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TheLizard
Oct 27, 2004

I am the Lizard Queen!

bunnielab posted:

I might be heading to the Eden Center this weekend, among the twelve banh mi places, does anyone have a favorite?

When are you going? I might be interested in joining.

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bongwizzard
May 19, 2005

Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"
Grimey Drawer

TheLizard posted:

When are you going? I might be interested in joining.

I am going to meet one of the TFR guys and exchange high capacity bullet house baby killing magazines for a sandwich. Diggs might also be there. Plans are still very vague, I will try and firm them up tomorrow.

ChickenArise
May 12, 2010

POWER
= MEAT +
OPPORTUNITY
= BATTLEWORMS

Oakland Martini posted:

Anything fast but good for lunch near the Board of Governors? I'm giving a talk there on Friday and I've got plans all day and night. I'm leaving on Saturday but my flight isn't until 2:45 so I have time for lunch on the way out. Food trucks or something along those lines would be great.

For what it's worth, http://foodtruckfiesta.com/ is pretty good for DC area food trucks.

Fatty_McLumpkin
Sep 30, 2002

Oh I loooove going to the mooon ahaha ahhhahaaa

RBA Starblade posted:

I live five minutes away from it in Fair Lakes and the food there is indeed amazing. I forget the name of it but they have a sliced beef, onion, and mozzarella sandwich that is also great.

Are there any good mediterranean or italian places in or around Fairfax I should try? All I know of it some fast food place for the first, and there's a small restaurant called Cantina D'Italia that's pretty good, but nowhere near as good as the places I found in Bristol and Abingdon down in the south end of the state (of all places). I wouldn't say no to pizzarias either, I found a place called Tony's which is good, but I'm looking for a place that delivers.

If you want some really good Turkish food that is just about as close to authentic as possible with a modern twist, try TurCuisine in the Herndon Worldgate shopping center.

jbeeney
Jan 22, 2004
Where's a good place to go that's near the Verizon Center? As long as it has pizza and/or burgers, my husband will be content. Just trying to find something that's kind of quick before the Caps game on Thursday night since we're taking the metro from Greenbelt and the possible snowstorm screwing everything up.

ChickenArise
May 12, 2010

POWER
= MEAT +
OPPORTUNITY
= BATTLEWORMS

jbeeney posted:

Where's a good place to go that's near the Verizon Center? As long as it has pizza and/or burgers, my husband will be content. Just trying to find something that's kind of quick before the Caps game on Thursday night since we're taking the metro from Greenbelt and the possible snowstorm screwing everything up.

The first thing that comes to mind is RFD. Caveat - it kind of sucks. If you order the right things (beer, burger/bison burger, fish + chips), it's passable. Avoid most of the appetizers (very obviously fried frozen stuff) or anything adventurous. http://www.lovethebeer.com/rfd.html

Alternatively, I want to check out Hill Country, but I haven't yet http://www.hillcountrywdc.com/locations.dc

Bunk Rogers
Mar 14, 2002

Chutzpah was awesome. Thanks thread!

Veritek83
Jul 7, 2008

The Irish can't drink. What you always have to remember with the Irish is they get mean. Virtually every Irish I've known gets mean when he drinks.

ChickenArise posted:

Alternatively, I want to check out Hill Country, but I haven't yet http://www.hillcountrywdc.com/locations.dc

I've really enjoyed Hill Country the 3 or 4 times I've been - I really can't speak to authenticity, but I get the feeling it's hard to screw up slow cooked meat too badly. It can (and will) get pretty crowded before and after Caps games- but then that's true of a lot of places.

sidenote: really sad I didn't go to the Caps game tonight.

drgitlin
Jul 25, 2003
luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.
Hill Country was a bit rubbish last week, and it's really expensive for the quality of the bbq. Oyamel is always consistently good, IMO.

mich
Feb 28, 2003
I may be racist but I'm the good kind of racist! You better put down those chopsticks, you HITLER!

bunnielab posted:

I might be heading to the Eden Center this weekend, among the twelve banh mi places, does anyone have a favorite?

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/02/what-to-eat-at-eden-center-falls-church-vietnamese-food.html

Fairly solid list, though don't know if the pho listed is good, I almost always go to Pho 75 so don't know how Eden Center pho is.

