xdcx

No, thankfully, short-smoked salmon and sun-dried cranberries appear to be unique to Mike's (and all other GAR kitchens). Also can't find a cowboy rib-eye marinated in salt and sludge and more salt, except at Mike's. Also can't find that abominable pasta jambalaya dish anywhere except Mike's. You're absolutely right, there are no other restaurants in Springfield that serve similar food, and I am very grateful for that.

That's a cop out and really just serves to weaken your argument. Every place you listed wasn't direct competition to Mike's, all were specific ethnic food. What restaurant would you put up against Mike's that does "American" food?

So....rather than take my specific challenge, where I mention five dishes off the top of my head that Mike's (and thus, any GAR kitchen) cannot compete with, you just assert how right your opinion is.

Well, after Memorial Day weekend, I will defend to the death your right to be wrong.

Your specific challenge doesn't make sense though. Can you name any other restaurant in Springfield that is doing similar food as what you could get at Mike's better?

Some time ago I had lunch - a type of shrimp sandwich - at a popular small Northern VA chain restaurant. I had eaten the same sandwich on other visits but on this occasion as I drove back to work my lips begain to swell and I broke out in hives. To me it had to have been an allergic reaction to the sandwich. I took some bendryl and drove by the restaurant after work to explain the situation to the manager and find out the recipe to try and define what caused this reaction. The manager blew me off and dismissed my concern. I have not returned to the restaurant since. My daughter went online and filed a complaint on my behalf whereupon a company rep responded offering a coupon. Was I wrong to ask for the ingredients? I understand where a chef could want to keep a recipe secret but I didn't want the exact recipe but just a list of ingredients. At this point I assume it was probably something exclusive to that particular batch of shrimp but I'd love to know if there was some unusual ingredient that I should be avoiding. I'd appreciate some advice if I ever have a similar experience.

Culinista

knowing the ingredients won't really help you that much. You'll still need to go to an allergist and get tested to find out exactly and how far reaching the allergy is. It's also possible that while you may not have been allergic to shrimp previously that you've now developed one.

Why would it dry it more in a moist BBQ than in an electric oven?

oven you can set the exact temperature, grill you can't.

Would there be any problem reheating it in the BBQ? I want the effect.

you may dry it out depending on how well you can control the fire.

I picked up one of these. Here's hoping.

One worry I have is of putting all this meat on the barbecue, and having everyone show up and dang, it's not ready!

Could I BBQ everything the day before, wrap it in foil and stick it in the fridge, then maybe an hour or two before dinner the next day toss everything back into the heat?

you're better off getting a real smoker rather than trying to jerry-rig something. Doing it this way, you're not going to have a lot of control over the heat of your fire so cooking time will be variable. I'd definitely cook it the day before unless you're just planning to do chicken. Brisket or pork shoulder will take you easily 9+ hours. Chicken will only take 2-3 and ribs about the same amount of time. When I'm having people over, I cook stuff the day before and just reheat it in a low oven wrapped in foil and it always turns out great.

I only visit the Farmers Market near my home, so I can't compare pricing at other markets. This price was truly outrageous, and counterproductive when attempting to get more people to look at the Farmers Market as a need, not a luxury. I just wondered how much chickens cost at other markets. The offender is:

Burke Farmers Market.

The egg and chicken man right next to the bread guy. The man behind me bought two!!

it was smith family farm. I overheard the guy saying that they were so freshly processed they hadn't frozen them yet. I'm now glad I didn't stop over there to see about getting one.

In that neighborhood it does not shock me one bit. Too bad.

can you think of any neighborhood that would want it 24/7? especially given how close housing is to the location?

We went last night. We got a 50/50 hot pot. half spicy and half mild. The broth is apparently beef, pork and chicken based. We had been to Bob's up in Rockville before so we weren't total novices, but one of the staff was extremely helpful and explained the right order and helped us cook. The spicy was quite spicy and did have a numbing effect. The mild broth was also very good. We put mushrooms, chinese cabbage, seaweed and chrysanthemum greens in both. We cooked chicken and cuttlefish in the spicy broth and scallops and fish balls in the mild. This ended up being way too much food for 2 but we got a good combo of tastes and textures. The sauce bar is going to take a lot of trips to figure out what to get and how to combine it. This was easily one of the best experiences we've had at a restaurant and the staff has a lot of reason for the pride they showed in the food. They were friendly and helpful and I can't say enough nice things about the meal we had.

this place is also good for indian:

http://www.kohinoordhaba.com

really great chipotle brownie's with the baked goods today. moist rich brownie with a little chili kick. The baked goods here tend to be overlooked but really shouldn't be.

