The Ultimate Chicken Bistro, Falls Church, VA

7263 Arlington Blvd (Rt 50)
 Falls Church VA 22042

We went to the Ultimate Chicken Bistro (or the more trendy “UCB”) with friends on a Saturday night, prompted by a Groupon and a recommendation. UCB is a small, basic storefront in the Loehmann's plaza strip mall. In a nutshell, the food selection was limited (hence the appropriate name), the food itself was not bad, and the service was ok.

The chicken gumbo (soup of the day) was spicy, flavorful and good. Great appetizer portion.

The popcorn chicken with garlic glaze (option to have it with or without garlic glaze) was pretty good, as good as popcorn chicken can be...., and the two tomato sauces (one spicy one mild) that accompanied it in small plastic containers were relatively tasty.

The chicken parmesan was ok, not great.

The teriyaki / tempaniaki and the bulgogi bento box were plentiful, but not great.

Our friends seemed to like the chicken wings.

We can't remember everything that we and our friends had. The best part about this dinner, like with any dinner, was the company of friends!

Oh, and the wine selection was relatively decent.

The place was ok for what it is, but not worth returning to.

The secrets restaurant servers won't tell you

Courtesy WTOP

Reader's Digest compiled a list of more than 50 of these dining-out secrets.  Check them out HERE (WTOP link) or HERE (Reader's Digest link).

Shamshiry Restaurant - Persian Food - Vienna, VA

8607 Westwood Center Drive
Vienna, Virginia 22182
(703) 448-8883

We stumbled into Shamshiry almost by accident.  Our destination was iThai (previously reviewed); however, Shamshiry sat appetizingly next door across the lobby from what was once a circus headquarters (really - more on that later).  Shamshiry is one of several exciting dining establishments in hub of office buildings off of Westwood Center Drive near the octagon-shaped Sheraton Hotel off Leesburg Pike in Vienna. 

We’ve never had the opportunity to dine in Tehran or Baghdad, but if we did we imagine it would be pretty close to Shamshiry.   The dining room filled with those perceived to be Persian clued us in that this is authentic and traditional Persian cuisine.  We started our Persian venture with a Shirazi salad.  The artistic menu (read it on their website) noted:  “There is an Old Persian saying that it takes four people to prepare a salad: A generous man to add the oil, a stingy man to add the vinegar, a wise man to give the right touch of salt and pepper, and a fool to mix it well.”  The salad was not your traditional lettuce, onion, tomato, and ranch dressing variety, as some exotic greens mixed helped round out the starter. 

We enjoyed the Chelo Kabob Barg – a charcoal fired skewer of Filet Mignon medallions. The filet was served with saffron rice and homemade flat bread.  A small container of sumac which is a middle-eastern spice resembling a brown powder added a nice exotic flavor.   We also had the Chicken Tandoori, which was very good.

After seeing a milky beverage being served to some diners at the next table, we had to ask the server what was being served.  She explained but also offered us a taste of the beverage.  She brought us a small serving of this cold white beverage called Doogh.  The menu explains:  “This delightfully refreshing yogurt drink is very popular in Persia. It is always on hand at home to serve to family and guests. OK, it was not for us, but well worth the sample.

From Shamshiry’s website, a poem by Omar Khayyam which sums up our experience (especially being seated with a heart’s darling):

"If one may have a loaf of the flower of wheat, a two-
Maund jar of wine*, a thigh of mutton, seated with
A heart's darling in a ruined place - that is a pleasure
That is not the attainment of any Sultan."

* Often Doogh (the milky-white beverage we tasted) street vendors advertise their wares by replacing the “jar of wine” with a “jar of Doogh.”

As mentioned earlier regarding the circus’ headquarters.  It’s a shame they’ve moved out, but this office building was once home to the northeastern Headquarters for Feld Brothers Entertainment, the group that brings Ringling Bros and Barnum Bailey Circus from town to town.  They’re floor-to-ceiling murals of clowns, trapeze artists, tigers, big tops, horses, etc was so much fun to gaze at through the large glass windows.

