After eating noodles at ChinaTown Express, the noodle craving got bigger. We (M and L) remembered that there was a Thai place near Olympians. After seeing good enough ratings on Yelp, we thought, "why not" and went to check it out.
Blah blah...no one in the restaurant...blah blah...not great seats...blah blah...average menu. The point is the food was pretty dang good.
M has the Lard Da w/chicken (
L has the Rice & Spice Noodles, which we both agree looked and tasted like Pad Thai over lettuce(?!?). Really good, though. Not spicy, though I'm sure they'd be happy to oblige.
Anyways, the wide noodles. If you've had Thai wide noodles, you think you know what you're in for. But these wide noodles are best described like this: lasagna sized noodles bathed in a tasty broth. They are relatively uncut, so you get this super-large "noodles" mixed with yumminess. The wide noodles are fantastic, and we both know we don't generally prefer/like wide noodles.
Cost
$$
Cleanliness
Clean.
Service
Good, but we were the only ones...
Pluses
Good noodles, esp. for wide noodles
Large portions (we could split a plate)
Minuses
No music or anything in the restaurant
Little atmosphere
Overall value
Worthwhile.
Monday, January 23, 2012
ChinaTown Express (DC Chinatown)
Fresh noodles. So I'm a sucker for any place that is making something on site like noodles, pasta or even dough fresh/handmade. A colleague suggested this place, as I was craving noodles. The DC area seriously lacks for a good noodle place. This may not be the place, but it wasn't bad.
We ordered noodles (L = noodle soup; friend = fried noodles). Also, we got the steamed pork buns, which were okay. I prefer fried dumplings but whatever. I wouldn't order them but I wouldn't not eat them either.
The noodle soup: Noodles were thick, which was a little surprising. They were slight overdone, too, but I prefer overdoneness on thicker noodles, so this wasn't an issue. What was an issue was the bland flavor of the soup. This isn't anything to write home about, but at the same time, the noodles themselves were good enough that I'd come back if I had a craving or someone wanted to come here.
The fried noodles: He said, "The noodles were good; not great."
Cost
$-$$
Cleanliness
Didn't really pay attention and not sure I want to.
Service
Servicable.
Pluses
Price
Fresh noodles
Minuses
It's overall just an average experience
Overall value
Not bad. Again, would come back in a pinch or if someone else wanted to go. It's not terrible, though.
We ordered noodles (L = noodle soup; friend = fried noodles). Also, we got the steamed pork buns, which were okay. I prefer fried dumplings but whatever. I wouldn't order them but I wouldn't not eat them either.
The noodle soup: Noodles were thick, which was a little surprising. They were slight overdone, too, but I prefer overdoneness on thicker noodles, so this wasn't an issue. What was an issue was the bland flavor of the soup. This isn't anything to write home about, but at the same time, the noodles themselves were good enough that I'd come back if I had a craving or someone wanted to come here.
The fried noodles: He said, "The noodles were good; not great."
Cost
$-$$
Cleanliness
Didn't really pay attention and not sure I want to.
Service
Servicable.
Pluses
Price
Fresh noodles
Minuses
It's overall just an average experience
Overall value
Not bad. Again, would come back in a pinch or if someone else wanted to go. It's not terrible, though.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Italian Store (Lee Hwy meets Spout Run -- middle of nowhere Alrington)
Extremely popular deli/Italian grocer/eatery that serves some of the BEST subs/italian hoagies in the area. Waiting to place your order seems a time-honored tradition, but think on two things when you think you should not be waiting: 1) if these subs weren't this good, would there be this type of wait EVERYDAY? and 2) if other places made subs that were remotely close to being this good, would there be this type of wait EVERYDAY? Yeah, that's right. You wait until your number comes up.
Or you could get the to-go hoagies, but that's limited to two types, so if you want, you wait. And you'll like it.
The pizzas are so-so.
One of the first places we tried. We really found some gems early on here. Thank goodness for that! And when we first came, it didn't have any signage outside or anything. Some obscure place that had good reviews. You would have never known it was there. And still hard to see from the road.
Cost
$-$$
Cleanliness
Prep area seems clean enough.
Service
That's not what you're here for.
Pluses
Best subs in the area
Outdoor seating
Minuses
You will wait
It's kind of out of the way
Only outdoor seating so if all the tables are taken, you take it to go
Overall value
One of the best bang-for-your-buck places.
Or you could get the to-go hoagies, but that's limited to two types, so if you want, you wait. And you'll like it.
The pizzas are so-so.
One of the first places we tried. We really found some gems early on here. Thank goodness for that! And when we first came, it didn't have any signage outside or anything. Some obscure place that had good reviews. You would have never known it was there. And still hard to see from the road.
Cost
$-$$
Cleanliness
Prep area seems clean enough.
Service
That's not what you're here for.
Pluses
Best subs in the area
Outdoor seating
Minuses
You will wait
It's kind of out of the way
Only outdoor seating so if all the tables are taken, you take it to go
Overall value
One of the best bang-for-your-buck places.
Carlyle (Shirlington)
A higher-end casual restaurant we somewhat frequent, , especially to celebrate special occasions, located on the marquee corner in Shirlington. This was the first DC-area restaurant we ate at.
