Rango's Tex-Mex Bar & Grill in Vienna, Virginia (Tysons Corner...errrr Tysons area)

1934 Old Gallows Rd, Vienna, VA 22182
Tel: (571) 282-3054

Newcomer to the Tysons area, Rango's opened this week to some growing pains. Its website is finally up, though without prices -- a restaurant trend that does not sit well with us. Rango's replaced the short-lived mediocre Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar in the Nordstrom Rack / BJ's Brewhouse Plaza. We were glad to see a new Tex-Mex restaurant in Tysons fill the temporary Tex-Mex void left by the abrupt uprooting of Chili's and On The Border

Right off the bat we'll be upfront and say that the welcoming atmosphere and accommodating staff more than compensated for the bland, uninspiring dishes.

We believe in Rango's potential to step-up their kitchen creations, as the experienced owners are known in our area for running the long-time well-loved local chain Guapo's with roots in Fairfax County dating back to the 1970s. This new endeavor in the quickly urbanizing Tysons (known to most of us as Tysons Corner) has a large physical footprint, ready to seat hundreds of hungry eaters. There is a tortilla-making station inside the dining hall and a large outdoor patio seating area, which is likely to be in high demand as soon as the snow melts. 

We came here for dinner on a Saturday night the day after they opened in the first week of February. The staff was numerous, smiling, and friendly. The restaurant's orange walls, low mood lighting, soft Mexican music and dark wood furniture gave it a warm feel, balanced by the large windows that let in ample light. It seemed open and clean, even though one of the black cloth napkins on our table had some dried food stains when unrolled, it did look like it had been through a wash. The silverware was shiny. The large tray-like plastic plates were quite overbearing and the average food portions were spread thin on these large serving dishes.

Chips and salsa arrived at our table immediately. Disappointingly, chips were thin and broke easily when dipped in the salsa. The salsa was watery and humdrum at best, akin to red water with some diced floating tomatoes and onions. We asked for some hot sauce, which arrived quickly in a small ramekin with a warning from the waiter that it was very spicy. It was not. It was the only thing on the table that actually offered some flavor.

The Ceviche ($13.95) on the menu was a full appetizer portion, but since only one of us wanted it, we asked if they could give us a half order. Our request was cheerfully accommodated, which we appreciated, and we were charged for a half-order ($7.00). The shrimp, flounder, calamari, scallop mixture was disappointingly under-marinated. Despite squeezing over the fish the entire half of the juicy lemon almost down to the pulp, it was equivalent to chewing on rubber balls both in flavor and texture. Sadly, the thinly sliced red onions lacked any punch whatsoever. This was unfortunate, because a good ceviche with tang and personality would be sure to set an exciting tone for the rest of the meal. However, this is where our disappointments continued. 

We also ordered the Cheese Nacho appetizer platter ($9.95) that arrived on one of their overbearingly large tray-like plates with a mere eight paper thin flat chips topped by a thin layer of cheese, laying on a thin layer of re-fried bean puree. It was accompanied by a small bowl of guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, pico de gallo, and 4 fresh jalapenos. At $1.25 per chip, this was barely a bargain. Moreover, the jalapenos were not only chalk bland, they were also ice-cold, while the lettuce was warm and limp, leaving us to question whether the chef pays any attention to the plates before they exit the kitchen.

Shortly, our entrees arrived, and they were not any more inspiring. Served on the same huge plates where the food is spread wide and thin, in our opinion, the portions seemed rather average in size, if not smaller than average.

Prior to placing our entree plates on the table, the server moved the salsa bowls and seeing some salsa spilled on the table, rather than wiping it, placed the dishes right on top of the tomato pieces. Not the most palatable thing to see. It wasn't until after we were done eating that the bus boy came over and wipe the table before bringing us the check. Attentiveness to details like wiping food remnants off the table in-between courses would have been reassuring, but was missing.

Now where were we... back to the entrees.  

The Chicken Enchiladas ($11.95) were dry and bland. Both the very dark pulled chicken meat and the tortillas were so dry that not even a full helping of the green "spicy" (not spicy at all) sauce and the salsa were able to salvage it. Lettuce was warm and limp, and the pico.... oh the tragic pico that usually adds a savory delicious blast of flavor, well.... at Rango's it was lukewarm, bland and barely noticeable..... 

The Beef Chimichanga ($11.95) did hit slightly above the (low) bar with its smoky flavor and relatively tasty meat. The ground beef was better seasoned than the Chicken Enchiladas and the tortilla was crispy, not dry.  The shell kept its shape when cut into, as opposed to being too mushy or too crunchy that it would splinter into pieces.