ChickenArise
May 12, 2010

POWER
= MEAT +
OPPORTUNITY
= BATTLEWORMS

mich posted:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/02/what-to-eat-at-eden-center-falls-church-vietnamese-food.html

Fairly solid list, though don't know if the pho listed is good, I almost always go to Pho 75 so don't know how Eden Center pho is.

Thanks for that list. For Pho specifically in Eden center, I'd go a block east and hit up Mr. Pho. Realistically, you aren't going to find a ton of variation, though. And speaking of Pho, I recently went to Nam Viet (Clearendon) and Minh's (Courthouse) in the same weekend. Minh's was easily better Pho, but I do like Nam Viet for other stuff. Nam Viet also has the benefit of being next to Leonora bakery, and I loving love bread.

Biosludge
Mar 17, 2008
A little ways outside of dc, but anyone have some good recommendations for Annapolis? I've never been and will be going up on Saturday to walk around with the girlfriend. Anywhere casual and easy to stop in without a reservation on a Saturday would be great.

I'm in Arlington ... My favorites in the area are Thai Square, Tarbouch (Mediterranean with hookah), District Taco, and the subs from the Italian Store. Favorite restaurant in the whole area would be Zaytinya in the city. So good ...

Veritek83
Jul 7, 2008

The Irish can't drink. What you always have to remember with the Irish is they get mean. Virtually every Irish I've known gets mean when he drinks.
So this may be slightly out of date- haven't been to Annapolis in a few years, but spent 5 there-

Harry Browne's and Lewnes' are both fine-ish dining, but I recommend both. You can probably get away with Harry Browne's on a Saturday night without a reservation.

Late night/casual, there's Chick & Ruth's Deli, which is a very kitschy diner that's pretty fun. There's also an Italian place about halfway up Main from the dock that's really good, but I forget the name- there are two Italian places, but I only ever went to the one on the corner of Main and some very small cross street.

Places to avoid- Treaty of Paris, O'Brien's, all of the chains right by the docks. There's great gelato right by the Phillip's though.

Biosludge
Mar 17, 2008
Thanks for the recommendations! We ended up stopping in Chick and Ruth's which was pretty awesome on a time crunch. Steak and eggs and a chocolate malt milkshake mmmmm

SilentD
Aug 22, 2012

by toby
I usually eat at these places 1-2x a week for work dinner.

http://sushitaro.com/

http://grupolezama.es/portal/la-taberna-del-alaberdero-washington/home

Both are very good.

Bunk Rogers
Mar 14, 2002

Hitting Blue Duck Tavern this weekend. Any recommendations?

bergeoisie
Aug 29, 2004

Bunk Rogers posted:

Hitting Blue Duck Tavern this weekend. Any recommendations?

I thought the bone marrow was really the stand out of all the things we had.

Animale
Sep 30, 2009

Bunk Rogers posted:

Hitting Blue Duck Tavern this weekend. Any recommendations?

I was there like 3 weeks ago. The blood orange sorbet, glazed veal shortbreads, and bone marrow were pretty good. My brussel sprouts were burnt to the point that it negatively affected the rest of my meal (I could taste them until midway through my dessert). My date returned her sweet potato custard twice since it was too salty (it was) and didn't finish her rissoto for to the same reason. I did get a free glass of wine and they sent out free vanilla ice cream/blood orange sorbet with our apple pie, which was good but not nearly as good as people make it out to be in reviews.

cerebral
Oct 24, 2002

My wife and I stayed with my sister in the Clarendon area for 4 days last spring, so my experience is limited, but we ate at a couple of restaurants mentioned in this thread, notably Ray's Hell Burger, Ray's the Steaks, and Minhs.

Hell Burger was ok, and maybe I'm just partial to my local burger joint, but I didn't think it was anything special. Ray's the Steaks was great, I got the Delmonico, and it was probably the best/most flavorful steak I've ever eaten. Minhs was really good, what I remember is the starters we had, the shrimp cakes with the yams and the steamed escargot. The entrees didn't stand out, but the starters brought us back for a second time in four days for our last meal in the DC area.

We also had Banh Mi at a place in the Eden center, and it was amazing, but I have absolutely no idea which restaurant it actually came from as I was driving the car around in circles looking for a parking space while it was purchased.

