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The Yelp 100 Challenge 2014
100 reviews in 365 days? Too easy
235 Orte
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Wings 5-Sterne-Beitrag: One of my favorite things to eat in NYC was Japanese crepe from eight turn crepes. After moving to dc, I found nothing comparable to it. So while visiting my in laws for the holidays in Toronto, I was dying to see if there were any crepe places nearby. Pastel appeared on my top of yelp search and instantly I knew we had to give it a try! All 6 of us went with their lunch specials - $11.99 for a crepe and drink. For $1.50 extra, you can order the waffle as your special. I went with their specialty new crepe - sweet potato purée filled with shaved almond and maple syrup topped with two ginormous scoops of sweet potato ice cream and Creme brûlée coffee. The whole dish was pure heaven in my mouth. I especially loved the chewy texture of the crepe skin. It didn't get soggy at all which is different than the French styled crepe. Everything was perfectly balanced - nothing overwhelmingly sweetened or heavy. My table also sampled brownie crepe, chicken, ham, and tropical fruit waffle. My husband's aunt was chanting 5 stars from the first to very last bite. My mother in law who didn't much of an appetite polished her plate. My father and brother in law who usually stick to their familiar eats were impressed and chomped away. My husband claimed his waffle with pistachio almond ice cream was one of the best waffles he'd had. Although the place was small and busy, the service was attentive and we didn't feel rushed to leave. We were given plenty of time to chat and sip our drinks after the blissful meal. Overall - everything tasted beyond amazing, everyone was more than satisfied! We couldn't help but left with a beaming smile across our face. A well deserved all around 5 Stars! -
Wings 4-Sterne-Beitrag: After Nome canceled our reservation at the last minute, my husband scrambled to be yelp a place to have my welcome back dinner. He knows I would approve of anything fusion so when he described to me a restaurant with Mexican/Korean cuisine - i was all in! The restaurant was more divey than we imagined - bar-ish feel with great music. Place was packed on a Tuesday night and yet no one old than 30 was dining with us. After 16 hrs of work and travel, I was hangry. I literally wanted to try the whole menu but we later agreed to sharing 5. Spoonful pizza - sweet potato anything is pure genius. Instead of regular pizza crust, sweet potato purée as base. Loved the piping hot bacon tomato sauce with the oozy gooey cheese! Mr. johnson soup - tasted pretty much like a water downed Korean bean paste sauce with spam, sausage, canned beans, and elbow macaroni. I thought this dish was just ok - a bit too salty for me. Creamy rice cake - pillowy rice cake in Alfredo sauce along with pieces of bacon and mushroom. I could literally eat a whole bucket of this. Its richness was a nice contrast/balance to all the other heavier Asian flavored dishes. Lobster tacos - perfectly battered, generously portioned lobster tails with spicy mayo and fresh avocado slices. Delish! Kalbi tacos - similar to fajita - tender, juicy steak. As a seafood lover, I actually enjoyed these tacos more than the lobster ones! So good! Overall, Unique, tasty dishes with warm, friendly service! With so many items I would love to still try on the menu, will definitely be back! -
Wings 4-Sterne-Beitrag: After 4 straight days of dim sum and Chinese food, my husband finally had enough and suggested that I yelp something new. My in-laws always count on me for "adventurous" eat. When I learned that none of them had had Filipino cuisine before, I knew we had to make a trip to Casa Manila. We came shortly after noon on Sunday and luckily snatched a table for 6 without reservation (Definitely make reservation even in a small group because this place was packed by the time we were leaving). We ordered 4 main dishes and 2 desserts to share - pork sisig, shrimp Gambas, Lechon kawali, milk fish, halo halo, and casava cake. Initially we worried that we didn't order enough but the portion was generous and each dish was extremely rich. Food was made fresh to order and did take some time to prepare. But they were definitely worth waiting for! Pork sisig - the best best best sisig I've had!I've had many in the city where the sisig were soupy and runny. The ones here are crunchy and every bite was explosion of flavor! My only regret was not ordering more! Lechon kawali - very similar to the roasted pork belly in Chinese restaurants. Crunchy, juicy, and tender! Not too fatty, so yummy! Ask for extra dipping sauce! Milk fish - perfectly seasoned and made. They even debone it for you! My mother in law polished this dish! Shrimp Gambas - this was a disappointing dish. Small shrimp with diced peppers drenched in oil. Reminded us more of a regular Chinese dish. Lack of flavor and pool of oil = a definite miss. Halo halo - was enough to split it into 6 small bowls to share! It was refreshing but nothing too unique about this particular halo halo - aside from ratio of ice to toppings - could definitely use a bigger scoop of ube ice cream and more toppings. Casava cake - this cake tasted like an hybrid of flan and blondies. So so good! It had a soft flanny center but a chewy top and base. Arg I want more now! Overall, we were all impressed! My brother In law found a new go to lunch spot and I earned another brownie point as the family foodie. -
