Tachibana Japanese Restaurant

6715 Lowell Ave
McLean, VA 22101
(703) 847-1771

http://www.j-connections.com/dc/blog/tachibana.php

Visited: March 28, 2009


Should you believe the hype about Tachibana? Maybe, maybe not.

Being a HUGE fan of great sushi and after reading through all of the great reviews for Tachibana, I was excited. My excitement magically moved my mouse pointer to click on the "Send Friend" button on the Tachibana Yelp page. My mouth watered as I addressed the Yelp email to my wife and a few close friends with the subject line, "We MUST try this place out!"

Since sending this message and knowing my love of sushi, I received a great response and ultimately decided to visit Tachibana over the weekend. The days seemed to pass ever so slowly as the thought of dining on amazing sushi danced in my little pea brain. With a Homer Simpson like fascination for food, I'd find myself on the verge of drooling whenever I read the reviews for Tachibana.

Saturday finally arrived and my wife, a friend and two sons made the trip to Tachibana. From the reviews, we arrived right at 5pm for the dinner service in an effort to beat the rush and land a table large enough for three adults and two babies. The portly hostess was an older Asian woman in her late 50's that mumbled her word and only raised her voice to tell us they only had one high chair.

Okay, not a problem...

We made our way to the table, sat down as the wife quickly ran to the minivan to pick up a baby stroller for the one baby boy that didn't have a high chair. Tachibana was already starting to fill up with patrons and we were greeted by a kind looking waitress that handed us our menus and took our drink orders.

My wife, our friend and I quickly opened the menus and gleefully shared some of the delicious sounding rolls and sushi. Now I must confess, I love Toro (fatty tuna) as I find it to be one of my favorite cuts of sushi. We decided on our order and quickly put in our order with the waitress. I happily ordered three orders (6 pieces) of Toro to share with the wife and our friend and could not wait to experience what I had read other Yelpers post about Tachibana.

The order arrived and looked spectacular. The rainbow roll was probably the most beautiful roll I have ever seen with all the bright color blending together in such a gorgeous combination. The pieces of Toro were generous cuts and sat there tempting me to leave my manners behind and dive into the sushi. Thankfully I controlled myself and waited for our friend to start us off and then attacked the Toro.

So here's the real deal on the sushi and our rolls. Let me first begin with the Toro. The quality of the Toro was AMAZING and probably the BEST Toro I had eaten in years. The consistency of the Toro was fresh and buttery as it should be. Each bite was blissful as I was so happy to finally have such great quality Toro after what seemed like an eternity of mediocre Toro.
The flavor of the rolls were okay, but my biggest surprise was related to the rice. The quality of the rice wasn't the best and actually seemed a bit mushy and overcooked. Overall, I thought the rolls were okay and unlike the Toro didn't provide that "wow" factor with the flavor and/or quality. My wife actually reported experiencing a bit of "fishy" flavor in one of the rolls (jalapeno, scallions and tuna) which I couldn't taste myself.

The entire time we were stuffing our faces, our boys dined on their Cheerios which as most babies are known to do drop five on the floor for every one they managed to get into their mouth. Soon the floor was littered with little O's and the wait staff smiled and almost appeared to "coo" as the boys waved and smiled at everyone.

Surprisingly the portly hostess kept coming by our table, loudly mumbling something we didn't understand as she looked at the floor. Walking away she's yell to the waitresses and pointed at our table, our boys and the floor. This odd behavior would've been okay had she done it once...but she kept coming by over and over and really started to make us feel unwelcome in a crowded restaurant.

Finishing our food, we asked for the bill which was brought to us quickly, almost as if the staff was ready for us to leave. I'm not often shocked at a bill (especially when I order Toro), but was a bit surprised to see our bill to be ore than $100 for four rolls and 3 orders of Toro. The rolls didn't warrant such a high bill but I knew the Toro was a specialty that knocked up the price, I just didn't expect it to knock it over $100 especially as there was no price listed next to the Toro.

Regardless, I happily paid as the Toro was quite exceptional although I didn't experience almost orgasmic dining experience shared by other Yelpers. After I signed my credit card slip and we packed up our belongings, the hostess immediately ran over and started barking orders to the bus boys and wait staff to clear our table and clean the floor.