Panjshir, Falls Church, VA

924 West Broad St.
Falls Church, VA 22046
(703) 536-4566

One of our old time favorites is still going strong.  No pretense, no higher ambition, just plain good Afghan food with great hosts and excellent service.  For those who are interested in factoids, Panjshir catered a large party hosted for President Hamid Karzai in Washington when Karzai first became president. But more importantly, the restaurant is always filled with regular people having freshly grilled kebobs on flat skewers, succulent pumpkin with yogurt sauce, scallion dumplings with minced lamb and other delicacies from Afghanistan.  It is a small restaurant with a cozy setting, clean and welcoming atmosphere.  Panjshir has been open at this location since 1985, no small feat.  When the Bankgok Blues surprisingly closed down next-door last year, Panjshir continued to stay strong, and that’s a testament to its goodness.

We ordered 2 appetizers – Bulanee Gundana (lightly fried dumplings stuffed with scallions and ground beef) and the Sambosa Goshti (deep fried dumplings with ground beef, chickpeas and parsley).  The sauces served with the appetizers were fantastic – one yogurt sauce and one spicy green sauce, which was very flavorful and we asked for seconds on the sauces.  Went great with rice and would go great on anything.

The wait staff was very knowledgeable about the food.  Pleasantly, even the waiter that is not Afghan definitely knew the food and made excellent recommendations.  This is not surprising for Panjshir because it is a family-run business that is truly run like a family with the warm atmosphere.

 Our entrees included a Kabab E-Murgh, which is a tender and flavorful chicken kebob served with saffron rice; a Samarooq Palow, which is tender, flavorful chicken cubes and mushrooms served in a stewy saucy dish with yogurt sauce; and a Vegetarian platter with any choice of 3 dishes selected from the vegetarian menu with saffron rice.  In our case it was eggplant (Banjan Chalow), spinach (Sabsi Chalow), and pumpkin (Kadu Chalow) – a perfect combination of salty and sweet.  All entrees came with a sizeable section of Afghan bread that is topped with black sesame seeds.  Entrees were also preceded by a nice garden salad with a homemade mustard-based dressing.  We finished off the meal with a tasty cardamom tea.  Portions were a “just right” amount and at about $20 per person (total bill) were reasonably-priced.

Panjshir is a place we have visited many times and will continue to visit and recommend to our friends. 

From The Atlantic Magazine: Six Rules for Dining Out

Some excellent advice from someone who is like-minded with us in many ways.  Six Rules for Dining Out:  How a frugal economist finds the perfect lunch 

by Tyler Cowen

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/six-rules-for-dining-out/308929/

Chics N Wings, McLean, VA

8119 Watson Street
McLean, VA
(703) 847-2442

Mediocre - that's the food. Poor - that's the service. Chics N Wings is definitely a place to keep driving past, or stop at Dunkin Donuts next door, if you want to walk out satisfied. We ordered the Wing Sampler Platter and the Philly Cheesesteak. Not only did the order take ages to come out to us, when the place was nearly empty, neither the wings nor the sandwich were good. It was nearly impossible to get anyone to wait on us. But if the food was good, it would be worth it to suffer through the service. It wasn't. If you want wings, or anything else, don't go here.

Amoos House of Kabob - Persian Cuisine - McLean, VA

6271 Old Dominion Dr.
McLean VA 22101
(703) 448-8500

This was an unexpectedly wonderful surprise.  Located in a small nondescript restaurant strip along with a pretty good Chinese restaurant and a dry cleaner, Amoos House of Kabob is a jewel!  If not for the Groupon, we would not have tried this place even though we drive past it often.  This is one awesome ethnic dive!!! Definitely recommend.

Décor is simple and rather cheesy.  But the food and service more than makes up for it.  The daily special – Fesenjoon – was a delicious chicken stew with just the right amount of spices, if not maybe just a bit too sweet, but definitely tasty.  It came with a healthy helping of rice.  The Koobideh (ground beef kabob) was perfectly prepared on a plate with a lettuce salad and wonderful rice. Appetizer Salad Olivieh was a delicious mixture of chicken and vegetables surrounded by fresh vegetables.  The food was truly delicious, and a testament to this fact was the constant inflow and turnover of satisfied diners, many of whom were clearly regulars. 

The owner and his daughter were delightfully welcoming hosts, offering suggestions, explaining dishes, unwrapping napkins.  Their wonderful personalities were particularly pleasant, making this dining experience something we will return to again and again.

