Sunday, March 28, 2010

Hunan Number One

3033 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 528-1177
www.hunanone.com

Visited:
March 27, 2010




No long review here for those of you that don't enjoy my long winded shiz-nit...

Hunan Number One is the best for GIANORMOUS beers for not too much bling-bling. Anywhere that serves me a beer bigger than my wife's head for under $6 is a-okay in my book. That book being called, "Antonio's Book of Cerveza". BTW, in case you're wondering I don't compare anything to my head as my melon is quite enormous and scarey...like putting an orange on a toothpick.

To make Hunan Number One even more fun, throw in the wife, a few friends and the always fun to hang out with Steve L and Jarret B. I didn't go there expecting to eat any food, but the General Tso's wings were tasty and the fried rice I mooched off of the rest of the gang was quite tasty. Oh yeah, Steve's friend Okie also offered me some chicken on a stick (the actual name of the dish) which was crispy and tasty.

We definitely kept the waitress busy and made her workout by having her bring us a consistently supply of six huge 32 oz beers. Imagine a petite Asian woman barely but skillfully carrying six beers; three in each hand over to a table of rowdy guests.

I'll have to go back to try out more dishes, but right now they easily earn 3 stars for the big beers and cheap prices. I agree with my boy Batman who has declared Hunan Number One as THE place to start off the any fun night. :-)

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Cherry Blossom

46110 Lake Center Plaza
Sterling, VA 20165
(703) 444-0080
www.cherryblossomhall.com


Visited: March 6, 2010


How does a fat boy train his body to get back into shape for running a 10-mile race?

Does he use the Galloway method? No...

Does he hire a trainer? No...

Does he cut out all fatty food? Hell NO!

This fat boy goes to Cherry Blossom and indulges his love of kabobs with all-you-can-eat goodness with such reckless abandon it will make you say, "Daaaaaaaaaamn boy, slow down!"

Ever since our friends told us about Cherry Blossom, we were intrigued and knew we had to visit any place with an all you can eat (AYCE) kabob buffet. We were not disappointed by our first or any of our subsequent visits as the food is always fresh and there is SO much more than just kabobs. The variety of food is so amazing and is only dwarfed by the sheer quality and freshness of the ingredients.

Vegetarians are welcome at this Carnivore Mecca as the Afghan cuisine has many veggie friendly dishes for our grazing friends to enjoy. Mooo :-)

The price for the lunch buffet is amazing ($9.99) which is a real deal compared to what you actually get for that price. You get fresh bread, amazing entrees and even some sweet buffet desserts to enjoy. I love how you can come to Cherry Blossom every day and can enjoy different dishes as the cooks change up their offerings. The only constant items on the buffet menu are the chicken and ground beef kabobs which are t-a-s-t-y goooood.

I usually stuff my face with the fresh bread, yogurt sauce and chicken kabobs. My twins love the variety of rice they have and often scarf down a few bean entrees or veggie fare as I enjoy all the meaty goodness.

The restaurant is amazingly clean and beautiful (not that I judge a place on their decor) but it adds to the thought, "Damn, all this for $9.99?!?!" Yes donkeys, it's that good.

We love Cherry Blossom so much that we hosted our monkeys' 2nd birthday party there. It was an AMAZING way to not have to worry about prepping, cooking, and cleaning and could focus on our boys. Plus the staff was so kind and welcoming that it made our little party of 20+ people a resounding success.

I'm telling you, if Cherry Blossom was any closer to us I'd weigh 500 lbs as I would eat there everyday. Why pay $10 to eat at a fast food place when you can pay the same amount and get some quality food. So far everyone we've taken there has raved about the food and has come back on their own.

So 10-miler be damned, I'm stuffing my face with AYCE kabobs whenever I'm in Sterling, VA. :-)

Cherry Blossom Restaurant & Banquet Hall on Urbanspoon

Friday, March 19, 2010

Pastry Xpo

8190 Strawberry Ln
Merrifield, VA 22082
(703) 642-0249
www.PastryXpo.com


Visited: March 19, 2010


Ugh...major buyer's remorse here.

At the most, I'd give this place 2.5 stars.

First off, is this the place to get your sweet fix? No.

Is this the place you go to surf the 'net (free wi-fi) in peace in the middle of an urban neighborhood overlooking a closed-run-down movie theater? Yes.

We had decided to visit the Pastry Xpo after a friend of our was RAVING about the deliciousness of the sweet offerings. From the description, you would've thought one would see angels after eating any treat from Pastry Xpo as they happily serenaded you with trumpets from heaven as you stuffed your gluttonous face.

So yes, were were looking forward to trying out this place...