While in our opinion the food is bland and unpalatable, we heard a lady, who was obviously a friend of the staff and the owner, at a nearby table, comment that the salsa was too spicy for her. Along the same lines, our neighbors on Nextdoor.com raved about the size of the portions, which we found to be quite average, or smaller in size than average. Neighbors also commented about the "succulent" food, which we found to be quite under-flavored. Goes to confirm that everyone has different taste buds and different strokes for different folks.

The positive side of Rango's is its wonderfully welcoming, pleasant, friendly and upbeat staff.  The owner also came around checking on the patrons and asking about the food. After all, restaurants are about much more than just food - they're also about the people and the whole dining experience. At Rango's, the people really compensated for the lackluster food.

We are so lucky in Northern Virginia to live in an area with an abundance of terrific restaurants. We will give Rango's Tex-Mex Bar & Grill some time time to acclimate to Tysons until we ponder returning. In the meantime, we wish them well! 

 Tortilla-making station

 Dining  Area

 Bar Dining Area

 Tasteful Artwork Around The Restaurant 

 Thin Chips and Watery Bland Salsa

 Green "spicy" sauce, which was not spicy at all

 Cheese Nachos Appetizer $9.95 with 8 Chips Total

 Half Order of Ceviche Appetizer $7.00 (Full Order is $13.95)

 Beef Chimichanga $11.95

 Chicken Enchiladas (2) $11.95

Busara Thai Cuisine - McLean, VA

8143 Watson Street
McLean, VA 22102
Tel: (703) 356-0056

We've been driving past Busara for about a dozen years now, planning to eat there at some point. We've heard positive feedback from everyone we know who has eaten there. So, finally, this summer, we convened a group of about 10 friends and ventured to Busara!

Those of us, who love Thai food, have a saying that "there is no such thing as bad Thai food." And that is true of Busara, as well.  We most certainly had a great meal overall. The service was cheerful and efficient; the menu is standard with a half a dozen Daily Specials listed on an announcement board at the entrance; everyone enjoyed the food. But, as it is with anything in life, the most important thing about a dinner is the company! To this end, we had great conversation and lots of laughs over wine and food we enjoy. We could have easily had the same nice experience in any of the dozens of wonderful Thai restaurants in this area, which is to say that there wasn't anything that really stood out about Busara.

Below, we've listed most of the food we enjoyed at Busara along with photographs.

Most of the restaurants we review are either your basic ethnic dives or small Mom-and-Pop spots, so they rarely have the luxury of time to engage in social media or any interenet presence at all.  Their default approach to longevity is food excellence and a reliance on word-of-mouth and media, including food bloggers, like us. Of utmost importance is real estate - location, location, location.

Busara seems to be half-hearted in its online presence: It has a website, which is difficult to find - it doesn't come up on a google search!, and a Facebook page that has been inactive since September 2014, over a year. A simple google search produced nothing on the first page that actually led directly to this restaurant, but rather the typical popular review sites, like yelp, trip adviser, opentable, and a menu hosted on a third party site. Surprisingly, the menu that the restaurant itself provides at its host stand, and we picked up after dinner there in July, provides a website address that is actually wrong!

On occasion, such as this, when there is little information readily available online about a restaurant we are reviewing, we reach out directly to the manager / owner, let them know that we are reviewing their restaurant and ask them to kindly provide us with additional details to include in the review for our audience / the restaurant's customers.  This is exactly what we did with Busara, with some surprising results.

We easily got a hold of the manager, but whereas usually the restaurant is happy to speak with us, even briefly, in Busara's case, the manager, who did not identify himself, was quite curt and unfriendly, seemingly not interested in publicity. It is quite rare for us to experience what seemed to be almost an attempt by a restaurant manager to drive away interest.

The manager told us that there indeed is a website - www.busara.co (not busara.com, as listed on the restaurant's literature).  We informed him that - fyi - for some reason it doesn't come up on a Google search, he responded, that's because we don't use google. Huh? The website itself is actually quite snazzy, so it's a shame that it is so challenging to find. On the website itself, all social media icons are disabled!

In any case, we will not spend more time writing about a restaurant that doesn't seem to be interested in being written about.  We will say that it has a great location (perhaps the key to its success) just steps away from Tysons Mall, next to the famous landmark event destination J.R.'s Stockyards Inn, likely with a dedicated clientele among the numerous businesses in the area. It has a large parking lot, convenient for meeting for lunch or dinner.  Busara has been in this location for 20 years, which is a great achievement, and has another location at Reston Town Center open for 15 years, which we have not visited.  It has nice modern decor and a pleasant atmosphere with light background music.