I honestly would've been happy to give an additional star to Tachibana had it not been for the rude hostess and her odd unfriendly behavior.

Locolat

1781 Florida Ave NW
(between N 18th St & N U St)
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 518-2570

http://www.belgiumlocolat.com/

Re-visited: March 28, 2009


Picture yourself walking down the streets of Adams Morgan on the coldest day of January. Your nose is numb and so cold that you can feel it beginning to run until it makes you sniff and your shoes have lost the battle against the cold making your feet hurt with each passing step. Next to you are your wife, two baby boys and friends visiting from out of town...everyone's noses are bright red and the breath escapes their mouths in puffs of white that suddenly disappear. It's cold, but not just winter cold...it's "brrr" cold.

As you poke your head into the local Starbucks on 18th and Columbia Road, you see that others have thought the same thought; to grab a cup-of-something to warm up their cold bones. So many people fill the Starbucks that navigating the crowd to the busy counter with a twin baby stroller seems a nearly impossible feat. Saddened, you tell your family and friends that you'll continue our walk down 18th street in hopes of finding a smaller coffee shop or Starbucks.

Heading south you reach U Street and everyone is groaning and politely complaining by saying, "Man, it's cold" or "It sure is a cold day today." Just then you look left and see something that you've never seen off of 18th street...something that on this cold day will become a warm oasis on this frozen urban tundra that is Adams Morgan. Locolat. Instantly your mind wonders, "Did I just see Chocolate? And do they have HOT CHOCOLATE?!?!" Walking inside your eyes are greeted by an army of chocolate delights; from handmade truffles to the most delicately made éclairs. A warm feeling over takes you and a smile cracks through your frozen face as you see they have "dark" hot chocolate and are already thinking of the sweet treats you'll order.

This is EXACTLY how I felt walking into Locolat on that cold January 2009 day. There was something magical about this place as we all ordered hot chocolate and admired the handmade chocolate being made in the next room by master Pastry Chef Neil Piferoen. His wife Ada greets all the customers with big smiles and a warm hellos and is the resident master hot chocolate maker. Ever since that cold day we've frequented Locolat so often, that people wonder why we'd drive over half-an-hour just to get a cup of dark hot chocolate, truffles and éclairs. Our answer, "You must come with us." Everyone we've taken falls in love with the dark hot chocolate and wide selection of in-store made sweets.

This past Friday night we've converted yet another group of friends. After visiting our favorite Adams Morgan restaurant, we walked down 18th street to Locolat for a tasty éclair, some truffles and a cup of hot dark chocolate. As Locolat has become our favorite "secret sweet treat", Ada recognized us and greeted us with a warm hello and asked about our twin boys. My wife chatted with her and asked about her little girl and engaged in a friendly conversation about kids and schools. The warmth of my wife's conversation with Ada also adds another star to this little café; it's a family owned place run by people that truly enjoy what they do.

So if you're ever in the Adams Morgan area near U and 18th, check out Locolat. You'll not only be impressed by the sweet treats, but by the warm family that makes such a wonderful café memorable and worth the trip...wherever you're coming from. Just make sure to try the dark hot chocolate and a handmade dark chocolate truffle.

Kabul Kabob

6802 Commerce St
Springfield, Virginia, 22150
Phone: 703-451-3373

http://www.bestafghanrestaurant.com/

Visited: March 21, 2009


The first thing you notice as you pull into the parking lot of Kabul Kabob is it's claustrophobic proximity to a Dunkin' Donuts and a local Car Wash station. You can see almost as if in a planned attempt at sudsy defiance water and soap run off from the car wash seeping into the far edge of the Kabul Kabob parking lot. As the wife and twin boys finished parking and saw Kabul Kabob, I thought, "Man, I'm starving and I hope this place is good."

Save for our minivan, the parking lot was empty with one guy drying off his Corvette with the help of his portly wife. The two seemed to be working furiously as if with a mission to remove all traces of water from their late 80's model Corvette. Glancing into the restaurant I saw the waiters sitting at the bar chatting and joking while folding napkins. Opening the door they sprang to life and one waiter greeted us all with a big warm smile and a "Hello" as she showed us to our table and then brought us two high chairs for the boys.