When the wife and I walked into this place with our two monkeys, I had high hopes based on the selection of pastries that the merchandise would taste as good as it looks. After scanning the display case, I settled on a slice of the chocolate log with macadamia nuts. The wife chose a Napoleon with a latte while we ordered two small chocolate chip cookies for the twins.

As soon as I locked eyes on the chocolate log (we call it la Buche de Noel even when its not Christmas), my mouth was salivating. Thoughts of the tasty Buche de Noel from the French embassy pastry chef popped in my head and I couldn't resist. I paid for everything and was surprised that it came out to be almost $20 for not a lot 'o stuff.

Here's a final list of what we ordered:

- 1 slice of the Buche de Noel
- 1 piece of Napoleon
- 2 small chocolate chip cookies
- 1 small latte

Sitting down, I gave the twins their cookies and immediately dove into my Buche de Noel. Ummm? No. Enh... The cake was so dry I took a sip of my water to wash down the first bite. The chocolate portion of the pastry wasn't that flavorful and I already felt let down after just one bite.

I took a bite of one of the twins' cookies and was unimpressed. I've tasted better cookies from a frozen Toll House cookie packet bought at a local supermarket. By the time I finished tasting the bite of the cookie, the wife chimed in with, "This is the worst and driest Napoleon I've ever had...ugh"

I took a bit of her Napoleon and found it forgettable due to the "old" flavor of the filling and the soggy texture of the supposed-to-be flaky dough layers. Both the Buche de Noel and the Napoleon appeared to have been a few days old, frozen or made at some other far off store. Heck for all I know they were made at some far off store, frozen and shipped to the Pastry Xpo a few days later.

Whatever the case of when or where the pastries were made, they were not worth their price. I leaned over to the wife and told her I would've preferred to have gone right next door to Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream had I known the Pastry Xpo pastries were going to be this bad.

To be nice a list of positives:
- The place was very new, quiet and clean.
- Free wi-fi
- Not too many people inside contributing to the quiet atmosphere.
- The wife said the latte was tasty

So will we return to Pasty Xpo? Nope. I'd rather drive a few extra miles to Praline or even indulge my sweet tooth by visiting Locolat. I think Pastry Xpo would do good to learn from these other places as the quality of their treats is what will bring us and other customers back over and over again...no matter how far away we live.

If I was ever in this area and was dying to satisfy my sweet cravings, I'd definitely go next door the Cold Stone...

Pastry Xpo on Urbanspoon

Sunday, March 7, 2010

The Pit Stop

Gilbert's Corner
Intersection of Route 15 and Route 50
Aldie, VA
(703) 944-3611


Visited: March 7, 2010


Before I begin this review, let me tell you that I've washed my hands numerous times after leaving the Pit Stop, given my kids a bath, washed some dishes, and even washed my hands again...yet the sweet smokey smell of the Pit Stop is still strong on my hands and fingers. With such a strong scent, you would've thought that my hands worked the smoker used by the Pit Stop...but no, the smokey goodness that permeates simply comes from the delicious food at this amazing little place along the side of the road.

I must thank Steve "The Batman" L. for inviting the me (along with the wife and monkeys) to visit this wonderful little oasis in the middle of Aldie, VA. If not for him, I would've never made the trip out to this part of VA and would never have discovered the deliciousness that is the Pit Stop.

The first thing you'll notice as you pull into the gravel/dirt lot where Ronnie has his smoker and stand, is the smokey smell. As soon as you're in the parking lot, the smoke seems to envelope you like that dark smoke monster from the TV show Lost. But unlike that smoke monster, this one is merciful and woos you with its scent of delicious meats. Ronnie's smoke monster pulls you closer until it seems that your hunger is about to hop out of your stomach and grab some tasty morsel directly off the smoker.

Ronnie and his son work the small stand with welcoming smiles and very friendly personalities. As cliche as this may sound, you can't help but feel welcomed and you a once stranger are now part of a BBQ family enjoying meats cooked up by your cool "uncle" Ronnie.

Parking the car we hurriedly ended a phone call with some friends and placed an order for a whole chicken with the BBQ sauce on the side. We also ordered on small container of baked beans and a potato salad. Okay, quick tangent here...

BBQ sauce. I wanna bathe in this homemade BBQ sauce. If you have any hesitation or questions about Ronnie's homemade BBQ sauce, he'll happily pour some on your finger for you to try out. Folks, the BBQ sauce has so many flavors that my mind was racing trying to figure out what I was tasting. Whatever the combination, the flavors of the BBQ sauce were delicious and a condiment truly deserving its own short little paragraph. Did I mention that I'd love to bathe in this BBQ sauce? Yes, it's that friggin' good!!!

