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ziv

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Everything posted by ziv

  1. ziv
    I couldn't stay away, so I went back for steak and eggs! And saw the chicken fried steak with 3 eggs and home fries special and tried that instead... And it was ok. I mean, 3 eggs over easy is hard to ignore, they were really good. But the chicken fried steak was only ok. It was just $12, though! I think my next meal at B&E will be my old favorite, steak and eggs. So it is back to Deale MD I go. Time to explore my new place and all the cafes nearby!
  2. ziv
    Fried Turkey slices w home fries and eggs.
  3. ziv
    I tried a couple new items, for me, at Bob and Edith's Lee Hwy today. Only fair. I tried the griddle fried turkey, eggs and home fries Matt mentioned and it was ok. The eggs were over easy and they were delicious. Runny egg yolks and home fries w picante sauce are a pairing I really like and these were pretty good. The deli sliced turkey was new to me and worth trying but it was only ok. I also tried the chili dog, no snap, no natural casing, good not great. Weenie Beenie still the undisputed champ in my book. Ben's and B&E's are not as good. I think the ribeye and eggs remains my favorite dish at Bob and Edith's.
  4. ziv
    I saw people at 3 tables yesterday. Not sure if they were prospective employees talking to managers or it was a soft open. Didn't have time to stop. I am moving from Arlington to Deale MD and the move is keeping me busy. Going back soon to see if they are open.
  5. ziv
    I will miss Linda's but I have to admit I didn't go there all that often. I usually have the little steak with hashbrowns and eggs over easy at the original B&E on Col Pike. Anyone know of any "hidden gems" in the menu worth trying at the newest B&E? I am kind of curious about their chili dog. Weenie Beenie is the only chili dog in the area that has the snap I like, wonder what dog they use...
  6. ziv
    I went to DC in order to get a G-Man sub at Mangialardo's at 1317 Pennsylvania Ave SE yesterday. I hadn't had one for over a year. I usually order mine with oil and vinegar, hot peppers on a soft roll. Basically everything but sweet peppers and mayo. The G-Man is similar to the Roma at the IS but the Roma doesn't have pepperoni or fontina cheese and the oregano is a bit more noticeable in the G-Man. The Roma is a good sandwich, the G-Man is a great one. That sandwich nearly brought tears to my eyes it was so good! I like the Milano and the Capri at the IS, but Mangialardo's G-Man is bliss. I ate half of it parked in my car on Potomac Avenue behind the Harris Teeter, couldn't wait to get to a park. I wrapped the other half up and took it to work in Arlington and wolfed it down in the parking lot there. --- PrimoHoagies (buzzy)
  7. ziv
    I was hungry and in the area so I stopped by Crystal Thai. Very quiet at 3:30pm on a Monday during a pandemic, oddly enough. 😉 I had tried to work my way through the street food menu when I used to live nearby but hadn't had the boat noodle soup, so I ordered it. Very fragrant, tasted rich and flavorful. It had a nice amount of meat balls and chunks of beef, plus the pork cracklings, bean sprouts and the medium sized sen lek noodles I asked for. Not sure what the garnish was, I think it was royal basil. This version didn't seem to have beef blood and it was good without it. It is a solid version of the classic.
