Tommy Thai (Franconia-Springfield) [CLOSED]

Tucked away in an anonymous shopping center is Tommy Thai -- a place you pass by, say "Tippy Thai" or "Sada Te", laugh and roll on by.  At least that's what we did dozens of times before M's friend said it's really good. So we go. Are we ever glad we did.

We go in, and it looks good enough. We're seated very quickly and look over the menu -- typical Thai restaurant menu end to end. That's not a bad thing, but something to note. We decide to go with 2 appetizers and 1 meal.

Appetizer 1 - Dumplings
These seafood balls tucked away in a rice-noodle pouch set a good tone for what was to come.  They could be enjoyed with or without the simple, but tasty, sauce. Delicate fishy scent, but without an overpowering "fish" flavor. Yum!

Appetizer 2 - Satay
Fantastic. Simply awesome. The chicken was the juiciest pieces of chicken L thinks he ever had (and being from GA, that's really saying a lot). Well marinaded where you could taste the marinade and the chicken evenly. Nice! The side peanut sauce was very tasty, with a little bit of extra flavor. Get two orders and you could leave happy. There. Said, and believe it. Took M

Main course - Spicy Basil
In some ways, this was the perfect complement to appetizers. The two were so exciting, that a calmer, measured spicy basil pork with rice posed a nice change of pace. Simple and straight forward, the chef knew how to be sensitive to the spiciness. The waiter said 3.5 stars sounded right, and boy, was he on the money.  "It tips on that edge between medium and hot. The spicing is perfectly done." While the pork itself did not have succulence or juiciness, in the context of the dish it still was fine.  Better to be slightly overdone than under.

Portion size was just right.  Otherwise, with two main courses, we should order one each. It's just enough. We should likely go during lunch when possible.


Cost 
$$

Cleanliness 
Very clean.

Service
Great service by Bill. He was a hoot and really seemed to engage with the customers (L listened out for it)

Pluses 
Satay
Well-handled spices (big plus)
Good service (this cannot be underestimated)
Nicely lit (daytime)
Satay

Minuses
Portion could have been a little bigger on the entree
Would be nice if they offered beef, lamb or pork satay and not just chicken
Would have been nice with a cucumber sauce (ask M if uncertain what the heck this means)
No skinny noodles...prevalent issue in NoVA/DC area

Overall value
Better than average value because the food is really good. However, for Thai there are several "nice to haves" that would make this better. On the whole (and especially the DC metro area), there's few that are this good.  Bonus points because they can make sweet tea using simple sugar.

Delia's Pizza & Grill (Springfield)

Big Note: We stopped going here because of quite a few sanitary issues being reported on Yelp.  That's just unacceptable and we have been options.  Olympians being one.

Prior review
Was really looking for a good, tasty gyro in the Springfield area.  Searched the web and found Delia's was rated four stars on Yelp and that there were not many bad reviews, and the ones that were bad weren't because of the food or the establishment itself, but personal tastes/expectations.  We were warned to expect big portions, too. And we expect places with reviews that like the come through. Boy, did she.

We started with the dolmades.  Eight tasty fig wraps surrounding a small light greek salad.  Very basic, which also means very good. However, the one drawback is it was mostly rice, so while tasty despite this, if you go in expecting/wanting/expecting more filling variety, you'll be disappointed on that part.

L ordered a gyro wrap. Thinking that would be it, we were told, "Well, it comes with a side" -- fries, garlic mashed potato, plantains, yuca, and several other that I didn't hear because I stopped listening at yuca and plantains.  Plantains are maduros, not tostones, so I passed, instead ordering the yuca.  So L's meal ended up being four dolmades and a plate of yuca, because they brought me what was like one-and-a-half yucas, cubed, fried a perfect golden shade of awesome. It came with two sauces: one "regular" mayonessa sauce (likely mayo, garlic, paprika and tumeric) and one chili sauce (pureed peppers of a green variety).  Both were good, but that chili sauce was quite notable because it was different and had a nice spiciness.  Not too much, but a steady spice.

The gyro was tasty...all four bites taken from it.  Not because the portion was that small, but because we were so full!  Can't wait to see how well it is the next day.

M ordered a calzone with ham, spinach, onion and black olives.  It was big.  Let's put it this way, cut in half, it spanned across the normal-sized to-go box. Tasty and very toasted, but...it was not as crispy as expected. On its own merit, it was delicious. I hesitate to unfairly compare it to other calzones. The lack of crispy shell is the only minor complaint. It will make a hopefully, good next day meal.

Things to try in future visits: pasta carbonara (because they know it should have pancetta), chicken poblano, dessert, and the Wednesday pasta BOGO for 2.95 (seriously).

Cost
$$ -- It will sneak up on you if you aren't paying attention.

Cleanliness
Clean.

Service
Quite good and notable. Our waitress Megan was a great, funny saleswoman ("When we see you tomorrow...") and made our first trip a fun time out. It wasn't that busy, and it was quite notable how other staff would come by to pitch in and make sure we were taken care of. Definitely added positively to the experience.

Pluses 

Portions -- Everything you may read on Yelp or Yahoo reviews are all true.
Service.
Variety -- They have a wide array of food options. Some can see this as a negative (as one reviewer wrote: Do one thing well, then branch out).  But the positive is you need a go-to place that hits multiple things well enough for those nights you may not know what to eat and want to avoid a chain.
Local-owned mom-n-pop.

Minuses
Maybe the price but honestly, you can split a meal and two drinks and come out around $20 for two.

Overall value

Great value as you'll be paying for two meals in one and quality of ingredients.