Would we seek out Busara next time we want to have Thai food? Doubt it. We would rather go to Rabieng, Tara Thai, Bangkok Golden or any of the endless Thai options available in this area. However, in the Tysons area, for people who opt for the more "upscale ethnic dives," Busara is quite a good choice.

 Distinctive entrance from the restaurant's parking lot

 Specials are listed as you enter the restaurant, with a view toward two smaller dining rooms with large windows

 Two bright side rooms allow for the feel of a smaller restaurant and are light-filled

 Modern and spacious main dining room, great for business meetings, dates, family meals, or large groups.

Duck Rolls Appetizer - Roasted duck, green onion, cucumber wrapped in a thin spring roll skin and deep fried with a sweet sauce $7.50

 Crispy Springrolls Appetizer - Cellophane noodles, cabbage, carrots, celery and Hu-Nu mushrooms served in chef's special sauce $5.95

 Papaya Salad Appetizer - julienned green papaya, roasted peanuts, string beans and tomato mixed in a spicy lime dressing $6.95

 Soft Spring Rolls - Steamed rice flour rolls stuffed with crabmeat, port, egg and vegetables served in chef's special sauce $5.95

 Gai Sapp Kapow - Minced chicken sauteed with basil leaves, chili and garlic over jasmine rice $10.95 - for a nice twist, ASK FOR A COUPLE FRIED EGGS with this (or any!) dish

Shrimp Bikini Appetizer - Black tiger shrimp wrapped in a thin spring roll skin and deep fried, served with delicious sauce $6.95 

 A chicken curry dish, can't recall exactly which one at the time of writing this blog, but it was great, like all the other food at Busara

 Pattaya Seafood - Shrimp, squid and scallops sauteed in a roasted chili sauce with scallions, onion, mushroom and sweet basil leaves $15.95

 Spicy Garden Vegetarian Entree - Sauteed mixed fresh veggies in a spicy bean sauce $10.95

 Pad Woon Sen - Cellophane noodles stir-fried with shrimp, pork, mushrooms, egg and veggies, served with rice $12.95

Busara Drunken Noodle with Chicken - Sauteed with Basil leaves, chili and garlic, served with rice noodles $12.95

Spicy Seafood Fried Rice - Festival of seafood stir-fried with rice, basil and chili $13.95

Neisha Thai, Tyson's Corner (Vienna), VA

8027 Leesburg Pike Suite 110
Vienna, VA 22182
(703) 883-3588

Num Tok and Tempura

After many years at the Tysons Corner Center Shopping Mall, Neisha Thai relocated across Leesburg Pike (Rt. 7) to the converted office building containing a Nordstrom Rack and a DXL Men’s Fashion store. The fancy dining hall at Neisha Thai is decorated with wood-carved lanterns, cave-like walls dotted with gemstones and impressive water sculptures. This restaurant is definitely not an ethnic dive.

We came to Neisha Thai for a "linner," finding the restaurant completely empty of customers. We were told that their grand opening was the previous week and was packed wall-to-wall with their old loyal customers from their years at the Tysons mall. They had no specials in terms of discounts or dishes, but we were hungry, so we decided to try it.

Drunken Noodles

The dining experience was quite underwhelming. Although the waiter explained the dishes to us, particularly how their Drunken Noodles were different from those in other Thai restaurants, after he brought us the food he sat at the bar with his back to us giving us very sporadic service. Our water and lemonade went unfilled almost until we finished our meal. Getting his attention was rather difficult, especially over the relatively high volume of music, but since we were literally the only customers in the restaurant, it should not be that difficult to get the waiters attention.

Now for the meal. For the good: The (what appeared to be homemade) lemonade was refreshing on the hot afternoon and tempura appetizer was good. In addition to the typical veggies found in the typical tempura appetizer, Neisha Thai’s contained an unusual sampling of asparagus and baby corn and was fresh and good with no oily texture. That's about all the good we can muster for this entry. For the bad: The Num Tok appetizer had a strange sweetness to it, which is unusual, since Num Tok, in our experience, is typically salty and spicy. This one was bland. Although we were warned that they make their

Pineapple Fried Rice

Drunken Noodles in a broth, not dry, this one could be more accurately described as "soupy." But worse than just soupy, despite having 2 peppers next to it on the menu, it was tasteless and bland, again with a strange sweetness like the Num Tok. Their Pineapple Fried Rice dish was served in a half-pineapple, which looked unique and interesting, but unfortunately it looked a lot better than it tasted. We took it home for leftovers and it lingered in our fridge for days, underscoring the unappealing taste.  We have never had Thai leftovers linger in our fridge.