  8. ziv
    Thai Square is still my favorite for Northern Virginia, everything from the crispy squid with basil to the floating market soup to the pork noodle soup to the Pad Ped Pla Dook are all winners. But another option nearby is the Nam Kao Tod and the grilled esan sausage at Zaap, they are REALLY good! It is a takeout counter at the back right of Duangrats Oriental Food Mart near Bailey's Crossroads, and the food seems to be prepared by the cooks at Rabieng on the Rte 7 side of the building. It has 3 little tables but I think they are exclusively take out for now. Photo of their menu board below. And I still like Thai Noy in Westover/Arlington. They have really good light spring rolls and their som tum is really good, I order it with sticky rice to get every juicy bit. The larb mu is good as well. It isn't great Lao/Thai food, but it is pretty good. --- Crystal Thai (hopsing)
  9. ziv
    The menu is really eclectic. Baja bowl with black beans and plantains? Yep. Chicken Shawarma or falafel? Yes indeed. Charga, Sajji. Peruvian or Jerk Chicken? Pick your national cuisine because they have 4 dishes from 3 regions. They have blackened salmon sandwiches, steak and cheese, pulled chicken, Halal Style Bowl, Nepali Momos, Carne Asada, Chow Mein, Lomo Saltado, red beans, black beans, chickpeas/chole, Kabobs and some nice seasoned potatoes... Charga is from the Balochi region of Pakistan, and it is slowroasted skinless chicken that is finished by flash frying it for less than a minute right before it is served. Sajji is regular slow roasted chicken, again in a style similar to that of Balochi food. https://www.chargagrill.com/menu-1
  10. ziv
    I visited this place for the first time this week and was really happy with what I got. It is in the strip shopping center on Lee Hwy just east of George Mason, with Caribbean Grill on the west end of it. Charga has excellent food prepared by guys who really like food. Claudio spent the time to inform me about some of the nuances of each of the 3 dishes I considered. The menu is wide ranging and looks to have a lot of great dishes. The Charga flash fried chicken looked really good, but I was looking for lamb. I started with the chicken soup and the mint lemonade. The soup was rich, nicely full bodied and full of flavor with chunks of chicken and potatoes. The mint lemonade is home made and delicious. Then I got the main dish of lamb served on two types of rice with a nice salad of greens, beets, cucumbers and tomatoes. And it had another little bowl of an outstanding chole/chickpea dish. The lamb (ordered medium rare) was served hot and hot, very moist and mouth wateringly delicious. This was a really satisfying meal in every way. The lamb wasn't Prime, and it might not even have been Choice, but it was prepared well and it is really a nice dish. I will definitely be back.
  11. ziv
    I went to Cote d'or recently for lunch to have the boullabaisse but I believe it is a dinner item only, so I got the potage Bourguignon & the seafood crepe instead. Rather good, not great. Quite a bit of seafood in the crepe though, which is nice. Service was prompt but not intrusive, crowd was nice and relatively quiet making conversation enjoyable. The $19 two course lunch deal is a winner. The mussels, the trout and the flat iron steak all look like they would be good choices, possibly better than the seafood crepe. Live and learn. The owner said that if I wanted the cassoulet it might be a good idea to call in advance to see if it was available. I don't visit this restaurant often but it looks like working into the menu a bit might be rewarding.
  12. ziv
    Just had a Cronut (sp?) from Heidelberg. It is a croissant/doughnut hybrid and it was really good! I think they only make them on Fridays, though. Not as sweet as the Duck Doughnuts someone brought to work the other day. I like "not so sweet", even on a doughnut.
  13. ziv
    I have lived in or near Ballston for 25 years and the Ballston Commons Mall was always terra incognita. If the parking building is handled well, that may change but as the Ballston Quarter food options get more popular, I think parking will be the second most important aspect of its success, right after the quality of the cafes themselves.
  14. ziv
    I haven't gone to the restaurant side of BKK 54 in some time, but I really enjoy the bowls of soup they serve in the noodle shop next door. It is in the back of the BKK 54 grocery store and they only have 2 or 3 dishes on the menu wall. If memory serves, they are pork noodle, duck noodle and beef noodle soup. I think the pork noodle soup is Moo Nam Tok, but I may be wrong about the name. It comes with a variety of meat and meatballs, with the signature Thai pork rinds to add a bit of flavor and texture. It eats kind of like Floating Market soup, really rich and flavorful. I think it is still $8, so a great bargain. They also have bubble tea but the soup is the real deal. On edit: I said that the Muu Nam Tok eats like Floating Market soup, and then I took a look at the photo I took of Thai Square's Floating Market soup, and it looks nearly identical to the cheaper bowl of soup I get at BKK 54 Grocery Store. Same variety of meat and meatballs, same pork rinds, nearly the same appearance overall. But I think that the Floating Market soup is beef based at Thai Square. Interesting. Or maybe they gave me the wrong soup at BKK 54? The bill pretty clearly said Muu Nam Tok...
