keithlb1's Profile
Pizza in Baltimore
actually ground sausage is what most authentic places use, pepperoni is sliced because it is already cured but sausage is usually crumbled then browned and then added to the pizza evenly to really give you that sausage flavor you crave.
New Peruvian Chicken in Reston
I have been eating at the Peruvian chicken places since the early 90's and have even had Peruvian chicken in Peru of all places. This place was a little to Americanized for my liking the dipping sauces tasted a bit off, and the chicken itself was a bit over seasoned and slightly off, it wasn't bad but just not the quality of Crispy and Juicy in Falls Church, or Pollo Rico in Arlington. There are a lot of Peruvian places popping up and like many ethnic places the "authentic" methods always find there way to my plate over the imitations. That said, I didn't dislike Pollo Peru it just didn't hit a home run in my book
Ocean City, MD Anything worthwhile in the southern part of town?
Shark is in the fishing district of OC on the bay side but definitely in the southern part of town. They have a great selection of fresh caught seafood and sustainably grown produce. A nice change from the fried fish shacks that dot the boardwalk area. www.ocshark.com
Virginia Beach Eats
Great will have a look, last time we there I only ventured around the boardwalk, was very underwhelmed. The new hotel had some trendy place that was attractive but way over priced for the net experience, and the rest of the beach haunts were over priced and provided poor to average eating experiences at best.
Virginia Beach Eats
Looking for some good places to eat in Va Beach.
Not into the real touristy stuff with fried everything and boardwalk fare.
More like diamonds in the ruff places, good seafood, and engaged service.
Any tips?
Moving to Herndon
Just a follow up on some mentions to these posts. Herndon I must say has some very good ethnic places. Thai Luang was the best Thai place around, but Thai Tada has some of their off shoots, and have a great basil duck.
The Peruvian chicken places are all average to decent, but none really compare to Crispy and Juicy in Falls Church or Pollo Rico in Arlington, and I have eaten Pollo alla Brasa in Peru.
Guapos is average but not really authentic. I really miss Teocali Tamale, I think the Salvadorean Place there is gone. If you want a decent pizza Brick oven doesn't do it for me. I'd rather do "happy hour" at Il Fornaio for a 5 dollar thin crust pie 12" only, but made well in the Reston Town Center. For a formal dinner I would check out the Veal Chop at Zeffirrelis. Service is good and on point. For pub food Jimmys is a good bet, and Fosters has a decent burger. Ice House for a more sedate setting is nice also. Craving deli subs, Santinis in Reston and Sterling has a really decent steak and cheese, and other fine offerings. Chinese is not a great option in the area. Va Kitchen is a pretty good breakfast, but used to be better about 15 years ago. The other sit down options are Amphora Diner Deluxe, and Houlihans, not great but Amphora is open 24 hours. I haven't tried any Indian, but the options seem to be there. For Italian I would say Zeffirellis but you will need to spend some cash, a little formal, not recommended for a family with kids. Stick to Maccaroni grill in Reston if dining with kids. IL Foranio in Reston has great Italian options like their home made pastas "Raviloli with sausage, and a butternut squash ravioli" also a little more kid friendly than Zeffirellis. But not for the budget minded, except for their happy hour in the bar area. Passionfish in the Reston town Center has a good happy hour also, and great seafood options, again not for the budget minded. Overall there is a lot out there but not a lot of great places. Euro Bistro on Elden is also worth a mention, great Austrian/German style food prepared by a chef owner.
please make this site iPad friendly
Jobs isn't a flash fan. But exposure will bring the sites to Apple.
Wegman's-Local?
I think the theme here is Wegmans certainly makes an honest effort to incorporate local business when it's feasible. I shop at Dulles and I see a lot of local produce and fruit when it is in season. Even brands like Dominion Beer, BBQ from Ashburn, and a lot of upstate Ny brands have been filtered into the store, which I really enjoy. Whole Foods can not mix the elements of price,convenience,quality,like Wegmans can. They do well with the store made items, but everything else in Whole Foods is a rip off IMHO.
My Search for a Decent Sunday Brunch (Ongoing)
Brunch should be effortless in the relaxation department
Tabard Inn fits the bill, excellent food, outdoor seating, and competent service.
And a Washington brunch would not be complete without fresh oysters.
You do need to make reservations at least a week in advance.
But it is worth it.
If you just want eggs benedict try bistro francais in Georgetown pretty good, and Clydes has decent Benedict not great but fits the bill.