In the D.C. area we ate at Brasserie Beck, but I wasn't impressed, especially for the price. The Good Stuff Eatery was a mixed bag, my wife loved her Obama burger, but again, I might be fickle, but I didn't think my burger was anything to write home about.

Our most pleasant surprise was the food at the National Gallery of Art, maybe it was the fact that I didn't expect much from a restaurant at a museum, or maybe it was the blissful lack of a million Jr. High students roaming around in pacts of the same primary colored t-shirts, but we had a great lunch there.

ChickenArise
May 12, 2010

POWER
= MEAT +
OPPORTUNITY
= BATTLEWORMS
Has anyone been to the Green Pig in Clarendon yet? It's on the list of places I'm considering next time I can afford a nice meal, and it's a lot closer than Virtue (though I'm also long overdue for a trip to Vermilion)

mightygerm
Jun 29, 2002



Daikaya, the new ramen place in Chinatown, is excellent. I had the mugi-miso, the broth was excellent, and the noodles had just the right amount of crunch.

bongwizzard
May 19, 2005

Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"
Grimey Drawer

mightygerm posted:

Daikaya, the new ramen place in Chinatown, is excellent. I had the mugi-miso, the broth was excellent, and the noodles had just the right amount of crunch.

I keep meaning to go there but the lure of the noodle and dumpling place around the corner is allways too strong.

TheLizard
Oct 27, 2004

I am the Lizard Queen!

Bunk Rogers posted:

Hitting Blue Duck Tavern this weekend. Any recommendations?

Don't order a Manhattan with Woodford Reserve. The stupid bartender didn't know how to ring up a premium Manhattan and we ended up with a $15 shot of whiskey and a $4 spritz of vermouth on the check.

I haven't been that unhappy at a bartender in a long time.

Also the carrots if they're still on the menu.

Wroughtirony
May 14, 2007



I ate at Bastille in Alexandria last week. http://www.bastillerestaurant.com/

It was almost fantastic and the food was mostly great, but as much as I wanted to love it, they have some big kinks to work out. We had the gourmand menu.

Every dish (except the foie gras terrine, that was fantastic) had at least one glaring problem. The romaine salad was underseasoned, the duck was overcooked, the cassoulet was just not very good, the cheese plate was boring (it ran the gamut from camembert to sharp cheddar) and the desserts were forgettable.

Service was uneven but got better as the night went on. There was some obvious disorganization that wasn't entirely our server's fault.


I really hope they were just having an off night because I love their menu, the atmosphere was great and everyone there seemed to really like what they do.

ElHuevoGrande
May 21, 2006

Oh. . .

ChickenArise posted:

Has anyone been to the Green Pig in Clarendon yet? It's on the list of places I'm considering next time I can afford a nice meal, and it's a lot closer than Virtue (though I'm also long overdue for a trip to Vermilion)

I went there a few weeks ago, and loved the food. But it's very crowded, and very, very loud. I might try it again, but not on a weekend.

bongwizzard
May 19, 2005

Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"
Grimey Drawer

mightygerm posted:

Daikaya, the new ramen place in Chinatown, is excellent. I had the mugi-miso, the broth was excellent, and the noodles had just the right amount of crunch.

I went here for lunch the other day and it was great. I got there at like 1:30 and the lush rush was still in full swing.

Bunk Rogers
Mar 14, 2002

Blue Duck exceeded expectations regardless of the rough start.

Finding a table for eight in DC at a nice place is near impossible and unless you book months in advance you're likely to be stuck with a late starting time. Our reservations were for 8:45 but the table reserved for us was camped by the previous group making our official sit down time somewhere around 9:15. The manager was on it immediately and apologetic although we did not see him at all after the sitting.

Our server was good but very slow. It was nearly thirty minutes after sitting that we finally received our drinks and placed our orders. That is when everything turned around.

Apps-
Charcuterie: I never thought I would try Cock's Comb or testicles but I knocked both of them out in an evening and they were good.
Marrow: appetizer blew my side of the table away. My friend who refused to try anything new could not get enough.
Brussel Sprouts: I think they should stop serving this. The majority of yelp reviews were set against them, same as me.
Foie Gras: I've only had it once before and that was at Rosemary's in Vegas. It was just as good.

Entrees-
They lost us for a bit here. I can't say anyone was absolutely blown away by their entree. While each dish was solid only the suckling pig really stood out and that was only in tandem with the side creamy grits.