Thankfully the wife had the foresight to order the BBQ sauce on the side which kept things much neater and allowed us to dip deliciously smokey pieces of chicken in our mini vats of BBQ sauce. The chicken was amazing and any traces of fat hat disappeared during the 4 hour smoking process used to cook this chicken. The meat was tender and juicy with that fabulous smokey flavor infused in every piece of meat.

The potato salad was great and very satisfying. The beans were a little too sweet for my taste but I enjoyed combining a bite of beans with chicken...gotta mix the salty and sweet flavors. Ronnie had run out of the smoked chicken salad which Steve and his friends told us was "the best" they had ever had. Our boys also enjoyed the chicken and side items but entertained themselves by tasting generous helpings of BBQ sauce on their forks.

About an hour later Ronnie asked if we wanted some smoked chicken salad which he had been saving for another customer. Apparently the customer did not show up and he decided to share it with Steve and the rest of us. The smoked chicken salad was a delicious combination of smoked chicken, sweet relish, celery seeds and other tasty ingredients. Our one monkey (the finicky eater) LOVED the chicken salad and devoured the whole container by himself. This was amazing to us as he never eats meat and we realized this was some uber-tasty magical chicken salad if ate the entire thing alone.

Important notes worth mentioning:
- Fully licensed to operate legally in VA
- Only open on the WEEKENDS
- They accept credit cards. Bonus!
- You can call ahead and place a special order
- If you're a pork eater, the ribs looks amazing and H-U-G-E!!
- BBQ sauce is a MUST!!

So should you make the looooooooong drive out to the Pit Stop for BBQ? Yes! Will you enjoy the freshly cooked food and ambiance along the side of a busy traffic circle? Hell yes! We'll be telling all our friends about the Pit Stop and will definitely be back very very soon. I think we'll see if we can call ahead and ask Ronnie to throw a rack of beef ribs for us in his famous smoker for us non-pork eaters...we will keep you all posted.

BTW, it's 9pm....almost 7 hours after eating the Pit Stop chicken...and my fingers still smell like smokey goodness. :-)

Pit Stop on Urbanspoon

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Chicken Out - Bethesda

4839 Bethesda Ave
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 907-8646

Visited:
March 5, 2010

**ZERO STARS**

I will NEVER ever return to this location!!

*** 2nd only ZERO star review ***

I had such a horrendous experience at this chicken out, that I went on their corporate website and submitted the following complaint:

----

My family and I stopped into the Bethesda location today and were completely mistreated by the manager (African American man) named Barry. He was rude from the beginning as I saw how he rudely treated other customers while I was placing my order with another employee. When I wanted to check-out and pay for my order, "Barry" did not excuse himself, unexpectedly left the register and walked outside to yell at some man sitting at a table.

After making a scene where people walking down the sidewalk appeared to be scared, he returned to the register and then proceeded to ring up my order. Once he rang me out, I saw a kids special posted on the wall advertising a free meal for children with the purchase of an adult meal.

I asked "Barry" if I could get a free drumstick for my twin boys. He rudely said "No, you should've seen the special BEFORE you paid. It's too late now!" I was disappointed by his behavior and in an attempt not to cause I scene kept quiet and made a note to contact the Chicken Out website in order to leave feedback.

Barry's bad behavior did not end there. While I was eating with my wife and twin boys, I noticed him rushing a customer as she inquired about an item on the menu. This man "Barry" told this lady in a condescending manner and loud voice to take a copy of the menu and make a decision BEFORE putting in an order. This "Barry" seems angry and all together unprofessional person and due to his abrasive behavior I will NEVER return to this Chicken Out location.

Come to think of it, as Barry is a representative of Chicken Out I will NEVER patronize any other location. Chicken Out truly needs to ensure they have employees that are not like Barry. His anger, unprofessionalism and rudeness will only cause Chicken Out to continually lose customers.

I will tell my friends, I will tell my coworkers, I will tell my ENTIRE family, I will tell EVERYONE to stay away from this Bethesda Chicken Out and from any other Chicken Out locations. Also, for a a half chicken with two side items and a drink, the price of my bill ($17) is too much for such a horrible experience and for food that is sub-par.

---------

That's my complaint. Its been years since I visited a Chicken Out and I must sadly report that if this Chicken Out is a representation of all locations, the quality of its products has severely declined. The quality of the chicken, the sides and employees have truly reached a low. The gentleman that actually served my chicken was kind and happy, but all that kindness was forgotten after my experience with his horrible manager, the donkey called "Barry".

FYI, the only reason I specified Barry's ethnicity was to separate him from the other gentleman working that day. The other man was the opposite of Barry and very kind.

