Simul Parikh

And Butcher's Block...

I've been usually going to Daikaya Ramen or Luke's for quicker meals before a show, but wondering if anyone had other ideas? Rasika is there, but that's a production, as is Jaleo. Did you know if you go at 6pm on the day of for shows at Woolly Mammoth, there are $15 "Stampede" tickets and these are not obstructed? Usually $75... It's a steal. S

BHO really loves Del Ray. Few of the places have had him (Dairy Godmother, Del Ray Pizzeria). For one neighborhood, he's visited it a relatively high percentage of the places. Interesting...

So, it wasn't salty? My last 3 times there it wasn't too salty, but the 2 times before that it was. Do you ever get the fish and bean curd in spicy sauce? That's a good one, like H20 at Joe's. There is a pork belly dish there that is fantastic, I can't find on menu, but the lady offered it to me. I love the spicy fried chicken with sesame stuffed chili peppers, not on official menu. Cumin lamb is dope, too. Anyone recommend any vegetarian dishes? Or the whole fish dishes? I was going to cook, but screw it, I'm making it an HKP night. S

Nice review. Where in Falls Church do you recommend Thai food?

Hmm. I found this problem at HKP but didn't encounter it at Joe's, but go far less to Joe's. It's very far from me, but I love their spicy pork chop a lot. It's seems like it's a Sichuan issue - that sometimes the saltiness becomes overpowering. I had heard that the quality at Jin River had suffered recently, I haven't been in a few years. I heard 88 China in Chantilly is good. Next time I make it to Dulles, I guess. Anyone try it? It's holding strong at 4.5 stars on Yelp, not that it means anything... S

That's awesome!

I had posted about Phung Hoang - it has different soups, not quite Pho, very good and interesting. Cash only. There is a deli that has good banh mi. Banh Mi So 1.

I went again last night alone, and I've already expressed how I felt about this place, but I had something I never tried and it may be one of the single best dishes I've had in the DC metro area. It's in the soup section - Mee Kathi - Rice noodle soup, ground pork, coconut milk, eggs, mung bean paste, ground peanut & chili paste. Served with julienne cabbage, bean sprout & carrots. Oh my god. It was delicious. It reminded me of khao soi, but not as much curry flavor. It is rich, the egg is apparent, the coconut milk isn't too heavy like tom kha kai. The noodles are perfectly cooked. I asked for it Lao Spicy, and it wasn't inedible (like the Tom Yum, the single spiciest dish I've had stateside). I also ordered chicken larb, but I didn't even want it any more. This soup was freakin' perfect. It's $9.99, and definitely makes a full meal for lunch or dinner. If you haven't had it yet, next time you go, get it. It's absolutely amazing. Simul

Hi, Gotta get my lecture done for my partners and wondering if any one knew of a good place in NOVA (Alexandria, S. or N Arlington, or Falls Church), where I can eat slowly, use their wifi, and get work done tonight for dinner. Spicy preferable. Quiet preferable, but not necessary. Thanks Simul

R&R taqueria Done and done

This place is in the mall part, Saigon West it's called, I think. Went again. Hard to describe, because the menu is so limited. I don't eat beef, so coudl not have their specialty dish (bun bo hue), so I got the fish paste stew noodle soup. We also got a grilled pork on top of noodles dish. I'm really struggling because I don't know Vietnamese food well, they don't speak any English at all. The sides they gave with the soup were fresh - basil, lime, bean sprouts. The sauce they gave with the pork dish was tasty, fish sauce based. They don't take credit card (there is an ATM down the hall). The soup isn't like Pho, it tastes different but good. It wasn't spicy, but I think their beef soup is pretty spicy. This is probably a really unhelpful review. I'd go back to try one of the other soups, I think there is another seafood one. There are interesting looking salads, but they were out of that. The meal was super cheap for a lot of food. There is a bakery in the mall that has fresh smoothies, all their stuff looks amazing, too. I really need a Vietnamese friend to help me order properly at Edens Center. Totally flying blind, like a teenager making out for the first time, just groping about awkwardly, with no real knowledge of how to attain any sort of satisfaction. S

