LauraB
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Posts posted by LauraB
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On 9/2/2016 at 8:39 PM, Genevieve said:
I had seen some early posts mention meals at Kinship taking three hours. Are they always that long? I very much want to go (preferably while they still have soft-shells on the menu, but I couldn't get there last week and probably not next week), but three hours is going to be difficult, especially if I want to get someone to join me.
We celebrated our anniversary there last Saturday night. We were out of there in an hour and 45 minutes. Things that may have contributed to the shorter time frame: it was just the two of us; we had an early reservation (6:00 pm); we each ordered an app, a main, and a dessert, no extra courses. Also, we were told that if we wanted to order the chicken, it would take 60 to 80 minutes. So, if one orders that, it's definitely going to prolong the evening.
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On 9/14/2016 at 0:27 PM, SilverBullitt said:
My only suggestion is rather mundane. If you're going to hire a car and driver for a long journey, make sure you specify you want an AC (air-conditioned) car. And just as important, before you get in the car, have the driver demonstrate that the AC works, i.e., have it run long enough so that you're sure it will cool the car sufficiently.
That is great advice! Thank you!
On 9/7/2016 at 1:29 PM, ktmoomau said:As just a note, I went with a group of at least ten people, and nine of us got sick. We only ate at restaurants in Delhi that didn't seem sketchy, and some of us got sick, everyone who ate cooked street food got sick, and we got sick from cooked food cooked in a home where they were being very careful for us. The only person who didn't get sick lived on a diet of whiskey the whole time. I was very very careful, as was Matt, I expected to get sick because I have stomach issues and was being treated for Lymes at the time. I couldn't take the amoxicillin as I am allergic to it, my best advice is just start it the first day and keep taking it throughout your trip. I would avoid street food, as tasty as it may be, you can find some of the items prepared in restaurants. But I was sick for weeks and just wouldn't wish that on anyone. Our Indian friends we were traveling with said they always get sick when they go back, they just expect that. Even the bride got terribly sick while she was there. I think if we had stayed places I could control where and what I was eating more it may have been much better, BUT I would say it is not worth it no matter how good the street food is to eat that. That is what really made most everyone really sick and the one out of ten who didn't get sick also didn't eat any street food.
I am glad you are not traveling alone in Delhi, I was worried when I read that post. Not that you couldn't do it, but I wouldn't recommend it. I would also visit, the large Sikh temple: Gurudwara Bangla Sahib while in Delhi. We ate at the temple and that was quite good and we didn't get sick from that. We visited the Lotus Temple, which is very pretty and potentially worth a stop. The Red Fort is a must see (it will take you a long time, it is really large). You will go buy the India Gate likely to see other sites and it is worth a stop. Humayun's Tomb would be another thing to see. We didn't really do any shopping in Delhi, but that would be fun- I think it would be well worth it to look into the services of a guide for your time there though- getting tuk tuks, cabs, telling them where to go, not to take a bad route, negotiating prices. Traffic is really terrible, expect it to take a very long time to get between places, so we were limited in what we could see in one day. We made it through well because we were traveling with Indian friends, if I was going there just as a westerner myself, I would hire a guide AND I am not normally a guide type of person, but I would definitely do it there. It should likely be very inexpensive, I would hire a woman so she knew where good places to pick up souvenirs and etc would be. Maybe your husband's clients know someone? It definitely helps to bring a big scarf so you can cover your head, breathe through it when the air is bad or smelly and to distract from unwanted attention. They have beautiful scarves there, but bring one with you just so you have it from the get go (I like them on the plane as a blanket too anyway.) The air might be a little better in December than in November when we were there they were burning all the fields in Punjab. Oh and get the water bottle I posted about up-thread if you are worried about getting sick. I would even put my bottled water through it because in Punjab we were told by the family we were staying with that people would refill water bottles from the tap, seal them and sell them (that might not happen in Delhi and other cities.)
In Agra, there is the Taj, the little Taj and other sites. Can you take the fast train down there now? It should have opened, I think we just missed it's opening. We had a guide who took us in a car, and who also was a tour guide, arranged by our hotel, that was actually really nice. Except as part of their service they take you to certain shops, but one of the ones we went to ended up being pretty cool.
