Next in Line!

Hi everyone.  I've created a "Next in Line" page above to list some of the places that are high on my list to visit in the future.  Feel free to suggest a place I should add to my list or to comment on one that you loved or hated.  As always, thanks for reading.

Seasons 52 - Tysons

The Mahi-Mahi.  Colorful and full of flavor.

I visited Seasons 52 in Tysons corner for a birthday dinner.  This is an interesting restaurant concept.  They claim that nothing on the menu is over 475 calories.  That's quite a boast!

The in-a-nutshell review for this restaurant is that it is pretty good!  It's in Tysons mall so my expectations were low, however, the ambience was very nice and we had a kitchen-window view from a private room.  The wine list is good sized and we were very happy with the bottle of Pinot and the glass of Malbec we got as well.

Flatbreads seem to be their thing so we tried their special of the day which included artichokes, goat cheese and onion.  Tasty and very light.  Which is how an appetizer should be!  Nothing worse than typical American appetizers that are heavy-fried and ruin your main course.  Our group of four randomly ordered the same two entrees so I can only report on those two dishes.  The duck salad was tasty.  It had a light sesame dressing and it was very sparsely flavored (which is how they probably keep the calories down).  This was just fine with me as I prefer my salad to not be drowned in goo.  My entree was another special of the day, which was a grilled-mahi-mahi.  The dish took me off guard by having quite a bit of spice in it.  Once I adjusted to it, it was very good!  The fish was cooked really well and the sauces had great flavor and weren't so rich that they overpowered the mahi.  Fish is such an easy thing to ruin at a restaurant if it isn't fresh or cooked poorly.  They hit this one out of the park!

For dessert, the waiter brought out a circular tray of little mini-dessert parfaits.  About the size of a large vial.  Again, this is probably how they keep their calories below 475.  I got a peanut butter, chocolate combination and it was about 4 big spoonfuls of deliciousness.

Overall, I liked it enough to come back.  The service was good.  My water stayed refilled ahead of my personal refill schedule and the food and wine were all as advertised.  I can recommend this to anyone in Tysons that's tired of Coastal Flats.

4 our of 5 stars

Zaytinya - DC

Jose Andres is one of my favorite chef's and someone who introduced me to the world of small-plate eating.  For my entire life previous to dining at his restaurants, I'd been forced to eat massive sized entrees of pasta, steak or burritos with that being my entire meal.  I always craved multiple tastes, textures and sensations but that isn't how Americans dine.  And then I ate at Jaleo and realized, food doesn't have to be limited to picking one giant entree!

Zaytinya is Jose Andres's Mediterranean tapas restaurant.  It is widely recognized as one of the best tapas restaurants in Washington DC.  It has a lively bar scene and it's hip interior, complete with 30 foot high windows, men in vests and fake eyewear can turn even the biggest "bro" into a hipster for the night.

My group of six sat down a little tipsy on tequila and began firing off suggestions to one another and our waitress.  Within minutes, huge football sized pieces of hollow bread appeared along with oil for dipping. The hummus came out first and we dipped our steaming pieces of bread in with great pleasure.  Great hummus is test number one for any restaurant claiming to have Lebanese influences.  It was very good and two plates of it disappeared in minutes.  Their hummus style is a very smooth blend versus a slightly grainy texture which some hummus lovers prefer.  Just a note so you have an idea of how they prepare it.

I've always said you can fry just about anything and it tastes great.  But that statement would not do justice to Zaytinya's fried appetizers.  First, the fried eggplant came out.  A testament to my fried food theory, I am not a fan of eggplant, however, it was beyond tasty.  After selling the fried Brussel Sprouts to my friends all night leading up to the dinner, I was impatiently waiting for the double-order I had placed to come out.  When it did, I made my mom proud by loading my plate up with about 15 sprouts.  Each sprout was lightly seasoned with coriander and barberries, fried in some miraculous way and then drizzled with a yogurt sauce that perfectly complemented each bite by adding cream to crunch.  The cooked texture is like a crispy-edged, juicy, flavorful artichoke.  The dish didn't let my friends down as we finished both plates.  For greek food lovers, don't miss the spanakopita which they make very much like a ho-ho.  Puff pastry shell filled with spinach and cheese.