The inside of Kabul Kabob looked a bit dated with carpeting that was a bit worn and a grayish color that was either by design or a reflection of its age. The tables and silverware were place settings were all clean with neatly pressed white table clothes contrasting against the color of the carpet. The menus were covered in laminate and were clean with great descriptions of all the dishes written in plain English for those of us unaware of what made up a Baujaun or a Shami. As I read the menu my stomach began growling and my mouth watered at the thought of tasting the delectable treats so tastily described in my menu.

The wife was quietly eyeing the menu like an eagle and eyeing her environment. After the horrendous experience at Stoney Creek Inn she was obsessed with the cleanliness of an eating establishment and happily proclaimed that there was no dust on the window sil near our table. Hunger made our stomachs growl as the waiter returned to take our order. As we ordered he smiled and played with the boys in a way that told us he genuinely liked kids and wasn't doing this for our tips.

After a looooooooong deliberation of 2 minutes, I decided to order the Kabul Special which consisted of a "Combination of chicken, Shami, and lamb kabob all marinated in special herbs and spices, broiled on a skewer over charcoal". Oh yeah, I stole that description off their menu. The wifey ordered the Shami which is "Seasoned ground beef and lamb broiled on a skewer over charcoal". Tasty yum yum goodness! Still skeptical at due to our settings, I wished that our food was half-way decent as we had spontaneously picked out this restaurant courtesy of the kickass $10 discount coupon for Kabul Kabob in our 2009 Entertainment book.

To be honest, the exterior appearance of Kabul Kabob makes it blend into the bleak Springfield, VA setting. I'm sure the restaurant has been around for years and I've driven down Commerce Street hundreds of times, but I've NEVER noticed Kabul Kabob. Once our food arrived and I tasted the food...I was sooooooooo bummed that I had never ever discovered this place.

The chicken, lamb and Shami kabobs of the Kabul Special were all cooked to perfection! The meats were perfectly seasoned and cooked perfectly. Each kabob brought its own unique flavor and taste as they were served on top of a large piece of freshly baked Afghan bread. As a side item, my dish came with a generous portion of rice spiced with cumin seeds and garnished with sugar sweet shredded carrots and raisins. My wife's Shami looked amazing and tasted even better than it looked. Her Shami was served atop the cumin rice and came with a side of lightly spiced yogurt sauce.

As soon as we tasted our food and shared portions of the Kabul Special (especially the chicken and lamb), no words were spoken. We dove into our dishes stuffing our faces with occasional exclamations of, "Oh my God this amazing" or "Soooooo gooood!!" We shared some Afghan bread with the boys and they too enjoyed small pieces of lamb, chicken and Shami. Surprisingly, the food they really loved and demanded more of was the rice. Both boys would complain with "ah! ah! ah!" if little mounds of rice weren't shoveled into their agape mouths. Seems like Mommy and Daddy weren't the only hungry ones.

As we continued to eat like ravenous wolves, cars began pulling into the parking lot and people dressed in traditional Afghan garb began entering the restaurant. A large table adjacent to ours began filling with what appeared to be guests all dressed festively and happily greeting the waiters and each other. It seems as if a party of sorts was taking place as we continued to stuff our faces and enjoy the delectable dishes of Kabul Kabob.

Finishing our food, we were all thoroughly satisfied with the food and were even happier to know all this amazing food was had for not too much coin. After using the $10 coupon our bill came to $20; a steal for all the food we enjoyed. So if you're ever in the Springfield area, take notice of this little place and don't be discouraged by its slightly drab exterior. Inside you'll be greeted with a friendly wait staff and food that will blow your socks off. The wife and I have already resolved to go back to Kabul Kabob with friends just to enjoy some other tasty treats off of their menu.

Stoney Creek Inn

8238 Ft. Smallwood Road
Baltimore, Md. 21226

http://www.stoneycreekinnrestaurant.com/

Visited: March 8, 2009
** ZERO STARS **

In case you're busy and don't want to read this long rant, I can instantly let you know my thoughts about this place by saying, "You can't always believe what's on television."