Wings 5-Sterne-Beitrag: My brother in law had tried and tried for years to impress me with his restaurant selection. The highest yelp rating I'd given prior to Sushi Moto had been a generous two stars. Perhaps, our palates are just too different. But never had I left a restaurant of his choice without a frowny face, not until Sushi Moto. First impression - Service was beyond attentive and warm. The manager and owner both came to greet our table and brought over complimentary appetizers and side dishes. We were treated like family and way overfed before our actual orders arrived. Food - My in-laws have a tendency of wayyy over-ordering. Although we came "not hungry", we each ordered a full entree plus 3 rolls, 3 appetizers, and a sashimi small to share. Their tempura anything (soft shell crabs and shrimp) were the best I'd ever had! Stayed crunchy throughout and not one bit greasy! Their agedashi tofu were perfectly fried and lightly doused with this amazing sweet sauce. I'm literally dying for more! Sushi rolls - tataki, crazy, and French kiss rolls - all extremely tasty! Their sashimi small - one of the best values ever - generous portion and various, high end cut fish! Last but not least, we decided to go all out and sampled their desserts! Fried red bean ice cream, fried twix with green tea, and black sesame ice cream. I was a bit disappointed by the fried ice cream since it wasn't one bit warm by the time it was served. They were heavy handed with the whip cream too. Nevertheless, still a tasty treat. My brother in law finally succeeded in finding an exceptional restaurant to turn this frowny, pouty sister in law around. Sushi Moto we all heart you and can't wait to visit again! -
Wings 2-Sterne-Beitrag: My brother in law brought us to Sam Jung after my husband and I arrived on Christmas Eve aka limited food options before our annual family gift exchange gathering. The staffs were over the top friendly. We were greeted warmly from the first step through the door. My brother in law reported that he visits Sam Jung at least twice a week - every staff member knew him and his regular order - which misled me to believe that we were in for a treat. Since we were in a hurry we decided to order the sashimi wasakawa and the beef dumpling rice cake soup to go. When we arrived home, I quickly learned that most of my sashimi pieces were still rock hard frozen. I quickly ate two bites and had to leave the rest to thaw. The beef dumplings were flavorless and the rice cakes were undercooked. We didn't have time to look for a second meal and forced to go to our family gathering with grumbling stomach. Such nice staffs, such terrible food. Perhaps we need to revisit on a non holiday and see if we just happened to go on a off night. -
Wings 5-Sterne-Beitrag: I've been wanting to make a trip out to my bestie and her now fiancé to see their new place. And this event happened to be within his apartment building! It was my bestie's first yelp event and she couldn't get over how friendly and welcoming yelpers were! My husband and I live in a Buzzuto building too but The Crown is truly exceptional! The party room is perfect for entertainment. There were plenty of space with lots to do! Self made bellani, photo props, gingerbread houses, white elephant gift exchange! And who can forget about the food? Fresh, chewy NY style bagels with smoked fish spread! Perfectly cooked pastas catered by the Italian fast eat just down the street! No matter how many seconds I went for, there were still two full party platters left over! Mike definitely outdid himself in making sure we were all well fed! For my first white elephant gift steal, I had my eyes set on Mike's pig shaped cutting board. And now it's sitting ever so perfect on my kitchen counter top! Thank you so much to Mike and staffs at Buzzuto for hosting such a fabulous end of the year event! NYC to Brooklyn to Queens to DC to Northern VA to MD burg - thanks for the yelpful year 2014! -
Wings 2-Sterne-Beitrag: At last, an ayce Korean BBQ opened near my parent's! I waited and waited and finally my brother was home for the holidays for us to visit! We came for Saturday dinner and was surprised at how empty the restaurant was. Perhaps the college kids had left for winter break - it was literally a ghost town at 7pm. Before coming, we were debating whether or not to opt for the sushi and BBQ deal - but once we arrived, we quickly learned that they had gotten rid of the sushi ayce option. Korean BBQ it was! Although it was ayce, the selection of meat was very limited. The options only included pork belly, pork ribs, or chicken. Craving some red meat? $2 additional cost per order. Fortunately, the pork belly and pork ribs were quite tasty! We just stuck to the basics and were satisfied. They had a banchan station with about dozen selection (pigs feet, spicy soba noodles, sweet potato tempura, beef dumplings, various kimchi, etc). Unfortunately, they all looked as if they had been sitting around all afternoon. All the sauces in each dish looked dry and crusty. If not dried out, they were drenched in hot chili oil. We nevertheless still gave each a try. Surprisingly, They weren't actually as bad as they looked! My personal favorites were the spicy fish rice cake and beans sprout! If only they were freshly made. By 8pm, they took away half of the banchan and never cared to bring new ones out. And we thought they were closing... Our server had only two tables to serve but was too busy watching the football game over us. When foods were out, we had to specifically hunt staffs down to beg for more. Not sure how long this establishment is going to last. But with the way it's running, doubt I will have a chance to give it a second try. -