  15. ziv
    I have been hitting Thai Square a bit more often after a long time away. It seems like they are back to close to where they were years ago. I really like the Pork Noodle Soup with wide noodles (mild but tasty), the Crispy Squid with Basil (really rich and delicious) and the Floating Market Soup (not as spicy as it used to be but good!). I still end up at BKK 54's noodle shop (in their grocery store) more often simply due to the remarkable bargain that BKK 54's noodle shop brings to the table.
  16. ziv
    Just checking, is the La Caraquena tasting going to happen soon? If so who do I contact? I have had a good arepa there, and am curious about the saltenas.
  17. ziv
    I have read a few ringing endorsements of Earls, so I went there the other day... Thoroughly unremarkable Roasted Earl. I will try the other recommended sandwiches another day, but the pork was not much of a meal. Mario's may miss on some things, but they serve a sandwich that is a recognizable, and delicious, steak and cheese, as long as you tell them to keep the sweet pickles off the sandwich. Heck, even the Banh Mi place in Eden Center has a decent sandwich with plenty of flavor, but Earls Roasted Earl is only ok, but I will delve deeper into that menu because there must be a reason 15 people were lined up in front of me when I ordered a sandwich memorable only for its mediocrity.
  18. ziv
    Biscuit Girl, I just read about that version; coconut milk, spicy red broth, fried egg strips, prawns.... Sign me up! I want some too! I have never been to Sarawak, yet another reason to go back to Indo...
  19. ziv
    Anna, I am with you on that. Trying to find a good Laksa at a Japanese place in Chinatown is risky. I tasted two completely different types of Laksa in Malaysia and Indonesia. The two countries share the same malay ethnic cuisine background, to some degree, as well as their languages, bahasa Melayu and bahasa Indonesia. I ran into sour Assam Laksa in the Highlands through to Penang but just about everywhere else, (i.e Pulau Perhentian, Singapore and most of Indo) it was a version of the curry Laksa. But I only spent 5 or 6 weeks between 2 trips so I could be way wrong on that. The locals type of Assam Laksa can be a real eye opener. It is very sour, and almost fermented in its intensity. The first time I ordered it, the cook looked at me and piled the thick noodles in so full it almost overflowed the bowl. Then I got mouthful and my eyes crossed it was so strongly sour. Of the curried versions, Singapores curry Laksa is spicy and pretty good, tho with the smaller noodles (similar to Penangs Asam Laksa in that way) it looks considerably different from other Assam Laksas. Great in hawker stalls all up and down the peninsula, good but not as great in Indonesia, where food is a bit more problematic.
  20. ziv
    Minerva Express is starting to get their feet under them and they are preparing pretty good meals. I tried the navratan kurma, which is basically a slow cooked veggie curried stew with rice and they threw in some naan that was fresh and hot. The stew was pretty rich, with a subtle bit of heat to it. I bought some achar and parathas at the grocery store, so it was more like three meals rather than one for the price. I didn't see the kabobs, but they are just moving in. I am looking forward to trying the lamb or goat next week. They also had a tray of chapattis (?) and fried goods by the cash register that looked pretty good. Parking is fairly tight, but if you go before 4 you may be able to use the parking lot on the Dominos Pizza side. Definitely ask when you get there if you are good to go though. Any time other than noon til 1 the lot is ok and you can find a spot.