If it was for décor only, we’d return; however, the measure of success for a good restaurant goes far beyond waterfalls and cave-like walls. For good Thai food, we are not likely to return to Neisha Thai. The great tastes and great service of neighborhood places like SweetRice, Tara Thai and i-Thai are definitely a better choice.

Brio Tuscan Grill - a taste of Italy - Tysons Corner Center, Vienna VA

7854L Tysons Corner Center

(Ground Floor next to Barnes and Noble)
McLean, VA 22102 (703) 288-8882

Brio is clean, friendly, convenient, affordable and the food is good. For someone who really likes Italian food, it's good. For someone who does not like Italian food, it's fine. 

One of the things we most like about it was that the chef is very accommodating. Any dish can be made any way you want.  We have been there for dinner twice and were not disappointed at the level of service or the food. We have had their Pasta Fra Diavolo, Pasta Pesto, Chicken Milanese, and Fettuccine Campania. When we requested extra veggies, such as broccoli and asparagus, there was no problem to include them for a small extra charge. The calamari was also quite good with two kinds of sauces, which were both delish. Brio's signature flat breads are a disappointment, but their white rolls are warm and tasty. The artichoke dip was also a disappointment, especially because it came with the signature flat breads. 

Overall, the Brio restaurant at Tysons is a good option when in the area and looking for Italian fare and chains such as the Olive Garden do not measure up. But if you have a favorite Italian restaurant closer to you and the Tysons Mall is not on your itinerary, it’s probably not worth the trip. 

I-Thai Restaurant, Vienna, VA

8607 Westwood Center Dr.

Vienna, VA 22182

(703) 975-8785

What a pleasant surprise!  Although not everything was set up in this brand new restaurant when we ate there in the first week of February 2012, there was plenty to enjoy here.  Tucked away in a Tyson’s Corner (technically Vienna) corporate office building (if you ever wanted to know where Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus official corporate headquarters was located, it’s next to this restaurant!) this place serves up some very tasty Thai food.  The dining area is divided into two rooms with simple decorations and plain furniture that are clean and attractive. 

We went with our friends and we all agreed that despite the restaurant still ironing out the service routines and the bar set-up, the food was delicious.  Our appetizers included Tom Yum vegetable and tofu soup, Vegetable and Soft Tofu soup, Calamari, and Blanket Shrimp.  All were well-prepared and tasty.  Our entrees were Crying Tiger (a delicious beef dish that we felt was one of the most delicious beef dishes we ever had) that came with delicious sticky rice in a very unique container, Mango Curry with tofu (they had no problems at all substituting the green beans with any other vegetable, we selected broccoli), Cashew Nut Tofu and Pad Se Eew with Seafood.   All dishes were wonderful and we thoroughly enjoyed them.  For dessert, we all had the traditional Mango and Sticky Rice, which was good, but nothing particularly noteworthy differentiated it from other Thai restaurants.

Their house Merlot and Chardonnay wines added a nice bonus to our meals.  The meal cost us about $50 per couple with a glass of wine, but not including tip. We came here because we got a Specialicious coupon, which is a great way to explore new restaurants.

Overall, we would definitely return to i-Thai. 

Chima, Tyson's Corner, VA

8010 Towers Crescent Dr.
Vienna, Virginia 22182

(703) 639.3080

There is a little place in the Ironbound section of Newark, NJ that (at least for Bill) set the standard for rodizios (Brazilian meat fests).  That place is called Brasillia.  Take the basic Brasillia, add the sterile charm of a hospital operating room, throw in some modern touches, and take the food down a few notches, add complimentary valet parking and you have Chima.  

Tucked away on the first floor of an office park just outside the parking lot of the Tyson’s Corner Center, Chima is in one word—OK.  They do try their best, the service was attentive and accommodating, the gauchos shaving meats from the two dozen or so cuts were all done very well.  The salad bar was acceptable (we’ve had much better at the Texas de Brazil—another rodizio chain located in the Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax).  We spent the early part of New Year’s Eve at Chima where we were hooked in by the complimentary champagne (to our dismay it amounted to a three ounce glass).   There were very few empty tables in the room, but don’t think there was much a wait for those who did not have reservations.  Looped Cirque de Soleil performances were projected on few glass panels which did not add much to the ambiance.  Perhaps they should be showing Brazilian tourism films instead. 

Bottom line, if you want ok rodizio, go to Chima.  If you want good rodizio, go to Texas de Brazil.  If you want GREAT rodizio, go to the Ironbound section of Newark.  

<--  With family at Brasilia, Newark, NJ 2002