Wings 3-Sterne-Beitrag: My husband had fed me well for every special occasion. For his 30th (and since I do finally have a grown up job), it was my turn to return the favor. I chose Obelisk after learning their tasting menu changes daily. It was a risky choice since i didn't have a clue what would appear on their menu that day. We went in keeping our fingers crossed hoping that they were serving attractive options. And we definitively were not disappointed! Antipasti - smoked swordfish, grilled stuffed sausage, grilled pepper, fried fish, and burrata. I wasn't a big cheese fan to begin with (I actually asked if I could swap the cheese course for something else) but their burrata was a life changer! Soft, creamy, and light - I ate two whole breadbasket with smear of their scrumptious burrata alone! Primi - arugula ravioli and spaghetti with clam - both pasta dishes could had been a meal on their own. Definition of perfectly made pasta! Secondi - bass and quail. My husband enjoyed his bass but didn't think it was too memorable. He wasn't a big fan of the slaw salad pairing. I, on the other hand, picked up my whole quail and attempted to eat every piece of meat off the bone. Tender, juicy - out of the world! Cheese - I'm so glad they said no to swapping my cheese course. I initially was just going to take a small bite of each but ended up polishing my plate clean! The hazelnut berry jam was the perfect compliment! Desserts - chocolate chestnut cake and rosa pudding. The cake was nutty and moist but wasn't sweet enough - perhaps should had been paired with some type of ice cream or sweeter cream? My rosa pudding was really runny and didn't have the consistency of a pudding. It was also overwhelmingly sweet - what a contrast to their cake. Overall - attractive, ever changing menu - perhaps we just came on a bad night for their desserts. Most of the dishes nevertheless were something I would definitely return for more! Service was a bit of a miss - we placed our order prior to the group of 6 next to us but they were served a whole course before us. We sat around for 25 minutes between each course. Our servers were not apologetic and offered no explanation. Ultimately, our 5 course dinner took over 3 hrs. Perhaps it was because we didn't order wine... 4 stars for food, 3 stars for service - Bad service really spoil dining experience! In sum 3.5 stars. -
Wings 4-Sterne-Beitrag: With husband using up his vacation days, for once he's home early enough where we can take advantage of happy hour eats around the area! After seeing the madhouse at Ruth Chris', we decided to give Del Campo a try instead. Although there was a private event at the main bar, we had no problem finding seats at the smaller side bar. Our bartenders were attentive throughout and even brought out and refilled the complimentary grilled bread! We ordered four plates to share: scallop ceviche sushi, chicken salad sliders, beef empanada, and pork belly sliders. Every dish was beyond scrumptious. Every bite was a treat. The pork belly slider was my personal favorite - not too fatty, not too greasy - it was melt in my mouth yum! My only complaint was that the portion was too small! Two items on each plate - but then again we were there for Happy Hours ($5,$7 for two sliders was actually a steal especially for the quality of food). With restaurant week around the corner, Del Campo is definitely on top of my to eat list! Can't wait to return! -
Wings 5-Sterne-Beitrag: My work threw its annual holiday party for the first time at Scion this year - honestly, what a treat! Since we came at off hours (2-4PM) - we literally had the whole restaurant to ourselves. There were more than space to move around, mingle, and played games. The staffs were more than accommodating (my refills were never empty!) and the owner's daughter personally came to greet/checked on us. I must say their large group pre-fixe menu was a steal! For $20 per person, we shared 4 different appetizers, each given a choice of 1 main entree, and 1 dessert. For that bargain price, I couldn't believe how many options were given - the hardest part was picking among so many mouthwatering choices - yogurt chicken? goat cheese ravioli? steak and fries? their signature burger? crab cake sandwich? scallop risotto? - my belly would had been more than satisfied with any of the choices listed! They started us off with edamame hummus, pulled pork taco, rock shrimp, and simple salad. Although the hummus was a bit plain (couldn't taste much of the earthiness of edamame), the rock shrimp was soggy and had a strange aftertaste/odor, and the simple salad was nothing too memorable, the tacos took the appetizer round home! They were beyond delicious! The juicy pulled pork, + spicy aioli + the fresh guac + crunchy taco shell - can we just eat these for the rest of the holiday party? I could honestly just ate platters