Sundae in the Park

The Virginia Mamma Lucia's is different from the Maryland chain. Their Ffx city downtown location closed earlier this year, but the Fair city Mall location is still open. We like their pizza when we're going for "regular" (not Neopolitan) pizza.

Potstickers, and they lived up to their name. I think that pan is done for

Thanks, Zora! I did add a splash of white wine, but that evaporated away too quickly, and we were definitely missing the garlic. I vaguely remember now that you mention it that many recipes call for reserving some pasta cooking water, so that would probably be the ticket to creating a light sauce. That and more wine... The other night, we made a different pasta dish - orecchiette "little ears" pasta with a roasted red pepper sauce (pureed peppers, pine nuts, milk, garlic, onion, basil, and parm) that was quite good. Guess I'm a sauce person.

The Hell burger is a thing of sloppy beauty, but I can't finish it. When you can't finish a gorgeous burger that weeps steak-y jus from the first touch, it's not the burger, it's you. Luckily, I have a formerly vegetarian husband who is fine with, nay, happy to finish mine after he polishes off his own. Still, getting back to the subject, burger inflation is nothing new. Big Jud's in Idaho was been serving up supersized burgers for years and years. When I was there, back in the '98, they were serving up burgers that were up to 2 lbs of cooked meat. The regular "Big Jud" is a 1-lb burger after it's cooked, served on a dish-sized, custom-baked bun. The double has served as a picture-on-the wall challenge for many a red-blooded young (and not-so-young) male. I got the quarter pounder and no, I couldn't finish that either. Though that had more to do with the large number of fries (think Eamonn's, it was Idaho, after all) I ate than the size of the burger.

I feel like Jaleo is most expensive when you are there with 2 people, becuase you (I) are (am) more inclined to get a carafe (or 2) of sangria and "need" to order enough dishes to have a variety and accomodate different appetites. As a singleton I am less inclined to drink and might only get 2 tapas before I'm full (wasn't there some study that said people eat more with others?). When you have a big group, however, you have economies of scale in ordering, even with small dishes, and can try a large number of things for the same price. Anyway, musing aside, I can't stop ordering the ensalada rusa when I'm there. So simple but so delicious.

The dining room is definitely a fire room, bursting with oranges and reds and very cozy. I liked this place as India City Grill and missed its incarnation as Star of India, but hopefully Curry Mantra will stick around for awhile. It won't be for lack of trying, as they are promoting the bejeesus of the place and it seems to be working - Tom S. has been by for a favorable first bite mention and T. Kliman gave it a long mention in a recent chat. Plus, we were there redeeming a Restaurant.com coupon, they seem to have had a Living Social promotion going on at some point, and I've seen advertisements/coupons in the Clipper, its affiliate Double Take Deals, and in this year's Entertainment Book. So someone there is doing their homework! I only looked up the reviews after we got home, because the very attentive and kind staff kept asking (different people) if we were there because of the mentions in the papers. The staff are well-trained, providing by far the best and friendliest service I've gotten at a suburban Indian eatery. I don't know if they are on their best behavior because of the recent reviews, but we felt incredibly welcomed. Now the food...the menu has a smattering of both northern and southern indian dishes. We started with the dosa, which was perfect. Lightly crisped but springy with a simple potato and onion filling, served with a cool coconut dip and a big bowl of moderately spicy sambal. Really fantastic!! Our curries, however, were merely fine. Well, they averaged out that way. The bangain bharta is actually pretty interesting - much less mellow than I'm used to, which I think surprised and dismayed me at first, but I ended up liking it quite a bit for its tangy and picquant character. The lamb korma, however, was boring. The sauce was thin but fine for dipping and the lamb wasn't tough or stringy, but none of the flavors stood out. Also, I didn't care at all for the rice, as it was too moist, maybe? I guess I prefer my basmati to be very dry. The curries are cutely presented, though, on their own holders over a candle flame. The mango lassi is nice - adequately mango-y and not too terribly sweet, but expensive at $4 (that was noticeable because everything else was quite a bargain). The naan is slightly blistered, fluffy, and buttered, and the gulab jamun is served warm in a big bath of syrup, and both were quickly gobbled up. So there is a lot to like about this place. The staff are certainly working very hard to make it thrive! We were encouraged to come try the weekend buffet, which apparently features more diverse offerings than the weekday buffet, and I think we might just take them up on it sometime.

