slygirl

I second Teaism. I will be going to the Tea Cellar at the Park Hyatt on Tuesday. I'll report back and see how I like it. It's gotten a lot of rave reviews on Yelp.com For tea shops, I like Teavana, but that's a national chain.

My boyfriend got a job in Fairfax so he and his parents were out apartment-hunting today. Finally found a nice condo to share for $545/month plus utilities in Reston! I had never been in Reston before and it is gorgeous! Anyway, we went to Reston Town Center and ate at Clyde's. While the food there wasn't as good as the Clyde's in Columbia or Chinatown, I wouldn't turn down eating there again. The only thing I found lacking was that our server was pretty attentive to our needs until it came time to pay the bill. Clyde's is a pretty good place to take in-laws or non-adventurous eaters. The bf's parents liked it very much and are looking forward to visiting again soon. Also, Edible Incredible's cakes are marvelous. I bought the lemon one and the white cake with chocolate frosting. They are so fluffy and moist. Way better than Cake Love, which I think is overrated, anyway.

If I'm at the mall, I usually get some tea from Teavana. Their peach oolong and masala green chai are so fragrant and yummy. Otherwise, my current stash consists of tea that I've purchased from Teaism, Tealuxe, and Alice's Tea Cup. If I've sat down for a cup at a tea house, I'm more likely to buy loose tea from them. There's a small coffee shop down the street from where I work called Baked & Wired, and the other day I tried a Vietnamese tea called The Coloniel (black with vanilla). It was so good, I need to go back and get myself a tin so I can make it at home. Republic of Tea is good, and I've liked the white tea I got from Trader Joe's as well.

I pass by Ray's the Classics almost every day. So far, nothing yet. I'm looking forward to eating there, though! Preferably with a Simpsons fan so we can quote that episode where Homer gets into a steak-eating contest with a trucker: Cow with a martini glass in hoof: Look at him, he's only halfway through Walter and already he's hallucinating!

Agreed. Against my better judgement, I had the Mama's Special Chicken the other day. It was supposed to be crispy and hot. When it came out, I was kind of nervous because little pieces of red peppers covering the entire thing. Turns out, it was just bell pepper. The chicken was a little too crispy. The sauce coating it looked like a pale yellow honey. It was a little sweeter than what I'm used to, but at least it wasn't an abundant amount of sauce and grease. On another note, someone in my family must have liked it, because when I went to find it to eat for lunch today, it was gone. I should just keep bringing Ethiopian leftovers home because no one would ever touch that! Haha.

LOL, I work in Georgetown.I never really know what to say when people come in to my store and ask me to recommend a restaurant. But to its credit, I've had decent meals at Filomena's (during Resturant Week, however... their desserts are yummy, though!), Cafe LaRuche, Clyde's, Pizza Paradiso. Harmony Cafe, Moby Dick, Tu-o-tu, and Snap are good as well if you want a quick bite. I did have a craving for some wonton/char siu noodle soup one cold day, and since the closest place that served it was Vietnamese place across the street, I called them up. I rattled off my order in Vietnamese and was about to hang up when the guy on the other line said, "Uh, miss, I don't speak Vietnamese." Whoops. I guess it's wrong to assume that when you call a Vietnamese place, don't expect the guy to speak the mother tongue. The worst meal I've remember to date was when my friend told me he was craving a "real" Philly cheesesteak. He isn't from Philly but he is from PA and used to go up to the city all the time. He found out about the Philadelphia Cheesesteak Factory in Georgetown, and we went there. He ordered us "two whiz with onion", took a bite, and told me they were the "real thing". I was only able to eat about a third of that. Ugh. Good thing I took some Lactaid, otherwise I'd probably be sick the rest of the day.

I go to Montgomery College in Rockville, but I don't have a car, so I try to get a good lunch in before my 1-6:30 class block that's within walking or Metro distance. My regular haunts are the Quizno's, Potbelly Sandwiches, and California Tortilla around the Regal Theatre, but since these are well-known chains, I won't review them. Although right now California Tortilla is giving out these scratch off tickets where it seems everyone wins. I guess I will be eating there more often if I keep on winning free no. 2 combos China Bistro (755 Hungerford Dr) This little Taiwanese cafe is located in the same strip as Pho 75, and about a 15-minute walk from school. I ordered carryout. For dine-in, there are about four small tables, each seating about 2-4 people. The main thing that attracted me to this place was the bubble tea and the dumplings. I ordered Mama's Special Dumplings (12 for $7.50). While I was waiting for my food, I could peek into the kitchen behind the counter and see a man about my dad's age carefully rolling out the dough and stuffing it with filling. I noticed about 3 people working at the time (including the dumpling-making man), but it took a while for one of the staff to notice a customer waiting to pay for her food. The bubble tea here is offered in three sizes and even with the large, it's still a better deal than the bubble tea I get near work. It tastes better, too, although my favorite place to get bubble tea is still Eden Center. I actually didn't get to eat the dumplings until the middle of class, but it was still piping hot. The dough wasn't too thick or too thin. The filling was pork, shrimp, chives, and with enough napa cabbage to give it a bit of a crunch. It was really cold that day, so it was the perfect comfort food. Thinking back, it was a pretty pricey meal for just dumplings and bubble tea. The next time I go there, I'll probably just get their lunch special, which is your standard fare Chinese dish with rice and eggroll for $4.99. Kam Sam Supermarket (300 N. Washington Street) When I don't have a lot of money but I really need some kind of breakfast food, I like to get a bun or two from their bakery. In the morning their buns are still steaming hot. My usuals are char siu bao, green bean bun, red bean paste, or pineapple bun, but they have many others. The buns range from $0.85-2.00. Taipei-Tokyo Cafe (1596 Rockville Pike) The last time I ate at this place, I had just gotten into sushi and a friend took me here. That was back in '99. It looks like the place hasn't changed too much. The restaurant has two sections: Chinese and Japanese food. The lunch specials are affordable, and the portions are huge. $6.99 will get you a large plate of beef teriyaki, two scoops of rice, and salad. I like to eat rolls moreso than sashimi, so I can't judge the sashimi... but the eel rolls are yummy (they are my favorite kind ). Three Sisters Cafe (20 Courthouse Sq #107) Conveniently located across the Courthouse, this place is good for a quick bite. Like many mom-and-pop places, they don't accept credit cards, but there is an ATM inside. For $5.99, I had the pancakes, which included eggs and bacon. I couldn't finish it all, so maybe next time I'll just ask for pancakes. Despite the breakfast rush, it's a relatively quiet place to sit and read your morning paper. The people who run the cafe are very friendly.