Bob Wells

I'm up for/down with this too! Count me in.

Wow. After the endless run-up to opening, no one told Milton that most people would not want Cilantro in their burgers?

We have also enjoyed the pulled pork sandwich -- tasty and quite generous too. Plus, there's always an interesting side dish or two in the case to try. Nice place.

We haven't been in years, but I see they now have a Web site: http://www.frogsandfriends.net The menu looks to be more country than French these days.

The French Hound serves lunch on Saturday. It's a great little spot. http://www.thefrenchhound.com/

Welcome! Not only do you have dozens of Korean restaurants to choose from, you are just a short drive from Falls Church, which has an incredible area of ethnic eateries -- such as the collection of Vietnamese joints at Eden Center, Lebanese Butcher, Myanmar (Burmese), Hong Kong Palace (outstanding Szechuan, despite the name) at Seven Corners, Peruvian chicken joints such as Super Chicken, authentic Bolivian food at Llajtaymanta and Luzmila's, etc. etc. Do a search of Falls Church over on Chowhound. Have fun!

That may be, but Loudoun is an entire county and Potomac isn't. Comparing apples to apples, its per capita income is higher than Montgomery or Fairfax or Howard or any other county in the US. I'm sure people find that hard to believe but it's indeed the case. How many people are ranting about Bonefish on those message boards? I'll be generous and guess 50. Maybe 100? I don't think it's much of a reach at all to say that "many more" people than that are interested in seeing new restaurants like AF. Given the massive success of Wegman's in Loudoun, I'm really sort of amazed that people find the opening of this place to be so shocking. When I saw the ad for AF in one of the local fishwraps, I thought, "Hmm. another new place to try. Looks interesting." No big whoop.

Listen, if this place tanks, it's no skin off my back. Since you appear to be a Loudounite, you probably know that there are more than 250,000 people living here, the vast majority within a few miles of this restaurant. So what if a tiny minority whines about Bonefish? Those people don't seem like the target audience of American Flatbread at all. There are many more people very interested in seeing more and varied dining options. Several of my colleagues live out here and every one of them is an avid restaurant-goer.

Haven't tried Mirchi yet -- I read of another place in Centreville that not only features Indian-Chinese dishes, it specializes in that cuisine. Of course I can't think of the name right now. As for dining not being a priority out here, let's not forget that we're still talking about a pizza joint. I don't think it really takes that much disposable income per household for this place to do well. Now, whether that may require some menu tweaking or being more welcoming of carry-out orders, time will tell. But to say that the place is wrongly situated because few people order swiss chard pizza is just ridiculous. As for people complaining about Bonefish on the message boards, I suspect they complain about a lot of other stuff in their lives too. They're probably the same people whining about their Internet service.

Wasn't it also Joe H who told us that Wegman's was the greatest supermarket on the face of the earth? Leesburg is also home to the European Gourmet Bakery -- http://www.europeangourmetbakery.com/. Somehow it's making a go of it out among the hayfields and silos.

The whole thread is quite insulting. As if most people at Wisconsin and Macomb or wherever order the pizza with swiss chard on a regular basis. What's interesting is that many of the "nondescript" strips and plazas in LoCo are home to the same kinds of interesting ethnic eateries found in really nondescript strips and plazas farther in that people like Joe H often rave about. The ones in Loudoun are just newer. Rangoli in South Riding, for instance. Less than a year old and already it's made it into the Washingtonian Cheap Eats guide.

Riiiiight -- that would explain why an Indian restaurant featuring that very bland, boring Indian-Chinese cuisine just opened in Ashburn. From all of us in Loudoun County to all of you "closer in" -- keep your money at home. We'll see if this place stands or falls without you. Us hicks with the highest household income in the US will do have to bumble along on our hown. Of course, the folks at American Flatbread could just be complete morons, huh? They must have thrown a dart to come up with such a nonsensical location.

With the new condos going up on the south side of Lee Hwy, there's going to be increased demand for these kinds of restaurants, for the busy professionals who I suspect will fill the new buildings.

Check out the menu on their Web site. It's priceless -- literally. That guarantees sticker shock.

My brother from NYC was staying at the Hilton Mark Center nearby on Friday night, so we gave T.H.A.I. a shot. A little pricy, but not bad. Thai iced tea was a bit watery, though. Good date place, I'd say.

I've been racking my brain trying to remember where I got frickles recently and it finally came to me: The Bungalow (FKA Bungalow Billiards), in Chantilly, which also has three other NOVA locations. In addition to the frickles, this place has a large menu of some of the best bar food around. The weekend rib and prime rib specials are outstanding. N.B.: Even though this is a bar, it's very kid friendly.

