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Simul Parikh

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Everything posted by Simul Parikh

  1. Simul Parikh
    It's so bad... ugh. Red Rocks in Old Town for Neapolitan style, Valentinos for NY style... Fireworks in Arlington is pretty good. Otherwise, a desert.
  2. Simul Parikh
    Went yesterday ... wings are tiny, as said above, but crispy and flavorful. The pork and chicken intestine laab is no longer on the menu - they have pork and then they have a vegetarian (mushroom) option. Was damn good laab, not very spicy, but fresh and light. The som tum muor (Essan style papaya salad) was very good, funky, fermented, and the spiciest thing we had. The best thing we had was the fried mackeral on top of noodles. It's eaten like a lettuce wrap. Delicious, but the piece of mackeral was too small. It's really good - comparable to early years at BG - the presentation is beautiful, food is fresh/tasty, and there are a lot of interesting things on the menu I'd like to try. It's a small menu, though, not the yooge menus that you usually see at Thai restaurants. It's really a nice space (I don't know what the oyster place that was there before looked like) - felt more like DC than McLean. It's pricier than BG/Thip Khao/Baan, but at dinner time on a weeknight it's faster to get there than anywhere else for me. The 4 courses we had came out to $50, which doesn't sound like much, but we cleared our plates with zero leftovers - and I certainly could have shared 2 more courses - so, order 6 courses for 2 people. They give a small amount of sticky rice (less than BG or Thip Khao) and I think additional costs money. It's the purple version and it's hot A F, so be careful getting it out with your hands. Oh, they have a full bar and a cocktail menu that looked pretty good, but we didn't have anything. Friendly owners, from Bangkok and not Isan Province, but capitalizing on the Northern/Northeastern Thai fad. If you want it spicy, ask for it spicy - otherwise I think they bring it down a notch. Oh, and I like the website design. Good job on that.
  3. Simul Parikh
    Agreed. What a great product! Only good thing about sis going to Ohio State (we are MI natives... it was sacrilege).
  4. Simul Parikh
    Interesting that they say: "That all points to Onwuachi learning from his miscalculations at The Shaw Bijou, where the former Top Chef contestant’s high-price $185 tasting menu gained acclaim but ultimately struggled to resonate with city residents." And then only refer to their own article, while many other professional food critics, snobby forum people (haha, that's us), and the general public did not feel it garnered acclaim. I don't think it wasn't just that it "didn't resonate". It straight up "put off" people. He's a master showman and promoter. And hopefully the circus works out better for him this time.
  5. Simul Parikh
    Just trying a little experiment. Got same order for Kabob Palace on Grub Hub and Eat24 Grub Hub - Food - $70.90, Delivery - $19.75, Tax - $7.09 = Total - $97.74 Eat24 Food - $72.73, Delivery - $6.99, Service Fee - $5.75, Tax - $7.27 = Total - $92.74 So, total is $5 less a Eat24, which is not insignificant. If you count Delivery+Serve at Eat 24 to equal Delivery at Grub Hub (can't get out of the service fee, so it's the same), the delivery is $19.75 at GH vs $12.74 at Eat24. The actual food cost is a little higher at Eat24, about 2.5% higher, so the tax ends up a few cents higher, too. Questions - if the delivery fee is $19.75, are you really supposed to tip on that? Or, if its, $12.74, are you supposed to tip on that? Eat24 seems to be taking a little off the top on food, and maybe that's why their delivery fee is lower. But, man, these delivery charges are pretty wild. And then for the wildcard... I checked UberEats. Food - $70.90, Tax $7.09, $4.99 = Total - $82.98. $10 less than Eat 24, and a whopping $15 less than GrubHub. No contest. Uber always seems to win... S
  6. Simul Parikh
    I tried two tacos from two vendors here. Villa Moreliana - had the surtido (mixed pork) ... one of the greatest tacos I've ever had. Reminded me of street vendors in DF. $2.75 and huge. While in line, they gave a small sample taco roll up with the meats. Was delish. Charged an extra $1 for not having cash. Roast to Go - had the snout. I don't know why I got it. Read on a food blog that it was delicious. Way too chewy/cartilaginous. The salsas at these places are so fresh/good.