The steak(I forget the name) was very good.
Duck - Really boring, which is bullshit considering the place is named for one.
BBQ Chicken - Solid but a little boring although the collard marmalade and creamed polenta were great.
As a reflection of how underwhelming the entrees were I can not remember the other two plates had at the table.

Sides
Mashed potatoes: Awesome and the table's favorite.
Creamy grits: These were my favorite. I've only had better at Marvin.
Fries: Sucked, burnt and too salty. These were on the house since the waiter had forgotten to add them to our order. I wish we had forgotten them as well.

Desserts
Reviews stressed the Apple Pie. When you enter the place the first food you see are the pies being prepared. Blame it on the food coma we were in or that it was a bit after 11pm but three of the four couples decided to share a pie with the honey vanilla ice cream. I believe this is where our getting the table late worked to our advantage.

In addition to the three apple pies and whatever tart it was the fourth couple ordered we were sent the following.

Banana S'more: Likely the most fought after plate shared at the table.
Pear&Blueberry Crumble with pistachios and creme fresh: Ridiculously good.
Goat's Milk Caramel Sauce: So good.
Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce: Not so good and I love bittersweet chocolate.
There was something else too which didn't survive long enough to make it in front of me.

In comparison to all the other desserts the Apple Pie was lackluster and dry and we all took the pies we ordered home to finish later. The wife and I housed our's last night. Its very good but the other items were much better.

All together in addition to a round or two of cocktails and we barely broke the $600. I was expecting it to be much more.

I'll definitely be back, just not with so many damned people.

Bunk Rogers fucked around with this message at 17:56 on Mar 25, 2013

Veritek83
Jul 7, 2008

The Irish can't drink. What you always have to remember with the Irish is they get mean. Virtually every Irish I've known gets mean when he drinks.
Went to The Carving Room Kitchen & Bar last weekend, before going to the Syracuse/Marquette game at Verizon. It's over on Mass, on the ground floor of an apartment building. I didn't actually do anything other than drink, but my friend ordered the Mad Man- a shot of rye (I think), a beer and a piece of fried corned beef, served in a shot glass. On that basis (and the fact that they had the River Cottage books on a shelf over the bar), I'm going to have to go back and actually try the food.

Susano-maku da!
Nov 12, 2003

Hi. Did you order the Mongolian… Beef?
I tried Daikaya Ramen last weekend. Disappointing. The shio ramen the broth felt rushed; it had no depth or layers. Not enough smokey flavor from the vegetables, which made sense after seeing the hurried stir fry preparation in action. The additional egg was done well, and the ground pork was nice, but the bamboo shoots didn't have enough flavor and the char siu slice was tasteless. The place felt like it was trying harder to be hip than to just make the ramen.

pr0k
Jan 16, 2001

"Well if it's gonna be
that kind of party..."
Ate at The Pig a few weeks ago. Nice place.

The "Big Pig" charcuterie plate
Crispy pig ear salad
Braised cheek
Porchetta

All were really delicious and excellent. Service was friendly and competent without being overbearing.

I ate at Chutzpah once and I wasn't that impressed - but I had just come back from NY and was craving pastrami...just wasn't as good.

The Muffinlord
Mar 3, 2007

newbid stupie?
I don't really know if this is the place for this, but I work at National Airport and I can say, without a doubt, the fries at the DCA Bistro are the best I've ever had in my life, and their steak & cheese sub(I can't honestly call it a cheesesteak) is pretty drat tasty. It's the best place to grab a meal at the airport, provided you don't mind outdoor seating next to a taxi cab garage. Mainly because the DCA Bistro is located inside the taxi garage. If you're stuck waiting for a flight, head down past terminal A on the ground floor, out the loading dock, and swing by, get a champagne soda, a chicken gyro, and watch some Price Is Right while you wait.

vxk5004
Oct 23, 2008

pr0k posted:

Ate at The Pig a few weeks ago. Nice place.


I was there last month, I liked it too. Had the braised cheek, meatballs, fried oysters, and the bbq pig tails, which really surprised me. They were delicious!

I saw a few places mentioned in Alexandria, anyone know of any others? I'm spending a few days near Ft. Belvoir next week.