What do I mean with this line? Well let me take you on a trip back in time where my lovely wife and I were watching one of our favorite foodie TV shows on the Food Network; Diners Drive-ins and Dives with host Guy Fieri. The very charismatic Guy Fieri visited Stoney Creek Inn and really made us believe that the food was amazing. After seeing this episode and finding out that this "gem" was in our backyard...okay, not literally our backyard but a mere 45 minute drive up north to Baltimore, MD.

From the start of the feature to the end, our mouths were watering as Guy Fieri dined on the most delicious looking crab cakes which appeared to be hey-uuuuuuuuge. Guy engaged the patron in witty banter as he sipped on beers and stuffed his face with fresh crabs, succulent shrimp and all around deliciously decadent seafood cooked to order. You'd think Guy found seafood heaven which made my wife and I giddy as little children as we repeated to each other over and over, "It's in Baltimore! We MUST visit it!!" Oh Guy you silver tongued devil, you had convinced us with your sweet pictures of beautiful seafood dishes and those crab cakes, dear God I'd travel a thousand miles for just a taste of those beautiful looking crab cakes.

So imagine the sheer delight of packing up our twin baby boys, the wife and piling them all into the minivan just to drive to the Stoney Creek Inn. The day was beautiful with the weather sunny, not a cloud in the sky with temperatures in the uppers 70's...as if God was smiling down upon us saying, "Yes my children, enjoy the bounty that I have given on to you my foodies." The minivan hummed and just the idea of those crab cakes kept me going as we left 495 and made our way to i-95 north towards Baltimore. The twins baby boys sat in their car seats, strapped in tightly and safe in their seats watching one of many Baby Einstein DVDs. By the time we were nearing Stoney Creek Inn, I had restarted the same Baby Einstein DVD 6 times and could hum the music from memory.

The minivan's nav-system guided us to a very industrial part of Baltimore and then proudly echoed, "You have arrived at your destination." Umm...no we haven't. The only thing around us was some old industrial loading docks and a BP gas station in the middle of no where. In the distance we saw a bridge and what appeared to be water. Desperate to reach our location, we pulled into the gas station and asked for directions. The kind woman behind the gas station counter seemed be a veteran of the question, "Can you please tell me where Stoney Creek Inn is located?" Thankfully before my sentence ended, she pointed towards the road with a smile that showed off some missing teeth and said, "It's down two lights before the bridge".

Jumping back into the minivan I shared the news with the wife happily proclaiming, "We're almost there!". 5 minutes later we saw the front of the building and eagerly parked and unloaded the boys and all related baby gear. Walking into the restaurant with giddy (almost mongoloid like smile on my face) faces, we asked for a table and encountered our first surprise.

"Did you call ahead and make a reservation?" asked a portly woman that appeared to be the manager as she shuffled staff to different areas of the restaurant.

"Do most people make reservations?" I asked a bit scared that no table would be avaible.

"Yes, it's highly recommended." she responded with a serious look on her face. Now I must tell you that the dining room and the areas in plain sight appeared to be empty. The portly lady saw us to a large table strategically located right next to the rest room. Hmmm...not the best seat, but the food must be worth such shitty seating. Our waiter stopped by to greet us and talked with a stuffy nose but seemed to be in good spirits. He brought me a beer and my wife enjoyed a coke. Diving into the menu, we decided to share a platter that had a bunch of fried goodies; french fries, sweet potato fries, fried cod, fried shrimp, fried oysters and those divine crab cakes. For the boys, we ordered child orders of crab cakes, a side of broccoli and apple sauce.

As we waited for our food to arrive the wife asked me if I smelled pee. "Nope, my nose is a bit stuffed up and all smell is Old Bay seasoning." Still upbeat and looking forward to try out the food, the wife decided to take a look at the restaurant to see the same sights enjoyed by Guy Fieri on his show. If you've ever seen the show, the restaurant is made to look like a very clean and up beat restaurant at the edge of some beautiful marina. Yeah, definitely NOT the case. Walking around the restaurant and reporting back my wife had a look on her face that instantly told me, "Ugh".