Penne tossed with wilted spinach, sauteed creminis, toasted pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, lots of olive oils, a touch of parm, and basil and parsley. It was fine but definitely needed a sauce of some sort to bring it all together.

Seconded. I'd been considering adding it to our repetoire, and now I know how

Found another one. Double Take Deals is affiliated with the local Clipper coupon magazines somehow and seems to work much like Groupon, Living Social, etc. The latest Fairfax offerings include Curry Mantra and Nielsons Frozen Custard.

Yep, I thought so too. Since she's willing to drink a glass of wine in public while pregnant, with all its attendant judgment, I wouldn't think she's choosing to be vegetarian for the duration out of anything but necessity.

I was too tired to make my way across the Bay bridge again, so I spent my major eating of this trip mostly in Berkely, which turned out great, thanks to the suggestions upthread! Cheeseboard really is amazing - the workers will stand there and help you sample all the cheeses you could possibly be interested in. I loved the first two cheeses shown to me (a ridiculously runny brie and a gouda) and those paired with a little loaf of the city bread made for a terrific meal. I also grabbed a slice of the daily pizza offering, which was peppers, mushrooms, feta, mozz, garlic, and parsley - a lot going on but tasty though the crust, while pleasantly crunchy and chewy, wasn't anything I HAD to eat. Finished up with a double chocolate cookie with abundant cocoa and chocolate chunks. What a gem! I also ate at Cesar on the same block (the same block as Chez Panisses - some heavy hitters indeed). Maybe I just like Spanish tapas more, but I enjoyed this experience more than our trip to Cesar Latino in Oakland, even though I got to try fewer dishes (I was by myself this time). It is a noisy, joyful place full of people eating and drinking and having a grand time. I got the patatas bravas - a huge plate of potato wedges topped with the red and aoli sauces, and the sea bass with mushrooms. The fish came drenched in fruity olive oil and was delectable - moist, golden fish over a generous bed of seasoned mushrooms. The olives weren't too salty and I had a refreshing nonalcoholic mint lemonade. Everything was fantastic, and the wait staff were very nice to me as a solo diner at the bar. We had a significant miss down in Millbrae, at the Shaghai Dumpling Shop. It was well-Yelped, and we really wanted good xiao long bao, so we tried it out over the standby trip to Koi Palace - big mistake. The XLB were quite good, actually , a little thicker-skinned, but a lot of soup, well-seasoned meat, and none of the dumplings broke! There was a reason that there were a least one tin of XLB at each table. The rest of the food, however, was faulty in at least one dimension. Underseasoned, overcooked boy choy with gritty mushrooms, overly bready pan fried pork buns, and heavy, boring sauteed eels. Maybe worth a stop in just for the XLB on the way to the airport if you really have a craving, but otherwise not at all a place that needs a visit. Jasmine Garden was a random stop made because we were seriously jonesing for some some warming pho after the flight in from Portland, and there weren't any other Vietnamese places open that late on our way headed up north. It was a random google find that turned out quite charmingly. Pho isn't on the dinner menu, but after seeing us fruitlessly flip through the menu, they took pity on us and brought out the lunch menus for us to order from. We had a bowl each of the beef and seafood pho bowls, which had interesting and varied meats, including fatty bits and meat/fishballs. The broth was flavorful and did NOT leave us with dry mouth or the MSG shakes. We also got some fresh rolls stuffed with two kinds of pork that weren't on the menu (we asked for their "best" roll). One was stuffed with a deeply flavored jerky-like meat, and the other was a softer strip of meat paired with something like a slice of cracklins'. Interesting and quite good. If you're ever up in Fairfield on a Thursday, try the Hot Spot Cafe and Deli, if you can find it. It's a tiny breakfast/lunchtime place tucked away in the corner of an office building, and looks like an ordinary sandwich shop. The welcoming folks who work there, however, cook everything fresh and to order and will make up anything you like. When we got there, later in the lunch hour, they were out of the cajun potatoes, so she went back and whipped up another batch! The Thursday special (at least when we went) was the tri-tip BBQ plate or sandwich. I'm not sure what I expected to get, but it wasn't a loaded platter (for $9!) with a huge pile of almost fork-tender, deeply flavored slices of meat served with peppers, onions, and juice/gravy, over the aforementioned cajun potatoes (a little bit spicy!) with a side of pasta salad and a little slice of bread. It's more of an au jus dish than BBQ per se, but it was unexpected and wonderful. The sandwich was quite large and looked very good as well. Got to the Ferry Terminal building before the farmer's market closed on Sat and had a great time trying tastes of various wares. Cap'n Mike's Holy Smoked Fish is great for trying a different fish and, since they all can go up to 3 days without refrigeration, it's easy to take things home! I ate lunch at the Slanted Door and it really was great (I was expecting, for some reason, not to like it very much). The spring roll (veg) was well balanced and had a delicate crunch, and the spicy fish sauce for dipping gave it an edge. I also had a mild noodle dish. I knew it would be mild from the ingredients so that was fine, but the noodles were chewy and beautifully fried and the whole dish was also very well balanced (and livened up nicely with some siracha sauce). I'd say their line cooks know their business, as they churned out some very good dishes late at the tail end of the long lunch service. I'm glad I tried it!

