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JBag57

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Everything posted by JBag57

  1. JBag57
    I was there earlier this week getting a carry out order. I have only ever gotten the Chicken Tandoori kabab, and the one from the other night was as good or better than ever. I hope you are taking into account that Ramadan does not end until, I believe, Saturday. I went at 10:30 p.m. (they close at 11:00 during the week), and the place was slammed, with several additional parties waiting to be seated.
  2. JBag57
    Picking nits here a little, but the three places you mention here, as well as most of the places listed in the Vienna/Oakton Dining Guide, are more readily accessible if you take a left off of Hunter Mill Road onto Lawyers Road, which, as you approach 123 and turn left onto Church Street, will have Chase, Pure Pasty, and Clarity (in that order) all close by. The Italian Gourmet would be a right on 123 (or some back roads). The only place on the Dining Guide, as far as I can tell, that is more accessible by taking Hunter Mill Road all the way to 123 is Tigris. And, yes, if you are on the east side of Reston, it is not really that far. Right across 123 as you approach on Lawyers are Taco Bamba and Cava. Red's Table is at the South Lakes shopping center in Reston, and is not awful. They reportedly have a new chef. Brown Bag at Plaza America in Reston has some decent sandwiches, but is a little pricey. My understanding is that this is a retail location of a company in Reston that has been doing office catering for quite some time.
  3. JBag57
    I remember the CFS on the Gypsy Soul brunch menu at one point, and it was pretty much as described above. Delicious. My son and I each had it, and it came up in conversation at dinner at Founding Farmers a couple of weeks ago, when I was grumbling about how bad their rendition is. Ted's Bulletin also has a pretty mediocre version. Possibly the best traditional one I ever had was indeed in Houston--some 35 years ago at the company cafeteria at Fluor Corporation!
  4. JBag57
    I am glad a couple of you took one for the team at Ovvio. I met the opening team at a nearby bar when they had finished a soft opening evening, and it sounded great. But then I read on here or somewhere else that there was a big upheaval in chef/staff. Alta Strada was supposed to be opening in Merrifield this week, which may provide the destination that everyone is hoping for. I have not tried the one downtown, but have read some good reviews, so am hoping to get there soon. ETA: I honestly meant to say "Mosaic" instead of "Merrifield" above, but having grown up about a mile from there, old habits die hard!
  5. JBag57
    If you already had Chansey and Porygon, you are well ahead of the curve in terms of finding rare Pokémon. Their increased spawn rate during this event is a godsend to many (although I did already have these). As you can see from Eric's very helpful and concise summary on fighting, neither will be of much use in gym battling at this point. I am a terrible fighter, though. I can't keep straight what types are better than others against certain types. I also have never been able to learn how to dodge effectively, which would help me immensely. When I am fighting another team's gym, I just grab 6 pokemon with high HP and good attack moves, and hope for the best. When "prestiging" my own team's gym to make space for one of my pokemon, unless there is some really low CP mon at the bottom of the gym, it is important to select a team of 6 all of whom have a CP lower than the lowest CP mon in the gym. It increases the amount of prestige (points) per defeated mon. If you can get good at dodging, you can max out the amount of prestige per defeated mon by selecting a team of 6 that all have half or less the CP of the lowest CP mon in the gym. I am nowhere close to being able to do that.
  6. JBag57
    If so, I am not really surprised. It seemed (to this non-industry expert set of eyes), that from the time that Nick came onboard, Jason was being pushed out of the kitchen.
  7. JBag57
    E-a-b-b started the firehose supply of knowledge, here's where to go for full immersion: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphRoad/. Yesterday was the start of the Valentine's Day Event, in which the spawn frequency of all pink pokemon is increased (look for Chansey and Porygon, the most rare of these). Also, as you note, "double candy" is part of the event, which includes, if you haven't noticed, a halving of the distance needed to walk with your buddy to get a candy. The event goes through the afternoon of the 14th, I believe. Also, you can see where certain pokemon have nests or frequently spawn--look for the "Nest Atlas" link on the home page for the above link, or go to: https://thesilphroad.com/atlas. The nests and spawn points have been changing every two weeks as of late. It is my understanding that, since this is all based on user input, it does not violate the game's ToS.
