wrash

Another good reason to try those places instead of LSF. My older daughter (who is trying to join this group, but has yet to be confirmed) tells me about one other thing I didn't know. She told the server, the manager and everyone else she could find that she is highly allergic to dairy products. We're not talking about lactose intolerance here, but a real allergy. She was assured that they took food allergies very seriously and would make sure that there was no dairy in her meal. Guess what? There was dairy in her meal. She's suffering the consequences now. She promises that once Don lets her in, she'll fill everyone in on the gory details. She agrees that we should have gone to Coastal Flats. sigh. Wayne Rash

My daughter tells me that Coastal Flats is quite good, but my one attempt to eat there required a long wait, and I gave up. I haven't tried Passion Fish, but I almost did the night we went to LSF. I wish now that I had. Wayne Rash

Blue Ocean is on the To-Do List, but not on the list of missions accomplished. So I don't know how it compares. However, I go there because it's decent and its close. As I said in my post, it's not Yama. But it's not bad. WR

I had lunch at the Clyde's in Tyson's Corner today. I'm not sure how many times I've been there, but I've gone there a lot over the years. It's been long enough, in fact, that I used to know some of the people whose faces appear in the frescos in the Palm Court. My lunch this time was for the same reasons as all of the others. I needed a place to meet a coworker for lunch, and I was tired of the Daily Grill, which is where we usually meet for lunch. The menu has changed some from my last visit, but it's like the menu always is at Clydes, which is predictable. The place gives the impression of being upscale, but in reality it's a good safe place for a business lunch because there's something for virtually any dietary requirement. Today I had the turkey sandwich. Pretty boring, huh? But remember, the key here is safe and predictable. Unlike a number of other similar places, the turkey appeared to have once been part of an actual bird. It was a little drier than I usually like, but it tasted like actual turkey rather than lunch meat. The sandwich also contains avocado, bacon and cheddar, thus making sure you get your minimum daily requirement of cholesterol. My dining partner had the ham and brie sandwich, except that the kitchen replaced ham with turkey at her request. The sandwich was immense, and I'm told, very tasty. Service by the befuddled server was quick if confused at times. At the end of the meal I was treated to a refreshing shower as the server dumped a full glass of iced tea down my back. I was wearing my finest LL Bean couture (polo and khakis) and turned down the multiple offers of dry cleaning. I'm not sure what would happen if you dry cleaned a polo shirt, but it couldn't be a good thing. Lunch was astonishingly cheap, mainly because Clydes picked up the cost. But even if we'd had to pay, it's still less than 10 bucks apiece. And, of course, there's the entertainment factor. My lunch companion just called as I was writing this so that she could continue to laugh about the iced tea, the befuddled server, and me soaking wet in the dining room at Clydes. I guess any time you can have a business lunch, meet your cholestorel goals, and have some great entertainment it can't be all bad. But maybe I shouldn't refer to Clydes as "safe" after all. Wayne Rash

I ate at the Sushi Jin restaurant in Burke last night. This is the newest of a two-restaurant chain with the other place located in Silver Spring. I've eaten at this restaurant several times since it opened earlier this year. Normally I have sushi, although on occasion I've ordered other items. The dinner menu contains few surprises. it's a standard neighborhood Japanese restaurant that produces decent food at reasonable prices. However, this is not Nobu and it's not even Yama. On the other hand, it's far better than the rest of the competition in Burke, which consists mostly of Korean restaurants that also serve sushi and a few Japanese dishes. The sushi bar is well run by a staff with actual training. The fish is perfectly cut, the maki is tightly rolled, and the flavors are what you'd expect. A major difference from its less capable competition is that the fish is actually fresh. There are no off flavors, nothing looks dried out, and there's no sign of happier days in the past. However, the rice is bland - even for sushi rice. Preparation is very clean and traditional, and service is quite fast, except on the busiest nights. This isn't a surprise since the sushi bar staff really does make each item to order. The unagi is nicely done, served while still warm, and has the proper amount of sauce. The bean curd is kind of soggy. I had avocado rolls along with the nigiri sushi. The rolls were well made, and you could taste the avocado. I've had tempura on two occasions. As in the case of the sushi, the food was properly prepared. The batter was fried so that it was light and crisp, there was no extra oil, and the items delivered a delicate crunch when I bit into them. The miso soup is good, but could use more flavor. The standard salad has a miso dressling that's bright orange and kind of goopy. It looks like Kraft French, but tastes sort of like miso dressing. Sushi Jin serves both lunch and dinner. Lunch is a better deal with lower prices and a broader menu. You can only get bento boxes at lunch, for example. The wine and beer list appears good, although I have an evil attraction to Kirin Ichiban, and haven't moved beyond that. There's a nice selection of tea and coffee items on the menu. I've tried the green tea, which is unremarkable, but I guess that's the point of green tea. I have not eaten at the Silver Spring location. The two restaurants appear to share a common menu, but I have no idea how they compare otherwise. I should also note that the Burke restaurant is quite attractive, has quiet music and a friendly staff. The chefs at the sushi bar are very pleasant, willing to offer advice, and if you go back a second time, they remember you, which is nice. The restaurant is located in the Fairfax Station shopping center, which it shares with a post office, Gold's Gym and a Pizza Hut carry out. It's basically around the corner from Panisa. Maybe a good sushi place and a very good Thai place will encourage more upgrading of the otherwise fairly dismal choice of Asian eateries in Burke. Wayne Rash

