Where should we eat? In Albuquerque I am most interested in green and red chili. Any place between the cities would be a useful recommendation as well.
photo credit: KimtaroI thank you all in advance.
Originally posted on Marginal Revolution – click to see comments and suggestions.
Hunan Gate Restaurant, web site, 4233 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA, 703-243-5678 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Google | TripAdvisor | Menuism | City Paper | Yelp]
July 16, 2012: Updated review here.
photo credit: Micah SittigOn the surface a mediocre Hunan place, but underneath there is a Manchurian menu in Chinese only. Ask for that! No other place around tastes like this one. I recommend the tofu scallion salad, the julienne potato salad, the NE style pancake, the chive potstickers, and the pork riblets with Italian flat bean stew, I am not sure how you can get any of these but try your best with the Chinese language. The grammar is simple, I promise you. Nor should you forget the pork belly stew with wide glass noodles or the pots and dishes with fermented cabbage. If this area had forty Manchurian restaurants, this one might not be in the top five, but as it stands it is one of the most interesting Chinese restaurants around, if that is what I can call it. Definitely recommended.
John Brown Smokehouse, web site, 25-08 37th Avenue (Crescent Street), Long Island City, Queens, NY, 718-361-0085 [NY Mag | NY Daily News | PigTrip | Yelp]
photo credit: DougtoneSet in the middle of nowhere, these are the best burnt ends I’ve had, including Kansas City, and the best lamb sausage I’ve had, ever. The pastrami is the other winner. Quite possibly this is the best barbecue on the entire East Coast and it is one of the better barbecue experiences in the country. Here is one review.
They let me sample about five other dishes, and while they were very tasty they did not compare to the absolute winners cited above.
Me: “I know this is a stupid question, but how come the food here is so good?”
The Pitmaster: “That’s how we make it.”
Originally posted on Marginal Revolution – click to see comments and suggestions.
Part In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto and part Roadfood, this is a culinary coming-out party for Cowen (economics, George Mason Univ.), who up to now has been known for more standard economic works like The Great Stagnation. This latest book combines economic and environmental messages, all written in a highly entertaining and informative style–often with a counterintuitive twist. The real story, though, is the author and his techniques for finding and eating delicious, inexpensive food from all over the world. Thus, we get tips on how to obtain good Chinese food from local, not-so-authentic places; which strip malls are likely to have the best restaurants (who knew they were in strip malls to begin with?); using Google to turn up unexpected restaurant gems; and why places filled with fun, laughing, drinking people often don’t have good food. An entire chapter is devoted to barbecue, and another provides specific suggestions for eating well in numerous countries.
VERDICT A fun and informative book that environmentalists, economists, and (most of all) foodies will enjoy. Recommended for all. [See Prepub Alert, 10/7/11.]—Susan Hurst, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH
Originally posted on Marginal Revolution – click to see comments.
Vy Bistro, 6757 Wilson Blvd., Suite 10 and 11, Falls Church, VA, Eden Center, 703-589-3576 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Yelp]
photo credit: dewitahsLots of vermicelli dishes, and they’re pretty good. The star here is #40, shredded chicken, rice (cooked in chicken stock from the dish itself), and a sharp ginger and chili sauce. That’s one of the best dishes in Eden Center right now. The rest is good enough to enjoy, nice décor too.
Safari Restaurant, Columbia Pike, Baileys Crossroads, next to the Acura dealer, at approximately 5831 Columbia Pike, Falls Church, VA, across Columbia Pike from the strip mall with Full Kee and Best Buy. 703-820-1008 [Somalian cuisine on Wikipedia]
photo credit: Alfred WeidingerI didn’t write down the phone number or exact address because I thought I could Google to them but so far nothing is online, even though the restaurant has been open for seven months, since mid-2011. Was it a dream? All that broken glass on the doorstep? The rolled-up carpet obstructing the entrance way? The ramshackle decor? The apparent surprise from the staff that a customer might show up and request some food?
I enjoyed my visit. The menu had I think four items, none of which were so clearly explained, although there were deeper descriptions in Somali. I asked them to bring me the two best items. I received a fried chicken steak, some plain beef bits which are good if you apply the spicy green sauce, a delicious rice, and decent spaghetti noodles. It came with a free lemonade. Then they brought some Somalian empanadas (pretty good), a few empty doughy things (decent), and two plain unpeeled bananas, all in rapid succession. There was talk of goat in the future. All for $25.
You can pick nits with the food, but I’ll go back, it’s been my most unique eating experience in some time.