and platters of these and not cared for any other food or dish. My 2 co-residents and I decided to maximize our ability to sample as many items as possible by splitting the scallop risotto, yogurt chicken, and crab cake sandwich. My scallop risotto was one of the best risottos I've ever eaten. Decadently creamy, well seasoned, perfectly cooked rice folded with truffle mushroom and winter vegetables, topped with a glowing, sunny side egg, and 4 perfectly seared scallop. My mouth can't stop watering just by the thought of having it again... The crab cake sandwich - generous serving of crab meat and loved the aioli on my toasted bun! The herb fries was the perfect compliment! The yogurt chicken - roasted tomato, grilled pepper, and creamy, spicy tomato/yogurt sauce resting on top of a pillowy pita bread. The chicken was a little overcooked/on the dryer side. Nevertheless, we still really enjoyed this dish! We ended our holiday lunch with the choices of berries sabayon sauce, chocolate mousse, and candied walnut salted caramel ice cream. No one around me ordered the chocolate mousse so I didn't get a taste (boooo). But the berries in sabayon sauce (light vanilla custard) and salted caramel ice cream - who knew such simple desserts could be so amazing? Regrets - there were just too many dishes I wanted to try - the pumpkin goat cheese ravioli and the burger one my attendings raved - let's be honest - I regret not tasting whole menu! Hope we have more group gathering/celebrations at Scion - if not at least keep it a tradition to have it host our annual holiday party! -
Wings 4-Sterne-Beitrag: There were always lines through the door at the nyc location. I'd tried chopt', just salad - and various make your own salad bars -I had always left unimpressed. But after sampling sweetgreen's seasonal salad at a yelp event, the lines finally made sense! With their buy one get one free coupon, I dragged my meat loving husband to give sweetgreen a try. We both decided to make our own bowl - my half warm grain, half kale with double sweet potato, spicy broccoli, roasted Brussels sprouts, and baked falafel with tahini yogurt sauce is the way to go! Fresh, filling, lightly dressed - every ingredient just blended so well together! Definitely don't forget to ask for bread! If only it came with more falafels ($2 for 4 small pieces)? We went a second time and the portion varied greatly depending on the staff who made it. It's pricy - average per bowl! Nevertheless, eating healthy never taste so good! -
Arlington, VA, Vereinigte Staaten
Wings 4-Sterne-Beitrag: It's the most festive time of the year! Although my husband and I didn't get to rock our matching ugly holiday sweaters, we didn't feel one bit out of place since everyone was so cheery and welcoming! There was a nice spread of food my husband and I sampled. I happened to claim one of the high chairs/tables by the bar aka right next to the kitchen so we got first dip every time. The brussel sprouts/turnip skewers were the perfect bite. The truffle risotto was rich, creamy, and aromatic. The margarita and shrimp pesto pizzas had the perfect crisp and beyond delicious. I wasn't too crazy about the pork belly (a little on the dry side) but I loved loved loved the sweet potato puree resting underneath. The risotto rice ball and crostini were also just ok (on the dryer side + a bit too salty). I can totally understand the other yelpers' frustration with the bar. It was super crowded - I was dying from thirst for the first half of the event (all I wanted was just water!). And the situation without any plates to eat from - it was a hot mess with the oven fresh pizza. Nevertheless, the staffs were extremely accommodating and worked extremely hard to pump plates after plates of yummy goodness. Ornament station was beyond adorable. Karaoke machine - too bad, my husband and I are tone deaf. But what some amazing voices other yelpers have! Awesome pre-celebration to upcoming holidays. Thanks to the staffs of Il Forno and Gretchen for planning the fabulous evening! -
Wings 4-Sterne-Beitrag: No turkey no problem! While everyone else is stuffing him/herself a traditional thanksgiving feast, I shamelessly woofed down three of their bread baskets...and that was just the beginning. They did offer a thanksgiving pre-fixe menu for $45 but we decided to go a la carte on their regular menu instead. I opted for their scallops and my husband went with their duck breast. My scallops were cooked to perfection. I soaked up every drop of their apple, curry cream sauce with bread. My husband's duck breast was cooked to medium rare as recommended by our server. Although it was cooked as suggested, my husband found it impossible to cut through with their regular knife and became a total work out for his jaw (tough and chewy). Nevertheless, his entree was still well made (the red wine sauce was heavenly) and my husband thoroughly enjoyed his dinner. Price was a bit steep but I ate my bread basket worth in return. Heard their brunch bread basket is whole another level of awesome! Can't wait to return! -
Washington, DC, Vereinigte Staaten