Very useful advice, KT. Thank you! I don't think we can do the all-whiskey diet, but we can certainly avoid street food and other sketchy food venues. I really like the idea of trying to get a female tour guide in Delhi -- I'm going to explore that option with our hotel (part of the Taj group). Yes to the water bottle -- based on your earlier post, I bought one for MrB last winter before he made his first trip to India -- he's taken it with him, but never used it because he only travels between the hotel and his clients' offices. I will be buying three more for this trip.
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Jonathan has included many of our favorites, especially Green Mango Salad, Khao Soi and Northern Thai Pork Curry.
But he left out the best of the best: Chicken Stuffed in a Tapioca Skin. When we lived nearby, we ordered carryout or delivery many, many times. We would always place a DOUBLE order of the Chicken in Tapioca Skin.
Also, the Esaan Sausage was really good.
We also enjoyed Papaya Curry with Chicken.
Frankly, as I've stated above in this thread, just throw a dart at the menu and whatever you come up with will be great!
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Does anyone have experience hiring a car and driver for travel within India? We would like to do this for travel from Delhi to Agra and then to several destinations within Rajasthan -- specific destinations still to be determined. I'm just now starting to look into this, but if anyone has any experiences to share, or specific recommendations of car services, I would greatly appreciate your input. Thanks!
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29 minutes ago, DonRocks said:
I found my passport, completed the application, and paid the fee. Now, it says "Your application is now pending review...."
How come I didn't get to have an appointment? This is the message I got:
Your application for the Trusted Traveler program is now pending review. PLEASE REMEMBER TO REVISIT OUR WEB SITE FOR YOUR APPLICATION STATUS UPDATES. Your application status and notification of when you may schedule an interview appointment will be posted to your online GOES account. CBP recommends you periodically login to your GOES account at https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov for account updates
When I applied for Global Entry online there was about a 9-day wait until I received verification that I could schedule an appointment.
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I'm 100% certain we already have a thread on this market, and, yes we do! It's here. Can a Moderator insert these new posts into the original thread?
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KT, what about Hawaii? We had a fabulous vacation on the Big Island of Hawaii a few years back in the month of May. You've got everything there: beaches, rain forest, active volcanoes, and GREAT food! We stayed on the Kohala Coast in the North at the Hapuna Beach Prince hotel. We are not beach people, but we loved it! Our room overlooked the ocean and we opened the doors to the balcony the moment we arrived and we did not close them until the day we left. There were sea turtles right off the beach and the breakfast food at the hotel (I think I ate an entire pineapple every morning for breakfast) was served in a stunning outdoor covered area overlooking the ocean. As we were driving to the airport to catch our flight home I was sobbing -- I did not want to leave! It was that magical.
As far as flying to Hawaii from DC: try to get a flight that connects through San Francisco, that breaks it up pretty evenly. Our flight to Hawaii went through Chicago, so we had an 11-hour flight from Chicago to Honolulu. I don't recommend that.
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On 8/16/2016 at 8:56 PM, silentbob said:
In about one week, the Chase Sapphire Reserve will be available, offering a 100K point bonus for $4K spend in the first three months and awarding 3 points per $1 spend on dining and travel! The annual fee is hefty at $450 but you get $300 in value just from the travel credit reimbursement and $100 in Global Entry fee reimbursement, plus Priority Pass lounge access and many other perks. I'll definitely be signing up for this despite having the AMEX Platinum (ostensibly its competitor card) already.
I'm finding this whole thread a fascinating discussion and just one of the many reasons I value DR.com. I'm curious about this Chase Sapphire Reserve. If I already have an AMEX Platinum, in what ways would the Chase Sapphire Reserve be a better option? I get that there are lots of perks for signing up, but over the long-haul, what benefits does it offer over AMEX Platinum? Thanks!
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The WaPo Food section came out with its annual Tomato Issue yesterday.
P.S. I am awestruck at the number and variety of tomatoes you are growing!
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Corduroy it is! I don't know why I didn't think of this myself, since I frequently make this recommendation to others. And we've been there numerous times. It's perfect for this scenario. I think maybe I was hoping to turn up something new and different, since we don't get into DC much these days.
