pras

Went back here again last night for some carryout from their "traditional" menu.  They don't have one printed yet, so you can't really order from home.  Also, the menu they have is in need of work (I think they have lost something in the translation and some things are misscategorized).  The food was decent.  We got three entres--MaPo Tofu, Mixed Seafood, and three cups eggplant.  The MaPo was not as good as at China Jade or Joes.  It was spicy with silken tofu, and some shredded chicken (I have never had it this way before).  There wasn't much numbing to be found.  Three cups eggplant was a let down, too sweet, not enough ginger (actually no visible giner to be found), and would have liked more basil.  The Mixed Seafood may have been the winner--shrimp, squid, scallops, fish fillet (I think it was flounder) and an assortment of vegetables--brocoli, baby corn, napa, water chestnuts, and carrots, it had a mild white sauce to go along, which didn't get in the way of the fresh seafood.  I think I would go back for the "traditional" menu, probably only because it is next door to my house, but if I am passing Joe's on the way home or if I have cash, Bob's those are still my first choices.

On another note, they now have lunch special hotpots at $10 ea.

On another note, also had hotpot again, this time with a larger group.  It started off really bad (they are definetly working the kinks out), the vegetarian healthy hot pots came out spciy when they were supposed to be mild (as described).  They replaced the pots for the 4 who ordered this base with "just plain vegetable stock" but my vegetarian wife quickly said it was chicken broth.  They were very nice from a customer service standpoint and didn't charge us for her pot.  Everyone else was very happy once the pots were changed (which was a relief because they are a picky group!).

I thought the food was decent and the service was good.  I got a fried clam and oyster platter, which while it wasn't the best I have ever had, it also wasn't the worst.  I would definetly head back again.

Don--

I think this article will fill you in on details.

Same owner as Eli's, same owner as Sienna's.

Looks like another Italian market might be opening in this spot.  Anyone know the details?

Gaithersburg in the house!

Knowing nothing about this operation, but something about the demographics, they could be something of a success if they play their cards right.

My worry is the $25 per-person price which seems high to me (do some of the add-ins contain meat, and if so, are they refillable as well? If so, then that's more palatable.)

People will be drinking Tsing Taos, and their checks could easily reach $100 for two people all-in: that could have a negative psychological effect on the patronage, but I'd need to see this place in action before drawing any judgment.

Add ins do contain meat and seafood and are refillable.  I thought the value was actually pretty good.  I plan on going again (soon) and will take a picture of the selction list.  The portions were very generous.

Riverside Hot Pot opened last week in the old Chop Stix space. Address is 820 Muddy Branch Rd Gaithersburg, MD 20878.

Website is: http://riversidehotpot.com/. Evidently it's a chain from China. I think this is the first (?) US location. You pick a stock from about 6 choices, they bring you a individual sized pot with burner. Add ins are all you can eat (think after the grand opening special of $21, it will be $25/pp). There is also a really nice sauce bar. There is a "traditional" Chinese menu as well, but we didn't opt for that. I got the Szechuan broth (which was good but I was hoping for a bit spicier), my wife got the vegetarian "health" pot (it had some various radish type things and goji berries for some additional flavor). If you are a vegetarian, be sure to tell them, because they top the pots of with a house broth which isn't vegetarian (they brought a teapot of the veggie stock for my wife). The list of add-ins is extensive. We got an assortment of veg (spinach, bok choy, napa, other greens, lotus root, mushrooms (shitake and enoki), bamboo shoots, frozen bean curd (has a nice spongy texture), shrimp, scallops, clams, squid, octopus (wife eats fish). I also got a spicy beef and another beef with enoki. Last item was a clear noodle. Everything was really good. The kitchen didn't give us everything each time we asked but the servers were good at finishing up the requests when something was missing. My only negative is that when they re-fill the broth, it would be nice if they did so with the broth that you ordered. My Szechuan ended up pretty watered down. Would definetly go back a second time (perhaps as soon as tomorrow!) Cheers!

How was it? This isn't a very internet-y restaurant.

I've been a couple times, and rather enjoyed it - it's very old school.

It was good not great. We reserved the back room and they let us be. Service was great.

Has anyone been here lately?  Boss is taking some staff here for dinner tomorrow night.  Driven by 100s of times, never been in.

What is everyone's favorite sour and/or wild beers? For some reason I can't get Green Flash Rayon Vert out of my mind. I love New Belgium La Folie (I think I have a bottle or two in the "cellar"). I also love Petrus Aged Pale Ale.

