Ziv's Profile
Ocean City seafood? [moved from Washington DC/Baltimore board]
Getting good seafood in OC isn't easy, which is odd considering how much seafood is brought into the bay on fishing boats every day, but I guess that isn't how things work anymore... Anyway, Phillips used to have a decent, not great, but decent restaurant at 12th and Boardwalk but it is closed now and the others haven't been worth visiting for as long as I can remember. Green Turtle is one of my favorite bars, and it does crabcakes fairly well, you get 3 little ones on a plate and they are pretty good.
My favorite seafood place in OC isn't in OC, it is in West OC off 611. Captains Galley has really good crabcakes, pretty good Maryland Crab Soup and their fried fish sandwich is big and meaty, really good.
"Least Favorite Vegetable" Poll
LOL. My ex-girlfriend used to hate asparagus because it makes ur*** smell funny. Flatulence is relatively common, but asparagus, now that is unusual.
Soft Shell Crabs in DC
I stopped by Thai Square and had the basil softshell crabs again, not as great this time. Good, but not that good. But anything with basil is worth trying. Photo below. And they were $23 for two, now, which is around $4 more than they used to be. Ouch.
Soft Shell Crabs in DC
Thanks for the heads up! I had them there a couple years ago and they were delicious! Then I completely forgot about them... Not a good sign at my age.
best place to buy fish in NoVa
I stayed on Kanawa island off of Flores in Indo years ago and the local fishermen would beach their boat off the side of the beach and let us look in the live well and we could bargain with the fisherman for the price of the still swimming fish and then he would hold it up for a couple seconds so the 'chef' could see it and then we would bargain with the chef to see how much he would charge to cook a fish we bought and brought to him. The crazy thing was, the yellowfin tuna we ate cost around $3 to pay the fisherman and about $4 to pay the chef and it fed 6 of us. And the fisherman looked like he thought he had taken us, so he must have expected less if he took it to Labuhan Bajo and sold it at market.
A living fish, as fresh as fresh can be, nearly 3 feet long, prepared by a decent chef/cook, and it cost around $7.
Of course this was in '98.
I have the picture of us at the table somewhere, I will have to find it.
Soft Shell Crabs in DC
Seaside Crab House. It is not the most attractive place, but they deliver some pretty good seafood.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/seaside-crab-house-falls-church
Soft Shell Crabs in DC
The Cajun Vietnamese place in Eden Center has them, 2 for $16.50 or so. Very nice, slightly spicy, mostly crispy, served on top of hot green peppers and a cold salad, but it works. Rice on the side, extra onjay or mampha (sp?) chili sauce. Had one slightly off piece, the rest was delicious.
Good news for crab lovers!
I wonder what effect this will have on crab prices, very few of my friends consider eating crab now. When I was at College Park in the 80's there were take out crab shacks all over, now almost all are gone. I think pretty soon crab shacks will have gone the way of the old blue collar oyster bars, priced out of existence and gone for so long that most people don't even remember them. I remember chicken necking for crabs with my girlfriend bayside at OC in '84 and getting nearly a bushel in 2 hours, it would be great if kids can do that again this year.
DD Barbecue - Sterling, VA
Dennis, I must have just missed you, I was there the same day but earlier. I came at 11:30'ish and they weren't ready so I went up to the river for a walk. Came back at noon and there were 4 parties waiting patiently for their food. I ordered the pork half slab but it wasn't ready so I went with the brisket sandwich instead. It was pretty good, though I wish the bun was a bit bigger that is small stuff. The beans I really liked a lot and the slaw was different but cool as well. I really liked the look of the pork ribs, I will definitely go back to see how they taste! I haven't seen ribs look that good this close to DC. Could the old rule that you can't get good ribs near the DC line be going away?
There is a picture of Kerry and his BBQ below.
Blacksalt, Lauberge Chez Francois, BLT or... ?
My girlfriend took me to L'Auberge one time and it was a charming experience. The food was very good, the service was attentive but not obtrusive, and the setting is kind of cute. All in all it was a very nice experience. The food wasn't great but it was very good. My girlfriend had the sole and I had the tournedos and they were both delicious. We finished with some sort of glazed torte that was spectacular and I don't usually do deserts.
I have never been to Black Salt, but I would imagine the food there would be a step above L'Auberge, but again, I have no personal experience with it.
Need help in I-95-adjacent NoVA
For Thai I would hit Arlington, either Bangkok 54 or Thai Square. Get anything with basil, squid or pork belly. Also, Sakulthai (Alexandria) has a pretty good floating market soup, really rich and flavorful. In your area, I still kind of like Dixie Bones, so it hasn't changed much since you left I would guess. Not great, but good.
Breakfast in NOVA.
Bob & Edith's isn't great, but it is good and the service if friendly & the crowd is fun.
Ground venison?
It makes a great pulled venison bbq in the crockpot. Also if you butterfly the tenderloins (2" down to 1" a side) and quick fry them in butter and sliced mushrooms with a toss of rough ground black pepper, delicious! Don't grill venison unless you are an expert, it is really lean so it is hard to get right unless you really know what you are doing, or you wrap it in bacon!