Went last night... Was very excited after reading the website and the news about it, and I've spent time in Thailand eating the street food. It's a pretty space, but in a very quiet area in the West End. The address is not coherent - it's actually on 21st St, not L, between L and M, pretty much attached to the Citibank building (they share the same address, that's why the entrance is not on L). It was pretty quiet inside, not that many customers, but there was a bustling staff. I saw my favorite waitress from Bangkok Golden there, which made me very happy, because maybe this means they have chef overlap or something. She said she was just working the one shift tonight. I gave her a big hug. We had just come from hot yoga, so I was happy with how quickly they replenished our waters. Like I said, lots of staff, not a lot a customers, so we were doted on. It was just 3 of us, so we didn't get to order as much as I'd wanted to be, but we had a pretty good sampling of item. Grilled Pork Necks - okay, so this is one of my favorite dishes at the Laotian joint, you get a whole big plate of them with a great sauce. This was the same dish, but 1/2 of the volume of meat for about the same price. It tasted as good as it did at BG. The sauce seemed a touch less spicy, but maybe not, I'm not sure. Spicy lemongrass soup, bone-in pork rib - comes in style, in a hot pot with the fire and everything. We got the larger size, as the waitress said the small one was "tiny". This was fragrant, a bit of a kick, had mushroom and a good flavor. The pork rib was a toughish but tasty. One of the better dishes of the night. Yum/Baked fish maw/fried squid - this did not do it for me. It was fried squid with a boring crust and some small pieces of fish and some cashews. It was boring. I wish I had ordered the Larb or the pork liver. Honey Roasted Duck - My childhood friend really wanted duck, so we got duck. I thought it was pretty good. I'm not into sweeter foods. He didn't care much for it. I liked the skin of it and thought the meat was pretty good. I think those that like sweeter entrees may enjoy this. It was presented really well. Spicy Seafood/Pad Cha Talay - this was also one of the better dishes, it tasted a lot like jungle curry to me. This was the spiciest of the lot, but not overpoweringly so, certainly not to deserve the 3 peppers on the menu. Their was a good amount of seafood - scallops, squid, fish, shrimp. Sriracha Fried Rice - mmm ... My favorite dish they had. Just the right amount of kick. Greasy chicken (and I mean that in the best way - it was thigh meat and dark). Thai Ice Cream/Thai Tea flavor - it was good. I don't know, I'm not an ice cream connoisseur. Bua Loy - sticky rice dumplings in coconut milk. Interesting. I don't really like Asian desserts all that much. I think my co-eaters enjoyed. This place seems to have so much potential. I love going to a Thai place and not recognizing anything on the menu (it's usually various colored curries, drunken noodles, pad thai, some soups, and variations). What we had was pretty good, but not amazing. I would go again to try a bunch of other things on the menu. It's vast and creative and unique. I hope they are not going to dumb it down or make it too sweet or not spicy. If they are related to Bangkok Golden, then hopefully things will mesh and this place will be rock solid option for Thai in the city. Oh, and on a side note, not related to food, but on the kindness of strangers. I stupidly parked in the garage at 2000 L and didn't look at the sign properly. It closes at 8pm (that tells you how quiet this neighborhood is). So, I leave the restaurant and the garage is all locked up. I find a number to call, and even the "emergency" line goes to voicemail (they still haven't called me back). Any way, I hear a noise - the garage door opens and this middle-aged woman in a BMW is pulling out. I run to her car, and tell her the situation - she lives there and so has a card to get in and out. She says to get my car and she will wait, and then I can try to follow her closely through the gate. It takes a bit to find the car, and I was worried she'd leave. We get out and are right behind her car, and we were able to leave. 1) People are kind 2) Even though your doctor does a great job, after work, he/she is probably brain dead, hence getting locked into a garage at night.

This place opened up on Duke St where Maggio used to be, by the bike shop. The menu looked so interested - typical kebabs, hummus, dolma and the like. But, there were many other things I've never heard of - stews, fried fish dishes, lamb shank, etc. It had the feel of Amoo's - families, native languages heard, family owned and operated, but it's Iraqi not Iranian. From the few yelp reviews, this is the only Iraqi place in the area and the Iraqi community is very excited and impressed with the cooking. The place was packed, almost all middle eastern crowd. We tried to place a carryout order and they just couldn't get to us - after over ten minutes, we still couldn't place an order so ended up leaving. I know they were super busy, but we were starving and had some little kids involved and it wasn't going to work out. The food I saw looked impressive, they have Iraqi breakfast at 9a and it looks like a real solid operation. I'll try again to eat there soon, but when someone else goes, please report!

Sex before meals is somewhat crucial, especially before these multi course ones. I'm glad someone pointed that out. This should be in the FAQ. "Should I have sex before or after the meal?" "You should have sex before the meal for sure, and after should occur, but is a multi factorial based decision.