Still haven't tried the brunch, but hear it's great.
Cost
$$$
Cleanliness
Clean
Service
Good service (more times than not -- this may be slipping...grrrr)
Pluses
Filet mignon - some of the best anywhere.
Crab cakes - some of the best anywhere.
And that they occasionally offer the two above together...GOLD!
Outdoor seating
Location
Minuses
Price makes it prohibitive. But for the special nights, this is a nice place because the food is excellent.
No upstair bathroom (minor but annoying)
Overall value
Good for a nice night out. They make the food well and seem to use good ingredients. Service and seating can be tough on the busy nights. Go during non-peak hours.
Still haven't tried the brunch, but hear it's great.
Cost
$$$
Cleanliness
Clean
Service
Good service (more times than not -- this may be slipping...grrrr)
Pluses
Filet mignon - some of the best anywhere.
Crab cakes - some of the best anywhere.
And that they occasionally offer the two above together...GOLD!
Outdoor seating
Location
Minuses
Price makes it prohibitive. But for the special nights, this is a nice place because the food is excellent.
No upstair bathroom (minor but annoying)
Overall value
Good for a nice night out. They make the food well and seem to use good ingredients. Service and seating can be tough on the busy nights. Go during non-peak hours.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Clyde's (DC - Gallery Place)
L got sick here. That's really all we need to say.
Cost
$$$
Minuses
Steak didn't seems to be NY strip...
Overall value
L got sick after eating here. What else is there to say.
Cost
$$$
Minuses
Steak didn't seems to be NY strip...
Overall value
L got sick after eating here. What else is there to say.
The Original Pancake House (Falls Church)
Not the one that was on 7, but the new one on 29. What an improvement.
We went sometime in 2009/10 to the one on 7. Then, the food was good, but the place was tightly packed, poorly lit, with terrible parking. Now the place is bright, well-spaced and plenty of parking.
We've been twice in the past few months and the food is great and the service is pretty good, too.
L - 1st visit - Praline (seasonal) pancakes; 2nd - Pumpkin pancakes
M - 1st - Cinnamon apple pancakes; 2nd - Buckwheat-GA pecan pancakes
Thoroughly enjoyed both visits. We do take our own maple syrup, because no one offers it... (boo!)
Peeking over at other tables, their omelets are obscene. They look to be 8" round and 2 1/2" thick. Packed with whatever its filling is. Eating one on your own may make for happy taste buds but an unhappy heart.
Cost
$$
Cleanliness
Very clean.
Service
Great.
Pluses
Really good food
Friendly staff
Bright and open tables
Minuses
Distance
Price...maybe?
Overall value
Good value and it's probably lucky that it's not close or we'd be here very often.
We went sometime in 2009/10 to the one on 7. Then, the food was good, but the place was tightly packed, poorly lit, with terrible parking. Now the place is bright, well-spaced and plenty of parking.
We've been twice in the past few months and the food is great and the service is pretty good, too.
L - 1st visit - Praline (seasonal) pancakes; 2nd - Pumpkin pancakes
M - 1st - Cinnamon apple pancakes; 2nd - Buckwheat-GA pecan pancakes
Thoroughly enjoyed both visits. We do take our own maple syrup, because no one offers it... (boo!)
Peeking over at other tables, their omelets are obscene. They look to be 8" round and 2 1/2" thick. Packed with whatever its filling is. Eating one on your own may make for happy taste buds but an unhappy heart.
Cost
$$
Cleanliness
Very clean.
Service
Great.
Pluses
Really good food
Friendly staff
Bright and open tables
Minuses
Distance
Price...maybe?
Overall value
Good value and it's probably lucky that it's not close or we'd be here very often.
Pizza Autentica (DC on 7th)
This place. Argh! So close to good pizza, but it's always something in this area. For Pizza Autentica, the dough is just too doughy. The sauce - very good. The toppings - good enough. The cheese - actually pretty good. The dough - too much!
The strombolis are good, though, and help counteract the dough issue. I like the veggie pizza (barring the dough), though a veggie coworker doesn't. A cheese slice with a light dusting of garlic powder is awesome...if not for that dang dough.
Cost
$
Cleanliness
It's fast food. You know what you're getting into...
Service
Good.
Pluses
Good toppings
Good cheese blend
The behind-the-counter set-up is right (so easy to mess that up)
Minuses
The dough!
That door near the cash register
Overall value
Fair value, especially for DC. If you really can get over the major complaint...can you guess what it is? Think Homer Simpson...
The strombolis are good, though, and help counteract the dough issue. I like the veggie pizza (barring the dough), though a veggie coworker doesn't. A cheese slice with a light dusting of garlic powder is awesome...if not for that dang dough.
Cost
$
Cleanliness
It's fast food. You know what you're getting into...
Service
Good.
Pluses
Good toppings
Good cheese blend
The behind-the-counter set-up is right (so easy to mess that up)
Minuses
The dough!
That door near the cash register
Overall value
Fair value, especially for DC. If you really can get over the major complaint...can you guess what it is? Think Homer Simpson...
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