  7. Simul Parikh
    Agree that it is fantastic! I got the noodle soup with shaved noodles and lamb. Got a few vegetable sides that were eh (kelp and something else). I agree - some of the best I've ever had, as good as in China. Chinatown in Philly looks legit, and it's huge. I didn't have much time, but plan on going back to gorge myself in that city.
  8. Simul Parikh
    That abomination is not a Cuban. Okay, abomination is a strong word, because the sandwich still sounds delicious. But, man, don't people know that words and names have meanings? "I'd like a Sazerac but could you make it with ..." NO!! A Sazerac is the finished product. Bacon is from a certain animal, and it's not bacon if it doesn't come from said animal. Don't get me started on martinis...
  9. Simul Parikh
    Getting into Philly about 8P, and it seems like the only name roast pork place open is Tony Luke's. As far as other faster options, Nan Zhou looks good. Anyone have any ideas of where I could go that's very good and I can finish eating in 30-45 min?
  10. Simul Parikh
    Truth to that... lot of silly business, and that's just because they can. People forgetting to stick to the roots, and just making great versions of great products. But, a low ABV sour IPA .. it tastes kinda refreshing in the backyard on a hot DC day, right? I think the new big trend is the Hazy IPA, that's soft and dank. It's a trend I can get behind. Veil in Richmond and Dancing Gnome in Pittsburgh have great versions. Wonder who will mainstream it first.
  11. Simul Parikh
    Was trying to get my parents flights to Vegas using Chase points. If you just straight up used the points and booked off of the internal Chase booking, for 2 nonstop coach flights to Vegas from Detroit, it was 42,666 pts for Southwest, and 47,600 for Delta (because you get the 1.5x bonus for booking travel with them). That was Delta Economy, so gotta pay for bags. If you transferred points into Southwest and booked through Rapid Rewards, those same flights would cost 38,500 points. If you transferred points into Delta Skymiles and booked through them, those same flights would cost 67,000 points. There was some change made in the Skymiles program that makes the points far less valuable (I think they changed it from flight based to something more similar to a points per dollar ratio). Getting so deep into the rabbit hole of points. But, as my friend says, "Dude, you're about 10 years late to the partY" S
  12. Simul Parikh
    Well, use some of the Chase points to go to India! Air India is Star Alliance. Dump points into your United account and take the non-stop from Dulles to Delhi!
  13. Simul Parikh
    Nah... Daikaya is to izakaya as to Jaleo is to a Madrid tapas bar. The ones in Japan are casual hangouts where a salaryman and his buddies go to after work for beer and snacks. No craft cocktails, fancy presentations of food, reservations, or dressing up. Food might be somewhat similar, but here it's just another fancy restaurant... I wonder why we can't do tapas right, either. It's always super fancy, sit down, reservations, a menu, and a "scene'. It would be nice if Solly's gave a small slider or some fries or whatever with each drink, but it's not really our culture. You're right.. gotta travel. So sad, haven't left the country since December 2016. Living through everyone on this board...
  14. Simul Parikh
    We are getting there... other "missing" places - yakitori shop, biryani house, true izakaya. Can't believe no Udon here. Marukame in HNL should franchise, already. Would kill it.
  15. Simul Parikh
    Hmm.. just having a beer and a snack here. The deviled eggs sounded good. $7. Guess how many? 3 eggs/6 halves? No. 2 eggs/4 halves? No. 3 halves! 1.5 eggs! Now that's ballsy.
  16. Simul Parikh
    Anyone been recently? I'd just as soon go back to Baan, but need to try something new...
