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The steak-and-cheese at the Merrifield extension of Mario's Pizza is a surprisingly decent way to satisfy a grease craving. Won't be competing with Ray's Nice-n-Greasy anytime soon, but Mario's uses a flavorful ribeye and tops with a nice mixture of slaw, pickles, and onions. If there's ever real nightlife in the Mosaic, Mario's will do well with the late-night diners.

Had never been in any of their locations, but satisfied a recent Thursday night wings craving with a takeout order in Merrifield. Although it was approximately kickoff time when I arrived, a surprising amount of the activity was concentrated around the games area rather than watching the game. A very dark interior makes for promising viewing, but also makes me wonder if the atmosphere turns to "dance club" at some point. In any event, I was pleasantly surprised by the wings, given the generally-mediocre reviews. Large, meaty, and crispy -- generously sauced but not soggy. And served with a large portion of both carrots and celery on the side -- the sports bar trend seems to be to give only one or the other in a parsimonious helping these days, but that wasn't the case here. A reasonable array of gametime beer specials -- although the beer list looks to be "basic American sports bar" with a handful of Virginia beers tossed in.

Recently served two dozen terrific empanadas from Dulce at a party. Ordered a mix of flavors: beef, cheese, veggie, and the Santa Fe. All were delicious, and the Santa Fe was an absolute standout. Delicious crust complements the fillings, and they are big enough to be quite filling. Dulce has been sending coupons in one of the local mailers -- like the 2-fer with a Coke, these make Dulce an incredible deal. Our order was not quite ready at the appointed time, because they were busy with a steady stream of customers on a Sunday morning. We were not as impressed by the alfajores we noshed on while waiting. But we'll definitely be back for more empanadas!

If nothing else, the completion of the Gallows/Lee Highway intersection construction should make it easier to visit. I stopped in for a coffee and a macaroon after checking out the new MOM's market in the Mosaic District last week. A little pricey for a small macaroon, but moist and tasty. Wouldn't go out of my way to get here, but a notch above Starbucks on both the coffee and the snacks.

This seems very smart. They acquired a lot of new customers through a series of offers on the daily deals sites. Now they can try to keep them returning with a similar deal, but without giving up $5 out of every $10 to the Groupon machine.

Pizza, pasta, okay... but you didn't try the chips & salsa? Apparently it is such a big hit (with Italian food?) that the salsa is available in quart-size to-go containers...

Craving noodles on Saturday night, we decided to try out Lotus Garden rather than one of our standby pho places. Definitely glad we did. We ordered two bowls of the noodles: the Seafood Sliced Noodle (thick noodles) and the Roast Duck Special noodles (thin). That would have been enough food for the two of us, but we wanted to try something from the Chef's Special menu and get some green vegetables, so we also ordered the Cured Bacon w. Chinese Broccoli (Lap Xuong, Thit Heo Xao Cai Lan). All three were delicious. The noodles arrived al dente and gradually softened and gained flavor in the soup. The thin noodles are probably a better choice than the thick noodles, which seemed a little too doughy and changed more slowly in the soup. But they arrived with a generous amount of large-size shrimp, chunks of squid, and mussels, and every last drop of the broth was consumed. We did request and receive some hot pepper oil to mix in and add a little kick. The roast duck was also terrific -- although if Chinese roast duck varies significantly in flavor from one restaurant to another, my taste buds aren't sensitive enough to notice. Careful with the duck pieces that are still attached to the bone, though. The chinese broccoli dish was also excellent. As suggested by the Chinese name, the pork ingredient was more of a sausage product than a bacon (which would be "Lap yuk" rather than "Lap Xong". That fact didn't alter the fact that this was a very good dish - a heaping portion of tender greens, cooked in a sauce with just a little bit of sourness, with the greens absorbing some of the pork flavor and plenty of large chunks of cured pork mixed throughout. Knowing that the noodles wouldn't pack very well, we elected to finish them and take half of the pork and broccoli to go. The service problems reported above were not on display during our visit. The staff was friendly, our order was taken quickly; and the server made up for any shortcomings in her English by pointing to the dishes on the menu after we ordered each one. The orders came out as they were ready, and within about fifteen minutes - not all together, but only a few minutes apart. Peanuts were provided while we waited. And no problems with the check. The restaurant was definitely bustling - at 7 o'clock, we landed the only empty table, and the crowd was 90%+ Chinese. Not quite as loud as some of the trendiest eating spots downtown, but definitely noisy enough to challenge conversation at the loudest moments. The two televisions tuned to the Olympics (with closed captioning engaged) made for a good distraction at those moments. This will be in our rotation - might have to try some of the other chef's special dishes for takeout, because it will be hard to pass up the thin noodles when eating in.

It was a great choice for happy hour a couple of months back for a group with varied tastes: wine, beer, and liquor specials all available. Munched on calamari fries (excellent) and crab hush puppies (pedestrian), plus a couple of salads, of which the raw kale salad was the highlight. However, when we were there, it came with fresh strawberries and a look at the current menu suggests it has been updated to dried blueberries -- not sure that will have the same luxuriousness of mouth feel (the parmesan and lemon vinaigrette remain the same).