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Tabard Inn
1739 N St NW, Washington, DC 20036
Five Super Supermarkets
It's funny to watch how the grocery stores in the area are scrambling to keep up with Wegmans. Check out the new Safeway in Georgetown. But as long as these stores keep their business models as they are, they will fall short of Wegmans. Wegmans is a privately owned venture and has more lateral movement based on buying trends, and local purveyors.
They may not have the cheapest this or fresh ramps but they have a lot to make me want to keep going back there. The atmosphere, prices and quality are in a superior category not seen by other stores. If you buy national brands only then you might not have the same shopping experience that most shoppers have at Wegmans. But Wegmans brands are cheaper and in most cases as good if not better. I love their organic meats, organic ice cream, and Italian style frozen pizzas. I even like their fresh food court, it's fun to eat and shop at the same time. Overall the quality is superior and I will keep driving out of my way to shop there.
Raw grassfed/pastured meat, eggs and dairy in Northern VA?
There is a farm tour planned for this weekend in Loudoun Co Va
It is on the localharvest.org site.
Baltimore Italian
Sabatino's is a little to touristy and is not what I even call real Italian.
If anyone who knew how to cook real Italian food ate at half the restaurants in Little Italy they would laugh. Most places are way over priced for the quality you get. Or they are just cheap places that have lost the desire to give what their predecessors succeeded in doing. And that is sincere desire to make you fell like you're at home and they're glad to have your business.
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Little Italy Restaurant
6920 Bradlick Shopping Ctr, Annandale, VA 22003
Coal-Fired Pizza in Ellicott City open
I used to live in Columbia Md in 1974-1978.
They used to have a restaurant with a carry out window that made awesome pizza inside the Columbia Mall which was a much smaller but better experience back in those days. The place was called Barry's and a southern Italian man ran the pizza part of it. What a great pizza, the sauce was bursting with flavor, and the cheese just oozed and the crust was a real fresh treat. There was also a place in the Oakland Mills shopping center which was pretty good back then, but the sauce was a little to sweet, I think it was called Vinnari's or something like that. It is nice to see pizza is making somewhat of a come back in Columbia Md. I was a young kid when I lived there and have many great culinary memories of Columbia. I will have to venture out there and give some of these places a try. We should start a thread for top pizza places in Howard County.
Any places I am missing in Loudoun County?
Il Palio, named after a famous Italian horse race. The space is a big upgrade from the previous restaurant that occupied the building, they have a young Italian chef who serves inspired cuisine, I especially liked the eggplant appetizer, delicious. I had a nice bottle of Allegrini Pallazzo della Torre for 50 dollars, and the host Nino is very accommodating. The place is going to rise in popularity very soon and the owners plan on opening up the rest of the building in the future. Go there before it becomes a reservations only type of place.
Best thin crust pizza in the DC area
Yes you are correct
I love the fact that I would never expect to find a pizzeria like this in Middleburg.
But good pizza has a place everywhere.
Best thin crust pizza in the DC area
There is a little place in Middleburg Va, of all places that has a nice New York style thin crust. Run by an Italian family from New York. They even sell their own Italian dressing to go. Nothing upscale but a nice pie indeed. I just can't remember the name but it is off the main drag in a little house that backs up to a road that runs parallel to rt. 50 on the south side of Middleburg one block off of main street.
The best restaurant in Olney closes
I couldn't agree with you more!
Just when you think the dining scene is progressing you have a relapse back into mediocrity.
I work in an Italian restaurant that prides itself on being authentic from the fresh baked breads, regional menus and house made pastas and sauces, yet we still get the "why don't you all have Veal Parmigana on the menu?." Or "don't you all have meatballs?" It amazes me how places like the Cheesake Factory are packed yet the chef run or family run places outside of the beltway are left wanting. I think traffic and house rich but cash poor families are the reason why people have no time to explore the culinary delights that crop occasionally out in the burbs. Living in Sterling Va is no treat either but at least we have a decent seafood sushi place that just opened called Get Hooked. Other than that it is a strip of corporate owned food factories with vibrating gizmos that light up when your table is ready...Oh boy what a treat!
Food Network "Down Home with the Neely's"
I think the Food Network has gone down the road of cable news networks, all fluff and no substance, trying to appeal to everyone, but really sacrificing their credibility as a true "Food Network." The pendulum has swung from the 'pro chef" to the novice food actor with a bubbly personality, that can sale cheap kitchen knives. I don't watch the network if I want to learn about cooking anymore. PBS is a much better authority than the Food Network.