  21. ziv
    I just got back from Minerva Express on Lee Hwy just west of Glebe between the Subway Sandwich shop and A1 Indian Groceries. It has 3 or 4 tables but they will be mainly a carryout place. They were still bring in equipment so I grabbed a menu for tomorrow. If they are anywhere close to the Minerva in FFX they will be a hit here in Arlington. I am looking forward to trying them out, any suggestions? I like my dishes hot, so I was thinking starting with the chili pakora and trying the goat biryani, though the vindaloo sounds good as well. I will try to enclose the temporary menu.
  22. ziv
    I stopped by Hu Tieu Mi Cafe on the far left side of Eden Center last month a time or two, and again last night, excellent signature dish (hu tieu mi) and rather tasty fried cha gio spring rolls as well! The rolls come with a mild nuoc mam which hotted up nicely with a little help from the chili tray. Wrapped in the lettuce with a few extras they went down a treat. The signature dish comes dry or wet and I have usually ordered it as a soup, tho I have had it elsewhere with the soup on the side. The house special comes with 2 or 3 types of pork, a shrimp or two, some beef liver, and a quail egg, plus a crispy cracker with a shrimp fried into it resembling nothing so much as a very tasty trilobite mounted in sedementary rock! But delicious, crispy, perfectly prepared rock, mind you! This month I switched up to the seafood soup with calamari, shrimp and beef liver and it was good, but next week when I go back it will be for the soup with the noodles and pork again. The first time I went it was #7 on the menu and last night it was #23 with the seafood soup being #24 if memory serves, so they may have different numbers for the lunch and dinner menus. But the cafe is named after it so they better get it right and they do. Fairly crowded all three times, and the lady actually seemed to recognize me the last time, or faked it rather convincingly, which was nice. Betweem XO Taste, Huoung Viet and Hu Tieu Mi there are a world of rather good choices relatively nearby in western Arlington/Eastern Falls Church.
  23. ziv
    I think there are quite a few good sized cities that have fewer good dining options than that strip mall. Between Rays, Guajillo, Greenberries, Pho 75 and Village Bisto you have covered a good portion of the gastronomic spectrum! Village Bistro gets very little press or recognition, but they serve very good food for a pretty good price. I like the bistro calamari, nice change from the usual fried preparation. The mussels are pretty good as well. For the entrees the tortellini is really good as well. I love the fact that here in Arlington we have so many good cafes that it is easy to forget about one and then go back and find that it is still producing excellent meals, years later.
  24. ziv
    Just had a light lunch at Dona Azucena on Glebe Road, 50 yards north of Rte 50, almost to the car wash, and it was pretty good! I had a beef pastele and 2 corn tamales and they were both rather good! The beef pastele reminds me a great deal of the beef empanada at La Union, and that is pretty tasty. It had a nicely crispy, lightly browned crust with a good amount of beef and subtly savory olives in the filling. The cabbage would have benefitted from a bit of salsa roja, but I failed to ask for it. The corn tamales were the softer version, not as firm as La Union but tasty with nice chunks of chicken, and wait a minute, maybe the olives were in the tamals... Senior moment... Anyway, I am used to tamales con crema, with the crema being sour cream so I asked for it and they gave me crema, but it was regular heavy cream with a dash of spices tossed over it. I mentioned that it tasted different to the waitress and she was surprised that I wanted sour cream. Miscommunication was my fault, but it means I will have to go back and try to go a little deeper into the menu. Nice light lunch, sweet waitress, quick service, $5.35 before tip. Well worth hitting again.
  25. ziv
    Don, there must be a trick to ordering the right fish. I work nearby and go there every once in a while and consistently get a dry, overcooked piece of fish. I have tried the mahi mahi, the grouper when they have it, and the swordfish and it is always overcooked and occasionally not fresh, with that slightly off smell. I theorized that he makes his money on the sale of raw fish with the almost expired fish goes into the sandwiches, but if you had good fish there maybe I am the problem. I really want to like a fish sandwich in the Arlington area, I am reduced to making fish tacos at home and doing it myself is not what I want to do. I like the fries and slaw, the fish, not so much.
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