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Biotech

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About Biotech

  • Birthday 06/08/1973

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    Eating stuff

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    Gainesville VA

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ventworm

ventworm (59/123)

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  1. We went last week after they had been open less than a week. Outstanding and authentic pizza. Owner is super nice and accommodating and service was fantastic, especially for a business that just opened its doors. I've been a big fan of the Tyson's Crust, so when I saw they were opening a Herndon location, I was stoked. We ordered the Aroncini, which were good, but I prefer the ones at Vollo in DC. Nothing wrong with them at all, just have a preference for the others. We ordered a straight forward pepperoni pizza, and man, oh man, it was so dang tasty. For dessert we ordered the cannoli. I loved them, but my partner doesn't like lemon. When I asked for a to go box for the second cannoli and explained why, the owner graciously offered to bring her a tiramisu at no extra charge. He did not have to do that as the cannoli was perfect. The tiramisu was outstanding! Totally coming back to give the pastas a try as well.
  2. Our Mom Eugenia in Great falls has an absolutely perfect octopus appetizer. It's pricey at $16, but it's a generous portion for an appetizer (two tentacles) and has the right amount of char. The restaurant is relatively new, but we had a fantastic meal there last week.
  3. One point of clarification. We (don't know why I say "we" as I'm not a pharmacist) are actually the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists (ASHP). The American pharmacists Association (APhA) is downtown renting space in a State Department Building. We're very different associations (some may say friendly rivals). ASHP has been a fixture in Bethesda for decades - even before we bought the building at 7272 we had rented space on Montgomery, I think. Food Wine & Co was the default restaurant for ASHP to hold business lunches at. I suspect Q will be the same.
  4. We are one of the tenants of the new building. It's really nice. I'm pretty excited about the new restaurant moving in as our choices are pretty limited over here.
  5. I work for the non-profit that sold the building last week. Some of us moved to the new space in temporary quarters since the terms of the sale require reduction in occupancy. My guess is that extended to our tenants as well. The rest of our staff aren't moving until January or February, so that's the only thing I can come up with.
  6. There's actually quite a few options in the area for Asian. Off the top of my head, there are probably 3 pho joints, 6 Chinease-American, 4 sushi/Japanese specific places, and two thai restaurants in the Bristow/Gainesville area.
  7. So we dined at Clarity last night. Bottom line is that it's a solid win for Vienna, or anywhere for that matter. I made a reservation online through Yelp the other day. Simple to do and Yelp confirmed my reservation both via email and text. We got there a few minutes before 6 and the place was about 1/3 full. In the reservation I just mentioned it was our second anniversary and everyone from the hostess to our waiter to the manager, Tom, came by to wish us a happy anniversary. Nice touch. Their water service is either still or sparkling. I was surprised to see we weren't charged for sparkling when we chose that, but maybe they give away one bottle per person. After we were done with that they refilled us with still, which clearly wasn't tap, another nice touch. Our waiter, Ivan, was very attentive and friendly, coming by within minutes to greet us and take drink orders. For appetizers, I had the octopus and my wife had the tempura shrimp. The tempura shrimp were good, but nothing out of the ordinary. They were hot and crisp without a lot of residual oil. The dipping sauce was fairly bland and really didn't do much for the shrimp. The octopus was a good sized portion for an appetizer, slightly charred, tender, and resting on a bed of eggplant and bok choy. It was very good. I'd order this again. For main courses, I had the 14oz pork blade chop and my wife had the snapper. The pork was excellent. It was seared nicely on the outside and the middle was probably close to medium. I'm happy to see someone not cooking pork to within an inch of its life. This came with some roasted brussell sprouts and a horseradish cream. The horseradish cream didn't really have much of a horseradish flavor, so that could be kicked up a little to complement the pork better, but all in all, a solid dish. I also ordered a bottomless side of duck fat roasted fingerling potatoes. They were fantastic, although I was too stuffed to go for seconds. My wife's snapper was nice as well and not overdone at all. The tomato relish under it was good as well. We decided to splurge for dessert and get the crepe stack and two french press coffees. Getting that took quite a bit longer than expected, but by this time the restaurant was packed with only one table empty. They said it's been like that every night since they opened a week and a half ago. Dessert was fine. Nothing outstanding, but really, it was crepes. The bill came to $100 even for two bar drinks, 2 appetizers, 2 mains, one dessert, and two coffees before tax and tip. Since the menu changes daily, I'm planning on making Clarity a regular in my not-as-frequently-as-I'd-like dining out rotation.