Wings 2-Sterne-Beitrag: Finally used my raffled prize aka $100 gift card with my husband and grandma at dinner tonight. I reordered some of the highlights (fried chicken and pot pie fritters) from the yelp elite chefs tasting dinner and sampled a few new dishes (gulf shrimp and trout). The fried chickens and pot pie fritters were as amazing as I remembered. However, my gulf shrimp were undercooked (still partially raw) and grits could use a bit extra tomato jam to balance out the cheesiness. The tiny trout was overwhelmingly fishy and lemony sauce didn't do much to mask it. We ended our meal with their apple crumb cake and a scoop of honey lavender ice cream. The Apple crumb cake had the consistency of a muffin. I actually preferred the biscuit with honey from my main entree of fried chicken to be my dessert instead. My scoop of honey lavender ice cream - looked like someone had already taken a bite out of it - couldn't believe they actually served it like this. The honey was overpowering and way way way too sweet. Love the concept of farm to table but Boss Shepherd's just didn't deliver. Service was spotty - our host noticed we were left looking all over wondering where our server went and sent another server to take over. Overall - thank goodness for the giftcard - the fried chicken was good but definitely not $24 good. -
Wings 4-Sterne-Beitrag: I realized my husband and I had been going to a lot more chain restaurants since we moved to DC. I remember seeing a Vapiano near NYU back in the city but never bothered to give this place a try. After eating panera, chipotle, cava, shophouse, etc week after week, we finally decided to check Vapiano out. Similar to Hill Country where each guest receives an 'ordering" card, the restaurant is also divided into sections - pasta, pizza, salad/antipasta, and sweets. My husband and I both went for the pastas - bacon, potato fusili special and spinach, ricotta ravioli in tomato sauce. Their pasta were made from scratch and on the spot. I watched in awe as my chef walked me through each step of his prep. He even threw in fresh cherry tomatoes into my sauce upon my request. With a quick tab of our "ordering" card, we were chowing down our freshly made giant bowls of pasta in no time. Although we weren't blown away by the taste of our food (they weren't omg delicious or anything memorable), we were happily satisfied. Reasonable price especially with the enormous portion size, clean, modern decor, ample seatings, and extremely friendly chefs, my husband and I now have a go to for a quick Italian fix! -
Wings 4-Sterne-Beitrag: One of the items my dad always buy from Costco is the boxed Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake. He eats it fresh out of the box, straight from the freezer (yep frozen cheesecake), and sometimes even with his bare hand. He's one of the biggest cheesecake fanatics I know! Little did he know that it is branded after an actual restaurant. For one of our father/daughter dinner date, I knew I had to show him there's more to the world than plain cheesecake! Before we dived right into desserts, we did have a proper, ginormous dinner - mac and cheese burger and pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries. For a chain restaurant, I'm very impressed by Cheesecake Factory! The burger/sandwich were well made (plus on quantity, plus on the quality too). The burger patty was juicy, the layer of fried mac and cheese was gooey and crunchy - I wasn't surprised that my dad devoured the entire burger in one seating. My pulled pork sandwich - perfectly toasted bun, saucy delicious meat on top of meat, topped with their creamy Cole Slaw - forget trying to save room for dessert! And did I mention their sweet potato fries were fried perfectly? One of the best sweet potato fries I've had - straight from the fryer and yet not one bit greasy! We wrapped our dinner date by sharing the perfect treat - Godiva chocolate cheesecake - 3 combined layers of perfection: brownie cake, chocolate mousse, and Godiva cheesecake. We polished the plate clean! With so many cheesecake options to choose from, my dad is now convinced to make a weekly outing to Cheesecake Factory to have one of each! -
Bethesda, MD, Vereinigte Staaten
Wings 4-Sterne-Beitrag: My first Moco yelp event! Finally one that is semi-accessible aka good timing where my dad can drive me lol. I haven't been to Montgomery mall since 10th grade and I didn't recognize it one bit. Thanks to a fellow yelper's tip, I was able to locate Microsoft store right away. In no time, I was being walked through all the newest gadgets Microsofts had to offer, munching on a nice spread of CK's pizza/sandwiches/salad, and entering their instagram/twitter giveaway. I was a little bummed out they only had two raffles and the event pretty much ended within an hr. Nevertheless I had a fabulous time as their VIP and checked out the store prior to their grand opening! Thanks to the staffs of Microsoft and Yelp for hosting! -
Wings 3-Sterne-Beitrag: Emergency closure at our original venue forced us to host our interviewee social at the Front Page. I understand that it was a last minute request but the way our group was initially managed was a complete chaos. We were left standing by the door for a good 45 minutes before they finally found space for us. And a space they found for our group of 30 was a strip of the bar long enough to hold at most 5 petite me. It took another 30 minutes of going back and forth looking for the manager before she finally found a new space for us. With the chaotic start, the manager did try to make it up to us with 5 complimentary appetizers and 2 rounds of drinks. On top of the offer, there were too many happy hours food options to resist - we just had to try them all! Some of the highlights we sampled included chicken quesadilla with fresh guac, chicken tender, tex-mex eggroll, and chicken flatbread. I honestly had really low standard for their bar food but couldn't stop myself from stuffing my face away. Although we were initially managed poorly, we were thankful that the Front Page agreed to save our night and hosted us. Seeing there were multiple groups/gatherings simultaneously happening, we'll definitely consider returning to the Front Page with better (earlier) planning! -