"The place is horrible and has no view" were the first words out of her mouth, "and the restaurant is empty, why did the lady ask us if we had reservations?!" Good point made by the wife, why had we been hassled about not having a reservation if the restaurant was empty? If you're trying to embrace new customers in a location that's not in the most easily accessible areas....why not make a customer feel more welcome? Quietly I still held onto some hope that I would experience some of the magic that Guy had experienced. The crab cakes, it's all about the crab cakes....

Finally, the food arrived and we dove into our plate. My wife and I had split the order and were told that it would cost us an additional $2 to split a plate. I took a taste of the fried code and was instantly surprised at the amount of heavy batter encasing the fish. Of the thumb sized fish piece I bit into, 75% was hard batter with just a taste of fish. Okay, still at this point I tried to remain positive. Let's taste the shrimp...same thing, small shrimp surrounded in hard overly spiced batter that didn't task like fresh shrimp. Still trying to stay positive I attacked the fried oysters...same damn batter. The dream was just about to begin fading when I told myself to dive into the crab cake.

Wielding my fork like a powerful sword, I plunged it deeply into the heart of my crab cake and pulled out a good sized chunk. Stuffing said chunk into my mouth I imagined myself to be Guy Fieri eating the fresh crab cake that the Stoney Creek Inn owner personally made for our favorite host (also the spokes person for TGI-Fridays). Did I taste paradise? Did images of nirvana flood my psyche due to the divine flavors of my crab cake?

No.

The only thing that ran through my mind was the phrase (made famous by my buddy Wagner during our trip to Spain back in 2003): "Oh, I have the buyers remorse". BTW, the origin of this phrase came from a Simpsons episode where Homer Simpson aquires the last Krusty Ribwich sandwich and is then instantly surrounded by a mob made up of other Ribwich lovers. All these people are making Homer addict like offers for the last ribwich sandwich. Homer finally accepts a car from a stereotypical Indian guy in exchange for Homer's last ribwich. After taking one bite of the ribwich, the guys says in a very depressed Indian accent "Oh, I have dee buyer's remorse".

Yes, I had the buyers remorse and instantly felt let down. Not awaiting my thoughts but clearing thinking the same exact thing, my wife was not pleased with anything on her plate. From the over cooked over battered super-crusted oyster, shrimp and fish...the look on her face said it all. Not worth the money and not worth the drive. For this reason I wrote what I wrote at the beginning of this blog entry.

Suddenly my eagerness and child like enthusiasm was replaced by a feeling of being cheated and misled by Guy Fieri. How could you Guy? I thought we were boys man! How could you make us foodies believe that this place was sooooo good? How could you make us think that the people working at this restaurant would welcome us with open arms when they hassled us about not having reservations in a virtually empty restaurant? How could you make us drive all the way to Baltimore with children and wife in tow when the food is not worth a 2 minute walk? I'd rather walk 5 mintes to the local safeway for imitation crab meat or even FROZEN crab cakes instead of driving all the way to this armpit of a restaurant.

I felt bad for my wife and felt bad for my boys as I had dragged them with me on this adventure hoping to experience at least a dash of the hyped up goodness seen on Diners Drive-ins and Dives. Sitting and stewing in utter disappointment, the wife and I just wanted to leave as fast as we could. Thankfully the boys were in good spirits and really had no idea of the shattered dreams and broken hopes their Fat Daddy was feeling....Guy, what the frak dude? You let me down big time. To make things worse the wife saw our waiter blowing his nose with a napkin, not washing his hands and then taking awaiting dishes to the three hungry patrons unaware of the snotty hands serving them. Yuck....

In order to salvage the day we headed to downtown Baltimore for a well deserved sweet treat courtesy of Vaccaro's Pastry Shop. Our family of four drown it's disappointed and lifted our spirits with the help of gelato, italian cookies and milk for the baby boys. It's funny how sweets can make all the bad stuff go away....

For anyone reading this that saw that episode of Diner's Drive-ins and Dives that convinced us to visit Stoney Creek Inn; save your money, save yourself a trip and do NOT go to Stoney Creek Inn. Not even a personal apology from Guy Fieri would make me go back to that hell hole of a seafood place...I'd rather slum it up and eat at big chain Red Lobster. At least Red Lobster doesn't sit its patrons next to a pee smelling restroom.