Malik's Kabob and Cafe, 9542-B Arlington Blvd, Fairfax, VA 22031, (703) 246-9005.

Near Fairfax Circle, in the same shopping center as Staples and Hudson Trail Outfitters, around the corner near Peter Pan Buffet.

Doesn't look like much from the outside but I am becoming addicted to the bone-in chicken kabobs. Was planning on writing a review after a couple more visits.

Be aware that at night they have hookah/shisha for the customers. If you don't like that, there is a room in the back with no smoking.

They also have other Pakistani cuisine. My older son really likes the butter chicken.

had lunch there today. hookah was being smoked and it's was oddly empty of diners at 1:30. The food however was great. I had a chapli kabob and my wife had the boneless chicken. Both were perfectly cooked. Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The chickpea curry that comes with it is killer as well. Atmosphere was kind of weird with a handful of people smoking and the two of us eating, but the food made up for it.

Looks like this place is very close to opening. One preview is up, and the menu is available.

Kind of mixed feelings on this. On the plus side it looks like they are somewhat serious about the izakaya piece (decent selection of yakitori, onigiri (yea!), robata bar). On the other hand it looks like they felt the need to class the joint up (big sushi selection, wagyu and fois gras yakitori(?!)) to make it more of a destination place. If they get the latter right it will be an interesting, dual-purpose kind of setting. As long as they keep the cheap cuts of grilled offal and the beer flowing I'll be alright with that! DC needs an izakaya.

The NOVA suburbs have one, it's called Blue Ocean.

This is embarassing, but surely I can't be the only one-I have mice in my house. I understand it, it's cold, they want food, I hate to kill anything, but I don't want to share my space w/ mice- hanta virus, other icky stuff....I've ordered some 'humane' electronic mice zappers from Amazon, I've totally cleaned out my pantry (I think my daughter's sunflower seeds were the lure, but there were droppings everywhere-yuck!) & wiped it down w/ spearmint oil (I've heard mice hate peppermint oil, didn't have any, but I have lots of spearmint oil, let's hope they hate that, too). I'm going to check every spot in my kitchen, where there might be a hole-behind the sink, dw, stove, frig, & plug it w/ steel wool (I've tried tinfoil, but that doesn't seem to be effective), & liberally apply spearmint oil. Right now, my kitchen REEKS of spearmint oil, but I don't want mice, & my cat is totally unconcerned . Any other ideas? (sorry if this grosses anyone out, I'm just trying to deal w/ this)

get someone to look around the outside of your place and seal every possible entrance (you'd be amazed at how small a hole they can get into). We did this a few years ago and haven't had any problems since.

Very sad, I always crave frozen yogurt after spicy Korean BBQ.

there's still shilla. it's sad, but not surprising, I never saw it all that busy in the handful of times I've been in there.

Ravi Kabobs I and II (in Arlington) have received rave reviews (including here), but I can't really find much online about their newer location in Springfield. Anyone tried it (or know anything about it)? TIA!

yes and it tasted the same as the other two.

Does anyone know a shop (or grocery store) that sells smoked turkey wings? I'm planning on using them to make some stock for the holiday but can't seem to find them (I apologize if this is the wrong forum to post in...figuring a butcher shop may have them) in the area. Anywhere in DC/NOVA/MD is fine but in the district or NOVA would be ideal.

Not to hijack the DB thread, but better BBQ can be found at American BBQ on Telegraph Rd (near Rt 1 in south Alexandria). Their BBQ sauce is better than Dixie Bones as well.

This place? www.americanbbq.com

I'll cop to being somewhat intentionally provocative, but I did intend it as a legitimate question. It seems to me that vegans, more so than vegetarians, have an ethical/moral issue with eating animal derived products. As such, vegetable based meat "recreations" seem somewhat offensive to me in that context. You can add texture and flavorings and not have it resemble a chicken tender. It seems an unnecessary reminder of a practice they disdain.

This, spoken from a true omnivore.

it's not the taste or the texture that vegans have an issue with, so why do you find it offense that some would want something that replicates meat but doesn't require the death of an animal?

I am looking for a source for Mexican Coke in NOVA. Help will be appreciated.