The meat courses did not let us down, either.  The first to come out was the beef tartar.  Raw beef scares a lot of people but 5 of us lathered the tartar onto the supplied crackers.  Tartar is so dependent on seasoning and making sure the meat has a little texture left to it.  American diners don't like meat mush!  Zaytina's tartar gets it right.  One guy in our group has a very.... conservative palate.  Which means, he only wanted Calamari so we ordered two rounds.  Calamari is a very subjective dish and people prefer it all different ways.  I like it lightly fried and lightly seasoned and SUPER fresh.  I'm not a fan of chain restaurant methods of using frozen squid/octopus and heavily frying/seasoning the morsels and requiring the diner to rely on the supplied sauce to help it go down easily.  Zaytinya's squid is light and I could only detect salt and pepper in their seasoning.  It was so good that it did not require any dipping into the garlic-white sauce which led to a conversation about men having an aversion to white sauces, in general.  This was just one of the many hilarious, inappropriate conversations that booze and great food seemed to encourage.

Let's not forget one of the best dishes.  Be sure to get the HÜNKÃR BEĞENDI which is a braised Lamb Shank with puree'd eggplant.  This appeared to be Zaytinya's interpretation of Roast Beef and Mashed Potatoes using Mediterranean ingredients.  A second round was definitely required after the first round vanished before everyone could try it.

Coffee and dessert were no let down as one friend declared that their regular coffee was the best he had ever had.  I shared the soft-center chocolate lava cake with a couple of the group members but the highlight wasn't the cake.  It was the fresh whipped cream that Jose Andres has mastered making that accompanied the cake.  It is also accompanies their famous Flan at Jaleo that is my all-time favorite dessert.

Unfortunately, there are no photos to go along with this post.  Taking time to snap photos would have resulted in missing entire dishes as we gorged ourselves on tapas.  In other unfortunate news, my full belly and frantic ordering resulted in missing the opportunity to try the goat , the crispy veal sweetbreads and crabcakes.  But I'll be ready to go back very soon!

4.5 out of 5 Stars

Sorrento's Grill Tapas in Herndon

The chicken bites were the only highlight

Sorrento's in Ashburn used to be one of my favorite lunch spots.  Their kubideh and khoresht (Persian stew) were excellent and the wait staff always took good care of me.  Then one day, they were shut down because of a landlord issue.  I was their last customer.  It was a sad, sad day.  I love food so seeing one of my regular establishments go under was heart-wrenching.  Or maybe I was just hungry.

So when I saw that Sorrento's in Herndon (a fast-food version of the former Ashburn location) opened a Tapas Grill directly behind their existing restaurant, I got excited.  Unfortunately, there is not much to get excited about yet.  This place is a perfect case for groupons.  They were completely dead when I went and I imagine no one in the area knows they are open due to their hidden location behind the Herndon clock tower.  There was only one waiter working and no management on site (I asked to speak to someone).  The waiter was unenthusiastic and his english was barely good enough to understand my questions about the menu.  I asked for the waiter to check if I could order half-portions of some of the items so I could try more things. I have my faithful readers to write for, after all!  After trying several times to get him to understand, it was clear that he had no clue how to talk to the kitchen or ring it up as a half portion so I gave up.  The owner of the Sorrento's in Ashburn would have brought me out half-portions, probably wouldn't have charged me for it and I could' have reviewed more items for my readers.  Alas, I only sampled a few things....  Here we go.

Patatas Bravas???  I don't think so.

Patatas Bravas - Nothing like the Spanish version you've probably had and loved.  These were heavy thick wedges, lightly battered and fried.  A super heavy appetizer and almost lost my entire appetite after just a few pieces. They came accompanied by ketchup and a white sauce. A far cry from the normal spicy red and white sauces normally served with this dish.  $5.50

Camarones al ajillo (garlic shrimp) - This was ok.  Very heavy on the garlic and a good quantity of shrimp.  $9.00

Pimenton Chicken Bites - Very interesting dish.  Shredded chicken on top of small pieces of toast.  Each one topped with a tomato-cucumber relish.  I ate all four pieces.  Very light and healthy.  Just a little lacking in flavor.

Desserts were lacking so I opted to pass on dessert here. I really missed Jaleo's flan-of-perfection at this stage of the meal.

Smoothies - Not a bad smoothie!  I got the Acai smoothie and was surprised that it tasted so fresh.  Smoothies in a tapas restaurant are an interesting idea.  I'd probably order another one on a return visit.

