Duck Chang’s @ Annandale, VA – 7/28/2017
#ThePlace
Where: Duck Chang’s
When: 7/28/2017
Who Picked: Eric
Established in 1975, this is the restaurant that made the Peking Duck famous! Duck Chang’s was the first and only Chinese restaurant in the United States that prepared and served Peking Duck without 24hrs advanced notice. This seemed like a Chinese restaurant we just had to visit. The location is in a very unassuming strip mall just off of Little River Turnpike.
#TheFood
Since the Peking Duck was more expensive than a typical lunch and we couldn’t NOT get the Peking Duck since this restaurant is so famous for it, we decided to split a half order of the Peking Duck and an order of the Sha Cha Beef lunch special. The lunch special came with a soup and an egg roll.
The waitress was very friendly and asked if we knew how to eat the Peking Duck which we both did not. She proceeded to show us how to assemble a roll with a thin pancake, plum sauce, scallions, duck breast, and crispy duck skin. The waitress skillfully did all of that with a set of chopsticks.
The Peking duck was amazing. The duck was cooked perfectly and the skin was super crispy. The plum sauce and scallions both gave the rolls a lot of flavor as well. The pancake was very thin, much like a crepe with a neutral flavor.
The Sha Cha beef was good too and had a good mix of vegetables. The egg roll was good, but not the best I have ever had. The brown rice was nothing special. The hot and sour soup was on par with other hot and sour soup and the crispy noodles were a nice touch.
#Regrets
Not getting the whole duck, but that was $43, a bit expensive for lunch. Maybe some other time.
#Decor
The decor was appropriate for a Chinese restaurant but was a bit dated. The interior was suffering a bit and could use a makeover. I fear that the interior is holding back an otherwise good restaurant.
#TotalBill
The bill was about $17.50 each since we split the bill down the middle. The restaurant accepts credit cards with a $10 minimum.
#OurRating
| Nick | |
| Eric |
Arepa Crew Food Truck @ Crystal City Food Truck Thursday – 7/27/2017
#ThePlace
Where: Arepa Crew Food Truck – @ArepaCrew
When: 7/27/2017
Who Picked: Eric & Nick
This week was not as hot and a few office mates decided to join us for Food Truck Thursday in Crystal City. The trucks can usually be found in the parking lot just across from the Metro Station on 18th St. and Crystal Drive. There were 7 or 8 trucks when we arrived, but we both chose to hit up the Arepa Crew food truck.
#TheFood
Nick decided to go with the beef Pabellón arepa, which also includes black beans, shredded white cheese, and sweet plantains. The arepa could barely contain all of the filling and was very filling. The flavors mixed well together, but the plantains didn’t really shine through. It would have been nice if the cheese was a bit more melted. A white sauce was included on the side and it had a nice garlic taste to it.
Eric went with the Perico arepa, which has scrambled eggs, tomato, onions, and cheese. As you can see from the picture, this arepa was overflowing with filling and cheese, they really hooked it up. The filling looked more like meat since it was mixed with onions and tomato, but it tasted like a delicious omelette. Arepa are best, but I haven’t ever seen them offered in a restaurant, only from 2 different food trucks. We also got a side order or Tequeños which tasted like mozzarella wrapped in a crescent roll type dough. Needless to say, they were delicious, especially when dipped in the white garlic sauce.
#Regrets
None
#TotalBill
The bill was just under $10 each. The truck accepts credit cards.
#OurRating
| Nick | |
| Eric |
KBBQ Taco Box Food Truck @ Crystal City Food Truck Thursday – 7/20/2017
#ThePlace
Where: KBBQ Taco Box Food Truck – @dckbbqbox
When: 7/20/2017
Who Picked: Eric & Nick
It was another hot one in NoVA, with the heat index up near 100°, but we decided to brave the heat and head over to Food Truck Thursday in Crystal City. The trucks can usually be found in the parking lot just across from the Metro Station on 18th St. and Crystal Drive. There were 7 or 8 trucks when we arrived, but we both chose to hit up KBBQ Taco Box, a Korean BBQ Taco Fusion truck.
#TheFood
Nick went with the Spicy Pork Taco Box, which comes with a spicy pork taco, spicy chicken wing, salad with house ginger dressing, and two fried cheese rolls with spicy mayo. The taco had a good amount of heat to it and all of the items within mixed very well together. The chicken wing was cooked perfectly and the sauce was great, but it was a little smaller than the wings I am used to. The ginger dressing and salad were a nice addition. The fried cheese rolls had some combination of rice and cheese and were cooked perfectly and tasted excellent.
Eric went with the Bulgogi Taco, which also came with a spicy chicken wing, salad with ginger dressing and two fried cheese rolls with spicy mayo. The Bulgogi was saucier than expected, but still had really good flavor, decent size too. The taco was hot temperature wise, which is a good thing, just notable because of the weather. The wing sample was good and I am glad they included it so I could try it. Same with the cheese rolls, I saw it on the menu as a lunch option and was debating trying it, ended up getting to try it anyways with the taco. The salad was not for me, it was a nice touch, but a little too small and it got warm quickly.
