Dec 27 2012

[Restaurant Review] Oby Lee – Arlington, VA

▣ Location: 3000 N Washington Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201 (Clarendon Metro)

▣ Tel: 571-257-5054

▣ Coffee / Wine / Crepe

▣ Yelp Rating: ★★★★★ (almost! 😉 as of December 27, 2012) – Click for more info!

This very hip, fun eatery / coffee house / wine bar is located a little off Clarendon Blvd in Arlington. As soon as you walk in, you sense great coffee aroma, see all the wine bottles and smell the food. The owners, Oby and Ula, are the friendliest people that you will ever meet! 🙂

Say hi to the snowman! 🙂 The best thing about Oby Lee to me is that they KNOW coffee. Oby, the roast master, actually roasts beans himself. Even their flavored coffee drinks, including the m.a.g.i.c.a.l peanut butter cup latte, are really great! (Just talking about it makes me wanna go get it now!)

Oby Lee is one of those places, where you get your food and drinks and, at the same time, keep looking at other people’s dishes, thinking, “Man… What is that? That looks delicious too!”

Not only do they have great breakfast options, such as the “Puffins”, they also have savory quiches to die for. Not a big fan of quiches? That’s ok. Here’s what I always get! CREPES!!! The picture below is their roasted chicken salad crepe, which is served with baby green salad. You can see them make it with the cool crepe maker and it’s really fun. Even when I drop by after dinner, I get this crepe below! Strawberry and whipped cream crepe! It’s very berry delicious! I one day took some of my friends and they LOVED the banana nutella crepe. That’s right. Bananas + Nutella = Heaven!There’s one reason why other “coffee & wine” places around here can’t beat Oby Lee. WINE FOUNTAIN! I love thee, fountain. I am not a much of a drinker. However, I enjoy sipping on wine. The problem usually is that I end up getting drunk after a half glass. Oby Lee has solved this problem! You can purchase their wine card and charge it at the counter. This machine gives you three options: full glass, half glass and TASTING – my favorite! To people like me, it’s perfect! I can still taste 4 different wines and stay sober!So, bottoms up! Next time you visit Oby Lee, if you see me, come say hi! 🙂

Dec 24 2012

Red Fox Inn – Middleburg, VA

We were looking for something less hectic for this Christmas and remembered the town called Middleburg, which was on the way to the pumpkin patch on 50. Red Fox Inn caught our eyes and the brunch this morning was pretty successful!

First thing we got?! Who doesn’t want eggnog with extra booze, right? 😉 Then we had Boston Bibb salad with roasted beets, peanut soup, steak and fries, crabcake platter with root veggies and goat cheese grits, bread pudding and chocolate mousse! My favorite part was the desserts 🙂 The food itself didn’t really “wow” me to be completely honest but the atmosphere and their great service made our dining experience very satisfying!

I would definitely go out there again and spend a night. It looked like a really good day trip destination. The downtown area had quite a few restaurants and lots of shops. Within 5-10 miles, there are several vineyards and farms as well. It should take about an hour to get there from DC.

My Christmas Eve has been delightful so I hope you have a wonderful one too! Merry Christmas!

Dec 22 2012

[Restaurant Review] Brabo Tasting Room – Alexandria, VA

▣ Location: 1600 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314

▣ Tel: 703-894-3440

▣ American, Belgian

▣ Yelp Rating: ★★★★☆ (as of December 23, 2012) – Click for more info!

Literally two blocks from work, this small restaurant called Brabo Tasting Room is attracting a lot of people who visit Old Town, Alexandria, VA. Honestly, I hadn’t even heard of this place until my friend mentioned it the other day. It is right next to BRABO by Robert Wiedmaier, which is supposed to be another great dining option. We weren’t really properly dressed that night so we went for this rather “casual” option at Brabo Tasting Room. When you walk into this “old” building, their modern looking kitchen with the brick oven welcomes you.