To add to the surprise of a chance restaurant visit was that the owner happened to own a restaurant we visited in the past.  The Rose Restaurant on West Broad Street in Falls Church City became La Caraquena, which we reviewed on this blog.  When he sold it in 2007, he opened Amoos House of Kabob.  Although he looked very familiar to us, we did not put the 2 and 2 together, but he recognized Elena and reminded us of the same great meals and wonderful service we had at The Rose Restaurant.

We hope this place stays around for a long time exactly as it is because we want to try all the dishes on the menu and to enjoy the great, unimposing and warm atmosphere of Amoos House of Kabob.

Koi Asian Bistro, Vienna, VA *** CLOSED ***

8413 Old Courthouse Rd

Vienna, VA

(703) 394-5205

*** CLOSED ***

Koi Asian Bistro occupies the old Ega Restaurant space in the back of a small strip mall near the corner of Chain Bridge Rd and Old Courthouse Dr. in Vienna.  We’re starting this entry with the location of this Tyson’s Corner gem because if you don’t know it’s there, you’ll never find it.  Once you’ve found the place, you’ll soon discover that the food, the service, and the price make the search worth it for some really good Asian cuisine. 

We’ve been to Koi for lunch twice and had the buffet.  Although tucked away in a far corner of the restaurant, the buffet was fully stocked with a cross-section of treats from various Asian cultures.  There are few surprises on the buffet:  A rich pumpkin broth, some typical wonton soup, samples of tempuras, fried rices, dishes that were plentiful, fresh and tasty.  The trays of sushi were also plentiful; if a bit typical with avocado and crab stick California maki rolls, and nigiri pieces (salmon, yellowtail, ebi, and tuna) that were all fresh and served with the standard staples of pickled ginger and wasabe.  

The serving staff was the real draw to Koi.  An attentive, knowledgeable, and pleasant minded staff seemed to take a few steps beyond what would be considered normal service.  Water glasses were kept full; plates bearing the remnants of a previous trip were bussed immediately before the new plate of goodness arrived from the buffet. They checked on us during the meal and her sense of pride was evident as she talked about the genesis of her restaurant.

Koi does a great job making a rather large space seem personal and intimate.  Several private dining rooms that hold about 8 – 10 diners line three larger rooms with open tables and booths.  Each table is equipped with a Gogigui grill (Gogigui literally means "meat + roasting"), the Korean style built-in grill for roasting meats.  A fourth larger room in the back of the restaurant is reserved for large parties that can hold about 80 – 100.  This room even comes with a karaoke machine for guest’s entertainment.  Bathrooms are very clean. 

We have not yet ordered directly from the menu, but some friends recently visited Koi for a first account of some menu items.  Here are their comments: 

“We ate there with our bridge club on Friday night and were all very pleasantly surprised at how nice it was.   And the food is good, too.   Our dinners included decaffeinated green tea, miso broth, a small salad, entrée, and a sample of their “ice cream with rice skin”.   Wow!    We ordered the honey/butter sweet potato appetizer and it was wonderful and had the blackened cod which we enjoyed.   We also had the chicken with vegies, but the sauce contained shell fish.   So she took it away and brought us the dish without the sauce.   We were very pleased with the place.” 

The next time you have a yearning for some good Asian food and can’t decide on the rich variety of Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Thai cuisines in the Northern Virginia area head out to Koi and get some of the best from all the Asian cuisines. 

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. 

Ichiban Sushi, McLean, VA

6821A Old Dominion Dr
McLean, VA 22101

(703) 448-9117

A gem for sushi lovers, Ichiban is a cozy 15-table restaurant in the heart of McLean. Since its opening 13 years ago, it has built up a loyal clientele, who are friendly with the owners, chefs and staff, and come here regularly to enjoy excellent fresh food, and be a part of a dining family "where everybody knows your name..."

This was my first time visiting Ichiban. One of the first things that struck me was how busy the place is, which is definitely a good sign. At dinner time on a weekday evening, not only were all the tables full, turning over rather quickly with a steady stream of people at the door, all the chairs at the small sushi bar were also constantly filled with customers who clearly knew what sushi is all about.