  8. JBag57
    Same here, in terms of not chasing beers. For one thing, there are now too many beer geeks whose work schedules are a lot more flexible than mine, so anything really limited is usually sold out before the evening of the day it drops. I also very much agree with TedE and Rhone1998 above about Hopslam, and don't mind "piling on". Either the beer, or my taste buds, has degraded over the years. It is not the beer it once was (to my taste), and even if it were, there are so many great choices out there that it wouldn't stand out like it used to. Ocelot in Ashburn has some really tasty IPAs in its tasting room, and I am trying to figure out how to get to Aslin in Herndon while they are open and have beer to sell, as the samples I have had are great! (really quirky sales model though--follow them on Instagram to see what I mean) Rustico in Alexandria tapped a keg of Hopslam on Monday, and, as of yesterday (Wednesday), it was still available. $9 for 12 ounce goblet, not sure how much the taster size is going for--probably $5.
  9. JBag57
    Chiming in on the "help people park" aspect. There is a small lot directly behind the Chase building that is for patrons of the four (?) businesses in that small strip. Maybe about 10 spaces, but I have usually been able to park there. The driveway to the lot is on the West side of the strip (to the right, when facing the strip, opposite the end that Chase is on). There is no rear entrance to Chase, you have to walk back up the driveway to the sidewalk.
  10. JBag57
    I lived in Houston back in the 1981-1983 time frame, as a young engineer fresh out of college. Two places that remain near to my heart, and that are still in business (one is in the Houston Chronicle Top 100 still, and the other has an active website) are: Ninfa's (we did not go to the original, but one that was near 700 Fannin, where I worked) Treebeard's (also not the original, but the one that was in the Church cafeteria, also near work) Those were great places for lunches, as well as occasional early dinner, before we headed out to the 'burbs to our apartments. I was also interested that, in looking at the map version of the Top 100 list, near the area that I lived in now is regarded as "Chinatown" (I lived on Harwin Drive, near Gessner). It was, as far as I remember, nothing like any "Chinatown" that I had seen before. This must be a "new", i.e., within the past 30 years, development.
  11. JBag57
    Their food is good to very good. I wish I could say the same about their beer. And, yes, the Merrifield project does not mean that they are shutting down in Vienna. Being right at the W&OD bike trail has been good to them, and possibly a reason why they apparently have not seen a need to improve on their brewing.
  12. JBag57
    We are suddenly in the market for a good coffee maker. Seeing as how the most recent post is 9-1/2 years old (sorry about that, I guess I was on the first page of the thread, not the last), I am wondering if anyone has something newer on the market that he or she is pleased with. Grind and brew or brew only are both options, what I am mainly looking for is one that will heat the water to an appropriate temperature to brew an entire pot of coffee, and that I won't have to replace on a yearly basis. TIA.
  13. JBag57
    Well, I was not one of the first 100 customers at Taco Bamba Vienna today. Based on what I saw when I walked in a 9:40 this evening, I was probably not one of the first 1000 customers today! Who said Vienna is a sleepy little town? (I have, but maybe not on here...) There were, conservatively, 40 people in the place at the aforesaid 9:40 tonight. I understand that they were slammed for most of the day. I ordered only the red pozole, and, after about 10 minutes of waiting and a couple of kind urgings to the guy announcing ready orders, he was able to get the cooking line to jump me ahead of about 25 pending orders for tacos, etc. (tortillas and proteins covering the flattops), to ladle that goodness into a Styrofoam container, and I was on my way. People were still coming in as I was leaving at around 9:50. There are tables and chairs that seat around 16 people at two- and four-tops. There is a "bar" near the storefront with around 12 backless stools, and they serve beer (four or five drafts, a few cans and bottles) as well as mixed drinks. In addition there are something like around 20 seats at "eating bar" areas in front of the kitchen line and in between the drink bar and the tables, near the front of the space. As an aside, Cava Mezze Grill is also now open in that same shopping center, and is also open until 10:00. There were only a handful of people (like 5-6) in there for that "mundane" food at that late hour. (I have never eaten at one of these places, but know that it is not mundane based on word of mouth. I will be in there before the end of the weekend to try it out first hand.)
