Jump to content

Covid19 - Overall Takeout Experiences


Pool Boy

Recommended Posts

Note - not sure where to post this so feel free to move as appropriate.

Here's a list of places we have ordered takeout from since the beginning of March, and impressions of overall experience  --

Pasta Plus (Laurel) got a last pizza or two in before they shut down completely. They were supposed to open up this week but in anticipation of this, they tested all workers and one was positive for Covid19, so they are pushing the opening a bit while they really deep-clean.

Facci (Fulton/Columbia) - Easy to order, easy to pick up. Really good pizzas. People need to figure out how to social distance while doing pick  up.

G&M (Linthicum Heights) - They did a serious, serious amount of carryout business (they always have) and had 3 people on crowd control, line management. Still, people need to learn social distancing. With all of that effort, it was still a bit of a mess determining if it was you they were calling to give you your food. Excellent food, though.

Annabelle (DC) - Twice. One time involved the buger and other goodies. The next time involved the chicken, steak with mushrooms and frites and also a pasta course to share, Each time the food was delicious and easy pickup. They did not have colored labels or anything explaining what things went with what things (there was a salad involved) so one of the dishes on one of the times was a dud as a result of our likely misinterpretation. But still recommended. We'd be there 1-2 times a week if we lived in city.

Kinship (DC) - Went for date night and reported in thread. Excellent all around exacept the stacking of pickup times involved some confusion and waiting. Still recommended. My wife recommends they get a proofreader before they send out emails though.

Amber Spice (Laurel) - Great Indian food. They set up a table in the door way so you could not walk in. They brought the food and the credit card stuff right there - super easy. Delicious.

Bella Indian & Italian (Laurel) - This was some folks that brought Indian and Nepalese food to a place that used to be Italian and they have blended the two. Had two pizzas - a plain margherita and a butter chicken pizza. Everything NOT involving the crust was fine (except my wife made me order the butter chicken pizza mild - I said we should order it a bit more spicey - at the end of dinner she told me I was right) - delicious even. But man alive the dough and crust is just awful, awful crap - food industrial complex rev A pizza dough. Ugh. Not sure about the rest of the food, but if you order a pizza, just scrape all of the toppings off and eat just that as the dough is just...no.

Thai at Laurel (Laurel) - Decent Thai - this ne we got as delivery and it survived the travel well and was solid.

Trattoria e Pizzeria (Columbia) - Very good pizza, easy pick up. Recommended.

Bertucci's (Columbia) - This was ordered because it is decent pizza that is deliverywhen we were lazy as hell.

Mintwood Place (DC) - Easy pick up and ordering and delicious food, held up pretty well. But the pickup was slightly complicated since they did not explain to not come in for pickup until they called you.

Kudos to DC for clearing parking near restaurants for pickup temporary parking.

We wished we lived near more better food pickup and delivery options so we could do more of it. That said, we've been tipping about 30-35% during all of this because hey, we NEED to.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Pool Boy said:

Kinship (DC) - Went for date night and reported in thread. Excellent all around exacept the stacking of pickup times involved some confusion and waiting. Still recommended. My wife recommends they get a proofreader before they send out emails though.

I am available for proofreading duties. Over the years Don Rocks has complemented me on my proofreading skills many a time! 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Curious question - is there a good source of info that advises which restaurants are open only for dine-in (outside or insie - I am not ready for either) versus which are either exclusively or in addition offering takeout (outside of going to lots of restaurant websites and determining what they do)?

My birthday and my wife's birthday are coming up and we usually spurge on a great meal out, but we are not comfortable doing that at all just yet.

But, we'd still like a kick ass meal. Any suggestions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know of a listing of such things, but I would go with Rose's Luxury.  They deliver within 30 miles of Capitol Hill using their own employees, not a contracted delivery service.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have had nothing but mediocre to terrible delivery experiences. Maybe I order the wrong things from the wrong places. New Big Wong was disappointing. Pork chops were gristly and tough. Joe's Seafood, looked like the driver had shaken the box, they pack bread and butter packets on top of hot food so that it melts and is VERY EXPENSIVE. Joe's fried chicken has been recommended to me, but I haven't done it yet. Il Canale in Georgetown has decent pizza if you keep it simple and desserts. City Lights of China has fairly consistent food but has had the most delivery problems- lateness, cancelled orders. Miss Saigon in Georgetown can't seem to make up their minds what they are doing. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Mark Slater said:

I have had nothing but mediocre to terrible delivery experiences. Maybe I order the wrong things from the wrong places. New Big Wong was disappointing. Pork chops were gristly and tough. Joe's Seafood, looked like the driver had shaken the box, they pack bread and butter packets on top of hot food so that it melts and is VERY EXPENSIVE. Joe's fried chicken has been recommended to me, but I haven't done it yet. Il Canale in Georgetown has decent pizza if you keep it simple and desserts. City Lights of China has fairly consistent food but has had the most delivery problems- lateness, cancelled orders. Miss Saigon in Georgetown can't seem to make up their minds what they are doing. 

The problem is we don't know who's staffing the kitchen.  Chinese joints in my normal rotation are hit and miss these days as a result.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've been doing carryout about once a week, for the past 3 months.  No delivery and 99% is in the Woodbridge area.  We want to support the local restaurants, but we also like variety, so we don't have a favorite restaurant that we hit constantly.  Having said that, these have been our experiences so far:

The Shakin' Crab (Manassas)

Yum, easy online ordering and safe easy pick-up. They had a plexi shield and sliding tray below it that they put your bag into and, sort of like some banks have. We did the Special #1 and cajun fries.