It's in the same little strip as Bagel Buddies, which is very good, and Red Pepper, a forgettable Chinese restaurant.

I will second every word of Pork Belly's post. I made it to Max's on Friday. This is serious felafel. The toppings are fantastic. Since this was my first time I had him give me all the toppings and he put just the right amount of each on the sandwich. Also, he knows to layer felafel and toppings so you get both from beginning to end. If I wasn't in such a hurry I would have gotten another one (and I don't really eat like that anymore). Throw in a Dr. Brown's cream soda and a biblical argument at the next table and hey, what's not to like?

Well, it got a little warmer today, so I walked over to Clare and Don's for lunch. Pretty much what I would expect at a beach shack. Nice beachy vibe, food (fish and chips) decent but nothing spectacular, prices a little higher than they should be. As to the last point, when you're at the beach you don't mind paying a little more because, well, you're at the beach. But in downtown Falls Church, where there is no beach in sight, it's easier to notice that the $9.75 fish and chips should really be around $7.75.

Has anyone tried the relocated Clare and Don's, which is now located between the State Theatre and Argia's in Falls Church? When it gets a little warmer, I'll walk over and take one for the team.

Interesting comments. I found the pulled pork (and side dishes) at another highly touted Virginia barbecue spot -- the Smoky Pig in Ashland -- to be utterly tasteless. My brother, who has not had the pleasure of trying much really great southern barbecue, still could tell that what he was served was inferior. I always hold out for barbecue until I cross the NC state line. Now, there is one more spot I have not tried that does look promising: A little stand just off I-95 very close to the NC state line that touts its authentic NC barbecue and soul foods. The place always has a crowd -- they must be doing something right.

But Bagel Buddies next door might be (maybe not "across town," meaning from NW DC or Maryland, but certainly from elsewhere in NOVA). Everyone knows this is not a great bagel area, but BB's are some of the best. The proprietor is an ex-New Yorker (and a big Yankees fan), but I overlook his decor because his bagels are good. Bialys too!

Oh man. now I have to venture into Maryland for felafel at Max's. I don't eat much restaurant felafel because, having subsisted for a couple of years on the felafel at Mi Vami in Coolidge Corner, Brookline, Mass., I know what good felafel tastes like. Sounds like Max's does too.

Great post Pete. As a 15-year (!) resident of Centreville, Chantilly (Fairfax) and now Chantilly in Loudoun (not South Riding, despite the Post Office's best efforts to make that our address), I'm familiar with pretty much everything around here. I will second all of Pete's recs except for Flame Kabob (got a pitiful takeout order there once, haven't been back) and Buffalo Wing Factory (haven't been). I'll also second jiveturk's rec of Blue Iguana, on Shoppes Lane, right off Fair Lakes Pkwy: The bar area can be pretty smoky, but sit in one of the booths and you'll have a good meal. This is one of the very rare non-chain, non-ethic, even moderately adventurous restaurants out here. We'll also back his rec of Rosemary's Thyme. A good place to carb load (they have excellent bread). Try one of their wraps. Here are some more for you to consider: Just west of 28 on 50 is Chantilly Park Center, a nondescript plaza with no less than four eateries you should check out: Thai Basil, Picante! The Real Taco, Minerva (Indian), and Rawal Kabob. Immediately to the west of that plaza is a new plaza with several eateries including Pho 98 (very good) and Paesano's for takeout subs and pizza (haven't tried it, but one of my colleagues raves about it). Heading east on 50, back on the other side of 28, on the north side of 50 is Sully Plaza. There you'll find, among others, The Bungalow (fka Bungalow Billiards), which has high-level bar food, including weekend barbecued rib and prime rib specials ($11.95, I think) that are pretty much unbeatable. Also in Sully Plaza is a new Thai joint called Cila Thai, which we haven't tried yet but someone over on Chowhound says is really good. Another possibility in there is Golden China, which has respectable AYCE Mongolian barbecue, and right next door is Buon Appetito, which is very much like Tony's in Fair Lakes. Across 50 is old standby Anita's -- the breakfast burritos are still just $0.99, and on the other side of Walney Rd in the Lee-Jackson Center (aka the red roof plaza) along with Hot Breads (worth a visit) is Sichuan Village (very good and authentic, but the buffet is more quantity than quality), and Il Mee/Yil Mi for Korean barbecue. Welcome to the neighborhood! You won't go hungry.

yes, putting the slaw on the sandwich is the way to go. The W-B slaw isn't the finely chopped mustard slaw you'd get in Eastern NC cue joints, but it still belongs on the sandwich.