Wings 2-Sterne-Beitrag: Sorry to say but Cava just does it better. Since the closest Roti location is closed on the weekend, I walked down to Foggy Bottom location to pick up their salmon rice bowl with couscous, hummus, and purple cabbage slaw to go. My first thought when I saw how tiny the salmon piece especially for $2 extra was what a rip off - Appetizer sized at most - 2 bites and it was gone. To make things worse - it had been sitting around for way too long (Dry and cold) - Thank goodness for tzatziki sauce! The purple cabbage slaw tasted pretty much like crunchy plastic. Where was the flavor? It was left to their creamy hummus and fluffy couscous to save the day. I would definitely eat these two sides again and again. With Cava just the down street from where I live, probably won't go out of my way to give Roti another try any time soon. Perhaps I would return for their falafel or chicken - but definitely stay away from the dry, cold salmon. -
Wings 5-Sterne-Beitrag: Hot Spot, thank you so much for making my husband (and his belly) so so soooo happy! He had been wanting hot pot for months. Without a car or options in DC, we thought all hopes were lost in satisfying his craving. Finally on the coldest night since we moved to DC, we gathered a group of friends and begged for a drive out to VA. I'm still patting myself on the back for finding this gem. Amazing broth choices (Tom Yum soup?,I've never seen this as a choice in NYC!), 15+ sauces (their house special sauce is DA BOMB), individual pots (no worries about double dipping or offending your vegetarian friends), lots of seafood options (scallop? jumbo shrimp? - yay for me), attentive + friendly service (my diet coke was always filled + our orders were continuously replenished) - why didn't we make a trip out to Hot Spot sooner? The only thing missing - where are the sweets? Red bean soup? taro + tapioca coconut soup? or ice cream? doesn't have to be a part of ayce but would be nice if they have it available to order off the menu. With Polar Vortex 2.0, we'll sure make Hot Spot our go-to. -
Wings 5-Sterne-Beitrag: Finally a vegetarian/vegan restaurant that serves food that doesn't taste like cardboard. I traumatized my husband with my vegetarian/vegan phase. Every previous restaurants we went to served flavorless, tiny plates which ran a minimum average of $20 per entree. I'm totally for eating healthy but I LOVE eating food especially good food. It was no surprise that the phase died quickly. Then here comes Native Foods Cafe - large selections, tasty food, reasonable price, friendly staffs and did I mention? Super fast? I convinced my husband to give this place a try the weekend of its opening since it's literally half a block from his work. We became instant fan! Japanese sesame crusted chicken bites - tasted just like real chicken and packed packed packed with flavor! Butternut squash polenta bites - another winner, so well seasoned and awesome combined texture (soft buttery butternut squash over crunchy small bed of polenta!), Bacon cheese burger - the bun was slightly sweetened and perfectly toasted, the "bacon" and seiten burger with the melted gooey cheeseeee - sooo good, topped with fried pickles. Arg I'm drooling right now. Since my husband and I came during the opening week, we were offered free drinks - blueberry tea - so refreshing, reminded me so much of my all time fav blueberry tea from Bee's Knees Cakecup back in NYC. I am dying to return to try the rest of the menu. In fact, new goal - I will EAT every item on their menu. Let's go! -
Wings 4-Sterne-Beitrag: I was invited to their new menu tasting event. To be honest, I was only expecting overpriced, bar food coming in. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the presentation and quality of every dish I sampled! "Sampled" probably wasn't the correct term. I was served more than a full dinner -Earthy edamame hummus, gooey gourmet lamb pizza, refreshing Ahi tuna nacho, saucy BBQ pulled pork + mushroom truffle sliders, jumbo shrimp & cheesy grit, pan seared salmon + pillowy gnocchi, and who can forget? - juicy lamb chop with tangy tzatziki sauce! Definitely not your typical club/bar venue - I can't wait to return to sample the rest of the menu! -
