hoosiereph

Is that the New Year's soup, or is New Year's without the mandu?

The casserole at Yechon has been my go-to for Hangug Bo Yang (Korean goat, I think, although Mrs. hoosiereph is laughing at me). I think they have a goat soup also, that I haven't tried. Are you able to compare the two?

Given his praise for the communal table in Glover Park, my guess is that it's the layout he really likes, not the food...

Saturday's Wall Street Journal features DC as the destination for its weekly "Journal Concierge," in which four local professionals add their tips (for shopping and tourism as well as restaurants) to a travel writer's article. The "insiders" and their picks: Mame Reiley: Union Market ("incredible local food market . . . top-grade") Jose Andres: Toki Underground ("try the Toki classic"); Rocklands Barbeque ("The ribs are the best around -- just plain awesome") Juleanna Glover: The Bombay Club ("isn't at all trendy, but it serves the best food in town"); The Source ("ask the chef for the brown rice with Asian vegetables and tofu in soy glaze -- it's not on the menu"); Pearl Dive Oyster Palace ("an unusual scene . . . more beautiful people every time") Mark Bloomfield: La Chaumiere ("my French wife's and my neighborhood favorite"); Paul Maison de Qualite ("my favorite lunch spot on K Street"). Jose and I must either have very different tastes in ribs or very different experiences at Rocklands. Overall, looks like the code of omerta is alive and well when the New York reporters come calling!

Once, Tacqueria Nacional was a welcome lunchtime newcomer to a neighborhood starved of options, other than Union Station's abysmal food court. That was before the food truck revolution, and before their prices went up and portions and quality went down. Now, it won't be missed. Hopefully Johnny's takeout will offer some reasonable lunch prices.

I find Bruegger's "bottomless mug of coffee" to be an annual temptation, but I can never make the math work out even when my commute passes by one directly. I think you have to work next door and visit both morning and afternoon...

The decor reminded me of one of the chains that specializes in turning Spam into something delicious. I always see plenty of teenagers (or maybe they're college students?) in there. And anyway, doesn't offering numerous ddukbokki options on the menu suggest that teenagers are the target market? Because y'all went right when they opened at 11, you may have had a fresh batch of oil, which we did not. That would make some difference. It was definitely a bad day -- we spent it craving a good Korean fried chicken, and Red Holic failed us. By the way, what did you guys think of the "private room" with the big windows and single big rectangular table? We were picturing it as a great room for a boisterous group to enjoy beer and chicken or soondae -- if they ever get their beer license.

By coincidence, we also tried Red Holic this weekend, with a takeout order. I can count on one hand the number of Annandale Korean restaurants to which I would not return because the food sucked. Red Holic is one. I've had fried chicken in Korea that was worse. I've had a lot of fried chicken in the United States that was worse. I have never had worse Korean fried chicken in the United States -- not in Los Angeles, not in Atlanta, and not in DC. Red Holic's chicken is vastly inferior to Cheogajip, all of the Bon Chon locations I've been to, and even to the Korean preparation at Ultimate Chicken Bistro. We tried both the "regular" Holic chicken that cheezepowder describes above and the "spicy and sour" Holic chicken that appears to be their "specialty." The former, as cheezepowder describes, has little to distinguish it from American fried chicken. The oil used was not being refreshed often enough -- good Korean chicken places will, I think, use a fresh batch of oil every time, which is why it takes so long (the speed with which our chicken was ready should have been a warning). Nor was it moist all the way through. The only thing "Korean" about it was the cut of the chicken - the whole chicken is used, cut into square piecs Korean style. The spicy and sour Holic chicken was neither. Coated in sauce, it resembled nothing so much as an order of General Tso's chicken from a decent, but not great, American-style Chinese restaurant. On the plus side, it was very moist. Also tried the steamed dumplings and the regular kimbap. Both were bland and unmemorable, as were the sides of pickled radish (seriously, how can you have flavorless pickled radish?) and Korean cole slaw. The dumplings were packed for takeout atop paper doilies, which stuck to the bottom of the dumplings and had to be scraped off. Ugh. The space is nice, clean, bright -- very much like a quick service place in Myeongdong. This is food aimed at Korean teenagers whose background is eating fast food, not food for the discerning palate.

