Food Corner

Posted on 2006/03/06 by .

Food Corner, web site, 7031-A Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA (Rte. 236), 703-750-2185 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [zabihah | City Paper | Citysearch]
Very mom and pop. Relatively authentic Afghan food, including vegetable dishes, kabobs also. Excellent bread. Greasy but good. Unfortunately, they took their best dishes, Aushak and Mantu, off the menu.
Food Corner II, web site, 7031 Brookfield Plaza, Springfield, VA (just off Backlick Road and south of Old Keene Mill Road) (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Citysearch]
Afghan, perhaps a branch of Food Corner (see above), but they also have kept the rotisserie chicken from the Latin place that used to be here. I have yet to go.

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Posted in Afghan, Annandale, Springfield, Virginia | 1 Comment

Afghan Restaurant

Posted on 2006/03/06 by .

Afghan Restaurant, 2700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Alexandria, VA, 703-548-0022 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [zabihah | Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | openlist]
Smaller menu, less fine, grittier, and more authentic. A bit out of the way for me, but worth having in the repertoire.
See also Paradise Restaurant of Bethesda, under Persian.

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Posted in Afghan, Alexandria, Virginia | Comments Off on Afghan Restaurant

Viet Bistro

Posted on 2006/03/05 by .

Viet Bistro, in Eden Center, Arlington, off Wilson Boulevard, near Rt. 7 (approximately 6801 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA), 703-538-7575, in the corner of the mall closest to Wilson Blvd. (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Washingtonian | City Paper]

Right now this is the best place in the Eden Center and indeed the best Vietnamese place around. Finer and fresher than Four Sisters. Get the baby clams, the caramel fish, the frogs’ legs, the eel, anything with lemon grass, and the shaking beef. Consistently tasty and refined. Good for vegans and vegetarians also, first-rate tofu. Don’t miss it.

The Best

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Posted in Current Favorites, Eden Center, Falls Church/Seven Corners, The Best, Vegetarian, Vietnamese, Virginia | 12 Comments

Pho 75

Posted on 2006/03/05 by .

Pho 75, 3103 Graham Road, Suite B, Falls Church, VA, 703-204-1490, go early to avoid the line (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | Don Rockwell | openlist | Citysearch | Gayot]
Other locations:

Do not fear tripe and the other nasty bits. Learn to eat for crunch and texture.

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Posted in Arlington, College Park/Hyattsville, Falls Church/Seven Corners, Herndon/Reston/Ashburn/Chantilly / Dulles Airport, Maryland, Pho, Rockville/Gaithersburg, The Best, Vietnamese, Virginia | 2 Comments

Oyamel

Posted on 2006/03/05 by .

Oyamel, web site, 2250 Crystal Drive, Crystal City, Arlington, VA, 703-413-2288, closed Monday, plus they don’t always take reservations (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell | openlist | Gayot]

Update: The Crystal City location has closed, and the place is moving downtown, to where Andale used to be, near the Verizon Center, on 401 7th St., new phone is (202) 628-1005.

The best Mexican we have, without a doubt. Don’t compare this to your favorite TexMex in Houston but rather to a fancy nouveau place in Mexico City (which is where the chef hails from). The décor is beautiful, and reminiscent of the Camino Real Hotel in Polanco. The word on the new locale is that the place is much smaller but has maintained its standards. I’ve yet to go back there, but am looking forward to it.. Just about everything is remarkably authentic, they even fight the regulators to get Mexican cheeses across the border, albeit pasteurized ones.

You should get: the seared scallops, cochinita pibil tacos (barbecued, slowly simmered pork), Chile Poblano Relleno, black rice with cuitlacoche (corn fungus, that word is Nahuatl for “shit of the gods,” which is apt). I was very impressed by this place. It is by the folks who brought you Jaleo and Zaytinya and Café Atlantico, but of these Oyamel takes the greatest care to give you the real thing.

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Posted in Crystal City/Pentagon City/National Airport, Fine Dining, Mexican, The Best, Virginia | 2 Comments

Jaleo

Posted on 2006/03/05 by .

Jaleo

Near the MCI/Verizon Center, and trendy. Spanish tapas, some of which are quite innovative. Not every dish here is a total winner, but still a worthy part of the repertoire, especially if you know how to order. Many claim this is not up to previous glories, and maybe they are right, but still it can be enjoyed.

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Posted in Chinatown/Verizon Center, DC, Spanish | 1 Comment

CityZen

Posted on 2006/03/05 by .

CityZen, web site, 1330 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC, in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel (directions), 202-787-6868, dinner only, and not every day, closed Monday and Tuesday I believe (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Mobil | Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | Don Rockwell | openlist | Gayot]

Don’t forget, all food is ethnic food. For the first time since Jean-Louis (and I mean the mid- to late-1980s, not the later version of the place), Washington has a first-rate place for fine dining. Right now this is one of the ten best restaurants in North America. Yes, dinner costs more than $100 a pop, but now is your chance to go. Go, and go often, before it declines. The fixed-price menu changes every month, make sure you get the full treatment.

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Posted in Asian (Pan-Asian), DC, Fine Dining, Southwest | 3 Comments

Udupi Palace

Posted on 2006/03/05 by .

Udupi Palace, web site, 1329 University Boulevard East, Takoma Park, MD, 301-434-1531 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | food-plan | openlist | Citysearch | Gayot]
A great place. Southern Indian food in profusion. Goes well beyond the usual dosa places. The food is an entire level better, and the selection is far more extensive. A real treat. I especially recommend any kind of dosa, the Pesarat, the vegetable dishes, and the yogurt rice. By the way, the Latino music shop next door has some good stuff that is not available in your local Tower.

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Posted in Indian, Maryland, Southern Indian | 2 Comments

Horace & Dickie’s Seafood Carryout

Posted on 2006/03/05 by .

Horace & Dickies Seafood Carryout, 809 12th Sreet NE, Washington, DC, 202-397-6040 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Washingtonian | The Hilltop | openlist] There is another branch on Martin Luther King Ave., somewhere.

The best fried fish in the area, a must. Amazing atmosphere, take-out only, bad neighborhood, get the picture? Fish, fish, fish. That’s all they have. And it is fried, fried, fried. You may not go often, due to the associated inconveniences, but a gem. They also have great fries, collard greens, potato salad. Crab cake surprisingly decent. Go, go, go.

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Posted in Current Favorites, DC, Northeast, Seafood, The Best | 3 Comments

Shamshiry

Posted on 2006/03/05 by .

Shamshiry, web site, 8607 Westwood Center Drive, Vienna, VA, 703-448-8883. Off of Route 7, near the Dulles access road. Not visible from any road. Turn left at the right place, and head towards the back. Near Oriental Regency, down a bit from United Airlines. (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [zabihah | Washingtonian | City Paper | food-plan | openlist | Citysearch | Gayot]

An excellent Persian place. Kabobs only, which I usually find dry and unexciting, but this place is a winner. Best rice in the area, very fragrant. The Barberry Rice and Cherry Rice, with chicken or beef respectively, are highly worthwhile. The Barberry Rice is wonderfully tangy and sour and the berries are luscious. What kind of rice you order is the real decision here, not what kind of meat. Ask for the beef medium rare, or even rare, if you order meat. The salmon is my favorite, with Zereshk Polo, make sure you rub Maast Moosir (a kind of thick yogurt sauce) into the whole thing, liberally. Excellent people-watching also, if you are interested in the Persian upper-middle class.

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Posted in Current Favorites, Persian, The Best, Vienna/Tysons, Virginia | 5 Comments