Wegman's Leesburg: @145,000 square feet the largest in the chain.
I noticed that also, but I still think Dulles gets a ton of business.
Houstons in Rockville Closing!!!
I think Houstons is a step above in quality and service than those other chains just mentioned also not that cheap though. But I would always take Houston's over Cheesecake Factory any day.
Wegman's Leesburg: @145,000 square feet the largest in the chain.
I shop at Wegmans Dulles, and it can be quite busy, I hope the Leesburg location helps ease the traffic at Dulles, but some how I doubt it.
Ate at the seafood bar Monday Night and it was packed and they needed help.
The service was slow, but polite and grace under pressure.
The food was good we tried oysters on the half shell 1.95 ea. Shrimp cocktail diced and served in a mini flute like glass with cocktail sauce mixed in. Crabcake was small but very tasty at 11.99 served with mixed greens salad. Wife had steak thinly cut but with salad and nice char from the grill. We also were thrilled to try a nice wine from South Africa and a merlot from Washington state good value wines at 5.00 and 6.00 dollars. Then we brought over a dessert from the patisserie and ate that for 5.00 dollars...All and all our bill was 70.00 with 3 glasses of wine + maryland crab soup, oysters, shrimp cocktail, Ny steak+salad crabcake + salad and a choc/pistaccio mousse cake. Not bad, plus they don't except tips.
Wegman's Leesburg: @145,000 square feet the largest in the chain.
I think the wine store in Dulles is nice if you know who to talk to, they're very helpful and always have nice recommendations.
They may not be top of the line but not a bad place to find wine at a decent price, lower than the other grocery chains that sell main stream wine, and Wegman's will take it another step from there by offering other than just mainstream.
Stop the presses...Rays Hell Burger Now Serves French Fries
To Fry or not to fry...a serious problem for Chowhounds, but not really for Ray.
He obviously thinks that fries aren't a worthy side for his succulent burgers and I tend to agree. However, as a businessman he understands the law of guest satisfaction. I am sure even though the fries are frozen they come from a reputable supplier, and a decent side to his great burgers. I can not imagine eating a bag of fresh cut fries which tend to absorb a lot of oil, probably "peanut," and then try and eat that beautiful burger. At Ray's it's all about the burger not the fries.
Teddy's Pizza -- Middleburg, VA
Update on Teddy's I accidentally stopped there today with my wife and I almost didn't go until saw that there was a real Italian family running the place.
I sensed something could be more right than wrong. So I stopped in we ordered a house salad with great traditional Italian dressing which he also sells by the bottle.
Mom and Pop are there working as well.
A true Italian New York style pizzeria in of all places Middleburg Va.!
But the Pizza was pretty darn good, as good as some places I have been to near New York.
Talked to Teddy a bit and he seems very personable and said the economy is really hurting business, seems the rich are laying off the hourly workers and they are the ones who support Mom and Pop pizzerias like Teddys. So if you happen to venture out to Middleburg and you want an informal place to go for pizza and a cannoli, not to mention a nice Italian salad for less than 30 dollars for 2 people than have at it. I had a medium deluxe, salad, and cannoli and left like I was walking in Brooklyn. Good Eats!
Looking for a restaurant that serves Osso Bucco with the full shank
I assume you're talking about the braised shank with the bone in, I can only think of a restaurant In Tysons Corner, Da Domenico, they have a Veal Chop and sometimes run Osso Bucco as a special, the best thing to do is to call around. Most shanks have gone up in price and many restaurants are hesitant to put them on the menu. I don't know why because if they're done right they are delicious and worth the price you pay.
Where can I buy Virginia peanuts?
I've seen them in canisters in all the Wegmans in the area
Hard ice cream in NoVA?
There isn't anything better than Thomas Sweet on Wisconsin Ave in Georgetown.
Old School hand made hand scooped with all kind of custom ice cream flavors like
Tiramisu just a great summer place to hang out and get dipped.
Rehoboth Beach raw bar
With a selection like that so close to the action 20 dollars per dozen doesn't sound so bad.
Hell, McCormicks and Legal sell them at around 2 dollars per oyster.
Good safe fresh oysters are becoming a delicacy now, and most places even fish markets are charging a lot per oyster.
