The Daily Grill - Tysons 2

2001 International Dr
McLean, VA 22102
(703) 288-5100
www.dailygrill.com

Visited: April 13, 2010



You know that motto "aim high" or "shoot for the stars"? What would you say if someone or a place had a motto of "aim for mediocrity" or "go for average". It may not be their official motto, but that's what it seems like whenever we come to the Daily Grill.

I'm never unhappy with my food, yet I'm never happy or "wowed" but what I just ate. A bit more clarification for my "C" rating of this place which as you'll see has been graded on a curve. The curve I speak of is the fact that the Daily Grill will bombard you with FREE coupons once you sign up for their eClub mailing list.

I hate to admit it but the only time I've ever stepped foot in the Daily Grill to eat is when they mail me a $15 voucher for my birthday courtesy of my eClub mailing list membership. If I had to pay full price for my mediocre meals, I probably wouldn't be too happy...but would still give them 3 stars.

Today's journey to the Daily Grill was courtesy of my boy Steve "Batman" L. He posted a note that the Daily Grill was offering a free burger to all patrons if you brought in a canned food item. Boo-ya free burgers! We headed over to the Daily Grill with our friend Kathy and her lovely little daughter, the boss lady and our two mini-cupcakes.

As soon as we arrived, the host didn't greet us with a hello but gave us an odd look and asked, "How many canned items do you have?"

"Ummm...5 items, but we only want 3 burgers"

"How many people?"

"3 adults and 3 kids".

"This way sir". He grabbed some menus, some crayons and activity paper for the kids ans showed us to a table next to the entrance. Five minutes later we were welcomed by the waitress and put in our order for our free burgers and some brews.

The kids were hungry and were starting to get a little rowdy, which made the unusually long wait for the food seem even longer. As we waited we saw other groups of people arriving at the restaurant carrying canned goods; the word had gotten out!! Almost 45 minutes later our food arrived and everything seemed a bit cool..not cold, but cool. The onion rings that came with our free burgers were scalding hot but crispy.

We dove into our burgers and the boys destroyed the fries that came with the baby burgers we had ordered for them. Our friend Kathy's cutie daughter dined happily on her burger waving hello to me and calling my name in between her tiny little burger bites.

When we finished our food, I had that C-average feeling...wasn't unhappy and wasn't content. Just "okay". I'm not sure what it is about the Daily Grill but they just don't have that it factor that separates them from all the other steak, burger, potato type American food joints.

Don't get me wrong the ambiance is nice, the place is clean and they do try very hard to aim toward the upscale crowd. Just seems a bit silly to pay $44 for 3 mediocre tasting burgers...which thankfully we didn't.

Paying the bill and tipping generously, we left the Daily Grill and told our Kathy that we'll come back the next time there's some free special or if we get another b-day coupon. Yeah, it may sound cheap but why am I going to pay full price for a place that's not worth the full price?

Based on the average rating and the ratings of other Yelpers, I guess the Daily Grill is doing a great job at being that average type of restaurant.

A+ on being a C student! Way to go!!

Mama Lavash Bakery

2190 Pimmit Dr Ste A
Falls Church, VA 22043
(703) 827-7788

Visited: April 2010



I've given the freshly made bread many tries. Here's a quick summary:

The Mama Lavash bread is:
1) over priced
2) under flavored (missing something...)
3) not always fresh

There is a local bread maker based in Lorton, VA called Kamawi that makes some AMAZING lavash bread (bread is called "World Famous Flat Bread") and sells it at the Shopper's Food Warehouse in Seven Corners.

I'll post the review later for that Shopper's Food Warehouse because that "World Famous Flat Bread" they carry is like crack...something that the Mama Lavash bread just can't touch.

Five Guys Burgers - Falls Church

2960 Gallows Road
Falls Church, VA 22042
(703) 560-3483
www.fiveguys.com

Visited: April 9, 2010



I'm biased...let me get that off my chest right now. If you can't accept this, then scroll past my review or click on the "X" in the upper right hand corner of your window.

What do I mean by biased? Well I used to be a fan of Five Guys and their oh-so-bad-for-you-but-sessy-tasty-burgers. I didn't mind making the drive to Alexandria or to this Gallows Road location provided I had my burger with my choice of toppings and those oh-so-good Frenchie fries.

But...ever since my trip to Ray's Hellburger all that has changed. I can't really justify spending money on a burger who's meat quality is not top top top. I can't justify driving all the way to one of their locations just to get my burger fix, when I could easily hop over to Ray's and stuff my face with a great tasting high quality burger.

Before Ray's, I would've given Five Guys four stars...a big part of that "old" rating was due to the friendly staff of this location, the consistent nature of the burgers (they are tasty) and the fries...OMG the fries.

I equate my change to this:

Your entire life you've driven a little 4-cylinder car and only that car. Yeah you drove the sh*t outta that car and had fun with it, but then comes the day when you step inside a 6-cylinder high-performance sports car. You life changes, your outlook on cars is forever altered and you have a hard time thinking your once cool 4-banger is the shizzy. All you can think about is that 6-cylinder machine and all you want is that car...