ChickenArise
May 12, 2010

POWER
= MEAT +
OPPORTUNITY
= BATTLEWORMS

The Muffinlord posted:

I don't really know if this is the place for this, but I work at National Airport and I can say, without a doubt, the fries at the DCA Bistro are the best I've ever had in my life
Oh really? Anyone else agree/disagree? I love fries and I want to try these. My current favorite are probably Lyon Hall's fries in Clarendon. IIRC they're made w/ duck fat, but even when I get them to go I can smell the rosemary for the whole walk home.

I'm also interested in fried pickles or onion rings. For pickles, I'd go to the Mad Fox in Falls Church (for everything, food + beer, but always get frickles)

vxk5004 posted:

I was there last month, I liked it too. Had the braised cheek, meatballs, fried oysters, and the bbq pig tails, which really surprised me. They were delicious!

I saw a few places mentioned in Alexandria, anyone know of any others? I'm spending a few days near Ft. Belvoir next week.
I've been going to Vermillion for years, Ichiban Sushi was always good to me, Morrison Grille if you want to drop some extra $$ and enjoy yourself, Bistrot Lafayette did nice the one time I went there, Eamonn's is really solid fish & chips, the original Hard Times Cafe is there, Taverna Cretekou for Greek, and I'm chomping at the bit to get to Virtue Feed & Grain. Also, plenty of good bars (Pizzeria Paradiso for beer). That's really only off the top of my head.

drgitlin
Jul 25, 2003
luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

pr0k posted:

Ate at The Pig a few weeks ago. Nice place.

The "Big Pig" charcuterie plate
Crispy pig ear salad
Braised cheek
Porchetta

All were really delicious and excellent. Service was friendly and competent without being overbearing.

I ate at Chutzpah once and I wasn't that impressed - but I had just come back from NY and was craving pastrami...just wasn't as good.

I'm a big fan of the brunch there. Adore the charcuterie plate too.

the_chavi
Mar 2, 2005

Toilet Rascal
Has anyone succeeded in getting into Red Hen yet? My husband and I live two blocks away from it and it's been a nightmare trying to get a table. At this point we're so frustrated with the wait that we'll eat there or die trying!

drgitlin
Jul 25, 2003
luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.
Apparently they hold tables for people in the neighborhood - you could try popping in ~5ish the evening you want to go and asking for a table and they should sms/phone you when the table is ready. I was going to do this last week but we ended up going somewhere else.

Where in the neighborhood are you? We live at 1st and V. It's amazing the change in Bloomingdale over the past few years compared to when the only place to get food was China Dragon or whatever it's called.

RBA Starblade
Apr 28, 2008

Going Home.

Games Idiot Court Jester

I've just gotten a job right off the McPhearson Square metro. Where are some good places to eat around there within a few blocks (or at least walking distance)?

RBA Starblade fucked around with this message at 04:13 on Jun 5, 2013

Walked
Apr 14, 2003

RBA Starblade posted:

I've just gotten a job right off the McPhearson Square metro. Where are some good places to eat around there within a few blocks (or at least walking distance)?

Cafe Mozart is down that way and awesome.
Taylor Gourmet isnt too far up 14th; but its not super close either (It's around T St, so about 7 blocks)

Not sure if youre looking for lunches or dinners, so I'll stop there. :)

the_chavi
Mar 2, 2005

Toilet Rascal

drgitlin posted:

Apparently they hold tables for people in the neighborhood - you could try popping in ~5ish the evening you want to go and asking for a table and they should sms/phone you when the table is ready. I was going to do this last week but we ended up going somewhere else.

Where in the neighborhood are you? We live at 1st and V. It's amazing the change in Bloomingdale over the past few years compared to when the only place to get food was China Dragon or whatever it's called.

No kidding! We've seen a lot of stuff just since we made the offer on our house in January. We're on T street, just across North Cap.

I'll have to give that a try. Every time we've come close to doing that, we've just gone to Bacio instead, because I <3 Bacio and its (Turkish, I think?) owners.

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the_chavi
Mar 2, 2005

Toilet Rascal

Walked posted:

Cafe Mozart is down that way and awesome.
Taylor Gourmet isnt too far up 14th; but its not super close either (It's around T St, so about 7 blocks)

Not sure if youre looking for lunches or dinners, so I'll stop there. :)

Not much - I've tested out the Thai places with my husband for lunch, and while they aren't terrible, they're nothing to write home about. At least at Franklin Square you get a ton of food trucks...

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