I'll be back to try more of their menu, which was very diverse and interesting to look at.  My suspicion though is that the food and service will continue their initial pattern of "very mediocre".  You aren't going to get out of there without spending 20 dollars a person and that's without drinks.That's a bit steep for the ambience of the backside of the clock tower in Herndon!  Still, I've got a place to get some tapas and sit outside drinking Sangria once spring rolls around.

2 out of 5 Stars

Garlic Shrimp. 

Sorrento's Tapas in Herndon

Cherry Blossom Afghan Buffet - Sterling, VA

I've been to Cherry Blossom several times before but am finally getting around to writing a review.  Cherry Blossom is a large event-hall restaurant right off route 7 in Sterling.  It's very much tucked away so you'll need google maps to find it.  The dining room is a partitioned off area of the large conference hall which appears to be new and very nice, if you are looking to host an event in the future. 

The food is surprisingly good for a buffet.  I'm fairly particular about my middle-eastern food as I've had homemade Persian food many times and it's tainted my standards a bit.  There is salad with a yogurt dressing, a good number of hot vegetable dishes and several meat dishes.  My favorite has to be the potatoes, green been with a light red sauce and their chicken kabob. They offer several types of basmati rice including a spinach rice which is quite nice.  I will give Cherry Blossom credit.  Their chicken kabob is the most tender and juicy of any I've had.  There is nothing worse for me than trying to eat dry kabob on a bed of rice (Moby Dick).  Their kubideh (ground beef) kabob doesn't vibe with me.  I tend to prefer the way Persian restaurants make their kubideh as compared to Afghan restaurants.  Most of the veggie dishes had a little bit of spice to them but overall, the food was mild and heat-tolerable for kids and adults both. 

For dessert, a little white pudding with nuts and a hint of cardamom hits the spot or fresh fruit if you are watching your figure.  All this for under 10 dollars.  Check it out if you need a new lunch spot in the Sterling area.

4 out of 5 stars

Bon Chon - Korean Fried Chicken - Dessert at Shilla

A platter of Korean Fried Chicken.  Hiding to the far left.... Sojoo!

If you think of the world's best fried chicken, you probably would not think of Asians.  However, the Koreans definitely give southern blacks a run for their money with their unique and delicious version of a classic.

Bon Chon is a chain restaurant that specializes in Fried Chicken and they have locations around the world. Unlike those other famous fried chicken establishments, Bon Chon is NOT fast food.  Bon Chon uses a secret process to cook and season their meat that leaves the chicken crispy beyond belief and tender/flavorful on the inside.  The process that yields these miraculous results takes a long time.  So either be patient or order ahead.

I walked in to the restaurant in Fairfax and despite having been warned that the chicken sometimes takes up to an hour to cook, I saw two big platters of fried chicken sitting in front of us ready to go!  My friends used incredible foresight and thoughtfulness and arrived early to place the order. Or they were really, really hungry.  So I sat down and immediately dug in.  There are two flavors they provide at Bon Chon.  They essentially equate to spicy and mild.  The spicy was just at the edge of what I can tolerate without breaking into a pouring sweat, which was a perfect amount of heat. They also provide some Korean cole slaw and pickled radish which appear to be there simply to cleanse your taste buds in between wings and to keep the heat under control.  An ice cold beer and an occasional shot of sojoo and you really couldn't be any happier enjoying food with friends.

Side note, I have some female friends that can really, really throw down when it comes to eating.  Last night was an impressive showing as one of the ladies in the group was the undisputed pound-for-pound champ considering she out ate everyone by far and probably weighs in under a C-note.  Luckily the chicken is supposedly cooked in healthy oils which is a big difference between Korean fried chicken and KFC and Popeyes.  I was full, but didn't feel gross like you always do after binging on Popeyes.

I've heard some knocks on Bon Chon's service, however, our service was excellent throughout the meal.  It might have something to do with one of the girls in our group being full Korean, but I'll give this Fairfax location the benefit of the doubt this time.  The wings are not cheap and the wait time is 30-60 minutes but Korean fried chicken is a MUST-TRY for everyone. 

Oh, and there seems to always be a Bubble Tea joint or a Korean bakery near a Bon Chon.  I highly recommend going to Shilla and getting a Bing-Soo dessert to cool down your belly.  It's a mix of ice cream, shave ice, fruit, mochi (sweet rice chunks) and fruit syrup).  Really great!

4 out of 5 stars

A slightly mangled bowl of bing-soo for dessert at Shilla.