plarkins
-
Posts
96 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Articles
Dining Guide
Everything posted by plarkins
-
Went yesterday for early lunch, second visit. first was back in February. Ate in and line was mostly to the door for most of the time, however staffing was better and service was fast. prob waited only 5 minutes for our order. first visit i had a level 3 sando, this time i tried the code red. flavor still great despite the burn being beyond my comfort level. got classic-level tenders for my 2yr old, which were crunchy tasty. i'm pretty sure for my first visit in february everything was made to order. this time noticed they were using the warming oven, however didn't notice any drop in quality. sign on menu says chicken & waffles are monday and tuesday only now -
Excited for the Reston location as well. The Reston/Herndon area is a pizza desert. I think they'll do well at that location
-
Dining in Reston Town Center
plarkins replied to Joe H's topic in Washington DC Restaurants and Dining
I live in Reston but avoid the town center now except for an occasional weekend visit. Barcelona and Bar Taco are pretty good. Herndon has a number of under-appreciated places: Balaji Cafe and Amma's Kitchen serve reliably good vegetarian Indian food. Charcoal Kabob is very good, one of my fav kabob places in the region. Good selection of meat/kabob types, very good chickpeas, and reliably good naan. Try the veggie kabob, unique and tasty. There's of course Aslin Beer Company in the same complex as Balaji, putting out some of the best beer in the region - especially if you like New England IPA juice bombs. They also do great sours and stouts. -
A day after Christmas, business was brisk. Had the oatmeal lace with chocolate chip cone. Both very good, but together too sweet. Wife enjoyed the cookies & cream in a cup, but reported it was a bit too sweet as well.
-
I've seen their sign up for months, but didn't realize they hadn't opened. Sweet Heat has some competition now.......
-
Monday morning I made a 615pm reservation via their website and was able to snag a table on the patio. The sun is brutal for those facing the lake and sitting closer to the front entrance, but regardless it's a great spot as Joe mentions above. Until later in the fall, recommend sitting on the far end of the patio furthest from the front entrance prior to 730pm. For best ambiance/view in NOVA, perhaps its best compares to 2941, except your outside and closer to the water. We even got to see two flocks of geese reenact West Side Story. Wife and I both enjoyed the Potters Farmhouse Dry cider, a great up and coming cidery near Charlottesville. Their cider has been available in NOVA/DC since late 2014 I believe, so maybe they're better known now. For apps, I had the peach & watermelon salad and wife had the clam chowder. The chowder was good, but the watermelon salad was great - really hit the spot with the muggy weather. The fruit laid atop a creamy goat cheese and sprinkled with mint and bee pollen. Very refreshing and flavor combos were spot on. However, it should be noted the watermelon in the dish was the flesh, not pickled rind as stated on the menu. I try to avoid ordering duplicate entrees, but we both got the burger. I was able to swap fries for the Side of blistered green beans, which was a great option to have. No herbed yogurt though and wife had to ask for a side of ketchup post-arrival. The burger was good, quality meat was evident. They both came out a little closer to medium well versus the requested medium. Also thought it was a little dry. Just american cheese and grilled onions and side of tasty housemade pickles. I like something saucy on my burger, ketchup, onion jam, whatever. My most recent burger (Brine's) and one of the best burgers I've had in awhile had a red onion jam spread, so my mind kept drifting to that. Overall, great meal and look forward to returning, especially the bar for drinks or simple meal. The beer list is pretty solid, but would like to see some VA wine by the glass since they're touting local bevs. Prices currently are very reasonable and worth every cent - our tab was ~$64 before tip. Yes, its expensive for a Reston restaurant outside the Town Center, but really that's not saying much....at all. Notably, the service was great - hard to tell it was the official opening night. Our server, Monique, was spot-on with the pace and knew the menu very well.
- 32 replies
-
- 1
-
-
- Reston
- South Lake Village Center
- (and 2 more)
-
their website still isn't taking reservations...hopefully they flip the switch soon a phone call answers that question...phone and web reservations start tomorrow morning...
