind him. As for Dale blowing his lid, I don't know why and I think it's over the top if the only reasons is being called a "young man."

Why do people go eat at Spike's restaurant? He is a tool yet people want to support this tool?

The guys can cook steaks!! What a shock

This is my observation as an outsider who has tried several Philly cheesesteaks. They don't salt the steak so if you don't get it with cheeze whiz, your sandwich is likely to be extremely bland. The whiz makes a world of difference. Everyone gets it with provolone first but after they get a taste with whiz, they all switch.

The menu had two versions of pork wonton, with hot sauce or with hot and sour sauce. We tried the hot and sour version, but it didn't taste much different from the normal version with hot sauce at other restaurants. In any case, they're pretty good (but not better than HKP or Peking Village, the two restaurants I frequent most often due to their proximity). Also two versions of spicy bean jelly salad, one is translated as happy, the other is translated as sad. We got the sad version, which is supposed to be the hotter of the two. It didn't taste very spicy but it still knotted up my stomach this morning. I'm not sure if that's better or worse than burning my mouth and screwing up the poop chute. We also ordered the Sichuan sausage. I don't eat Chinese sausage because they're fatty and sweet but others liked them. The fish we got was called Whole Fish and Bean Jelly in Hot Sichuan sauce (the lunch version doesn't have bean jelly). I'm not a fan of bean jelly in any form (don't like jello's texture and general lack of flavor). The star of this dish is really the sauce (garlic, fermented beans and hot peppers), which shouldn't just be doused over the fish but should infuse the fish with flavor. I wish they had a bigger fish since the $15 tilapia wasn't really enough to serve a table of 7. The eggplant was battered and deep fried. The batter is the type generally used in Cantonese restaurants to fry oysters, which are then served with a side dish of salt and pepper. The beef is called Sliced Beef and Vegetables in Fiery Soup. The beef was super soft but not flavorful (probably as a result of too much corn starching). Incidentally, the napa cabbage did a much better job of conveying the sauce. It's a popular dish but better versions could be had at Peking Village, Jasmine Garden, HKP (to name a few, I haven't been to Joe's) - also offered as a fish or pork dish.

We're going to Warrenton this Saturday to attend an afternoon wedding. The goal is to arrive early, grab lunch, drop the wife and dogs off at the hotel and then squeeze in 9 holes of golf. So looking for excellent lunch. Anyone been to El Agave? Is it a good Mexican restaurant? Iron Bridge?

The pastrami kampachi served with dijon ice cream was terrific, an interesting version of sashimi. The braised wagyu short ribs and foie gras terrine were good. The heirloom tomatos salad was really a course on a tasting menu? The frozen yogurt had no flavor. The worst dish was the poached lobster, which we substituted for halibut for a $6 upcharge. While the lobster claw was perfectly cooked, the lobster tail was really under cooked and had a tough/chewy/gristly consistency - all three of us (me, wife, MIL) had the same experience.

I know there's a liquor store next to Bob's Noodle 66! I think I'll get myself a tall boy in a paper bag.

What!!! Are we allowed to bring our own?

Oriental Bay International Hotel in Beijing Titan Times in Xian Courtyard by Marriott Xujiahui in Shanghai

Ok, I'm going for the "Whole Fish in Sichuan Hot Sauce." It's on their lunch special menu (#20) but they can't possibly give you a whole fish for $6.95. Strangely it's not on their normal menu. This is a dish that I think will test their seafood skills. When done properly, it's very flavorful as it's braised with fermented beans with a little spiciness to it - if done improperly, the fish will be fishy and not much else. Another interesting dish would be the baby bok choy with preserved egg on top (#16 under vegetables). This will be fun!

Ok, I'm going for the "Whole Fish in Sichuan Hot Sauce." It's on their lunch special menu (#20) but they can't possibly give you a whole fish for $6.95. Strangely it's not on their normal menu. This is a dish that I think will test their seafood skills. When done properly, it's very flavorful as it's braised with fermented beans with a little spiciness to it - if done improperly, the fish will be fishy and not much else. Another interesting dish would be the baby bok choy with preserved egg on top (#16 under vegetables). This will be fun!

Many fish dishes can use any number of fish so Chinese restaurants don't specify the type of fish. I wouldn't say it's necessarily tilapia when it's not specified. The chinese names don't specify the fish either.

I posted something similar on Chowhound last night, LOL. Dean will probably make Sichuan Pavilion dinner next week into a butt burner now.

Finally made it! First timne for saltena and arepa. The saltena is basically an empanada, in this case filled with egg white, olives, and stewed beef. Lots of juices poured out after cutting it open. It's good with a hint of sweetness. I had JP's favorite arepa. The bread itself is fine but the sliced beef sandwich meat wasn't particularly flavorful. Based on prior reports, prices have gone up. It's now $4.99 for a saltena. Service is English friendly.

I'm in (assuming we're not eating earlier than 7).

How's the parking situation?

I've never even seen razor clams on a Chinese menu so I was a little disappointed that they were out. On the other hand, I belive conch with yellow chives is a cantonese dish that I've seen (I'm not crazy about conch but yellow chives are delicious).

New Big Wong may be the best in DC but it is far from consistent. The jelly fish was an atrocity - limp and watery. The pea shoots were fine but that's a simple dish that most other restaurants can handle as well. The clams in black bean sauce were nice, mostly due to the freshness and plumpness of the clams themselves. They were out of live shrimp. We did have a unique dungeness crab dish - with tempura-like batter flavored with some hot pepper flakes - good (not not as good as the crab masala we had recently). We also ordered the house special fried rice and kingdom pork chop at Steve Hitchcock's request. He can impart his impressions on those dishes if he wants to (I did not touch the kingdom pork chops). Some observations about the restaurant itself. It's a relatively small space and pretty crowded on a Saturday evening, which made the place really noisy. I think the diners are about half Asian, half non-Asian, and the Asians look to be tourists. No one else in the restaurant was drinking anything resembling alcoholic beverages but they do have beer. Our Tsing Taos were pre-poured and served in glasses. Live seafood included dungeness crabs, lobsters, and the ugly fish Dean had. The menu now has lots of Chinese dishes - so the list on the wall is much shorter (maybe 10 or so dishes) - and the menu is translated.

My favorite Persian restaurant is Rose Cafe in Vienna, no booze though. Maplewood Grill is a decent place with a varied menu. I'm not too impressed in general though with Vienna. You can go to Monterrey Bay in Tysons for good seafood.