If anyone has other suggestions, please keep them coming -- it turns out that this exact scenario will also be in play with another DC visitor the following Saturday!
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I have also been thinking about the Rye Bar and the Grill Room, which we have not yet visited. As former fans of Palena, it's on our list. Any thoughts about this combo?
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10 minutes ago, ktmoomau said:
Woodward Table has a huge bar area, not sure how loud it gets, but I don't imagine it being really loud, maybe I am wrong. Certainly Kinship is better if you can get a reservation there. The bar at Fishnet wasn't crazy and I could hear people very well there. Also Corduroy would be a thought.
KT, I'm banging my head against the wall. Corduroy! Of course! Meets all of my criteria and we've been there many times -- eating at the bar used to be a habit when we lived walking distance from it. Thanks!
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My daughter is making a rare trip to DC from Brooklyn this weekend. I haven't seen her in awhile and want to catch up with her in a relatively quiet and not crazy bar before we join MrB and her sister for dinner. Ideally, the bar would be in the restaurant where we'll be having dinner, but not necessary. Needs to be in DC and cost is not a consideration, within reason! Also, needs to be someplace where we can get reservations for this Saturday night. I'd appreciate any thoughts you have!
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4 minutes ago, Simul Parikh said:
I think more often than not if you eat street food, you're going to get some sort of GI issue...
This was kind of my assumption as well. Given the time and expense of such a trip, one really wants to try to avoid spending a good bit of it hovering over a toilet.
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It used to be that when someone sent me a PM, I would receive an email notification that included the Username of the sender and the text of the message. Since the recent Invision upgrade, however, I am no longer receiving these emails. Is there any way to activate this feature? I found it very useful.
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5 hours ago, sandynva said:
and please do yourself a favor and eat as much as you can, including the street food, which is amazing.
Thanks to sandynva and SteveR. for these really useful replies. I am just beginning to delve into the massive amount of information and it's quite overwhelming. One thing I'm quite happy about is that we invited my 2 grown daughters to accompany us on the trip and they are both going to come with us -- so I am very happy about that. It'll make the Delhi portion of the trip that much nicer for me since I'll have sightseeing companions while MrB is working.
Sandy, I want to ask you about your advice to eat as much as possible, including street food. I love Indian food (although my only experience of it is from Indian restaurants in the U.S. and the U.K.). So, I want to sample as much as possible, but balance that with my number one goal: not to get sick. What is your advice about that? I have read that one should not eat anything that hasn't been cooked, so no salads, for example. I'd appreciate your input.
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Just to close this out, I want to let everyone know that Allstate paid our hotel cost of nearly $5000 really quickly. Our food cost, however, not so much. We're still waiting, although we've been informed that the 'check is in the mail.' I copied our guy at our insurance company on every email and I'm convinced that without him, we wouldn't have received nearly the attention that we finally did from Allstate. Lesson learned.
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To my great surprise, I find that I'll be traveling to India in December. I never expected that I would have the opportunity to visit India, so I'm kind of clueless, other than the Taj Mahal. MrB has been working with clients in Delhi since last January -- traveling every other month and staying for about a week. We decided that I would accompany him in December. We will be staying at the Taj Vivanta Surajkund in Faridabad because it is close to MrB's clients' offices. My questions are:
1. MrB will be very busy for several days in Delhi meeting with clients. I will be on my own. I'm concerned about being a lone female. What suggestions do you have for visiting sites in Delhi? And, which ones?
2. We will have about 2 weeks after MrB finishes his work in Delhi. Other than the Taj Mahal, which is a given, what do you recommend as 'not to be missed' sites in Northern India?
I have just bought Lonely Planet's book on India, but I really trust the advice of DR members. If there are other guidebooks/resources that you would recommend, please let me know.
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2 hours ago, DonRocks said:
What town do you consider Ravensworth Shopping Center to be in? I can see it being Springfield, Burke, or Annandale - any of the three.
Definitely not Burke. Either North Springfield or Annandale.