I knew I should have truly slummed it and eaten next door at Five Guys. At least I know I would've been better treated there and would have spent a lot less while happily clogging up my arteries with fat.

I do not *heart* Chicken Out...

Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Himalayan House

1522 East Fort Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21230-5218
(410) 528-1271


Visited: February 27, 2010


Okay, so I must first talk about the employees and service. Top top top top notch and everyone there gets 5 stars for being such nice people. Unfortunately being such nice people doesn't make up for their food and makes this review even harder to write.

The boss lady, two monkeys and I were all in the historical Locust Point neighborhood when hunger set in. It a bit past 1pm and we were all starvin' and planning on making another trip out to Chaps Pit Beef to take advantage of being in a nearby neighborhood. When we asked the person whom we were visiting about Himalayan House (prompted by driving by and seeing the quaint little store), we were told, "It's the BEST Indian food I've ever had."

Okay, with such a statement the whole plan to visit Chaps willfully and magically vanished. Our pit beef craving was replaced by the thought of warm delicious Indian food goodness. We said goodbye to our buddy, parked the car and headed into Himalayan House to check out this place for ourselves.

Before stepping inside, a small sign hung on the door that read, "Only two children allowed inside at once.."

How odd...they limit the number of kids that can be inside? Interesting... I thought that this sign would mean that kids were not allowed and that the employees would look down upon us "breeders" for bringing our monkeys to their establishment.

That my friends was NOT the case. All the employees smiled as we walked in and even greeted our two boys like little VIPs. They waved, said hello and even switched into an Indian accented baby talk to entertain our boys.

The front of Himalayan House and most of the walls serve as the neighborhood convenience store selling everything from cigarettes, ketchup to paper plates. In the middle of the store two unassuming small tables are set up where people dining in can sit. We made our way to one of the free tables and sat down to decide on what we would order for lunch.

For a dining establishment that's also a convenience store, the menu was quite impressive. We decided on a some Chicken Tikka Masala and an order of Garlic Naan and Paratha stuffed with onions. As soon as we ordered, the kitchen that was behind us blazed to life as the chef began preparing our food. The man was a machine, quickly working away and getting all the ingredients ready to become our lunch.

We waited with much anticipation as we could see the chef cook everything fresh and from scratch. In the meantime, our boys began exploring the various shelves within the Himalayan House finally making me understand why they had a "2 child only" policy for their small store. It seemed a constant struggle with the monkeys to keep the merchandise on the shelves and to prevent our boys from turning the place upside down.

We in NO way blame Himalayan House, as the boys were a bit wild due to hunger and finally being free after being strapped their car seats for almost an hour. Right when the boys were about to reach the peak of their mischievousness, the food arrived and their attention was caught by a tall steaming platter of Basmati rice. Soon our monkeys were chanting "Wice! Wice! Wice!" while they pointed to the plate full of carb filled goodness.

As the rice was set down on the table, both boys dove in with their spoons jamming still hot rice into their little mouths...and then recoiling from the heat. Next, the plate of Chicken Tikka Masala was set down along with the freshly made orders of Garlic Naan and Onion stuffed Paratha. The Naan and Paratha smelled amazing and all sorts of wonderful smells filled the air as we began serving the boys and ourselves.

The Chicken Tikka Masala looked amazing and had a generous helping of that beautiful orange yogurt sauce that drown the pieces of chicken. Ripping off some of the Garlic Naan I dipped it into the Chicken Tikka sauce and enjoyed the bold garlic flavor of the bread, but wasn't "wowed" by the spices and flavor of the sauce. Next I tasted the chicken itself and although the breast meat was cooked to perfection (and not dry), again I as left wanting that slap-in-the-face of flavors I get when eating Indian food.

The flavor of our dish seemed "safe" almost as if they were too scared to cook the Chicken Tikka Masala with too many spices. The rice was delicious and our boys actually enjoyed eating generous portions covered with the Chicken Tikka sauce.

Although a bit disappointed, we continued to eat our meal and did not finish our entire order. We doggie bagged the leftovers, packed up our stuff and apologized to the staff for leaving such a HUGE mess of rice on the floor (courtesy of our monkeys learning to use spoons). Paying the bill I asked the wife what she thought, who agree that the food was simply "meh".

The service and people were great, but the food just needed a little bit more "umph" to make it a truly delicious experience. The whole trip home, I could not help but think of Kohinoor Dhaba and how the amazingly delicious their food tasted...it's unfair to compare any place to KD. But I digress...

Will I return to The Himalayan House? Probably not as any future visit to B-more will have me stuffing my face with Pitt Beef, crabs or oysters. But as other people will tell you, the staff there are truly truly dedicated to great customer service and should be commended on being such nice people.

Himalayan House on Urbanspoon