Yes, people in Cincinnati have a lot of civic pride. If Cincy is the "Queen City," Indianapolis must have a strong claim on being King. I personally think we could use more of this attitude in places not named Boston and New York. But Montgomery Inn, locals are justifiably proud of. Memphis and Kansas City are not really the right point of comparison: those are barbecue towns, where ribs are measured by the flavor of their meat. Montgomery Inn's meat is just a delivery vehicle for their sauce -- it's not really barbecue at all. Montgomery Inn's ribs are boiled, then whisked through an oven for exterior texture. The meat ends up fall-off-the-bone tender, but with only a generic pork flavor. But the sauce is really a terrific example of a midwestern sweet BBQ sauce -- absolutely delicious for people who treat ketchup as a substance equal to chili, coffee, or Beethoven. And for those who don't, my advice at Montgomery Inn is just to buy the sauce, take it home, and experiment: combined with your favorite vinegar, mustard, and/or hot sauce, it's a ready-made base for a championship sauce for anyone's tastes.

We're already regulars at Mosaic... the recent trend at Angelika has disappointingly been towards bigger, mass-market movies, but that may be a function of the end-of-the-year releases by big studios. A recent experience with MediterraFish yielded large, succulent, and delicious sea scallops and a creditable salmon. A great option for those occasions when the budget supports something better than the HMart across Gallows. Another national merchant worth noting: the Neiman Marcus Last Call Studio. Like the one in Rockville, an interesting combo of outlet and boutique. Tip for those coming from the south at rush hour: take the 495 Express Lanes to the Lee Highway (U.S. 29 exit) to put you very close to Mosaic. Way better than fighting with Gallows at a busy hour!

I would demur from the Boundary Road enthusiasm, although it's a favorite for a couple of my colleagues. Unusually, this is a place that hits better on the mains than on the apps. The kitchen has creditably responded to Sietsema's review by toning down the salt quotient, but perhaps as a result, the soups have been bland on a couple of recent visits (perhaps because they're skimpy on the main ingredients, like crab?). There's always someone in our group who wants to order the fries: they're always a disappointment, unevenly done and short on taste. And forget about sharing a cheese plate as a starter -- each cheese, priced at $5 per (the same whether you order 3 or 5), provides a taste to two people at most. That said, at the two full meals I've had, the short ribs and all the fish preparations as entrees have been very good. For a well-rounded and satisfying meal, though, I'd choose Liberty Tree every time.

Taylor Charles is definitely promoting understanding -- a Liberian colleague says he finally understands how upset some people get by those ubiquitous Che Guevara t-shirts!

Just noticed that Sheba is still lacking for an initial review. This reflects at least some neglect on my part after three or four visits. This is very good, satisfying Ethiopian food for the many times when the drive to Baileys Crossroads or to Enat is infeasible. A pleasant surprise, given Rocks' speculation, is that they are doing more than just keeping pots simmering here. The sambusas and another appetizer (a kind of injera egg roll) that we were offered gratis on one visit, come out freshly deep-fried. On a visit with a pair of Ethiopian novices, the kitchen prepared a kitfo sampler, dividing the regular portion into raw, medium-rare, and overdone. They appear to get this request a lot. The food is on the better side of solid -- I wouldn't quite rate it "outstanding", but the tibs and wots are flavored authentically and strongly, the vegetable and lentil sides are distinct, and the injera is a fine version. The decor is pleasant - several tables are raised up on a stage-like area at the front of the room and provide a nice view for those that like to people-watch while dining. The restrooms feature an external hand-washing area, which should be de rigeur for Ethiopian restaurants, burger and fried chicken joints. Heck, everywhere. The service is friendly, but when the restaurant gets busy, it can be a long wait for attention. The crowd is very representative of nearby Fairfax -- multiethnic (i.e. less Ethiopian), and older, than we're used to seeing in our usual haunts inside the Beltway. Between this and Dulce's empanadas, we're frequent visitors to this little strip.