Five Guys is that 4-banger and Ray's is my new 6-cylinder love...sorry guys, I'm all "grownz up" and I need me a big-boy burger...

Breaux Vineyards

36888 Breaux Vineyards Ln
Purcellville, VA 20132
(540) 668-6299
www.breauxvineyards.com

Visited: April 2010



Seriously one of THE best VA vineyards.

The views are spectacular, the wine is tasty (still a bit pricey for locally produced VA wine) but the staff are the best.

When you visit Breaux you'll notice that the layout of the customer centric area is beautifully designed. There are strategically placed trees providing shade, gazebos with tables and many staff keeping the area clean and proper.

I'm never disappointed whenever I visit Breaux and love the drive to this majestic vineyard with hundreds of acres. They grow their own grapes and they make all of their own wine. I find it hard to visit any other VA vineyard when this place has everything I'm looking for.

If you're a dog lover or have a furry companion (no, not your hairy husband or wife), you can bring along your favorite doggy friend. The staff does an amazing job at keeping the ground clean and I've never come across any doggy "surprises" despite all the hairy visitors. Plus, our two monkeys love seeing and playing with all the friendly dogs which often entertains them allowing Mommy and Daddy a few minutes of peace as we enjoy our tasty vino.

So if you do visit Breaux, here are a few hints:
1) Bring your own food; cheese, fruits or nuts but DO buy the freshly baked bread from Breaux. Makes for an even better experience.
2) Arrive early, find a nice spot to setup your blanket in a cool shady area.
3) Do do (Ha! I said doo doo) the wine tasting to sample and get an idea of which Breaux wine you'll enjoy.
4) Grab a bottle of Breaux wine and enjoy yourself and the wonderful view.
5) Relax, take a deep breath and just enjoy yourself, the wine and the company of your loved ones or friends. :-)

I'd give them 5-stars if the prices of their VA produced wine was a bit lower. Just seems a bit high to charge anything over $10 for wine produced in this state when I can go to my local Trader Joe's and pick up a great bottle of French wine for under $7. But I don't hold it against them as I still love visiting Breaux Vineyards and will visit them whenever possible.

Pearmund Cellars

6190 Georgetown Rd
Broad Run, VA 20137
(540) 347-9627
www.pearmundcellars.com

Visited: April 10, 2011



I am SO tempted to give this place 1 star....Frak it...one star.

Lemme explain.

We arrived there before my other Yelp-a-rino amigos and decided to start on the wine tasting. On the plus side they had a little play area for kids with toys, puzzles and all sorts of things to keep the monkeys entertained.

When we arrived a kid was already playing in this area and the toys were spread out all over the small carpet. We were about 6 feet away from out boys who were happy to play in this little area while we began our wine tasting adventures.

As we began tasting the wine, I was disappointed at the flavor of the home brewed vinos and was not surprised when the wine server informed us that only ONE wine was made on premises with the grapes grown on the Pearmund grounds. All of the other wines are made from grapes bought from other growers in different areas.

-1 star for that bit of information....grow your own grapes!!!!!

As we tasted the various wines, I wasn't impressed with the flavor of the Permund offerings. There was something missing from each wine and every single wine left me wanting "more".

-1 for the not-so-impressive Pearmund wines.

Once we finished up the wine tasting, we bought a bottle to enjoy there ($25 for a bottle of white wine; Viognier) which seemed quite steep for Virginia wine. Seriously, I can get some AMAZING 5-star Italian, French or even Napa CA wine at Trader Joe's for under $6...

Anyway...

Once the other Yelpers finished their wine tasting, we decided to head outside, grab a table and enjoy the mountain views while enjoying some cheese, bread and snacks. Before we headed outside I picked up some of the toys in the play area although the toys were already messy before our arrival. We cleaned up as much as we could before our boys ran outside after some of the other Yelp-a-ronis.

We sat outside, enjoyed the view and tried as best as we could to sip some wine and engage our friends and Yelpers in some fun conversation in between chasing after our monkeys. Thankfully 2nd Ben helped me chase after one monkey and the rest of the Yelpers were kind enough to let our boys engage in some frisbee and football throwing fun.

A few hours later we decided to head home and ran inside to use the loo. As I left the restroom, I notice one Pearmund employee (a lady) giving my boys the most EVIL eye ever. When I reached my wife, she informed me that one of the female employees (the same one giving my boys the nasty look) had lectured her about how we "inconvenienced" her by leaving a mess of the toys in the kid's play area. She told my wife that it took her almost 30 minutes to clean up the toys that WE left laying around.

BULLSHIT!!!!

Listen, I hate to be a d*ck but if you're in the service industry it's YOUR JOB to pick up and clean up. We did not create the mess and I'm sorry if we didn't completely pick up all the toys. But how DARE you criticize us...customers with small children for leaving a few toys laying around.

-1000 stars!!!