I think my big problem is that I aquire these brews and then just want to let them sit and get really funked up (Anchorage Galaxy, Allagash Interlude).

I think I hit my personal price ceiling today for beer. Westover was selling Avery's Odio Equum for $17.99 per 12 oz bottle today. Typically the 12 oz barrel aged Avery's go for $8-$11 a pop. To put things in perspective, I bought the Westvleteren 12 "6 pack" for $85, so around $14.50 per bottle, plus the two branded glasses. I think someone needs to rethink their pricing strategy or hope it was just a cash register error.

Odio Equum is perhaps one of the most elusive beers to come by would love to get my hands on a bottle. I think I have hit that same threshold on a bottle of Mikkeler Beer Geek Brunch Weasel Calvados Edition. Need to crack that one soon!

Loved this beer and its a great value for the quality. Hop bomb!

In the recent Maryland legislative session a new law was passed to allow sale of growlers (and pints) by producers like Flying Dog. This is good news as many of their one off isoteric brews will be available for home consumption. You will also be able to enjoy a pint in their tap room. Law goes into effect July 1.

I go to Ga Bo Ja every so often, but since I'm solo, I can't quite order one of the many dishes that lurk on the sashimi side of the menu (one is over $200 I think...I've always wondered what you get with that). If you find yourself there, let me know what was good and what wasn't. It'd be nice to surprise the waitresses by ordering differently!

That said, when I'm in there and a group comes, I'm always staggered by the sheer number of dishes that appear. Just amazing.

It's gonna be tough dragging my family there again. Maybe a group trip is in order the $200 dish.

While not exactly a dinning related post, it is ancillarily so. I was invited to a client's Christmas Party next weekend. It is a Chineese Grand Banquet. What is an appropriate hostess gift? He is from Hong Kong and I would like to impress him and his wife. Your suggestions are greatly appreciated.

pras, when I said "knowledge" at Chevy Chase, I was only referring to the gentleman who must surely be the beer manager - I've dealt with him twice, and was impressed both times. I don't know his name, but he is an educated beer-lover, and I don't mind paying extra if that extra money is going to pay for his salary.

It was just yesterday when I read about "The High Cost of Low Price," and this kind of fits in with my beliefs on the subject in general.

I guess I have never happened to have a conversation with this guy. Maybe I should hit them up again sometime soon.

Went here last night for dinner. Hadn't been in probably over 10 years. I was happy that it looks like they have done a slight remodel (new paint and carpet). My wife and I ordered from the korean menu. I had Sashimi Dub Bap and my wife had Dolsot Seafood Bim Bim Bap. Both were very tasty (well mine was at least, the wfie didn't complain which means she liked it). Mine was a mixture of sashimi on a bed of lettuce, including tuna, salmon, flounder, squid, imitation crab, yellow tail, and flying fish eggs. There was also some seaweed salad. They brought us some banchan which were pretty run of the mill. At the table next to us there were to older Korean men drinking soju and beer, they had a huge assortment of banchan, got some sort of whole crab dish and then a huge sahsimi platter that made me jealous. I need to go back and get that sashimi platter!

Last month when I visited Flying Dog for my monhly Junto meeting, they surprised us with Kujo Ice Cream Floats. While Kujo is one of my favorite brews from them, the float was amazing. I never thought to mix a stout and ice cream together, but it really works. If you ever see Kujo in the stores (should be hitting the distribution channels now), pick up a sixer and make a float. You will not be dissapointed. Also, if you ever see Kujo on a nitro line, try it, it makes the beer magical. Kujo on nitro is possibly my favorite beer of all time!

I was at Total Wine in McLean a couple of weeks ago and they have re-organized their beer section. They now have the old beer by variety isles but have also added a beer by brewery isle. I still seemed somewhat overwelmed when I shop there. Last visit for the first time I took advantage of the make your own six pack option and went for a 12 pack instead. Also stoped by Norm's and got a bomber of Madame Rose.

Total Wine in McLean (for selection) and Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits (for selection + knowledge) - check out this brief discussion.

Don--I agree with Total Wine, but I have never thought that the staff at Chevy Chase was particularly knowledgeable or helpful. I have been hitting up Rodmas quite a bit. Connecticut Avenue Wine and Spirits is just about the best for isoteric hard to find, not distributed in DC beers (but you will pay dearly!). Norms in Vienna also has a good selection. I was wondering if I was missing a place that is a gem.

Its going to be interesting to see how the purchase of Goose Island shakes out. On one hand the year round lineup will surely decline as production is moved to "beer factories", but on the other hand, there will be more capacity to make more of the isoteric and seasonal brews. More room for barrell aging means more BCBS and more variants of it, and more sour beer. The world cannot have enough sour beer!