A takeout order last week of the Salted Fish & Chicken w. Eggplant Casserole (Noi Ca Man,Thit Ga va Ca Tim) was similar in taste to what Erica described but for the eggplant lover... We also had a mixed barbecue order of duck, pork, and chicken. All quite tasty and a nice change from our usual noodle orders.

Made the mistake of poking my head in to the Mosaic District location on Sunday. They have imported the same surly service from Clarendon or Bethesda or Paris, or wherever. And the muddy, indistinct coffee fared poorly in comparison to the free sample I had just had from the nearby MOM market. It doesn't matter because I won't be back. Next door a fresh fish market, MediterraFish, has opened. Chatted with them for a while -- apparently they are the wholesalers who supply a number of restaurants, notably Nostos -- and are adding a small retail outpost to their business. They're still moving in (was hard to tell from the street that they were, in fact, open), but had a few varieties of whole fish laid out in ice and several pre-filleted options. I assume their opening means that Jeff Black doesn't plan to have another fish market as part of his coming Mosaic restaurant.

For the first time in years, we were in town, playing host for Thanksgiving tonight. A few weeks ago, we looked at our busy Novenber calendar, shrugged our shoulders, and said: "looks like the family will be eating a takeout turkey," and after considering several options in VA, we settled on Rocklands. It was delicious. Swung by the VA Square location yesterday and picked up a (pre-ordered) small (10-12 lb) smoked turkey, and sides of cornbread stuffing and bacon-chive mashed potatoes, to which we added our own sides, veg, and dessert. At $45, the turkey was a steal. No comparison to the blah prepared birds from groceries, even the fancy one we were served from Wegnan's a few years back. As it reheated in the oven, the whole house filled with the delightful aroma of smoked meat. The skin came out dark, glossy, and crisp, the flesh moist. My mouth waters now thinking of tomorrow's leftovers. The sides were decent -- not amazing. A Thai chili sauce they served to accompany Was a little too sweet but tasty, and the gravy got few takers, but the bird was worth it. If you have company coming for a holiday meal and can't do the cooking, put this down as one of your options.

Had an unexpected guest for dinner on Saturday night, so we decided to try out Hot Spot. Called about 6:00 and made a reservation for 7:15 (actually, asked if we needed a reservation and was told "you won't need one, but you can make one anyway."). Almost every table was taken at 7:15, and the kitchen and staff were definitely overwhelmed. "The kitchen is backed up" was the common refrain of the waitstaff -- a little bit puzzling considering that almost every table was dining on hot pot and cooking it themselves. The decor was stylish, with an "accent wall" featuring an artsy rendition of all the ingredients on the menu and the new trend in restaurant design: handwashing sinks available outside the restrooms. We had hot pot (all-you-can eat for $21.99), which servers describe as "buffet-style" but despite the fact that everyone here speaks English impeccably, that's not what they mean -- nothing is actually a buffet except the "sauce bar." Instead, ordering is A&J style -- the servers bring a paper menu which lists the four varieties of broth, four types of starches, and lengthier lists of vegetables, meats, seafood, and balls/dumplings to cook in the broth. The broth varieties are shabu shabu, "spicy," kimchi, and one other (the kimchi broth is fish-based; the others are chicken-based, and the "spicy" comes in regular and extra-spicy, so there are really five broth choices). Starches are three types of noodles (udon, rice, and glass) and white rice. Seafoods include several kinds of fish, jumbo shrimp, octopus, squid, clams, mussels and blue crab halves. Meats include several cuts of beef (the fatty brisket was our favorite), lamb (also excellent), pork, and chicken. The shrimp balls and pork-and-leek dumplings from the balls/dumplings section were wonderful, but I can't remember what else was down there. And there are about fifteen vegetable choices, including a number of cabbages, several kinds of mushrooms, sliced lotus root, and all the usual suspects. There is a "rest of the menu," featuring a dozen or so dishes. They are a mix of Asian styles, including a Korean pancake, a couple of tempura dishes, budaejigae, . The menu also has an assortment of drinks, including "butter beer" in both an alcoholic and non-alcoholic version ($5 and $9), a short list of beers (including Miller Lite, $4; Hite, $4, and the 22 oz. size of at least one Japanese beer, $10); a longer list of wines, soft drinks with unlimited refills ($2), and several sojutinis ($12-$15). Prices on drinks and some of the apps are reduced during weekday happy hours by 30%-40%. Overall, we thought this was good, but not quite as memorable as Uncle Liu's. The "extra spicy" broth had the delightfully numbing peppercorns, but the kimchi broth was more disappointing. Some of the portions were ample -- lamb and dumplings in particular. But others were puzzlingly meager. Why offer only half a cup of noodles as an order for three? 1 piece of octopus in an order, but 6 jumbo shrimp? So it was hard to tell how much to order. The quality varied as well -- the shrimp balls and scallops, along with the dumplings and red meats, were outstanding. The shrimp, good. The mussels and crabs? Mediocre and frozen. Still, the overall combination was very satisfying. With big appetites and a desire to mix a lot of different ingredients, Hot Spot would be the place to go. As long as they can work out the service, that is. Some of this is probably growing pains on a crowded Saturday night, and some may have owed to our under-trained server, who consistently seemed to "zone in" on one of his tables at the expense of the others -- this was nice when he was locked on us, but made it hard to flag him down at other times. He also refilled our kimchi broth with the chicken stock, not the fish base, and insisted it was correct until the next time we needed a refill. (We had a hard time getting his attention frequently enough to keep the pot filled). As I mentioned, the waitstaff spent all night asking us to fill out our request sheets for the next round as soon as we received the previous round to account for the backup in the kitchen. And the sauce buffet often looked like a scene from the Rockaways -- ingredients emptied, drippings everywhere, including into the other ingredient pots, vacant trays for sauce dishes. In truth, the sauce buffet is not really well-conceived -- there's no way to taste the sauces as you're mixing them, and the flock of possibilities (as well as the handwritten "suggestions" posted on a bulletin board above) leads many people to mix far too many ingredients into a glop rather than create a simpler, tastier combination. We'll be watching to see how this place develops, and will likely try visiting on a weeknight when it will hopefully be less chaotic.