  17. Simul Parikh
    Timber is the best pizza in the district right now, especially if you prefer Neapolitan style over NY/NJ/Conn style. I never have been to Petworth before, and keep finding excuses not to drive all the way out here. It's the hardest place in the district to get to, bascially, other than Takoma Park. Anyway, neighborhood around Upshur/Georgia have really taken off. Lots of new businesses and cute places, dress shop (Willow), independent book store, restaurants, etc. Timber is in that main stretch, across the street from Himitsu. Got there around 7 (45 min from Old Town, not unreasonable at that time of day). You order at the counter, and take a number on a holder and take it to where you're going to sit. It's a small space, they have an outdoor area, and they also have seats at the bar. They have an eclectic beer selection, including quite a few small breweries I never see out. On draft, they have Hellbender, which is local. I got a dry hopped sour ale, Sour Chicky by Burley Oak Brewery (on the Eastern Shore). We got the roasted pork empanadas which comes with a pineapple ketchup. Did not think I'd like the sauce, but it worked. We ordered two pizza. One pepperoni and cheese and the other was the Green Monster (which a cutie pie 3 year old in line recommended to us) that had pesto, fresh mozz, feta cheese, zucchini and kale. Based on a classic pizza rating scale, this is how I felt about the pies - A- pepperoni, B- Green Monster 1. Crust - A - perfect char, but not too much, slight chew but not too much, cornicione was just slightly less than an inch (i.e. - perfect), and doesn't get soupy in center B - same 2. Sauce - A - First bite was salty, but I think that was because the pineapple ketchup was sweet, b/c after that it tasted ideal B - I don't generally like white / pesto pizzas, but this was great, not overpowered by the basil 3. Toppings - A - I like my pepperoni bigger but it pays to have it smaller on a smaller pie (rather than the massive Detroit pizzas I grew up with). Crisped and tasty. B - Veggies fresh, tasted good. I was even accepting of the kale. They did not sprinkle it like arugula to make it a salad pizza, it was cooked. That's a good thing. 4. Cheese - A - Not too stretchy, not browned much, perfect to me. Not fresh mozzarella as far as I can tell. "Cheese" - maybe mozz/provolone blend? B - Mmm.. mozz and feta go great together! The pizza is better than most, the prices are lower than most ($14 for pepperoni vs $16 at All Purpose, average pie $14.77 vs $18.77 at All Purpose), and slightly larger than Ghibellina and All Purpose. The new champion!! Ghibellina had a great run, recently had some issues with soupiness that weren't correctable with instruction. Check it out, and then get a drink at Hank's Cocktail Bar afterwards.
  18. Simul Parikh
    If you travel enough, it seems worthwhile to just pay for an airline lounge. Like for Delta, it's something like $749. If you fly once 1 month, that's 24 uses, pretty much $30 a pop and you can bring a guest, so if you travel with a SO, it's basically $15 per person, which with a beer and a few finger foods makes it worthwhile, and if you get stuck it's really useful . And, Delta is almost every airport. Priority Pass has been a huge disappointment. In addition to restricted hours, some need you to show that you are traveling internationally to use it, many airports important to us (DCA being one of them) aren't included. It's fine since it's a free perk of the card, but it has very limited value.
  19. Simul Parikh
    Yup! and Yup! 220k if you want business class....
  20. Simul Parikh
    It's a great card, particularly if you got it when they gave 100,000 points for the bonus. Think it's half that now, so less of a deal, but still good. The triple points is great for people that travel/dine. I mean, that's basically what I spend money on, so I average about 2.5 points per dollar spent overall. I've also been able to get some good deals. Japan for a ski trip this coming winter using United (transferred Chase points into United account) and that was 2 non-stops, roundtrip to Tokyo then to Sapporo. Was 140,000 points total for the two of us. Those flights are $2,000 each, so for essentially $2100 in points, we got $4000 in value. Also, there is a little trick for Hawaii. From United, it's 40k points to get to Hawaii and there is a direct flight. But, if you transfer the points to Singapore's Krisflyer program, you can get the round trip for 35k points, so for about $525 in points, you get a flight that's value is $1,000. You have to find a "Saver" award and then call Singapore Airlines, but it was pretty straightforward. The Priority Pass is kind of lame domestically. The times are odd - can't go into the Air France/KLM lounge at Dulles during normal hours (basically can only go from noon to 4pm), and the other lounges are pretty heavily restricted. The international lounges are much more accessible, and have used them in China and Italy. I used the Luxury Hotel for a stay-cation in DC, and that was a pretty great deal - free breakfast, $50 credit for hotel bar at the Dupont Circle Hotel, and the room price was like $150 a night or something. The rental cars can be discounted, but not always cheaper than Kayak or Carrentals.com, but it's worth while to check Avis or National, b/c if you don't book through the actual rental care company, you don't get the VIP service (car waiting, no need to go to counter). I haven't gotten much value out of the SPG and Hyatt programs - generally the cost in points is much higher than the value you get, i.e. like 10,000 SPG points for a hotel in Bangkok that costs $200 (i.e you're spending $450 in points for a $200 room). I think what I want to save up for is the Korean Airlines "around the world" ticket. I think it's 140,000 and you can go in one direction, stopping in something like 6-8 places. That would be pretty awesome. Anyone that travels should have this card. In addition, you can get a Chase Ink Business card for another 80,000 points ($95 annual fee, $1000 travel value) and Chase Sapphire Preserved for another 60,000 points.