Oh Portland, you had me at first bite. Of course, it helped that I drove straight to Pok Pok from the airport and was quite hungry by the time I bit into my Vietnamese fish sauce wings. One of the best things I've ever put in my mouth, hunger seasoning aside. They are still very good cold later, but those first few wings, eaten while still hot and crisp, are a revelation. My Khoa Man Som Tam (green papaya salad with coconut rice, sweet shredded pork, and fried shallots) was also fantastic, with bold, bright., and clear flavors. I wish we had dishes like this at home! (Do we? Do tell!) I also tried Apizza Scholls. Long wait for a spot at the bar, but the pizza was very good. Half amore and half NY white, with Amore edging out the white. The bottom is scarily even - charred, but not too much, everywhere. It's great pizza, but not my absolute favorite - I think I'd rather have Bianco or even Pupatella. Some friends suggested that the pizza at Ken's Artisan's Pizza is even better, but I didn't have the stomach space to tackle it. I did, however, get to Ken's Artisan Bakery to pick up some pastries. Gorgeous, enormous (2-3 bites), inventive (maple, grapefruit, espresso, chocolate spice - liked these best) macaroons, a perfectly lemony tart, and chewy, fun-to-tear-and-eat breads. The croissants are wonderful even late into the day. Since this was actually a work trip, we ate boring hotel breakfasts at Porto Terra. Nice panckaes with lacy edges if you order them fresh. Over in Gresham, there's a mallish-looking Thai place called Typhoon! that is apparently part of a local chain. It's got moderately spicy and perfectly fried drunken noodles, terribly sweet and ketchupy pad thai (I didn't order it - it came stealthily on a lunch platter, and we were Not Amused), mild, pretty eggplants in black bean sauce, and very tart, creamy soups. There was a "clam chowder" done Thai style that was surprisingly effective. Not bad at all but I was sad we were so far from the carts downtown. Finally, we did a large and small plate tasting at Park Kitchen. This is a terrific way to sample the menu, but I wish were had been able to select our courses (it's chef's choice unless you upcharge $10 to state your preferences). Some whimsical and some very, very solid dishes. My favorites were the meatballs over braised asian-y cabbage bathed in a porky stock, the "rest of the duck" salad - duck cracklin', 'nuff said - and a sophisticated sticky toffee date bread pudding with whipped yogurt and apricot sauce. The chick pea fries were fun and hearty, kind of like the most silken felafel imaginable, but the duck main was all over the place - breast slices (that weren't crisped enough) over a corn bread/vegetable loaf thing with orange chunks, candied pecans, and cracker jacks (seriously) scatterd about the plate, over a sweetish fruity brown sauce. Way too may elements not coming together - I saw leftovers of this dish at almost every table. Still, that was pretty much the only low note in a night of hits in a very warm and inviting spot. You can see exactly how hard the folks in the tiny kitchen are working to get your food out, which helps you appreciate it more! Thanks for the suggestions, all. I planned and planned, but still ended up being full the entire time and I didn't get to a single food cart, sandwich, or bite of Tillamook cheese. Clearly, I need to go back.