  14. JBag57
    So, I also went last night, late (9:45), for carry-out, to the Dunn Loring location. I parked in the Metro surface lot right behind the building the restaurant is in, but I could see that if I were not trying to go in under cloak of darkness (as well as some heavy showers), parking is not great. I ordered the same thing, the regular-sized combo platter of Gyro/Chicken. As I do at most kabob places, I ask for "no salad", as what is usually offered is pretty awful. Instead, it looked like they gave me some extra rice to aid in filling the aluminum tin. The meat portions I got looked to be about the same as those in the other orders being prepared with the rice and salad. I feel like, for $7.99, it is a decent amount of food, but my appetite isn't what it was 25 or even 15 years ago. I did not care for the gyro meat, I thought it to be more salty than the pork in the Plaka gyro, but I have not had that in a while. The chicken was decent. I got the white sauce in a "to go" cup and a packet of the red sauce. I found the red sauce to be a little closer to the "nuclear firestorm" mentioned above. The white sauce, which everyone seems to rave about, still tasted mostly like mayo to me, without much seasoning. Destruya mentions favoring Plaka Grill over this place; I do as well. Also, after picking up my order and taking a right out of the Metro surface lot, I noticed a District Taco that appeared to be open still at 10:00, so I would definitely try that (I have never had their food), before going back to Halal Guys. Also, if Taco Bamba in Vienna is open until 10:00 (I may check tonight), I would also put that ahead of HG on my list.
  15. JBag57
    For me, it was the hint, and my vivid memory of the last time I got a pizza there a while ago (which I did not find to be very good), thinking "this is nothing like the pizza that the original Generous George's used to make!" I don't think I would have even made the guess, though, without the hint, since there are very few posts on here about places beyond Reston.
  16. JBag57
    Generous George's?
  17. JBag57
    Thanks, Don, I do and will continue to, hopefully for the remainder of my years on this planet. In my opinion, the issue as to whether the output of established craft breweries has been or will be on the decline is overshadowed by the issue that many of the new breweries that are popping up, and particularly locally here, started selling crap beer at the outset, thereby taking shelf space and taps away from much better beers of the same and different styles in institutions that attempt to promote local beers.
  18. JBag57
    The opposite side of the same building, where Hunan Lion operated for many years.
  19. JBag57
    Not sure if this is the correct or best place to post this info, but in doing some checking on the recently-opened Greenhouse Bistro in Tysons, I ran across an announcement that Chef Seb is going to be offering a Persian brunch at that venue this coming Sunday, July 10.
  20. JBag57
    Not exactly. Diya has closed, but Greenhouse is in the space once occupied by Hunan Lion, on the opposite side of the toilet bowl.
  21. JBag57
    My daughter forwarded a post from Hard Times (Instagram, maybe?), saying that July 12 would be their last day.
  22. JBag57
    Here is an update on Yates': "$3 Million Construction of New Restaurant Underway at Former Generous George's Location" by Mary Ann Barton on patch.com Yates owns more than a handful of businesses around Old Town Alexandria.
  23. JBag57
    This will not help KeithA, in that Clarity is closed on Mondays, but it is (hopefully) worth noting that Clarity is promoting its rollout of "Clarity Summer Concert Baskets", starting on June 23. No details as to contents or pricing as of yet (that I could find).
  24. JBag57
    You did. It is there nearly all of the time, owing to the Crepe Amour storefront being located right next to Turmeric.
  25. JBag57
    We went to the game on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, and, having "missed out" on getting the special tickets to the "Taste of the World" promotion (my wife wanted to get the salt and pepper shakers, for some unknown reason), we gave Haute Dogs a shot. I am pretty sure that they had the lamb sliders that evening, but my wife homed in on the Chili Cheese Tots (she is really missing Hard Times) and I broke an at least decade-long abstinence from hot dogs, thinking that theirs would be worth it. The tots themselves were good, and the chili is indeed better than Ben's by quite a bit, but not really all that good. I think I read in one of the posts above a recommendation to skip/forego the cheese sauce. It is pretty bland and gloppy (7-11 nacho cheese sauce consistency, maybe less flavor), but is probably needed to better glue the chili to the tots when eaten. Possibly it would be best to ask them to reduce the amount put on an order (they do ladle on quite a bit of it). On to the dog--I had the banh mi dog, which had some of the standard bahn mi toppings and a couple of squirts of sriracha sauce extending along the top. The toppings were decent, and the bun was above average and definitely not a run-of-the-mill ballpark hot dog bun. The hot dog itself was severely disappointing. Very rubbery/flaccid and virtually without taste (and, no, not taste masked by the rather flavorful toppings). Not at all what I expected from a place that supposedly serves gourmet hot dogs. Will pass on these in the future.
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