  21. Simul Parikh
    What kind of things do you use it for?
  22. Simul Parikh
    Kohinoor Dhaba got bad when it first got rid of the "by weight" buffet. First off, as above, it wasn't a good deal any more. Secondly, the quality started failing rapidly. Got it recently for the lady before her shift and she didn't not like it, but didn't ask for more. Plus, when she works overnight, I could give her a prison Nutriloaf and at 3AM, she'd probably say that was delicious, too. When I picked it up, the whole set up was different, had to go to the downstairs, it was totally empty. I got a chicken chili app and a goat curry from London Curry the other night, and it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. Just having been back to Detroit suburbs and Toronto suburbs recently, realizing we don't have very good Indian food AT ALL at the casual level. Detroit suburbs alone have 50+ places are most are above average. Toronto has hundreds and many that are just regional (Gujarati food, Kerala, Hakka, etc.). Have the higher end stuff here that's pretty good, but the mid to low price point here is just meh.
  23. Simul Parikh
    Synonymous as adjectives, but the "Lao people" use Lao >> Laotian
  24. Simul Parikh
    Falafal in pita is not a sandwich, by the definition. But if you break the hinge and make it two pieces, then is it? Same with the hot dog bun - if you break the hinge, then what? Or does the filling have to be something specific and a tube steak doesn't count? Tacos at taquerias are served open face, and that seems to fit the definition, but if you call a taco a sandwich, I WILL CUT YOU.
  25. Simul Parikh
    Like Wayne says, Tha Block Is HOT! Been here a few times now. It's good, a very happening place for the young kids and specifically the young Asian kids living in that area. It's a food hall, as described above, but not so many options. Currently, Poke, Ice Cream place, Thai street food (Roots), Asian comfort food (Balo), and a bar that has it's own snacks. They have happy hour most days, and it's a fairly good deal - beers, wines, cocktails. Yesterday was Mule Monday, and they had many Mules on offer. Like the first time, we started off with Poke as a shared appetizer. Ahi and Salmon and rice, and then you pick your rice and toppings. Fresh fish, great sauce, I could eat another bowl myself. Then, got a bunch of stuff from the other two places - pork and chickens skewers (very good, but sort of small), braised pork and rice (like pulled pork, little bit of chile sauce, rice), boat noodle soup (with meatballs and ribeye, I only had the broth, but smelled tasty), fried chicken tacos (the belle of the ball, perfectly, great spicy aioli), fish balls in curry sauce (sort of had consistency of fish hot dog, I liked it, table didn't seem too impressed). I've had the chicken nuggets (same as the tacos, but without the tortilla), pork belly and rice (tasty, great texture). Finished with dessert. Lady got red velvet ice cream, and the rest of us got the ice milk/sort of like shaved ice thingie at SnoCream. I got green tea ice cream, lychee, almonds, and topped with condensed milk. Friend got black sesame ice cream, that was interesting but not for me. Other friend got vanilla latte with caramel. This place is so happening... I get it - not much there in that area for younger folks. I've been on a Friday night, and it's a bunch of kids in their upper teens, maybe some 20 somethings. A really nice "third space" for them to hang out in, yet, the food isn't lame, the music is good, and its really high energy inside. Check it out .. it's good to be around the youth, makes you young again. And, yeah, totally an Instagram sort of place.
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