Help! Best hamburger in DC?
Thanks for the heads up, Mike! I really love Rays but 10 oz. of burger is a bit much for this old guy. It takes me a week to work it off nowadays. I think I will stop by for a little devil Monday! Love those big Rays burgers but moderation is a virtue.
Wait a minute, you are saying that the 10 oz is $9.99 now? Wow, prices have skyrocketed! They used to be $6.99. That is too bad, but how come my Mom isn't getting more when she auctions her Angus yearlings in the fall? Some of her cattle have probably graced Rays table in the past. ;-)
Easy, cheap eats in DC - do they even exist?
I will second Kohinoor as being tasty and good value. The guys that were working there were very cool and just asking about something as simple as achar got me major street cred, which is kind of sad. But they took good care of me and the food was slightly spicy, not blandified. The naan was hit or miss with the first two being really good and the 3rd and 4th being a bit dry. Well worth the money and it is fun to support a small business, and I think I will go back and work my way through some more good chow.
Been hitting Minerva Express on Lee near Glebe, pretty good stuff there too.
Need Current Info re: Best Crabcake
I spent a couple weeks up between Ellsworth and Machiasport, and the casual excellence of most of the seafood there kind of irritated me. Even a simple fish sandwich was really good, and the chowders were phenomenal. The lobster pounds are kind of pricey but there is always a good, reasonable cafe nearby. I have a feeling that the Chesapeake Bay was like that 50 years ago. Don't get me wrong, I think the Bay has great seafood, but it ain't easy to find a seafood bargain around here.
Need Current Info re: Best Crabcake
Hon, I have heard that but I haven't seen it reflected in prices, but since the news, and the increased numbers, are so new, maybe the prices have yet to come down? Or is the demand for crabs so high now that we will be importing homogenized crab from SE Asia due to the lack of winter harvest of crabs?
I used to chicken neck for my own crabs because the price was too high to eat in the crab shacks and now the price is even higher.
Everyday Eating: Restaurants you frequent
Nearly 2 years after my last post on TECC, I have come around to Steve's point of view on the cabrito/goat. Delicious! But I am not as enamored with the chorizo now. But TECC is still my favorite taco around. I went to La Mexicana in Alex on the recommendation of several people on this board, and it was good, just not as good as TECC.
Maryland Style Fried Chicken???
I do like the pricing. 'Everything, it is 4000 Kyat!'
Which is what, $5US or so in the real world?
And I do like monkeyerotica's comment on the crinkle cut fries and the lack of a pineapple slice, it is just so darned hard to get authentic Maryland Fried Chicken in Burma now-a-days!
I have a deep dark secret that I will reveal for the first time here on Chowhound. I believe I may be responsible for the sudden popularity of 'Hawaiian Pizza' on Ko Tao and Ko Phangan 14 years ago. Since ham and pineapple was all over the market, I figured 'what could it hurt?' I asked the chef, Pan, at New Way to make it in 1998, and before I left the island a month and a half later, it was on the chalkboards of half the cafes on Sairee Beach. I hadn't seen it at all during my trip in 1994 and suddenly it was everywhere when I left in '98.
I apologize, sincerely, but some mistakes you just can't escape the consequences of...
Need Current Info re: Best Crabcake
Faidleys crabcake isn't "Maryland Style"? I have to admit that I am from Montana right up front, so my idea of Maryland seafood is a recent acquisition, (since I lived at Ocean City in the mid-80's to be exact), but I had no idea Faidley's wasn't the real deal. I have actually dragged my brother to Faidley's and it is located in a predominately African American neighborhood, but that isn't really a big deal. Is it?
Back in the 80's Faidleys was considered to have the best crab cake in Baltimore, they have the awards to prove it. Have they gotten worse or has everyone else gotten better?
I remember in the 80's there were a half dozen crab shacks within a few miles of UMCP, I don't think there are nearly as many now. Is the die off of the Chesapeake blue crabs simply making the crabcake and a bushel of steamed crabs too expensive to be anything but a rare treat?
BMore hound down in Arlington -- tell me where to go!
Steve, since Saltenas are back on the radar, so to speak, it may be time for the CIA/CENTCOM directive on eating Saltenas in the proper manner should be shared on this site.
http://issuu.com/markow/docs/how_to_eat_a_salte_a_or_the_strategic_salte_a_cons
BMore hound down in Arlington -- tell me where to go!
Kukubura, it is 0.9 mile from EFC Metro to Eden center, so it is a bit of a walk but worth it. You start in Arlington's East Falls Church Metro stop, (we have so many we let Falls Church in on our western one) and you go south on Sycamore past the dog park until Sycamore's name changes to Roosevelt, which is when you know you are in Falls Church. A few blocks later at the top of a slight rise, you see Eden Center to your right with a huge yellow and red flag of the Republic of Vietnam. Hu Tieu is beyond the flag. And as you noted, it is well worth exploring, though more so in the day time. Gets slightly seedy after dark.
BMore hound down in Arlington -- tell me where to go!
Still love Pho 75 for tai nam gan, delicious. French drip coffee brewed on top of your cup with a dollop of condensed/sweetened milk is great too.