Wings 3-Sterne-Beitrag: My husband is obsessed with food trucks. Even with his recent acl surgery, he would still make his way from work to check out the rotating lunch options. With glowing 4.5 stars, I convinced him to line up with me on the only day I had off thus far since we moved to the city (yay to visit husband at work!). Surprisingly, Rito loco was actually one of the few that he had not tried. My husband ordered the rib burrito and I ordered the Mojito chicken salad. The food were served before I had time to put my salsa/sauces into condiment containers. The owner was friendly and gave us free bottles of water to go (he felt bad that the snapple offer was still available through check in). He even put together a side of chips for my salad so it wouldn't get soggy. I wish I can say all the food was 4.5 stars awesome but it wasn't. My Mojito chicken was extremely bland. It pretty much tasted like it came straight from a can. My husband's rib was very flavorful however! I should had just been a full fatty (why salad why?). With the pressed/toasted tortilla, melted cheese, juicy pico de gallo, and pulled apart pork rib, his burrito was money. Lesson learned. I will be sure to skip the salad and stuff myself with their popular pressed burrito instead! -
Wings 3-Sterne-Beitrag: Stopped in White Apron with my husband for a quick bite (yay to first lunch visit since we both moved to DC). My husband had never been to White Apron despite the fact that he literally worked two blocks away. Not being the biggest sandwich fan, my husband decided to give it a try after my convincing (it's 4 stars on yelp!). We were welcomed by a sample station right by the ordering counter where they had all their condiments and bread laid out. I managed to make my own mini sampling platter while my husband studied the menu. We decided to share their Hobokan on wheat which we both thought it was just okay. The flavor combo was disappointingly bland. I thought my mini sample of just bread and condiments tasted much better. Perhaps we should have asked for additional condiments on the side? Although the service was fast and the space is clean. After trying the Hobokan, one of their signature sandwiches, I don't think my husband was convinced to return. -
Wings 3-Sterne-Beitrag: When i learned that I was invited to attend my first alumni event at Maggiano's, I was ecstatic since my husband had long raved about this chain (many memories of fraternity dinners and gatherings back in his good old college days). And knowing that Maggiano's is often compared to Camine's and Buca di beppe - humongous portion intended to be shared family style - I knew not only would I be wobbling out with a food baby but also many, MANY boxes of leftovers aka midnight snacks. Since it was a large group dinner, we were given the group menu which was pre-selected by our event coordinator. Our menu included 4 appetizers, 4 main courses, and 2 desserts. Our first course: Caesar salad, candied walnut salad, fried calamari, and bruschetta were all presented at once. The salads and bruschetta were just okay. I did however enjoy the fried calamari especially with their marinara dip. Not too greasy and stayed extra crispy - you can literally hear the crunch with every bite. I believe I demolished the plate for my table. Our main courses included mama's lasagna, the house made special pasta, pork loin, and tilapia. Again, only one of four stood out . Mama's lasagna was spot on. Layers of generous serving of meat sauce and ricotta - so so good. If only they can pour a bit more of the meat sauce on top = perfection. The other three dishes were disappointing however. The special pasta and tilapia were really bland. The pork loin and tilapia were beyond dry. But that's ok, I had the leftover lasagna from the other table too. For desserts, chocolate cake and apple crostada were served. My husband stressed and stressed that I had to bring home an apple crostada before the dinner. After taking my first bite, I finally understood why. The warm, sugar coated, flaky crust was money. The apple filling was perfectly sweetened. The scoop of vanilla ice cream was the cherry on top. The chocolate cake was a bit too rich for my taste. It actually reminded me of the chocolate gauche cake from Trader's Joe's . Overall, dinner was good but not great. There were hits but lots of misses. Service was a bit slow - they only assigned two people to serve + bartend for a room of 20+ ppl. Additionally, I didn't like the fact that the servers began clearing our tables to make room for the next course when some of our dishes were obviously not eaten/touched. I wished that they asked or at least offered to bag some of the food home - so much food wasted! They do offer amazing deal so I can see myself returning with my husband who adores this chain. But definitely will stick to my fried calamari, lasagna, and apple crostada at next visit! -
Wings 1-Stern-Beitrag: Honestly, I knew Red Lobster is overpriced for taste, quality, and quantity. But after seeing their unlimited shrimp-fest deal on TV again and again, my husband and I decided to give it a try (hey it's all-you-can-eat, at least we're making up for the quantity portion) and made a trip out to Silver Spring. Other yelpers were right. Service was almost non-existent. Unless you had hours to spare, do not dine here. We were literally seated and then forgotten. It took almost half an hr just to place our order. When our waitress finally appeared, she appeared to be a high school student. She was very pleasant at first but as the night progressed, we could tell she was overwhelmed and overworked. When we placed our second order for the unlimited shrimp offer, she came back with hands around her face reporting that the kitchen was very chaotic and couldn't handle our orders. Really? 2 orders of coconut shrimp was too much to handle? After sitting around for another hr of nothing (shrimp never came, water never refilled, to go bag never given), we decided our dining experience was a total loss. In addition, I only learned that our deal came with side salads which we were not offered after seeing it advertised on TV once more. My husband and I definitely felt ripped off. -