Yep - that way you can use nutella as a filling. Not exactly traditional, but oh so delicious.

Spaghetti and turkey meatballs. Meatballs are a recent addition to our repetoire, so this is exciting!

I'm going next week and CAN'T WAIT. So little time, so many food carts!!!

I know some Chinese students at GMU that are going to be very, very excited.

and I just discovered the warm elegance of the dining room last night! The food, service, decor...everything, really, was wonderfully soothing. I wish the chefs the best and hope the restaurant continues to thrive.

I LOVE this frosting, especially on chocolate cupcakes. I will make them for kids' parties to have the excuse to eat them.

We were in the other night and enjoyed the beef and fish tacos as usual. We've been sampling the Mexican places out here in Fairfax and were wishing that they would set up an outpost.

Exactly this.It's still not a birthday without my Carvel cake! We used to get various Friendly's cakes too. Both beat the box cake alternative!

This technique works so well that I can make deviled eggs again. I'd quit for a long while because I thought the eggs hated me and were getting in one last laugh...

Tried it with friends for the first time tonight and everything was fantastic. We got there early (5ish) while it was still quiet, but it was hopping by the time we left at 6 something. The char and the airy, chewy crust will probably make this my favorite pizza place in the area, but I have to go at least once more to make sure! The croquette is a touch better as the ultimate comfort food over the aracino (2), but I think I'll have to switch over to salad to start once it gets warmer. Our pizzas (real margherita and one with olives, mushrooms, ham, and artichokes) were excellent, but the star was definitely the fried calzone. It's sad they won't let you take this out, but I understand - the delicate crunch and oozing middle when you dig into your fresh, huge calzone is unreal and would likely suffer a bit even on a short ride (I'd be willing to test this!). It's heavy but heavenly and a must-try. Our sfogliatelle were a lovely ending, and we can't wait to come back!!

