hapatite

oh yes, to mention about the wait: the line starts at about 4:45 or 5 for their 530 opening on Saturdays. I got their once a little late and was quoted a 10:15 seating time! I've heard it's much easier to get seatings during the week, especially the earlier ones since a lot of people are still working.

The best ice cream sandwiches I've had were always the kind where either cookie and ice cream were prepared separately (warm cookies, a fresh scoop of ice cream in-between them) so that both the ingredients were soft. I one like this at the Wine Kitchen in Leesburg and they were great! The other kinda of acceptable sandwich is the grocery store freezer kind where everything is rock hard and the same consistency. I think the problem with the Sugar Magnolia version was what weezy says leads to a *good* sandwich. The cookies and ice cream were combined together in the freezer, but they have different densities and thaw rates, hence the bite and squirt.

I agree with the posters above -- I was excited when Farrah Olivia was re-opened inside Kora. We went there for a special occasion and it just wasn't the same. I loved the original FO and wish I would have left the memory as such. The colors, temperatures, and presentation were just... weird. It didn't have the elegance that the original FO had, and it made me miss it even more!

Sticky Bun was delicious. Unfortunately, we got there a bit late and almost everything else was sold out, but I WILL be going back for those elusive donuts. I also only got the 'bun because I had planned to stop by Sugar Magnolia afterwards.

I'm heading there this weekend for a tour and tasting & am excited! I love their rye and can't wait to try their other offerings. I like to help out local businesses as much as I can, even if it means paying a few extra dollars.

I too had a problem with the ice cream sandwich. We got the chocolate/coffee/coconut one and it refused to be eaten. Ice cream too soft, cookies too hard, the ice cream gushed out when we tried to take bites out of it. We were left with sticky hands and faces and empty tummies. The blondie sample we tried was good, but the brownie we bought was ho-hum. It had good texture, but lacked the richness and depth of flavor that I've come to expect from brownies. All in all, the setup was cute inside (bummed that SM is open, but ripple isn't open for lunch!), but I agree that there's a definite space issue. There is not enough room for more than 3 patrons at a time. I love the soda cooler with tons of interesting and unique drinks in it! I snagged an Aztec Cola but have yet to try it.

I went before the tax debacle and was un-impressed--I spend over $50 and left hungry, which is hard for me to do! I went back with a LS recently and spent around the same amount, this time for two people, and we both left pretty satisfied! I too noticed their sushi menu looked less exotic. We had the agedashi tofu (crispy with a nice broth, though BF thought a tad too gingery), pork and sprouts roll (meh), yuzu salmon (nice portion and flavor), kabocha (interesting way that they sliced it; had a nice grill flavor), and honey banana (light yet sweet). The drinks were great there too and sitting by the robata grill kept us nice and toasty, definitely recommend it. We had the Oscar wilde's Shochu ride w/ Yuzu instead of lime, hum & rum, and Hakutsuru ume shu which are all pretty unique drinks for this area.

I whole heartedly agree about being underwhelmed and the reasons for it. I'm glad I went to see what the hype was about and had a delicious meal comprised of food and dishes that I've never had. I wish there were cocktails too---though the hibiscus tea and salted pineapple soda were refreshing (even though the hibiscus tea was too sour for me), a nice cocktail would've sealed the deal. After glimpsing menus from other weeks, I was hoping for some interesting ingredients and combinations, but all of our dishes had either pork or shrimp in them. No duck, which is my favorite protein! I had the same type of experience at Komi -- slowly started getting full after a few courses, then all of a sudden it seems the courses get bigger and bigger! Thankfully, just like at Komi, we were able to take leftovers (and the cucumber and thai basil made excellent pimms cups no. 13later that night), but I just wish the meal was a tad more balanced in size and flavor. I also asked if we could take pictures since I had an awkward (& painful) experience earlier at Komi. I have a horrible memory, so like to take pictures so I can look back and remember experiences (I'm not one of those that uses the flash or lets the food get cold while I set-up the shot; it's purely documentation). I'm not intrusive to others at the table, let alone others in the restaurant. Since everything was shared, I was also wondering that single diners experience at LS, thanks DaRiv18 for clearing that up!