Wings 3-Sterne-Beitrag: I came in with low expectation but it wasn't as bad as other had described. It wasn't amazing but everything but the burger (I know it's a burger joint) was actually decent. The beef patty definitely need some work. I ordered 1/3 lb original burger medium rare - the patty center was served iced cold. The potato wedges and sweet potato fries however were well made -piping hot, crunchy, and not one bit greasy! Additionally, I enjoyed the condiment/topping stations - literally made my own salad with the lettuce, sliced tomato, onion, and salsa. Also melted Jalapeno and cheddar cheese as condiment? major yum! Lastly, unlimited soda choices - peach sprite zero? strawberry Fanta? Wished I had a bigger bladder and sample all the flavors! Tables were consistently turned over. The topping/condiment stations were kept clean (I made a minor salsa spill - before I can take a step over to the next topping choice, there was a staff hovering and cleaning after me). It's hard to say I would return any time soon especially since Shake Shack and Five Guys are just down the street. Nevertheless, would definitely give their exotic burger a try if I do along with the oh so yummy sweet potato fries! -
Wings 3-Sterne-Beitrag: My husband and I somehow found ourselves riding the elevator up to the top floor with Jeremy (along with the host? and 2 of his securities/escorts). Actually my husband wasn't really sure of what event I dragged him to and I'd only seen Jeremy's picture once before - midway through the elevator ride, I whispered to my husband, "I think that's him". Wanting to keep our composure, we stayed quiet for the rest of the elevator lift *insert awkward elevator music*. And our brief encounter with Jeremy ended there *phew - didn't make a fool out of ourselves* - now onto the actual event. We were surprised that this event was opened to the public and over 200+ guests registered. Thankfully check in was painless and straightforward. Just like most yelp events, we were immediately welcomed by tables of yelp swags by the entrance. Food: Neatmeat and District Doughnuts treated us to their most popular items - Sloppy Joes (loved the tofu and mushroom sloppy) and Blueberry doughnut (moist and heavenly). Space: 1776 would had been a great space to host small meetings/gatherings. 200+ people = limited seating and people standing over each other. People: Not sure there were much networking going on? but it was good to see some of the yelpers I met in other recent Elite events! The actual "fireside chat" - it was meh. I don't think I really learned much more about Yelp and its history (most of it can be read on other articles or even wikipedia). Jeremy came off as cocky at times and I began tuning out. I thought he would be more interactive with the audience but there weren't even a Q&A session at the end of the talk. Maybe I expected too much from this event or Jeremy as a person? Overall - it was an unique opportunity but I just wasn't impressed. Nevertheless, Thank you Kimberly for planning and hosting. Yelp - u still my fav. Jeremy- nice elevator ride. -
Wings 2-Sterne-Beitrag: I was a bit disappointed to learn a 4th Potbelly was opening within 5 minutes walking distance of where I live. Since we exhausted every fast food options in the area since my husband's surgery, we finally decided to give Potbelly a try. I was initially impressed by the staffs who not only were extremely friendly but also so helpful (each gave personal tips/menu recommendations)! But ultimately, we were disappointed by the food served. My husband went with their regular Italian in multigrain and I went with their skinny chicken salad in multigrain. Although our orders were made to order and served in no time, the sandwiches were at most mediocre. Our breads were stale. The chicken salad was tasteless. Their signature hot pepper was just salty - where's the spice? Honestly, Subway's had Potbelly's beaten by miles. Maybe I'm missing something - I honestly just don't get why Potbelly is so popular. Perhaps we ordered the wrong item? We'll give it another try some other time but definitely not dying to go back. -
Vienna, VA, Vereinigte Staaten
Wings 5-Sterne-Beitrag: My dad was my plus one (he had never been to a Halloween party or tried Cuban food before) - honestly since we got home - he could not stop raving about it (especially to my mom on how much she missed out - can we please have plus two next year?) The food selection was somewhat limited (especially compared to MD event - no coconut shrimp or shrimp&grits!) but everything offered was delicious! The guac trios and assorted chips (the apple, raisin guac and plantain chips my favs!), the beef ropa vieja, and yuca fries - I couldn't get enough! I thought I've seen it all especially with my 8 yrs in NYC - but man, yelpers are so crafty and creative with the costumes! Flo - the much deserved winner - the biggest congratz! Thanks to the staffs of Paladar and Gretchen for another fabulous event and kicking off a proper Halloween week celebration!