The pricing on their "build-a-burger fixin's" menu would benefit from some simplification. Raw onions are free, grilled onions $0.95? Yellow mustard free, dijon mustard $0.25? Seriously? The marshmallow dipping sauce for fries sounds good, though. And although they're approaching "holy cow" from the religious-ironic perspective, I can only hope there will be a picture of Harry Caray hanging somewhere in this placee.

Stopped by on Saturday after filling our propane tanks in the event of a lengthy Sandy power outage. As noted above, there's room for less than a dozen people to stand in line before ordering inside, so we cleared an out-the-door line in under 5 minutes. Smashburger has a nice-looking outdoor seating area that was jammed, but there were several tables available inside, and we were visited twice after the food was served by staff inquiring how our meal was and once to ask if we'd like a refill on our fountain drink. We ordered two regular-size Create-your-Own burgers, one with lettuce, tomato, swiss, jalapenos, and mustard on a "spicy chipotle" bun, and the other with tomato, grilled onions, pepper jack, "Smash sauce" and a fried egg on a brioche roll ($5.99), and added sides of Smashfries ($1.99) and Fried pickles ($2.49) (this answers Destruya's question above, and they are now listed on the menu). Both burgers were juicy and flavorful. I love the combo of egg and burger (best thing you can order at McDonalds, but you have to get there right as they switch over from breakfast to lunch to order it), but the grilled onions were thin, watery, and flavorless and the pepper jack cheese oddly salty. The jalapenos were raw and thickly sliced -- next time, I'd probably ask if they can grill the jalapenos as these overwhelmed the rest of the burger. The fries were nearly-perfect: crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, shaped like those at McDonalds, but benefiting greatly from the rosemary-garlic spice rub. The fried pickles were also good - thick cut, round, filled with dill flavor, and just peeking out from the coating of batter. A side order that I would like to see at every burger house. The beer selection now features the Devil's Backbone Vienna Lager and at least one other specialty brew, in addition to Bud and Stella. Overall, I'd rate this better than Five Guys (at least today). If there was an In n Out next door, I might head there for the burger and then hit Smashburger for the fried pickles and a beer. But it's not going to get me to give up my Ray's habit anytime soon.