  8. Each time I went to Orso, I walked away happy. I really do hope that Will does stay in the area and continues to make the magic he made at Orso. His pizzas were absolutely my favorite in the area. "Effective Immediately" usually means an abrupt departure, and I hope Will wasn't hung out there considering he made Orso what it was. Without proper direction, I can see this becoming just another overpriced and underwhelming office building restaurant.
  9. Vace in Bethesda is one of my go-to's for lunch when I'm craving an Italian sub. Bethesda is expensive for mediocre food, but Vace is surprisingly reasonable for their subs. It's been years since I've been to the CP location even though my parents live within walking distance, but I remember the staff at CP being a tad bit friendlier than Bethesda. Regardless, they have a nice selection of things to pick up for dinner or to stash in the freezer for those nights when we aren't sure what to cook.
  10. We were heading out to Centreville to run an errand last night and decided to give Manna a shot. We were the only table at 7:15 in the back of the bistro and we ordered the vegetarian sampler, an order of shiro, and beef tibbs. The veggies were innocuous enough. The "new" dish of a chickpea concoction that they were trying out was not good. Very dry, mealy, and reminded me of mashed potatoes sans cream and butter. The rest were standard fare. The red lentils were the standout. The beef tibbs was fairly tough, despite being touted as tender on the menu. It was loaded with jalapenos and spices and flavorful, just chewy. The shiro was a bit runnier than I've had before. The shells on the sambusas were very thick and the contents a bit dried out and skimpy. The service was very friendly, albeit a little slow. Our total came to $41 before tip. We could have probably eaten for half that (Their combos for two are a good deal), but we wanted to try the shiro and the tibbs, both of which are excluded when picking the items for your combo. The odd thing was their "specials" - all tacos, tortas, and empanadas on a chalkboard in the front. The front of the bistro had four tables of rowdy individuals who were slugging back south american beer (one table had at least 15 empties on it for 2 people). This was very out of place for the rest of the menu and bistro. It felt a little like we were in one of those dicey Manassas joints rather than a mom and pop restaurant. The food won't have me racing back, Maaza 29 in Gainesville is better for us in the far out burbs. The owner was very sweet and I'm likely to try their baked goods if I'm back in the area again
  11. The Nando's is pretty good. We went soon after they opened and service had a few hiccups, but they seemed to have ironed some of those issues out. The food is consistently good at this location. The BJ's is nice, but a bit small, so it lacks some of the ammenities of larger clubs. We've also got a pretty darn good pho place out by us and better than average for the area american-chinese restaurants, two decent NY style pizza places, and more and more family owned or non chain options are popping up. Of course, the mediocre chains continue to thrive. Our running joke when a new shopping center is under construction is that it won't officially be open until a Subway, Papa John's, cleaners, nail salon, and a Tae Kwon Do studio open up.
  12. I've dined here. I did not try the Italian fare, but opted rather for the Ethiopian menu. It's very good. It's not the absolute best I've had, but it certainly is up at the top of the heap including most of my DC Ethiopian experiences. The Sambusas were pretty good, but the sauces stole the show. I like their injera better than others', as it wasn't overly sour and overly fermented. We shared an order of the vegetarian platter and awaze tibs. I like that they made each entree to order. My previous DC experience with a hole-in-the-wall was an oily gristly mess. This was great. This isn't the greatest location being on 29, but Nora has survived in that strip. Maaza took over the space from a failed burger joint. They had a pretty interesting beer list as well since the owner is a craft beer enthusiast.
  13. Thanks Joe. We've been to the Ashby Inn right before the chef change and decided we made the best call. We're more likely to try Patowmack Farm before returning to Ashby. We're sort of planning on what you are suggesting - pointing the car that direction and driving.
  14. Ha! I will do a head to head comparison. We have a gift certificate for Red Fox, thus the reservation on Friday night. Saturday we're planning on just taking a ride and actually discussed going to Hunter's Head.
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