This restaurant just opened up this week with high hopes, as the executive chef is from the acclaimed gas station taqueria in Elkridge, MD - R&R Taqueria. I absolutely, wholeheartedly love R&R - the devotion to food is incredible there. It was packed at 730. It's the former One Lounge in DuPont Circle and they did a fantastic job with the space. There is red tiled floors, beautiful wood ceilings, exposed brick, a nice bar. Something is different recently in terms of service in this town. Maybe it's a re-expression of what is important in a dining experience, or that people are just nicer, or social media is forcing customer service to be better. In any case, in the District itself, I find myself pleasantly surprised with service. We were told 45 min, and were called back in about 35 for our table for two. I know it's different with these higher end places, but there are not chips and salsa served with the meal - it's 4 bucks a pop. And since a few Yelp reviews stated that the salsa tasted canned and not fresh, I didn't order it. We got the queso fundido and the pozole to start. The queso was not melty goodness. It was silly putty consistency and not tasty. It was too hard to eat - you had to hand pull it to get it onto the tortillas served aside it. The pozole was tasty, fresh with cilantro and spice, but ... served cool! I mentioned it to the waiter, and he said he would tell it to the kitchen. We ordered two plates of tacos. We had the chorizo and the fish. The chorizo was almost as good as the R&R version, but a little different. Only one tortilla instead of two (I don't know why that matters, but it does to me). I don't know if it was masa, but it did taste good. The green sauce they gave with it had a bite, I liked it. The fish tacos were lightly fried and had a nice sauce, the typical white sauce of west coast fish tacos mixed with seasoning so it was brownish and tasty, but heavy feeling. Salsa was a few bucks extra, we ordered it, but they forgot. We didn't mention it. The kitchen was very slow, and the server came more than once to tell us how backed up they were. I'm very sad that this place didn't kill it. R&R is so amazing. The idea that they were going to have a real restaurant 25 minutes from me was so exciting. They don't have the Barbacoa, or the lamb stews. I saw fajitas at the table next to me that smelled and looked delicious. It was sceney- lots of pretty folks here. Nice service. Out of respect of the original location, I'll go back, but not for a few months. One question - does executive chef mean something unique? Does it mean his ideas but he isn't there? Because then it maybe explains away the food/execution. Simul

My local. It is what it is - a local pizza joint slash sports bar. Not getting into the nuts and bolts, pizza is religion and for those that prefer neopolitan style, this is anathema. For those that like pan pizza or thin crust, it's good. It's bread, good cheese, good toppings, good service, good beer. Every night there are locals here- me for one, Mayor Bill (maybe Congressman Bill soon?), the yoga teachers, the other service industry types. People talk to you. The bartender with facial hair sometimes and sometimes not - he knows beer very well. Ask him questions. Ask for tasters. Tell him your inner feelings - he has served as a therapist for me and my friends for a few years. I got the buffalo chicken sandwich, but with diesel sauce. Hot as Kate Upton in zero gravity (you know what I'm talking about). They had Stone "enjoy by April 20" so I had that. Grassy and delicious. I rarely order pizza here. It's good and I like it enough but I just don't eat pizza much. I really like DRP. Not for what it supposed to be known for. More because I like for what it stands for - it is Del Ray. I also recommend the wings andouille po boy, and the nachos. All solid. S

Okay, so after work, I'm headed to an Asian Grocery in Northern Virginia. I'm looking for: 1) ya cai (Tianjin preserved vegetable) 2) black vinegar (Ching Kiang) Will H Mart have these items? Or Great Wall? And then, when I'm out that way, I want something spicy and delicious for lunch - a little congested/sinusy. Was thinking Lighthouse Tofu, but I'm open to other ideas. Thanks, S

What more to say, except that I completely agree that this place and their pizza is fantastic. The crust is perfect. The ambience is gorgeous - rustic and modern, at the same time. Cool red tile behind the bar. The service seems top notch (we were at the bar). Bianca - my lady friend got this + arugula on top, not my usual order, but I liked it a lot. She wants to turn me on white pizza, and I think this got me there. Margherita - what more to say - mozzarella, sauce, fresh basil, a perfect crust. Either their crushed red pepper is super hot or the calabrian hot peppers on the bianca are super spicy, because my mouth was on fire at the end. She had 2 sangrias. I had 2 Atlas Rye IPAs. $44, plus some leftovers for the clinic staff that had to come in with me this morning. Are you freaking kidding me? This is the best happy hour deal around. The pizzas are half price, and the drinks are near half price. Come at 5.30ish to the bar, have a few drinks, linger, get that pizza order in at 625p, go home early, sated, and very happy. I'm not necessarily a Napoletena guy (Detroit upbringing - I'll take Jet's or Buddy's any day of the week, with no apologies), but I'd rank: Ghibellina's > Pupatella's > 2 Amy's > Orso. Yes, I know, it's like ranking supermodels. S