I recently had occasion for a meet-and-drink at The Globe and Laurel, just outside Quantico in Stafford, which dates to 1968. Per their website, they've relocated twice, however: 1975 and 2008.

The website also notes President Bush's visit in October, 2001. I was actually stuck at the intersection of Glebe and Pershing when his motorcade arrived -- I believe it was his first trip out to a restaurant after 9/11.

Well-described, Don. Not favoring my after-dinner cheese course heated and served with tomato sauce, I've never tried Luigi's Rocks-style, but reading the review above and noticing that it's the only discussion of the pizza at Famous Luigi's, I thought I'd add my $.07. This is topping-driven pizza, with an inoffensive crust. The same process commended above for the "well-browned cheese" improves the sausage, basil, olives, anchovies, etc. from their form as ingredients -- for some reason, a lot of chefs seem to like serving nearly-raw pizza toppings to showcase the quality of those ingredients. That's fine. But proper pizza can be so much better, and Luigi's often gets it right. Also adding to its appeal for a casual pizza pick-me-up (and to tourists) is the menu setup: a grid of prices based on the number of toppings and the number of people (i.e. "pizza for two," "pizza for four," etc.). Who hasn't spent time at an unfamiliar pizza place trying to figure out whether to get the 14", the 16", the 18" x 12" rectangle, etc. At dinner for three last year, where our appetites proved larger than we expected, and we had asked the server whether "pizza for three" and salad would be enough, Luigi's offered to trot out an "after-dinner cheese course" or a pair of cannoli gratis for having steered us wrong. We did not regret choosing the cannoli, which holds up reasonably well against Vaccaro's. Can you have a great pizza without a great crust? Probably not. And between District of Pi and the maddeningly-inconsistent but sometimes-great pies at Pete's, I can't justify being a regular at Luigi's anymore. But I'm glad to have been one when I worked nearby and there were far fewer decent pizza choices around town (remember when people cited Armand's for "best pizza" and went to Mario's before midnight?). Still, I make it back to Luigi's every 6 or 9 months or so and rarely regret it.

With the portions at Curry Mantra seeming to shrink every time Tom S. recommends it (and the dosa long gone from the menu), we tried Jaipur for takeout last night after seeing the (dated) comments above and were pleasantly surprised. Our ordering did not emphasize authenticity, but everything we tried was well-prepared and enjoyable. Anyone else still going here? The Crab Pudina appetizer is an Indian take on a crabcake -- lightly spiced, with potato as the filler, deep-fried, and served with a mint sauce. One order consisted of three, soda-can diameter cakes, each good for several bites and each bite with a mix of crab and potato. A half Tandoori chicken was a satisfyingly ordinary rendition of this standard, with a familiar flavor, crisp skin, and moist and smoky meat throughout. We should have ordered the whole chicken to ensure leftovers. The sauce for the Mango Prawn Curry was delicious, and there was a lot of it -- more than our order of Garlic Naan and the included portions of rice could sop up. The sauce showcased tender, large shrimp -- I'd have to guess 16 count -- although we would have liked to see a couple more, given the volume of sauce. The naan was fresh and good, although (as usual pretty much everywhere) we would opt for more garlic. A row of takeout orders were lined up near the bar, just inside the entrance, so they seemed to be doing a good weeknight takeout business. Couldn't see how busy the dining room was from that vantage point, but did see two parties with South Asian faces coming and going. It's convenient to us, and we liked everything we tried, so we'll be back, maybe even to dine in.

Although the thread title is accurate, I'd add that Windy Apple only has one side of the old Bangkok Blues space. The rest of it is occupied by a hair salon with a UK flag painted on the side. Windy Apple is advertising on Craig's List.

Oddly enough, the only crime near the Arlington Mario's that comes to mind took place in broad daylight a few months back, when someone working nearby chased a would-be car thief into the parking lot of Pio Pio (next door to Mario's), and was stabbed for his trouble. Otherwise, I wouldn't hesitate to walk from, say, Jay's Saloon or Liberty Tavern down to Mario's and on to Ballston or to a house or apartment in Ashton Heights.