This was very useful, thanks!! We used it as a guide while in San Gabriel and it was a lifesaver in helping us choose among the literally hundreds of restaurants in the area. If you're ever at the Hilton San Gabriel (Asian heaven, apparently - the background language on the street is Mandarin, not English), you might be interested in a rundown of our week: Ajisen Ramen - looks like a chain (it is), but tastes like a good one. Big bowls of ramen noodles bathed in hearty (salty), porky broth. I had the premium pork and it was very good. No real vegetables or toppings, though, so read the descriptions to make sure you are getting what you want. Very fast, cheap, and the clientele looks like it skews young. Hwa Ro Korean BBQ & Tofu [Closed in early 2015] - good, basic Korean BBQ, with some decent (6) panchan. Pretty good for not being in a Korean part of town! The all you can eat meat option is great for a group and you can try 7 different things, including beef tongue as well as all the usual suspects (our favorites were the marinated chicken and kalbi). They do NOT do the cooking for you. The tables are sticky and it is very busy. The tofu soup was only OK. Fill up on the meat! Yung Hou Tou Jiang - authentic Taiwanese breakfast joint, very small, Chinese will definitely help here, and kind of dirty-looking. FANTASTIC yo tiao - light, greaseless, soft, perfectly fried, probably the best or very close to the best I've ever had. Excellent turnip cakes, soft and crumbly outside with almost gooey insides. The scallion pancakes were very heavy, flavorless and oily and we didn't eat much of our portion. The xiao long bao were very good, but most broke before we got to them (but the soup that was left was very nice!). Lots of folks were eating noodle soups and the "sandwich" bing (the dough pancake stuffed with meaty things). Very cheap and pretty quick. Golden Deli - Vietnamese in a strip mall that apparently usually has a wait. It made sense, as everything we had was extremely fresh and good. We got mostly basics - pho (lots of star anise, not much msg, if any), grilled chicken bun, fried and fresh spring rolls (there is an extra skin layer on the fired rolls that makes them extra crispy special, surprisingly good cold the next day as well), and they were all great. Babita - time for something different, it's a white tablecloth place in a converted house behind a nothing of a streetside facade. Inside is very small and charming, and the service is very personable and helpful. The chef goes a little crazy with the zig-zag drizzling of sauces, but the dishes are beautifully and thoughtfully presented. He really likes two-tone things, as evidenced by his fabulous half white corn and half blue corn (full halves, not a mix of the two, like a black and white cookie) that are thick and delicious and make for wonderful dipping chips, and the two-soups-in-one-bowl dish we had, where mushroom soup was side-by-side with a guava soup. It was a surprising combination, but worked fairly well, both separately and together. Both soups were thick enough that they didn't intermix themselves. We also had some very dense, chunky calimari (not rings), fried "soft" and not at all crispy with a flavorful not but-too-hot chile sauce. There are several appetizer ceviches, and all sound tempting. The red snapper-on-sopa ceviche was very bright and fresh and took me straight to the tropics. This fish, good as it was, was a little skimpy in comparison to the other ingredients. We also had the fillet and scallop, mole enchiladas, and the chiles en nogada special mentioned in the article above. The chiles will be out of season in a week or two and we were very glad to get them - it's a roasted poblano chile stuffed with shredded pork, pomegranate seeds, some cactus, and nuts, all swathed in a fruity cream sauce. It's a very strange (to my palate) and interesting dish that causes you to think about all the different the morsels hitting your tongue, a good thing in my book! The mole was very good with dark chocolate and chile flavor, and the bite of scallop I got (quivering, swiped through a green chile sauce of some kind) was the best bite of the night. This is a nice place, surprising for the surroundings, and a little bit of sticker shock (entrees ~$25 and apps ~$10) after eating cheap Asian meals all week, but it was a lovely change of pace and with some genuinely exciting food. JTYH - the real deal of dao shao mian, the knife-cut rice noodles. Plump and chewy, especially in the excellent beef noodle soup. The leek dumplings are fat and flavorful, though the soup dumplings have thicker skins than I would have expected (pro: they stayed intact! Con: there wasn't that much soup. Tasty, though!). The lamb in the fried lamb noodles is shaved and doesn't add that much to the dish. There is a lot of garlic, but it needs a bit of soy sauce to really it up (an easy enough fix). They have a cold bar for cold appetizers, and we had some nice marinated celery, seaweed, and tofu noodles. We didn't have the room to eat the meat roll or the fried meat dumplings or pies, but they looked and smelled amazing! Bubble tea probably depends on the time of day, but our milk tea was very sweet and the bubbles were too soft (though not yet slimy). And finally, I'm happy to confirm that the food at the Porto's in Downey tastes just like the other locations. Potato balls, tamales, chorizo pies (a little dry), the wee lemon poppy seed cakes...all delicious. Time to hit the gym hard!

If you look here, you can see that it is literally two seperate menus - when you get the carryout menus, they are seperate (the American one is long and skinny, and szechuan one is shorter and fatter). In fact, they are so seperate that an order from the Szechuan menu doesn't count towards the minimum for the coupons from the American menu (trust me)! I don't remember how it is laid out in the menu book, since we order from memory now (probably what the other families you saw were doing). All the good food is listed in the entrees and homestyle entrees and house spectials sections, I think nearer to the front of the book. The American stuff is all grouped together towards the back (I think!). They don't even try for the American Chinese there - they just have it because they think the Caucasians expect it. There's even a dish that appears on both menus - Kung Pao Shrimp - and preparations are actually quite different. There is no crossover in goodness or quality between the menus (we have only ordered a couple of dishes off the American menu, but have heard stories from friends and coworkers to confirm). I love the place to death, but it is one of the most striking in my experience for how different people/groups are treated. I would say that, to get the good stuff, you'd have to look carefully on the menu, or come prepared with a list selected from this thread, and prepare to convince them that you want things spicy and numbing. A place like this, you have to be a little forceful to get what you want. Again, I don't think this is a good thing, it's just how you have to navigate when you don't have a pony. Or, just make it the next $20 Tuesday and some folks will come out and help!

The food from the American menu is genuinely terrible. All the good stuff here is on the Szechuan menu. If you're not with Asians when you order there the first (10) time(s), even the food off the Szechuan menu has a good chance of being dumbed down. It's not a good thing, it's just how it is there. If you ever summon the will to go back and try again, check out some of the recommended dishes from this thread, or order whatever looks good around you, especially if you see it on several tables. Don't expect patient or kind service, because you won't get it, even if you go religiously for months. The food is worth it.