-
had a simple weekday dinner here last week with a friend. I don't eat much seafood, so I had the beef burger ($16) which, though unspecified, thankfully does come with fries..otherwise I was thinking the price a little high...regardless the burger was excellent. I didn't ask for a 'done-ness' but it came out a little below medium. The red onion jam proved a tasty condiment and along with the quality, juicy meat there was no need for further additions on my part. Shoestring fries were good and served their purpose. I could have eaten a jar of the pickles. Very good, surely made in house. Much appreciate the quality turf option at a place like this. My friend had the baked oysters, which he enjoyed. There was only a smattering of people in the restaurant and service was good and very pleasant. Evidently the tables against the far right wall are bar service, so the bartender had to walk around and out to us to take our orders. Probably should have just made our orders at the bar and then sat down but the bartender came out promptly, without any sense of annoyance or inconvenience..so we remained comfortably seated.
-
Bartaco. We didn't go into Barcelona, but it looked equally as popular.
-
tried to go Saturday evening, but it was a 30 min wait. they don't take reservations but turns out you can call ahead within 30 min of arrival and get placed before walk-ins. don't think thats on their website or fb
-
It was fine. I haven't had enough German/Austrian cuisine to judge too critically. Schnitzel has never excited me too much. The bread basket was pretty good as was the potato salad. We passed by last month and noticed it was pretty full, but when we went last week it was nearly empty.
-
yes, paprika schnitzel with spatzle
-
On the right track, but its in the 'burbs.
-
Finally snuck a photo in. where did i dine?
-
ah perfect. thanks!
-
Anyone know where to find veal stock?.... assuming I don't have time to make it myself. I already checked with Org. Butch of McLean and they do not make it. Thx
-
El Tio Tex Mex Grill
-
Total bill was $32.70. No drinks or sides, just the 2 burgers. The meat quality might have been good, but they were too overcooked to know. They weren't that big, but the large buns (which were good, I think brioche) could have affected my judgement.
-
Wife and I went to Joe's last week...I generally don't write reviews if I have nothing good to say, but Twice we almost left before ordering. 1) They should consider changing their surface cleaner. We and other diners noticed it; it reminded me of a well kept port-a-jon. 2) Per the menu in red ink, all orders are now automatically charged 20% gratuity, no matter the party size. Server said this was implemented 3 weeks ago. Not very endearing. I'll leave the tip discussion for its own thread. So, we ordered reluctantly...really I just didn't the drama in deciding on another restaurant. I got the capricorn burger (Panko crusted goat cheese, arugula & balsamic drizzle) and the wife got the Joe's Natural half pound classic burger, standard toppings, and special sauce (<-best part of the meal). The sauce (mayo and tomato base, but can't remember the other ingredients) was great with the fries, which were also pretty good. I ordered medium, received medium well at best. Goat cheese saved it from being too dry or tasteless. No luck for my wife's. Standard toppings could not mask the dryness of hers. Doesn't help ordering it medium-well, but I thought it tasted like a BK Whopper. Service was polite and the special sauce was good ... everything else was forgettable.
-
Far and away the best meal was eating at the kitchen bar at Rose's Luxury. Combos of food, wine, service, atmosphere make it hard to beat, especially when I don't do much fine dining at other establishments. Other notable meals include: The Shack (Roast Quail with Chestnut Cornbread Stuffing, Pumpkin, Brussel Sprouts, and Cranberries) Trummers on Main (coffee/chicory short ribs and sweet potato & sage rosti napoleon) Red Hen (Mezze Rigatoni with Fennel Sausage Ragu & Pecorino Romano) Pupatella (pizza special with chorizo, pine nuts, eggplant, provola and fresh mozz) Honorable mention for the best donuts in 2014: cronut from Donut Den (Nashville) Better Maid Donut Company (Pittsburgh) Holy Moly Donuts (Staunton) Carpe Donut (Charlottsville) Donut Palace (Springfield, TN)
-
Had a light dinner at Granada tonight. Shared a few different things: pickle plate, kibbeh, grape leaves, and the 'Granada sandwich'. The sandwich was tasty with good bread...not the typical wrap/gyro. Will defer to Kibbee on the bread type. Grape leaves will never make a place destination-worthy, but I thought they were particularly good. Will have to return with a bigger appetite so we can try the Iraqi grill items and the Turkish pizzas.