Also saw this at lunch today. When ordering drinks, a far more convenient way of doing things. The moist brisket today was outstanding: smoky, rich, and delicious. Wanted to try the "red eye rubbed pork belly" listed as one of today's specials, but didn't want to mix my meats so I settled for a single beef rib alongside the brisket instead. I wouldn't ever order more than one of these -- the best bites of it mix well-done exterior with a juicy interior, but the meat on much of the length isn't thick enough to supply more than the well-done exterior bits. Still, a single rib makes a much better complement to the brisket than the mediocre sides or overpriced cornbread. Having to wait in the whole side dishes line just to get a few slices of raw onion or a handful of pickles is obnoxious. And the pricing, at 50 cents for each of those, is ticky-tack. I'd pay another fifty cents per pound on the meats for a little side stand or vats on the tables with pickles and onions.

Another vote for the barbecued bologna sandwich -- incredibly delicious and surprisingly filling. A few minutes after yesterday's national them, there was no meaningful line, and I made it to my seat by the first pitch. Colleagues who entered the Shake Shack line at the same time arrived in the bottom of the 2nd inning

Likewise, the snack-size fruit-and-yogurt parfaitis not a bad way to satisfy the need for a frozen treat on a hot day -- without breaking the bank or the diet.

In the last six months, the price of a coffee refill on an up-to-24 ounce mug has increased to $1.19. Often much more convenient than the line at Starbucks or Dunkin for a brewed coffee, and occasionally some interesting flavors of simulated cappucino from the multipurpose machine. Half pseudo banana-nut cappucino, half regular-brew coffee is a pretty tasty combo. Stay away from the iced coffee, currently on special for $1, however: Dunkin's product is far, far better.

Forgot about Old Chicago Pizza in Huntington. I remember thinking that the name might be the literal truth... Another contender: Delta Airlines serves (or used to serve) a rectangular piece of cardboard described as a "pizza" as the snack/lunch on westbound flights from Europe to the U.S. Utterly inedible.

Another vote for Cici's -- exhibit #1 for "you get what you pay for." But closely behind are the "pizzas" they serve at some Subway locations. I've actually heard a different story -- that the Boston company hired consultants (Monitor? Bain?) who advised them that all the value was in the brand, not the recipe, so they saved money by not purchasing the rights to the methods and recipes, instead making up their own. I think this took place a decade or so before Ike Sewell died, which is when the original locations were sold to the same company.

Did they ever open a Fairfax location?

Interestingly, the East Falls Church name long predates the Metro -- and indeed predates its status as part of Arlington County. The name evolved sometime in the 19th century, when the jurisdiction of Falls Church City overlapped what was then the northern part of Alexandria County (which later became Arlington), and was inside then-Alexandria. Later, "East Falls Church" did become associated with railroads as the name for the stops on the streetcars that ran along the W&OD and Fairfax Drive rights-of-way. And in the 1930s, East Falls Church prevailed in a battle with Falls Church City to win the right to secede from Falls Church and join what had become Arlington County. Back on topic, stopped by Chasin' Tails earlier in the week for a pound of takeout as a snack. Tasty, but given that it's a couple of pounds to make a meal, not sure the pricing is where it needs to be to keep me from home-cooking a lobster instead.

So I guess this place has been "Absolute Thai" for a while now, but I've only been in to check it out in the last two weeks. Preliminarily, it's a nice improvement on Leeloo and a good addition to the Chinatown neighborhood. It's also busy -- which Leeloo hardly ever was -- which hopefully bodes well for its staying power. Absolute Thai retains the slightly challenging layout of the previous establishment, with a short bar opposite some very low tables right by the entrance, a single table high above the entrance door, and then an elevated level with most of the dining space. The main dining space is better lit and more comfortable -- bustling but not earsplittingly loud when full of customers, and not stiflingly quiet, as Leeloo often was. The menu is oddly divided, into three parallel sections ("authentic," "healthy," and "specialty." Each section contains soups, appetizers, and entrees. "Authentic" includes traditional Thai restaurant favorites like the tasty Ka Prao -- full of basil goodness. "Healthy" is their euphemism for "vegetarian," and the green curry jae with tofu was satisfying and filling, albeit not spicy enough. Haven't had the chance to try anything from the more creative "specialty" section, but the panang curry with duck and lychee looks intriguing. At lunchtime, a separate specials menu offers a spring roll and entree for less than $9, and both the pork "fresh pepper" with vegetables and deliciously spicy peppers and the Tom yum gai sub noodle soup were winners. Happy Hour is also promising. Specials are available at the tables, not just at the (very limited) bar, and include $3 Newcastles and other drafts and $2-$3 off several of the appetizers, including the very tasty Larb Ghai and a nice plate of chicken wings, deep-fried and crispy with a little kick, and dipped in a sweet sauce. The menu is less sweeping than nearby Kanlaya, but what they have, they are doing well. It's a much-needed addition of quality cooking at this price point in the Penn Quarter neighborhood.

Hi all! I live in the Crystal City area, just a few short steps away from 23rd Street's Restaurant Row, where my wife and I love getting the Diavala Pizza at Cafe Pizzaiolo, the Border Fajitas from Cantina Mexicana, and anything on the menu at Harar Mesob, where we had our first date. Sometimes we find it hard to motivate ourselves to drive or ride anywhere else -- even to make the short trip up to Orange Line Arlington to swoon before a Landrum burger. When not eating out, we can be found cooking up a storm -- from experimenting with this week's fresh vegetables to preparing traditional Korean favorites. Otherwise, we're professionals working in the city. Like so many others, we're transplanted to DC for great jobs with family scattered across America and the world. We love to travel -- to visit and to get away -- and of course, to have great new eating experiences.