I haven't been to Black's, but there's no question of the excellence of Kinkead's. However, Kinkead's is all the way downtown, and Legal is out here in the 'burbs. Thus, considering my past experience, the reason for the shorter drive. Next time, I'll just make the trek into the wilds of Downtown DC. LSF still has a good and fairly priced wine list. We had a decent French white Burgundy for under $30.00. Most places you can't get Sutter Home white zin for under $30. WR

Well, that was just in comparison to dinner that night at the Tyson's Legal Sea Foods. Note that I didn't actually suggest that someone should EAT at Red Lobster. I would never do that. I do have some standards. Low ones, perhaps, but standards none the less. On the other hand, it might be just me. I've been having a bad run of luck on seafood lately. Got violently ill at the McCormack and Schmicks in San Jose a little while ago. The hotel had to send for people. Maybe I should try Long John Silver. No danger there since there's no evidence it contains any actual seafood. Wayne Rash

I took my family to the Legal Sea Foods at Tyson's on Saturday, May 9. In the past my experiences have been much like Stephen's. This was one of my favorite seafood places in the area, and while some of the Boston-area restaurants had fresher fish, these were still better than most of the competition. But for whatever reason, the Tyson's store really dropped the ball on Saturday. The server got the orders wrong, and the replacements arrived long after the rest of the table had finished eating. This would have been bad enough, but these things do happen. What was worse is that the wood-grilled fish orders were uniformly overcooked to the point they were dry and crumbly. My scallops were so overcooked they were charred completely black. The shrimp was like rubber. If it had been just me, I'd have figured that the kitchen wasn't handling the replacement of the wrong order very well, but it happened to everyone who got the wood-grilled fish. They did remove my dish from the bill, but the manager seemed sufficiently unconcerned that I was basically blown off. A note to the company has so far been ignored. Now, I know that the Legal Sea Foods restaurants in Boston continue to be great, and the last time I ate at one in DC, it was just fine. I suspect that this particular location has a problem in the kitchen, but I plan to stay away until they have time to work it out. I really don't need another scallop that looks more like charcoal than shellfish. Meanhwhile, Red Lobster looks like a seafood nirvanna by comparison. I should add that some items, meaning the items that weren't done on the grill, were fine. The raw oysters were really nice, and the white burgundy we had with the meal was perfect. And while the fried calimari wasn't as good as a couple of places I know on the west coast of Italy, that's hardly an indictment. But the management team needs to spend some time with the operators of the wood grill pointing out that fish and shellfish should be edible after they finish. Wayne Rash

Hi everyone! I got a note from Don telling me that I should introduce myself. I'm Wayne Rash, and I'm a journalist based in the DC area. I mostly write for technology publications. I live in the suburbs of Clifton, Virginia, a town of fewer than 200 people. it's notable on the food landscape as the home of a restaurant called "Heart in Hand," which was the mystery location for lunches between Nancy Reagan and George Will. our once-famous restaurant, the Hermitage Inn (an Inn at Little Washington wanna-be) is closed, and is being replaced by something called Trummers on Main. According to their Web site, it's a New American fine dining place featuring local ingredients and an extensive wine cellar. Right now it's a construction site. I'm not a food professional, however I have worked in the food industry in the past. I was the head cook (it would be a mistake to call me a chef) at several restaurants in central Virginia when I was in college or just out of college. The most recent of those places is now a weed-choked field containing the remains of a parking lot. This is clearly a better use for the location than the restaurant was. My more significant food related experience was as a Supply Corps officer in the US Navy. I was the food service officer on a ship, and later was responsible for food service operations on a squadron staff. During my time I learned a lot about stuff that's really important, including how to buy the right ingredients, how to ensure food safety and sanitation, and how to make meals that taste good, are nutritions, and meet the requirements of hundreds or people, all of whom eat at the same time. I also learned to cook some really good stuff, and my mess decks won a few awards. During this time, I spent a great deal of time overseas, learned to appreciate food throughout the Mediterranian and how to find and procure everything from fresh strawberries to canned soda. Since then my life as a journalist has taken me all over the world, from Western and Central Europe to Russia and China. I've eaten lumpia in the jungles of the Philippines and "Meat soup" at a dining hall in Russia's Star City. And, of course, I've been to a few Michelin rated eateries in Europe. I've eaten in a number of food-related places in the US, of course, and count a few restaurant owners in San Francisco, New York and Washington among my friends and acquaintences. I'm also a pretty good cook, and was once asked to teach at a culinary academy, but fortunately for the food world, I avoided that. However, I do some very good barbecue and I do it right. I firmly believe that anyone who boils ribs should be tarred and feathered. It's great to meet all of you. Thanks, Don, for letting me in. Wayne Rash