While not a fish restaurant, for really good sushi/sashimi, try Tanpopo in the same little shopping center where A&J is located. While Tanpopo (which is Korean) is a ramen restaurant, the chef is a Japanese sushi chef and the fish he uses is always fresh and high quality. For the best Korean fried fish, try To Sok Jip (across the street from Honey Pig). This is a small restaurant that serves true Korean homestyle food. For pure fish, Annandale Seafood is about as good as you're going to get. Ga Bo Ja is (even minus the crowds) about on par. Korean restaurants (like their American counterparts) specialize in one or two types of dishes or styles of food. We haven't been to Ga Bo Ja for some time, perhaps it's time for another excursion to Annandale for fish (even though I have to admit I've been spoiled by the seafood in Busan)

Thanks for the reply. Have you ever been to Bethany Seafood in Ellicott City? I wonder how Annandale rates in comparison.

A little update on this thread. In the last legislative session in Maryland, a bill was passed which would allow retailers in Baltimore City to fill growlers. This bill was specifically geared towards Max's Taphouse which has 140 draft lines and 5 cask lines. Based upon this legislation, Peter Franchot took an opportunity to review the laws on growler pours. Based upon his review, he determined that the type of producer license Flying Dog has did not allow for the re-filling of growlers (they can fill a growler once when it is a "new" bottle). He came to this conclusion because the other classes of producer licenses (like the one that Growler's in Gaithersburg has) specifically permitted the filling and re-filling of growlers. His interpretation was probably wrong, because FD's license does not specifically prohibit the practice. Needless to say, FD has taken a conservative approach and has ceased filling growlers. They are currently working with a local house/senate representative to have the law changed. They anticipate the new legislation being passed in the 2013 session.

(You probably meant "ROE" ). The whole tilapia, the rice and roe, mussels, grilled shrimp, and grilled mackeral isn't panchan, it's part of the platter. The panchan was the steamed egg and the mushrooms (even though I can't recall ever having mushrooms as panchan). They steered you towards the sushi for two reasons. The first reason is that you're a mee-guk and they didn't feel you would be comfortable eating unfamiliar han-guk food and the second is that sushi is a low cost, high profit thing to serve. Eel is never raw, it's always cooked.

Glad you enjoyed the food. The one question you should always ask is what region the people who own the restaurant are from. For seafood, Busan is the place to be. The biggest (and best) seafood in Korea and a block long building on the waterfront that contains nothing but sushi restaurants. (Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo is probably the best place in the world for sushi but almost any fish restaurant in Busan is a very close second)

Thanks for the info!

It was a sashimi platter, not a sushi platter. More food than we could finish! Now I need to figure out what that last fish on the platter if it wasn't eel.

In your opinion what is the best place like this in the area?

At the request of DonRocks, I am starting this thread about my experience at Annandale Seafood. (I adapted this from a review I wrote about a year ago after visiting)

After watching Anthony Bourdain's episode on the outer bouroughs of New York about a year ago, I was intrigued by the Korean seafood joint he went to. I wanted to find something similar in the DC area. I did extensive research and found good reviews for a place called Ga Bo Ja (there is a short thread here on this place).

I convinced my wife and parents to head out for a try. When the GPS got us to the non-descript strip center, Ga Ba Ja was literally enpty with the staff sitting around, but another place in the strip center was pretty full. We went with the full place. This place has a sign out front that is in Korean and says Annandale Seafood. I read somewhere that the Korean translates to "Eel City Flounder District". The menu was a mix of english and Korean with a few platters which were only in Korean. The waitress through broken English steered us towards the $99 sashimi platter.

Before the platter came out, we were served a bunch of banchan including, a steamed egg dish, some king mushroom, mussels, rice with row, grilled shrimp, a whole grilled mackerel, and what I think was a whole tilapia (this is only a partial list!). Once we were finished with the banchan, the main star of the night came out--the gigantic sashimi platter. The platter that came out had tuna, salmon, escolar (the one disappointment, was frozen) some other fish, surf clams, what was a whole flounder that minutes before was swimming in a tank, and what I think was raw eel that was also minutes before swimming in a tank. All of the fish (with the exception of the escloar, because it was not fully defrosted) was very tasty. The four of us could not finish it all. Once we were done, they proceeded to bring out a huge bubbling cauldron of fish bone stew (bones from the flounder) and more banchan (kimchi and some soy bean sprouts).

Annandale Seafood Menu.pdf