Astoria Pizza Restaurant (Woodbridge)

We’d seen good reviews and we thought it was OK but not worth the drive from our house.

Arepas Capitol USA (Woodbridge)

Been twice, like it.  Easy to order over the phone and counter right near the door for pick-up.  We’ve tried a couple of the sandwiches and the appetizer sampler platter.

Kabob G (Woodbridge)

Easy online ordering, with fields for notes like NO CILANTRO.  Got the food as ordered and it was very good.

Dok Khao Thai Eatery (Woodbridge)

Not sure if it was because of Mother’s Day weekend, but this place was a madhouse in terms of them trying to keep track of the status of orders and the kitchen.  It took 40 min to get the confirmation email and then my husband waited at the restaurant for over an hour to get our order.  The food was good but e probably won't go back.

Skrimp Shack (Dumfries)

We have been a few times pre-COVID and happy to see they were doing well.  Easy online ordering and curbside pick-up.

Wok & Pho (Woodbridge)

Easy online ordering but the Thai curry was not very spicy to according to my husband.  I got the Thai basil fried rice, which I’d had pre-COVID, and enjoyed as much as I previously had. 

Almita's Mexican Restaurant (Woodbridge)

Not easy to order over phone, but the food was good.  I think they’ve improved their ordering system since then.

Dixie Bones (Woodbridge)

We went here in early April. Easy online ordering, well packaged with instructions.

Crosby's Crabs (Woodbridge)

The ordering/pick-up table was outside but I saw a distinct lack of face masks.  The shrimp and crabs were good, but I don’t think we’ll go back.

KikiRiki (Woodbridge)

This is a Peruvian restaurant that we’d been to pre-COVID.  Good spacing inside, but some customers had issues following/understanding the traffic flow.  But it was not overly crowded and We enjoyed the food.  We had a whole chicken and tripe soup, which covered us for 2 meals. 

Taste of Tandoor (Woodbridge)

This was another restaurant that we’d been to pre-COVID and happy to see they were doing well. 

Jangko Japanese Restaurant (Woodbridge)

Phone ordering.  We liked the Korean Spicy Chirashi & Yakisoba which we ordered with sushi, and it made 2 meals for us.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We recently got Kaz Sushi Bistro - Excellent and everything traveled well, washed it down with an excellent Billecart Salmon brut reserve.

Taqueria Los Primos (North Laurel, MD) - very good tacos and guacamole and chips

Annabelle (for celebrating our two birthdays) - excellent

Oh and Pasta Plus has been open for carry out for maybe 4-5 weeks now and we've been getting stuff there again as well.

Amber Spice (South Laurel, MD) - excellent Indian food. Tried the biryani recently and my wife opted to try the lorma with lamb instead of chicken and I may have taken her over to the dark side.

Gha-Rahm (Beltsville, MD) - Got this as delivery and it was solid and good. We hadn't tried there in quite some time, but we enjoyed it - will get more from here again soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have been doing local places in the Cleveland Park and Woodley Park area which we can walk to.

The sandwiches from Duke's Counter have been great.  The fries are good but steam in the take out counter so they are no longer crisp.  But if you reheat them on a sheet pan in the oven they come out decent.

Bindaas and Sababa have both done good jobs.

Spices already did a lot of take out so it's pretty much the same. The sushi has been ok, the ginger salad great, and the fried spring rolls good.

Similarly Siam House already did a lot of take out. We always order the same: Penang tofu and a noodle dish.

Similarly with Indique.  We have ordered a couple of times and no different from pre-corona.  Delicious.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/9/2020 at 6:02 PM, Mark Slater said:

I have had nothing but mediocre to terrible delivery experiences. Maybe I order the wrong things from the wrong places. New Big Wong was disappointing. Pork chops were gristly and tough. Joe's Seafood, looked like the driver had shaken the box, they pack bread and butter packets on top of hot food so that it melts and is VERY EXPENSIVE. Joe's fried chicken has been recommended to me, but I haven't done it yet. Il Canale in Georgetown has decent pizza if you keep it simple and desserts. City Lights of China has fairly consistent food but has had the most delivery problems- lateness, cancelled orders. Miss Saigon in Georgetown can't seem to make up their minds what they are doing. 

These restaurants, other than Il Canale, are all simply awful, with the exception of Joe's where you can buy your way out of awfulness with enough money.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Curry Place (Germantown) - We went here last night after a long bike ride and got carry-out. Hubby likes the chicken ghost curry and I like the lamb saag.  We also got the appetizer sampler, as well as an assortment of breads.  The sesame paratha tasted a bit dry to me, but the chicken & cheese naan was good as was everything else and very well packaged. 

Sushi Bae (Lake Ridge) - We've been trying to figure out when they were open since the pandemic began.  First they were closed for renovations, that extended, and now they are closed on Sunday and Monday, but you only know this if you listen to their VM message.  We finally visited last Saturday and got an assortment of special rolls and a hibachi dinner.  The rolls were good, but I think I'll way until the pandemic is over to try hibachi again as it's not the same when boxed up.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Poke Mian (Woodbridge) - This place finally opened in December and we decided to try it for NYE.  Easy online ordering, and was ready on time.  The poke itself was very tasty with a nice selection of proteins, sauces and toppings and we tried the curry chicken dumplings as well.  My husband usually doesn't like dumplings, but the wrappers for these for thicker and chewy and very enjoyable.  I'd definitely go back again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...