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We lived in Fallsgrove for 5 years and I can mostly confirm that the dining options in the shopping center are pretty awful. The only place that we frequented (for carryout) was the Chipotle and I have to say that it was the best Chipotle that we've ever been to -- and we've been to a few. The food was consistently good and the service was always good. My data on this is 3 years old, so things might have changed. We just know that after we moved away, any Chipotle that we tried suffered by comparison.
The worst thing about the Fallsgrove center is the parking lot. It's universally reviled by anyone having to frequent this center. We mostly walked to the center because it was just a few blocks away, but when we did drive, we almost always parked either on the street, or in the hidden section next to the Liquor Store. The main lot is a nightmare due to bad design and very narrow lanes and spaces. And too much traffic! Don't even attempt to drive into this parking lot during the lunch rush!
The good news: just a 2-minute drive west on Shady Grove will deliver you to the original Cava Mezze. We were regulars there. Don't know how it has fared since they've undertaken their major expansion into numerous Cava Grills and a couple of other Mezze locations.
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There are many news reports out of Britain suggesting that a not insignificant number of people who voted for Brexit are now having post-decision regret. Apparently, they believed that there was no way that Brexit would pass, so they used their vote in favor of it as a kind of cathartic middle-finger gesture to the EU, the British government, and whomever else they're angry with. And now that the disastrous consequences have come home to roost, they want a do-over. It's not too much of a stretch to imagine that this is exactly how the United States will wind up with President Donald J. Trump.
His performance in Scotland this morning was horrifying. The world had just experienced one of the most significant historical events in the lifetimes of most of us and he's talking about the luxury suites at his golf course.
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We have been to Taiko twice, most recently a few days ago. We like it. So far, my favorite item from the menu is the Yellowtail Jalapeno from the appetizer section. Raw yellowtail served with a sliced jalapeno and ponzu. Delicious! I prefer their regular rolls over their specialty rolls simply because I don't care for sauce on a sushi roll. Their spicy yellowtail roll is very good. Their sashimi is also very good --I prefer sashimi over nigiri. I was quite excited to see 'horse mackerel' on the menu, but when we tried to order it, we were told that they don't offer it anymore because no one orders mackerel. To be honest, I probably wouldn't either, had I not had the horse mackerel served by Koji at the late-lamented Sushi Ko in Glover Park several years back -- to date, the best piece of sashimi I've ever eaten. Their gyoza and shumai are decent, although I think I prefer the shumai at Kana Sushi just up the road in Springfield Plaza. Looking forward to sampling more of the menu.
I learned from a neighbor that Taiko delivers -- unfortunately, I don't think the Yellowtail Jalapeno would travel well.
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I buy szechuan peppercorns from Penzeys and they are very good -- nothing like you describe. You can order them online, or go to one of their 2 local retail locations: Falls Church or Rockville.
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16 minutes ago, ktmoomau said:
I am curious what is bantam? I looked it up as a weight class in boxing and a poultry, neither of those seems to be the right context for a restaurant to be near. I am not sure if China Chilcano is open for lunch, but they had an udon bowl with roasted vegetables that I would eat for almost any/every lunch. I am also a huge Cava Grill fan- there is one on H ST there. Not sure if these are as close as you were looking for.
Redeeming Credit Card Points: Why Should I Travel instead of Taking Cash?
in News and Media
Posted
Great summary, Simul! I'm going to print it out so I can have it as a handy reference.
We got our Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa in late August and within 10 days we had crossed the $4000 line where you are eligible for 100K points. We just got our statement and it awarded us more than 13,000 points for purchases -- many of those were for the triple points awards for travel and dining. We also got the $300 refund for our travel-related expenses, making this card a lot less expensive. However, we were not awarded the 100K points for exceeding $4000. I called Chase and was informed that we would receive these with our October statement. The explanation didn't quite make sense to me, but since I'm not in a hurry, I didn't try to argue. Just a word of caution for anyone who's hoping to get their points windfall in a hurry.
Also, during my phone call, I learned that we can transfer our Ultimate Rewards points to other Chase rewards plans, such as our United Mileage Plus account, but cannot do the reverse -- you can't transfer other plan points to Ultimate Rewards.