With the sub-par wine, nasty looks flashed at my boys and for the lecturing of my wife, my friends and I will NEVER return to Pearmund. We are your customers and if I drop trou, take a sh*t in the middle of your lobby I expect you to clean it up with a smile on your face and then THANK me by saying "Please come again sir".

If that makes me a snobby muthaf*cker then yes, I am that... Never EVER insult a customer and never give nasty looks to little innocent toddlers for being children. With your sub-standard wine, bee infested outdoor area and blase vineyard...you better learn to kiss the ass of all your customers if you want repeat business.

Just know that I've told my Yelp friends to abandon all ideas of returning here and head to Breaux vineyards for a truly memorable VA wine experience.

Pearmund, I have already forgotten about you....

Outback Steakhouse - Vienna

315 Maple Ave E
Vienna, VA 22180
(703) 242-0460
www.outback.com

Visited: April 10, 2010



Ewwww....

The ONLY reason we came here (the wife and two little cupcakes) was that we had a gift card and were in the area. I know the steak isn't the best and have even heard that its frozen...a "no no" in my book of meat...

But despite these reservations about Outback we still decided to pay this place a visit. Major disappointment.

We started off our dinner with some crab stuffed shrimp:

The crab "stuffing" was primarily made up of bread and there was only the slightest hint of crab flavor. Being so close to Maryland you would think that Outback could splurge a little and make the crab filling a bit more crabby. The shrimp they used had an texture and slight flavor that slapped my taste buds in the face and yelled, "Hey bizznatchez I'm fro-zen!!"

Rubbery textured shrimp, not a good thing....

Our main course was a 6 ounce steak with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed veggies. The mashed potatoes were okay, the veggies were "enh" as they were a bit overcooked but the steak was truly forgettable. Nothing disappoints me more than eating red meat (the few times I do eat it) and tasting nothing...

The steak was bland in flavor and it was evident this was not a great cut of meat. I had ordered the steak cooked to a medium temperature and it was more of a medium well. You know, it's probably a good thing it was a medium well as I wasn't sure about the freshness of the steak.

On the positive side of this Outback, the service was friendly and very attentive. I had a nice tall mug of Blue Moon beer and used that tasty brew to wash down the food and clear my taste buds. As we wrapped up our experience, I noticed that Outback was THE Zagat winner of BEST steakhouse of 2009. As I looked at the fine print, it was "Best CHAIN steakhouse of 2009".

Enh...

Well despite this Zagat rating, never again Outback...never again. Or like Edgar Allan Poe's Raven would so ominously quoth, "Nevermore!"

Shoo raven, shoo...

*** Large black flapping wings stir the air as the Raven departs with my last piece of Outback steak ***

Lost Dog Café & Gourmet Pizza Deli

5876 Washington Blvd
Arlington, VA 22205
(703) 237-1552
www.lostdogcafe.com

Visited: April 2010



Wow, what a change! The last time I had been to Lost Dog Café, the place was tiny, the bar was sticky and the food was tasty. This time, the place is much bigger, cleaner but we did have somewhat of a wait for our food. The major plus is that with their new expansion/re-model, you no longer have to wait a long time for a table.

The place is much brighter and just feels much cleaner than it did before. Don't get me wrong, I could care less about how clean a place is...especially if I'm just imbibing on some cold cerveza. Just a plus to have the place really turn around for the better in case I ever decide to take the boss lady and the two monkeys.

Today's outing to Lost Dog Café was last-minute and I was joined by fellow Yelpers Steve L, Fenny L and Ben "1st Ben" M. The only people to give into the cerveza urge was Steve and yours truly which was a welcome lunchtime treat after a brain stewing week at work.

We laugh, we joked and our stomachs grumbled as we waited for our food to come outta the kitchen. I deducted 1.5 stars for the wait as I don't remember ever waiting this long for food to come outta the Lost Dog Café kitchen.

When the food finally arrived I was happy that the Italian Waffle fries were hot, crispy and very tasty. My sandwich (The Cowboy) was a little light on the meat and garlic and had very thin slices of Bree cheese melted on top. Major props to the Lost Dog Café for the baguette bread used for the sammiches; it was so fresh and tasted amazing. There's nothing worse than crumbly old stale baguette bread...ugh.

Thankfully the ingredients in my Cowboy Sandwich (warm roast beef, garlic, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed onions, garlic and melted Bree) were all tasty. Just wish the darn thing had a bit more meat inside, but all together a very tasty meal.

It's still a great place to grab a frosty cold brew and to have a sandwich or pizza combination that will give you a break from the standard "boring" fast food chain places. I just wish we were there on the weekend and had someone else to drive so I could enjoy more than just one tasty brew.

Based on this experience and past experiences, Lost Dog Café will always have a special place in my cold little heart.

**woof**
****woof***
--B*tches!--
******woof******
********woof*****

Oh yeah, best part of today's lunch was seeing Fenny book outta the parking lot doing 40 mph in order to get to her meeting in time. Thanks for putting up with all of us Fenster!! :-)