Taqueria el Caminante Charito on Wash Blvd is good, the goat tacos are best, lengua next, chicken and chorizo are only ok.
We have Eden Center which is a little bit of Viet Nam in Arlington/Falls Church, my favorite is Hu Tieu Mi cafe for not surprisingly their Hu Tieu which is really good, their cha gio is good too. No credit cards if memory serves.
Crisp and Juicy is my favorite for peruvian rotisserie chicken, crisp delicious skin and great sides. A simple beans and rice is delicious.
Thai Square for a nearly Thai type of Thai food, which is pretty amazing. Anything with pork belly or basil is great. Bangkok 54 is almost as good and looks much fancier. Both on Columbia Pike.
What has happened to Canned Corned Beef?
I will have to check, gives me a good reason to go back to Clarendon since I avoid it now. As Yogi put it, "Nobody goes there anymore. Its too crowded!"
What has happened to Canned Corned Beef?
Hmmm... I used to get my chorizo there, it was pretty good. And their butcher cut something that resembled a ribeye that was incredibly tasty, tough, but tasty. Butcher shop is gone then?
New Bad to the Bone Smokehouse BBQ Restaurant in Gainesville, VA
This is the picture of the 3 meat platter with pulled pork, brisket, ribs, potato salad and beans. All in all, the food was pretty darned good. Not great, but the staff and the lack of great barbecue in the area make it worth an extra star, in my book.
New Bad to the Bone Smokehouse BBQ Restaurant in Gainesville, VA
I was out in Loudoun County at sundown, so I decided a visit to Bad to the Bone was in order. First of all, the address is 8045 Stonewall Shops Square between 55 and 15 on Lee Hwy., but a lot of you are probably more familiar with Old Carolina Road, which is what Stonewall Shops is directly south of. So you go west on 29 from Gainesville past 55, but before you get to 15 you will turn left into Stonewall, which would have been Old Carolina if you had turned right. Now that I have confused that issue sufficiently, the BBQ is way back to the left, so look close.
Now on to the 'cue. You order at the front area and take your little number card to a table. Everyone I spoke to was friendly and helpful, and they looked like they were having fun which is cool. I decided to splurge a bit and got the 3 meat platter with the pulled pork Carolina style, the St Louis ribs and the brisket. The pulled pork was pulled, not sliced, and it was smokey and good, albeit just a touch less than spicy. The barbecue sauce was a bit sweet but they have their own pepper sauce that gave it a nice punch. There was very little fat or gristle and, all in all, their pulled pork was pretty good, tho it didn't come with a bun or any other freebies, other than the fairly good but not great cornbread. The brisket was 'cut it with a fork' tender, just a touch of a smoke ring in the meat, and again, there was a hint of smoke from the 'pit' but it wasn't overpowering. The serving size was generous for all three items and this big kid actually had a hard time finishing my meal. I really should have gotten a doggie box but I liked it enough to finish it there. Finally, my favorite item, the St. Louis style ribs. Fairly meaty with just a bit of the 'cue char on them. Good crusty bits of flavor, but they were kind of a dry sort of wet, or a wet sort of dry. I still added a bit of sauce to them after the first one, and all in all, pretty darned good 'cue.
The sides were good as well, I got the potato salad and the beans. The taters were tasty, just a bit of tang to it, chunky with bits of red peel on them the way I like it. The beans were, say it with me, smoky, and kind of chewy, slightly al dente, with shreds of bacon floating around in them to add more flavor.
How do they rank in my book? I think they destroy Red Hot and Blue. Their ribs are as good (nearly?) as Randy's in Hughesville and nearly as good as Johnny Boys in La Plata. Plus they have pretty good sides and a decent sort of seating area. All in all, pretty good 'cue. Not the best in the area, but they are in the hunt, so to speak.
The hickory is stored our to the left of the building and their 'pit' is a steel oven with the wood loaded below. I will download my picture of the platter shortly. I gave it 5 stars, mostly because it is worth 4 for the food, but the fact that the people are cool and the location is so starved for good barbecue made me feel like it was a solid 4.5 star joint.
New Bad to the Bone Smokehouse BBQ Restaurant in Gainesville, VA
Considering what my neighborhood squirrels did to my kayak last fall when I left it on my balcony, they ought to consider themselves LUCKY I don't prepare my Brunswick Stew with the old fashioned recipe! ;-)
But I have to admit, at least they only chewed away holes in the top of my boat. It must have looked like Squirrel Marriott Suites when I left it out there...
New Bad to the Bone Smokehouse BBQ Restaurant in Gainesville, VA
Where were you last week? I was out at Manassas Battlefield Jonesin' for BBQ and the fair BBQ place on 29 was closed down. I will definitely check this place out, it would be great to have a rib joint nearby, but Brunswick Stew, too? That piques the imagination a bit. I used to make my own Brunswick Stew and it is a real cold weather dish.
new places in arlington and falls church
Freshly made corn tortillas and a buck off? If I had an iPhone 4S I would be scheduling that with Siri right now, as it is, I will do my best to remember! LOL
And the half price growler night is definitely going into my old fashioned iPhone, even if I have to do it the hard way.