-
Made a trip in from the outer suburbs last night to get our pizza fix. Usual line but it went fast. There is now a dedicated staff member managing the seating. Once you finish your order, they will give you the options and point you to your seat. Pretty simple I suppose, but it used to be a bit more hectic and it probably limits the squatters with friends in line. I always order a special pizza and last night we ordered 2 of the 3 specials and the #3 salad. I forget the name of my pizza special, but it was probably the best pizza I've had from Pupatella or anywhere. Enzo was not in the house, so if anyone is still concerned about the quality....no issues last night. The pizza was charred more than normal, but it didn't affect the flavor to me at least. The pizza had chorizo, pine nuts, eggplant, provola and fresh mozz. The other pizza special with a house-made sausage was good, but didn't make my mouth melt like the other one. Bummer being a further from Pupatella than I once was, but makes the occasional visits all the more enjoyable.
- 316 replies
-
- 1
-
-
- Local Chain
- Arlington
- (and 4 more)
-
Matt is right about Indian stores and I'm sure same goes for any Middle Eastern market. I was in the same predicament as Bart until I went to Aditi Spice Depot in Reston. I got pint size bags of dill and mustard seed for about $5, cheaper than the golfball-size jar of dill seed from Harris Teeter.
-
Remind us how to procure GMV's petit verdot. Is it for case club members only? When I was a member a few years ago, I don't remember the PV being available...but my memory isn't too great. I don't recall every seeing it being served in the tasting room. I opened the '10 Williams Gap earlier this month and it was very good. It will definitely benefit with the similar treatment you gave the PV. I did it a disservice and did not decant it or let it mellow long before dinner..a bad habit of mine...so it was a bit tight...but also a lot of dark berries and very smooth.
-
Strasburg Holy Moly Donuts - potato doughnuts The NOVA suburbs lack a specialty doughnut shop, that I'm aware of at least. There are good doughnuts to be had for sure (Mama's Donut Bites, Chantilly Donut Shop, fresh cider donuts at The Apple House and various bakeries, etc), but those places either don't have a retail store front or don't make doughnuts their primary focus. Surely not an easy business to maintain, but somehow cupcake-centric bakeries have been sustainable to a degree and other cities have various options beyond DD and KK and grocery store bakeries. So, I was excited/surprised to run across a specialty doughnut shop in Strasburg. I had never driven through the town until earlier this month when I took Hwy 55 to avoid traffic on I-81 and I-66. Unable to stop the first time, my wife and I stopped at the doughnut shop on the way home yesterday after a weekend in the Valley. The shop opened earlier in the summer and more background info can be found in the link above. I had never tried potato doughnuts, though I had read about them when visiting Charlottesville (The Spudnut Shop). Holy Moly makes both regular potato and sweet potato doughnuts. The dough seemed to be consistent across the different flavors, which were differentiated by a light glaze. We split a grapefruit and blueberry donut at the shop and this morning a maple sugar donut (dusted). The glazes were good and true to their name, but subtle since the doughnuts are pretty thick and filling. They would be good with tea or coffee. I forget some of the other flavors, but they did have ginger, regular sugar-coated, ginseng, maple bacon, and raspberry (I think). Personally, I prefer lighter doughnuts, but variety is nice and the business seems to have good intentions for the community. Hope the locals can sustain the business. If you're passing through its worth a stop, especially if you're restless with the doughnut options in the suburbs.
