Thai Square, Arlington VA

Based on our friend's recommendation, we visited Thai Square last Friday for lunch.  The place was not hard to find, but if you get there around lunch rush hours, it might be hard to find parking.  The restaurant looks real shabby outside, but the inside probably has been re-renovated, so don't be scared.  Just look at the contrast of exterior vs. interior.

outside of restaurant

nice and clean interior






















I had a list of recommend dishes but we were both in the mood for noodle soups..... so we both deviated from the plan.  We ended up ordering exactly what the table next to us had, one pork noodle soup and one floating market noodle soup.  We both ordered the 'fat noodles' which I loved! 

3 types of peppers on every table

pork noodle soup with fat noodles

The pork noodles soup was pretty average, tasted like 台南旦仔面's soup base.  The noodles were good though, 又Q又彈牙.  Make sure you order the fat noodles if you're going to order this.

floating market noodle soup

Floating market noodle soup, I definitely liked this one better since it had more meat and it was spicy as well.  This is one of the more authentic dish in Thailand I believe.  The version at Thai Square was slightly more sweet than spicy though.  If you like spicy dishes, give it a try.  Again, I do recommend the fat noodles with this dish.

We will probably head back to try the list of recommended dishes.  I'll put up more reviews if we do!

FoodiePop's rating: 3.7/5 (based on noodle soups)

Thai Square
3217 Columbia Pike
Arlington, VA 22204

Agrodolce Ristorante, Germantown MD

One of my favorite lunch places in Germantown if you want a little piece of Italy and you have ample time to sit and chill!  One of my coworker that left the company years ago called us for a lunch get together.  He is a good friend of mine and he loves Agrodolce!  So of course the five of us gathered in this small Italian restaurant and since the weather was beautiful, we sat in the outdoor patio area.

I wish I had taken more pictures today, but we were too busy chatting most of the time....Speaking of time, it took me all but 10 seconds to decide on a blackboard special of the day while all the guys read the menu for a good 5 minutes before they picked something! (yes Don, you know the ones I'm referring to).

I ordered the farfelle with crawfish and shrimp.  It was awesome!  The bread that came with the meal was also toasted and very delicious.  I can't wait to go back again!  The lunch at Agrodolce is not cheap since it's high quality food, my pasta dish was about $13 but I received a discount of 10% for showing my badge.
They also have specials like half bottle wine Mondays and pizza Tuesdays.  Maybe we should go back on a Monday night, anyone? :)

farfalle with crawfish & big juicy shrimp

FoodiePop's rating: 4/5 star for lunch.

Agrodolce
21030J Frederick Avenue
Germantown, MD 20876
http://www.agrodolcerestaurant.com/

Vegetable Garden, Rockville MD

I was browsing restaurant.com and saw a new merchant called 'vegetable garden' offering $25 certificate for $5, so I grabbed it with 80% off (paid $2 for $25 certificate).  Since we were going to Rockville Monday night, we stopped by Vegetable garden to use the certificate.  The minimum required spending was $35 on the requirement and each dish is about $13, so we ended up with 3 dishes and a soup.  Given the name, all the dishes are vegetarian in the restaurant. (I know, I know, not sure what I was thinking....)

The restaurant is not well decorated.  It looks like a traditional Chinese restaurant with round tables and booths, but the curtains are dark green and ....should I say, pretty ugly.  Anyway, the interior decor is definitely a 'fail', let's move onto the food.

They delivered a small plate of complimentary wheat bread when you arrive.  The bread is okay, reminds me 'elf bread' in LOR (lord of rings).  If you're curious, please refer to the movie.

complimentary bread

I ordered vegetarian wonton soup.  The soup itself was not bad, but there's no meat in the wonton (DUH..) so I didn't like it very much.  They used some interesting spices in the soup though, something different.

vegetarian wonton soup

We ordered 3 dishes.  Satay vegetables, tofu hot pot (三杯豆腐), and some mushroom dish.  The satay vegetables was a failure.  The whole dish tasted like vegetables stir fried in tomato paste.  The safest dish was the tofu hot pot because that tasted okay.  The mushroom dish was average, tasted like mushrooms stir fried with oyster sauce and soy sauce.....

satay vegetables

hot tofu pot

mushroom dish, oyster mushroom and ...other mushroom

As a meat eater, I really didn't like the dishes at Vegetable garden.  I admit this review is probably very biased.  But on the other hand, I do think the prices are too high for dishes with only vegetables or tofu and the decor was ...way below par. 

FoodiePop's rating 2.3/5 stars for dinner.

Vegetable Garden
11618 Rockville Pike
Rockville, MD 20852

Baked & Wired, Georgetown DC

My favorite cafe in Georgetown DC!  Well that's not a very fair statement since I did not visit all the cafes in Georgetown.  But I absolutely love their coffee bar and interior decor.  I had my little pooch with me so we sat outside on my last two visits, and the spot turned out great for people watching! 

baked & wired, store front

cup cake display begins here!