Agree with Del Ray Pizzeria - although, like above poster said, it's not always for the pizza. They have a wide variety of beer, and do tap takeovers often (this week was Terrapin, which I thought I didn't like, but they won me over). But, again, no one talks about this place like Pupatella or Orso or whatever (granted, not the same style, but it's not destination pizza). I think the market is there and the interest is there - good food will come. Foodie bellies abhor a vacuum. S

Kaizen (replacing Osteria) is open tonight Will report back this week ...

I love the Evening Star - it's my neighborhood joint, but other than brunch, I don't get excited about their food. Momo is good, agreed. I don't care for Dos Amigos, but that's a taste thing - a lot of people like it a lot. And, I have yet to try A La Lucia (who supposedly have the best cannolis, ever, as well). I understand going to Annandale for Korean or Seven Corners for Chinese - I do that all the time. I'm just saying, in the territory bounded by Glebe to the North, the Beltway to the South, Russell Rd to the west, and the river - it's a pretty great place to live, but surprisingly deficient in terms of certain cuisines, and the quality (except for a few places) seems to be not as good as I'd expected, having come fromt the District. Unrealistic, I suppose. I love living here, and I support all the local places, but one Korean option or one Indian or one Chinese option isn't really that much to expect (I think), rather than 4 Asian fusion places, you know what I mean? Just from a business perspective, I wonder why a restauranteur has not developed one (maybe they've tried in the past?) On the other hand, the overall food culture seems to be thriving in Alexandria - there are plenty of gourmet markets/boutiques - Balducci's, Whole Foods, Butcher's Block, Market 2 Market, Cheesetique, La Fromagerie, Meat on The Avenue, multiple farmer's markets, so I don't think interest is lacking. S

This restaurant serves Tapas and Spanish style food on 14th Street. The service at this place is impeccable. While waiting in the bar, there were so many servers and bussers going past and instead of making you feel like they were in their way, they made you feel like they were in your way. The bartenders actively make eye contact with the patrons, instead of you fighting to get their attention. And, in case you didn't know, this place is packed to the brim nightly. I came tonight, on a cold DC Thursday expecting the absolute worst. I've walked in and walked out because I was told there was a 2 hour wait. They don't do many reservations, and I actually don't know their rules for doing them. We were told 1 hour and it ended up being close to 1 hour and 30 minutes. When I went up as the annoying guest asking "are we there yet?" they took the time to tell me why it was taking longer and then let us know an updated time, which was fairly accurate. We were seated by a vivacious and energetic hostess that had been dealing with impatient and likely rude guests all evening, and she never broke her smile the whole night. I came with 7+ a high chair for a 21 month old. We were placed at a cozy table and I'll tell the truth, we told them 6, and added one at last minute. We were those people. They added a chair and we got very close. Waters delivered immediately, two waiters introduced themselves, and took drink orders. They also told us that specific dishes took a long time (paella and grilled meat platters), which got us to put those in first. We ordered 2 patatas bravas, 2 asparagus with aioli, seafood paella, a churrasco, multiple hamachi crudos, gambas ajillo, 2 tortillas, blood sausage, 2 chorizo with fig, scallops, lamb chops, 2 lamb burgers, 2 beef empanadas.. I think that's all of it. The pacing was impeccable. Rarely were we overburdened. Service was slowed down when it needed to be, but with attention to whether we needed more drinks. The food quality was high - highlights included lamb chops, churrasco, chorizo, hamachi crudo... Paella was not like Barcelona the city, but tasty in it's own right. Not one dish was bad. I never order patatas bravas because stateside it's essentially French fries and hot sauce, but here the fiery tomato sauce and aioli made it impressive. I can't really get thinking about the food, even though it was fabulous, I'm just so impressed at the way the restaurant presented itself. A prince amongst men... I hated the idea of this place - a Connecticut chain, the hottest gals and guys in DC, a hostess that could be a model, a fancy bar and terribly long wait times. But, sometimes the execution and the effort overstate any potential negatives. If the food gets any better and the service stays the same, this place will last a long time. And, final caveat - I freaking hate tapas state side.