So, what do they offer? Their menu isn’t that complicated. We got “Boston Bibb Lettuce” salad, “Local Tomato Bisque” and “Classic” mussels. One great thing about this place is that it’s really “share-friendly” 😉 As you’ve noticed, some people just LOVE to order a bunch of different dishes and share everything. That’s me! Anyway, we were going to share all the dishes and didn’t really say that to our waiter but when they brought out the salad, they nicely plated it on two separte plates for us! That’s called some great service!

Every bite on the plate tasted so fresh! Not to mention the perfectly cooked beets, even the lettuce itself tasted so delicioius. It was tossed with perfect amount of their mustard vinaigrette.

Brabo_Bisque

Tomato bisque was incredible! To me, most soups here in the States are a little too salty. However, this one was perfectly seasoned with great basil aroma and a nice taste of Crème fraîche.

Brabo_Mussels1

Mussels! Where do I even start? As a big fan of all kinds of seafood, I don’t even need sauce or seasoning for mussels usually. I sometimes just boil them in water with a couple piece of jalapenos. This dish was prepared in white wine, garlic and shallots. Mussels were fantabulous but the leftover broth…. O.M.G. But for all the other people in the restaurant, I would’ve just drunk the broth and licked the bowl and this ain’t joke! When they brought out empty bowls for us (because we were going to share), they were nicely heated so our mussels didn’t get cold!

That was another thing about this place. Even though it kind of looked like a small, quite casual place, they offered a top notch service. This is the kind of restaurant where you feel very well-fed and perfectly-treated when you walk out. I even liked their bathroom! 🙂

They don’t take reservations so show up when you feel like it!

P.S. I forgot to mention but their beers are known to be very good too. Belgian beer, duh! I am not much of a drinker so I didn’t drink anything but it’s worth the trip for that too!

Dec 22 2012

Patisserie Poupon

Patisserie Poupon
202-342-3248
1645 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20007

I’m just gonna post pictures and torture you. You can go to this delightful French bakery and experience their great dessert selections 😉 Great coffee as well. Parking could be really tough but I gotta say it was totally worth it!

Dec 2 2012

[Restaurant Review] Peking Gourmet Inn – The Best Chinese Restaurant!

▣ Location: 6029 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041

▣ Tel: 703-671-8088

▣ Chinese (Dine-in / Take-out)

▣ Yelp Rating: ★★★★☆ (as of December 2, 2012) – Click for more info!

What is this heavenly-looking dish? This is their signature duck dish at Peking Gourmet Inn! I gotta say, this is by far the best Chinese restaurant in town! It’s not like your lazy night delivery Moo Goo Gai Pan from some Chinese restaurant in your neighborhood that you’ve never seen in person. You go there, sit down and be served with their great service and phenomenal food!

We ordered 6 different dishes, which were all excellent but I have to write about their duck! When you order their duck, which is probably enough for two “well-I-can-eat” people, this chef comes out with the whole duck that’s perfectly roasted. It is called Peking (Beijing) Duck. When I went to China, sure enough, I went to eat this awesome dish, for this is considered their “national” dish. And at this place, I was pleasantly surprised! Their duck was way better than the one that I had in Beijing, China!

I am sorry but if you get freaked out by seeing the whole bird getting prepared in front of you or just by thinking of eating duck skin, forget about this dish. However, you food lovers, my love, please go to this place and get the whole (literally) experience. 😉 He skillfully carves out the duck right at the table without even saying a word! Right after that, your server comes along and explains how to eat the duck, which requires some “work” on your end! FUN!

Traditionally, peking duck is carved and served with some condiments. Once the chef is done, it’s all on you. Get one of the steamed pancakes, put the sauce (usually hoisin or plum), sprinkle those green onions and place carved duck meat on top! Don’t forget the skin! I keep saying this but THAT’S THE BEST PART! Roll it nicely and all you have to do is stuff your face. 🙂 It sounds like a little more work than getting served at Outback Steakhouse but you know what? It’s worth every single napkin you get dirty! Bring the whole family and friends. Sit at their round table with the spinning center and go to town!

Virginialicious

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Monthly Archives: December 2012