We both ordered quiche since we're big fans.  The spinach quiche is slightly better than the bacon and ham for some unknown reason (I'm usually a big meat fan).  The quiche is warm and fluffy because the staff warm them up for you while you wait for your coffee. 

spinach quiche

bacon & ham quiche

I also ordered the latte and cappuccino.  Loved them both!  The coffee bar is unique and the bartender is always friendly.  I believe they use intelligentsia coffee as well which is a plus.  Take a look at the cute coffee art for both!

latte

cappuccino

I'm usually not a big fan of cup cakes, but I like their cup cakes!  I bought a box for a friend for her birthday and had to get one cup cake for myself.  Look how pretty it is, this is a cherry blossom cup cake (seasonal).  It has little bits of real cherries baked in as well!

cherry blossom cup cake

Overall, baked & wired is a very nice and relaxing place to chill, have a good cup of coffee, surf the web (free wifi), or just meeting up with friends.  Or if you're tired from walking all the C/O canal trail or sightseeing, have a cup cake here!

FoodiePop's rating 4/5 stars for coffee & pastry/cup cake.

Baked & Wired
1052 Thomas Jefferson St NW
Washington, DC 20007

Carbón Peruvian Chicken & Grill, Rockville MD

One of my foodie friend gave me some tips on good eats, so we picked a closest one to start experimenting on a Wed night. (thanks for the information!)  Since we had our puppy dog with us, we got carry-out instead.  So this entry is based on their 'carry-out' food experience.   

Carbón is located in Rockville town center square.  It is on the same strip as Five Guys Burger but farther down toward Middle Ln.  I believe the place is fairly new.  It is a cafe style where you order at the cashier and pickup your food when it is ready.

store front, very clean and new

simple menu posted in the window

We order the "Rachi" which is beef stripes (牛百頁) marinated then grilled.  This dish sounded very good but tasted just okay.  The beef stripes turned out a little too soft for both of our liking.  But being true Asians, we couldn't resist if any organs are on the menu, we had to try!  There was also beef heart on the menu, but we were only brave enough to venture on one new item this time.....



Rachi, $7

















This is the pork sandwich my foodie friend recommended as 'legit'.  It was the most delicious item we ordered that day!  Good recommendation!  The pork is slow cooked, pulled apart in big chunky pieces, and topped off with a fried sweet potato slice. It was a very yummy sandwich!


pan con chicharron $8

















Next up, we also ordered the "sandwich de asado" which is sliced top sirloin with lettuce and mayo.  This was a so-so sandwich.  The beef is a little dried for my taste.  Probably won't order this again next time...

sandwich de asado, $8.5

Even though we already ordered enough food for the family (family of 2), we couldn't resist ordering the Peruvian chicken since the place is a Peruvian grill.  So we ordered one whole Peruvian chicken.  The chicken made the grade, but I've had better Peruvian chicken at 'Kickin Chicken' located across from Wintergreen Plaza.  I'll write an entry if we visit the place again.  What I love about Peruvian chicken is their special rubs on the chicken and the spicy & mild green sauce.  These sauces are so good!  I could put these sauces on anything and it will probably work!


whole Peruvian chicken, $12


















Overall,  Carbón has very delicious pork sandwiches, and the grilled Peruvian chicken is above average.  What I love about the place is the location, I love walking around town center just people watching on a nice day.  Now, if they have outdoor seating area where I can take my puppy dog, I'd probably visit it more often!

Carbón Peruvian Chicken & Grill
100 Gibbs Street
Rockville MD 20850
(301) 251-1944

pho nam

hands down, best pho in the area.  they also give the most amount of meats and have super fast service.  sometimes i even think they beat mcd in service time!  price is very reasonable as well, 6.95 for regular bowl i believe?  they do add 75 cents per bowl for carry out orders though, just something to keep in mind :)



#1 regular with raw meat (extra good!)

















Pho Nam
15942 Shady Grove Road
Gaithersburg, MD 20877

*composed on android phone

X.O. taste, falls church Va

i found some descent reviews on a cantonese restaurant near john's work, so we met up for lunch on a friday.  the place is about 35 mins from gaithersburg but only 15 mins from where he works, so the location worked out for both of us.

the service was quick, typical of chinese restaurants, and the food was descent.  the bbq pork and duck over rice (雙拼) is one of the best i've had for a while.  roast pork was juicy, not dried up like some other cantonese restaurants in the area.  the duck was very tasty as well, i think they fry the duck before roasting it, retaining all the juices very well!

he ordered the roast pork lo mein, which is a very 'american' dish and not worth mentioning.  we also ordered an extra dish called marinated varieties (滷水什錦) to share, it was a waste of money!  the portion was rather small and it only tasted okay, definitely not worth the $7.95 on the menu.  on top of that, they put a thick layer of steamed bean sprouts on the bottom of the already small dish as a filler.... tsk tsk...
i would probably go back for the bbq pork, duck, and chicken.  maybe even peking duck (whole duck for $26.95)  it might not be worth the drive, but if you are in the area, give the meats a try!

 

marinated varieties 滷水什錦

 

bbq pork and duck over rice 雙拼



x.o taste
6124 arlington blvd
falla church, va

*composed on android phone