Update: charleybicycle sent this comment on 2/11/12:
I went to Safari tonight, Saturday, with some friends. There were about 15 taxis parked in the lot which we took for a good sign. There was an OPEN sign on the entrance door but it was locked. A man came and opened the door. A large carpet was lumped folded over in a pile in the entrance way. A pair of boots was left unattended right in the center of the walkway as you enter the dining room. The man who let us in explained that they had just had an event, but it was now over and we were welcome. We sat down at a table and noted the decor which included some factory-produced banners saying something like “Enjoy the Celebration!” There were about 15 people in the large brightly lit room, all were standing and amicably talking in the back of the room. No one was eating and no food nor beverage was in sight. A congenial man approached us smiling, shook our hands and introduced himself as Paul, if memory serves me. He politely explained to us that the restaurant had been rented for the evening and he was unable to serve us. He invited us to return soon and said we would love the food. He especially praised the rice, and noted that visitors from as far away as Canada had said it is the best. He said he only recently took over the restaurant from another man and was still printing the menus and creating a website. He explained he was concentrating on making the food the best it could be. He did provide a phone number which he said had been activated only the day before: 703-820-1008. He shook our hands again as we said goodbye. As we left we noticed the carpet pile had been moved aside and was no longer in the center of the entanceway.
Little Serow, web site, 1511 17th Street NW, Washington DC (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [WaPo | Washingtonian | City Paper | Don Rockwell | Yelp]
Imagine northeastern Thai street food, Issan style, combined with the quality ingredients and overall standards of fine dining. Right now it’s the best place in DC by a long ways and the best place this area has had in a long time. The tastes are sharp, hot, sour, pungent, musty, and occasionally sweet. The level of heat can be high. You cannot choose your food. Every course was a knockout, only $45 for a seven-course menu, no substitutions. There’s nowhere else like it. It is right next to Komi, and brought to you by the same people. Remarkably, the cook is Greek-American and not Thai. Could it be the best Thai place on the East coast?
photo credit: nakaeTheir website and menu is here. Here is a Sietsema review. Don Rockwell says it may be the best new restaurant in the U.S. this year; there is more from Don here. A must. No reservations, so you must show up before opening at 5:30 or wait two hours to get in.
Originally posted on Marginal Revolution – click to see comments and suggestions.
From Peter Seebach, I like this idea very much:
This leads to a concept: A restaurant called Placebo. What do they sell? A 50% discount. Which is to say: The entire menu is framed with everything at about twice the price you’d otherwise expect to pay for it, but then your check gets a 50% discount. So say you have a steak roughly of the same quality as the $13 steaks at the Outback Steakhouse. The menu says $26, your bill when it arrives has a 50% discount. But everything you order feels expensive.
photo credit: ayelienneAnd a bit more:
For extra credit, you could do interviews and arrange waiters to adopt personalities which suit the customers. Someone comes in who likes Good Wholesome Cooking? We can set you up with a waiter who thinks fancy food is ridiculous. Or, we can set you up with a waiter who is a total food snob, and you can have a wonderful meal knowing that the waiter is missing out on Good Wholesome Cooking. Your call.
The basic idea here is… people aren’t going out to eat for the food, they’re going out for the experience. Why not sell the experience as-such as the product? And thanks to some lovely research done on placebos in the 60s or so, we know that in some cases they work even if you know it’s a placebo — they’ve been shown to treat depression effectively even when explained.
Originally posted on Marginal Revolution – click to see comments and suggestions.
Sushi Yoshi, web site, 101 Church Street NW, Suite B, Vienna, VA, 703-242-1350 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [Don Rockwell | Yelp | Gayot]
photo credit: mdidFor some reason no one ever talks about this restaurant, yet it is surprisingly good. Above average sushi, with a reasonably authentic feel to the entire operation. Best of all they have real Japanese tapas (ippin ryori), ranging from grated yam to tuna with soy sauce to pork belly and a few dozen others. Those are what you should get here. Not perfect, but this place deserves more attention.
My favorite sandwich (ever) is the Hawaiiana, at “Tortas Chapultepec,” turn left out of the front of Hotel Camino Real in Polanco, and it is on the corner at Victor Hugo and Mariano Escobedo. They usually are open by 9:30 and I suspect they close fairly early.
photo credit: samurai_davePujol does wonderful things with vegetables and is perhaps the best fancy place to try; I recommend the Menu de la Tierra.
They have done away with the food stalls at the Zócalo. In Mexico City calorie-counting menus are common and gelato is being replaced by frozen yogurt (!).
Tres Marias is a “food village” right off the highway on the way to Cuernavaca. Look for the place on the southbound side which specializes in green chilaquiles and also chorizo tacos, but in general standards along that strip are remarkably high.
Here is the most important food advice for Mexico.
Overall, Mexico City is becoming a safer city, and compared to four years ago one sees many signs of economic progress.
Originally posted on Marginal Revolution – click to see comments and suggestions.