Both of our meals also came with a small item that appeared to be some sort of dessert. It said keep frozen on it but was totally liquid when we got it, but was cold. After trying it, we both agreed it tasted like Smarties.
#BonusCoffeeStop
Eric saw this @CommonwealthJoe coffee cart and wanted to try it since he saw them on Twitter. $4.77 for a nitro cold brew coffee. It was good to try it once, but Eric is no coffee connoisseur. The nitro tap did give it a nice smoothness and the coffee was pretty decent, no real bitterness as the coffee guy pointed out. #CommonWealthJoe #TheseMillennialsWillBuyAnything
#Regrets
Not splitting an order of fried cheese rolls. The heat.
#Decor
The lighting was very bright and it was quite hot inside this restaurant. The food truck was nicely decorated.
#TotalBill
The bill was just under $10 each. The truck accepts credit cards.
#OurRating
| Nick | |
| Eric |
Neramitra Thai Cuisine @ Crystal City, VA – 7/14/2017
#ThePlace
Where: Neramitra Thai Cuisine
When: 7/14/2017
Who Picked: Nick
It was a rather warm day in Northern Virginia today, making it the perfect day for a nice walk from the office to the recently renovated Neramitra Thai Cuisine.
#TheFood
Nick went with the lunch special with the Drunken Noodles, Tom Ka Gai soup, and a spring roll. The soup has a coconut base and also includes chicken and mushrooms. The taste of mushrooms was evident while the coconut didn’t really shine through. The wrapper on the spring roll was fried perfectly and the filling tasted great. The Drunken Noodles had wide rice noodles, which were cooked well and had good texture, but a bit more chicken would have been nice. The menu also indicated two peppers on the spice scale, but it wasn’t that spicy.
Eric ordered the lunch special with Tom Yum Chicken soup and spring roll with the Panang Chicken Curry as the main dish. This is the dish he always gets at Thai places the first time so they can be compared more easily. The soup was very good and the spring roll was crispy and delicious. The Panang Curry was perfect, as good as it gets. It had a good coconut balance to it and the chicken was cooked perfectly. It was a very hot and humid day, so the warm lunch certainly did not help matters, but it was worth it. He also ordered a Thai tea to-go to help cool down, that did not disappoint, rich and filling as Thai Tea always is. All of the food was very good and the waiter was very attentive.
#NoRegrets
#Decor
This restaurant has recently renovated and it has a very nice interior. We did not get a shot of the interior, but it is appropriately themed for a Thai restaurant and it has a nice bar area.
#Menu
#TotalBill
The lunch special costs $14, which comes to $15.40 after tax.
#OurRating
| Nick | |
| Eric |
Haute Dogs & Fries @ Alexandria, VA – 6/30/2017
#ThePlace
Where: Haute Dogs & Fries – @Haute_Dogs
When: 6/30/2017
Who Picked: Eric
Haute Dogs & Fries is a fast casual restaurant offering its own take on the All-American classic, the hot dog. With the Fourth of July just a few days away, this seemed like the perfect time to hit this spot.
#TheFood
The restaurant has a number of different combinations on the menu and also gives the option to create a custom dog. The menu also has burgers, sausages, and milkshakes.
Nick went with the OBX and NY Reuben dogs, but could have easily swapped either out for a few of the other options. The OBX was topped with yellow mustard, chili, and cole slaw. Both the chili and cole slaw had good flavor and the cole slaw had a great crunch to it. The NY Reuben was topped with brown mustard, sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese. The sauerkraut also had a good crunch and combined nicely with the cheese and mustard. Out of the two, Nick thought the OBX was the best. The highlight was the bun, which was buttery and toasted perfectly.
Eric went with the House Dog and the Bombsheel. The House Dog was his favorite, it had warm house onion relish, yellow mustard, mayonnaise, and celery salt. The dark onion relish is where all the flavor comes from and they really piled it on there. The bombshell had sauteed onions, mango-pineapple relish, and jalapenos. This one did not really make it all the way to flavor town, it just tasted like a hot dog with a few fresh ingredients on top, it didn’t seem to have a theme or any particular heat, which is what Eric was expecting with the “Bombshell” name. Eric agreed with Nick that this place really brought their A game when they made the buns, this really elevated the dogs.
Nick and Eric also shared a side of sweet potato fries, which were great. These are super thin shoestring fries, which had a suprisingly good crunch to soft potato ratio. Sometimes sweet potato fries can be a bit soggy, but these were really good.
#Regrets
Nick regrets not ordering more of the hot dogs. Eric regrets not having a bigger stomach and not getting a milkshake.
#Decor
This place has a good vibe on the inside. Lots of different themes going on inside, pictures of dogs on the wall, a Pac-man arcade game, chalk boards, signs covering the lights, etc. Nick liked the puppies on the wall. #ThatShoulderLean
#Menu
If you can’t find it online anywhere
#TotalBill
Two hot dogs will run you ~$11 which seems reasonable for the quality of the ingredients.
#OurRating
| Nick | |
| Eric |
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