Really limited in my opinion, as an Alexandrian, especially if in Old Town/Del Ray/Rosemont in terms of quality or price. I end up in Falls Church, Arlington, Crystal City, or DC probably more than Old Town. Hank's Oyster Bar - pricey, but pretty good Del Ray Cafe - farm-to-table, good quality/ambience Caphe Ban Mi - Old Town Vietnamese, surprisingly pretty good Shakhti - Sri Lankan, basically Arlandria but 1 mile up from the rest of Del Ray/The Avenue Bastille - French, falls into Expense Account territory Vermilion - Contemporary American, pricey Eve - Tops ins the city, but REALLY pricey Eamon's - limited menu, but for what it's worth, it's great Fish and Chips Faccia Luna - haven't been, but have heard from a few that it's probably best pizza in town Brabo Tasting Room - flat breads and mussels; reasonable price and good and nice ambience Sushi Lounge - Del Ray, pretty good Pizzeria Paradisio/Red Rocks - I know they are different, but they serve the same purpose and area bout as good as each other Osteria 1909 - closed down and I really liked that Majestic - people seem to like it, I go after yoga and it's generally dead, service is a bit slow For having a 50+ restaurants probably, not very many of them are good/worth the money. There are some distinct holes - not one Indian restaurant in Old Town/Old Town North/Del Ray. Not one authentic Chinese restaurant. No Korean restaurant. Not one well reviewed/beloved Thai restaurant. There isn't a Ramen place (every stinking neighborhood is getting one of those, now!). I would argue that there isn't a good steak house (Flat House is new and probably satisfactory but it's not really a talked about place). There isn't a great Mexican place (Taqueria Poblano is just ok, especially considering you can go south on Richmond Hwy and have bunch of legit taco options). There are some seafood places. There are terrible Asian fusion places and pseudo-Thai. I really wonder why that is. Arlington seems to have a lot more quality options, so does Falls Church. Any hypotheses why one of the coolest areas in the D/M/V is sort of a "good food desert"? S

I've been once before, but never posted about it. I went again before the Lorde concert on Friday night at Echostage (literally, 0.25 miles away and I parked in the Days Inn lot which was perfect). I'm one to put food quality and tastiness over anything else - ambience/decor, service, or even cost. But, the service at PG is by far the worst I've ever experienced on American soil. The worst. When we arrived, there was a line of about 8 people and none of them had been talked to by the host or waitress. I asked them whether we needed to put our name down, and they said they had no idea, I tried to ask a host, he ignored me. Then, about 10 minutes after waiting a family got up from their table and walked past us and said, "We've been seated for 25 minutes and no one has taken our order or even come to the table yet." A few minutes later, 2 people entered the restaurant, went in front of our line and just sat at a table. Waitress brought them waters, and they even began to order food. I mentioned this to the frenzied host, and either he didn't understand me or just didn't care and said, "If you just sit at a table, it's not going to make the service any faster". But, it clearly did. We got seated and were able to put in orders. Everything came out slow, they hardly came by to refill beers/waters, and were surly and difficult to deal with the entire time. They had 2-3 waitresses for a full restaurant (it's fairly large, think double the size of Hong Kong Palace or Joe's Noodle House). Honestly, the experience was so bad that I don't even want to discuss the food all that much. The cumin lamb was good but not warm enough in terms of temperature. They forget the flounder in fiery sauce dish, but also didn't charge us for it. The chicken wings, though nothing really Chinese about them, were delicious. The Dan Dan Noodles were great. The broccoli with oyster sauce was remarkably good (something I never ordered, but my friend really wanted). My friend, who's family has been in the Chinese restaurant business for years, did not even want to leave any tip whatsoever. He thought that from beginning to end, it was a failure on the part of the waitstaff (who should be pushing the kitchen staff to hustle), the manager for general disorganization, the host for not saying anything to guests, and in his opinion the food was good, not great. I thought the food was pretty good, but I think I'm never coming back except for two situations: 1) On the way home from Delaware beaches 2) Seeing a show at Echostage (man that was convenient). I hate writing something like this, because it's a family business, I desperately want them to succeed, and I want people to be exposed to "real" Chinese food, but this was incredible. Simul