Soup

I had the worst restaurant/dining experience in my life at Yechon a few weekends ago, no exaggeration. I wanted to wait a couple weeks before posting this just to let emotions calm, so I wouldn't be as F'ing pissed when I typed this summary of my experience.

A brief background, I have been a loyal customer of this restaurant for more than a decade. It has been the source of many late-night and prime-time Korean dinners through the entirety of my adult life, spanning three careers from when I used to pull up in my police cruiser, through my days in restaurant management to now. The food has always been decent and the service friendly. It was my Korean "go-to", and it was always busy- regardless of the hour.

I arrived with 4 other dining companions on a Saturday night three weeks back. Knowing this is a popular dinner spot with the Annandale community, we waited until 10:30pm to let the rush die down before showing up with a 5 top. The restaurant was packed as always, no surprise, and we were seated promptly. We waited over 10 minutes to be greeted by a waiter and offered beverages, almost to the point where I felt ignored (it wasn't that busy.) When a server finally arrived, we gave our entire order, drinks- sushi & entrees. Four of us order the same thing (Kal-Bi), and the fifth ordered a chicken dish (she doesn't eat red meat.)

After another long while, the Kal-Bi arrives, before the appetizers, and another server puts them on the hot grill at the table. Now typically, with all my experiences with Korean BBQ over the years, the meat cooking is supervised by a waiter or by what I call (please pardon the term) the BBQ Girls in ceremonial dress. Not the case on this particular evening. After explaining we prefer the meat a med-rare, the beef was left to burn, then blacken, then wither on one side. I tried to get the attention of a waiter desperately, and when I finally did, he flipped the meat just to let it burn on the other side. This process is repeated twice with the rest of the meat, even as I voice my concern to the server (the 3rd of the evening.) The chicken dish never arrived for our non-beef eater.

After finishing whatever edible pieces of kal-bi we could, and eating all the banchan, I'm concerned that one of our party still hasn't been served her entree (she insisted we eat ours.) It's been 25-30 minutes since we were served. I try to flag down an employee as he rushed past, and he gave me the raised index finger "one second". Two minutes pass, and I try flag down the same employee a second time, still got the same finger "one second". At this point, I'm incredibly frustrated, and I walked to the service station and asked to speak with a manager. I'm directed to the same employee who blew me off moments before... great.

I explain the situation with the lack of service (our drinks were empty the majority of the meal), burnt food, and that one member of our party still hasn't been served an entree, while the majority of the table is ready to leave. I also explained that I've been a regular customer for more than 10 years and that everything has been horrible tonight. His response: "What do you want?" My answer, how about the food that we ordered almost an hour ago, and service? His response: "What do you want me to do, does she still want her food, what do you want?" He said this as he looked at me like he was annoyed. At this point, we decided it wasn't worth it anymore, and just asked for the check.

Five minutes later, a bus-boy delivers the check, with everything on it minus the chicken that was never received. And we all left angry, hungry and with the taste of burnt meat in our mouth.

I understand a restaurant can have a misstep, bad food is excusable from time to time, especially when it's busy at the end of a dinner rush. But to be ignored, and then treated rudely by a hostile manager (for no reason), is inexcusable. I will never return, and make it a personal mission to tell everyone I can about this experience and get them to try one of the many other options in Annandale.

F you, Yechon. I'll be at Honey Pig.

did you use the new "call system" that they installed to get peoples attention?

It's super easy to manage this problem, but few places seem to implement the solution.

You can give away the Wi-Fi for free without it being open. Make users have to log in to a portal, and give away cards with 60 minutes or so of access on them. This way, every hour, users have to come up to the front for another card. If you want to be restrictive, make them buy something to get the card. But at least the person sitting all day has to come up and ask for the card each hour, which does discourage the sitting all day without buying anything.

Exactly. So I don't understand the folks who say that what others wear does not influence them. The behavior of others can certainly impact my experience. I don't want to be seated next to a couple who is arguing, or a person who has marinated in cheap cologne, or a group that wears shorts and flip flops to a special-occasion restaurant. No matter how engaging my dining companion(s), it's hard to ignore some aspect of the experience that is incongruent with your expectations and the expectations of the proprietors.

No shock but dress appropriate for mowing the lawn needs to stay home or go to Bens chili bowl.

Had dinner at Zaytinya Saturday night and was amazed at how many people walk up in t-shirts looking pretty ratty. Most folks there dress well and those in T-Shirts appear to be the minority. This is not your college tail gate or your own backyard, come on folks..step up your game.