There is a standing menu, which we barely considered because the list of fresh sushi listed on the whiteboard was extensive and diverse enough to make a full meal. Our dinner included White Tuna Avocado roll, Real Crab Avocado roll, Manhattan Roll, Yellowtail Scallion roll, Spider roll, and Umagi (all with brown rice except the Umagi was with white rice) – all delicious and more than filling for 3 people. If you like avocado, this place goes heavy on avocado in most of its creations. Price was more than reasonable - about $60 (including tea and soda, but not including tip) for 3 people.

The quality of the food more than compensates for the nonexistent decor and a rather hectic ambiance. You'll be lucky to get a corner table or one near a wall for a little more privacy to enjoy your dinner, which is truly worthwhile.

We had a wonderful evening with friends and were able to relax and enjoy because we were immersed in a conversation of talking, laughing and eating great sushi. Overall, I would definitely not return here for a relaxing evening, but would definitely return to Ichiban for some good sushi! 

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UPDATE (1/28/12):  Ironically, while strolling the streets of Moscow this week, Ichiban's "twin" was found.  See pic above.

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In another sushi-related item check out:  A sushi roll in Yekaterinburg, 2.5 kilometers in length, took 15 hours to prepare

Ireland's Four Provinces, Falls Church, VA

105 W. Broad St.
Falls Church, VA
(703) 534-8999

Ireland’s Four Provinces is a tale of two restaurants. Weekdays and weekend evenings, it’s a very nice Irish Pub serving fine bar food and the perfect pint. On Sunday morning it becomes an entirely different place. Ireland’s Four Provinces becomes a cleaned-up, relatively refined dining establishment that offers one of the best and economical brunch buffets in Northern Virginia. We’ve tried the brunch there a few years ago, and can honestly say this “Best of NoVA 2010” winner* has not skipped a beat. In fact, it is maturing with age. This place does a great job of mixing the local feel of a nice neighborhood bar/restaurant while representing the best of Ireland’s pubs (it just takes one visit to the men’s room to see a poster entitled, “The Urinals of Ireland.” Take a guess where you'll find the poster hung in the men's room).

Friendly hosts guided us past those without reservations (we highly recommend reservations if you’re planning brunch during the busy hours around noon) and sat us in a very crowded dining room. Drink orders were taken and off to the buffet we strolled. The buffet, situated in the bar area is cramped, but fully stocked and frequently replenished with fresh foods. The array begins with cold salads, salmon and breads. The warmer foods are presented next with a wide variety of breakfast fare including French toast, waffles, scrambled eggs, breakfast meats, corned beef hash, eggs Benedict, spotted dick (yes, spotted dick), and the assorted accoutrements to compliment all the above (syrup, butter, cream cheese, etc). This is followed by some assorted lunch fare including the almost mandatory Sheppard’s Pie. The end of the line sits an omelet and a roast beef station professionally manned by a chef ready to take your omelet order and slice some roast beast. On the way back to the dining room is a table containing a wide variety of juices and for those who believe its “5 o’clock somewhere” a Bloody Mary station.

Everything we took from the buffet lived up to our expectation as evidenced not only by our empty plates but by the frequent return trips to the buffet. All the food was fresh and well stocked. The eggs were light and fluffy, the waffles were crispy and the eggs Benedict came with a very creamy hollandaise sauce. Coffees, waters, and sodas were kept full by a very attentive wait staff. Hosts frequently checked (but not too excessively) to make sure our brunch experience met our expectations.

At $16 bucks per adult, this local Falls Church City Sunday brunch is a local best bet. Just be sure you make reservations first.

*According to Northern Virginia Magazine

McLean 1910, McLean, VA - CLOSED

1394 Chain Bridge Road
McLean, VA 22101
(703) 356-1700

Several months ago one of us dined here with a neighbor and had an enjoyable dining experience despite the pricey menu.  So, when a Groupon came out for McLean 1910, we jumped at the chance to dine here together and save a few bucks. 

Despite the beautiful wooden tabletops, the over-the-top minimalist décor gives this place a sterile feel.  The large windows seemed to open up what is a rather a small dining space with a full bar in the back behind the booths.  One nice thing about the spacing was that we felt we had some privacy at the booth which we always prefer.  In other words, other diners, that were scarce anyhow, were not breathing down our necks.   

This mid-to-upscale restaurant was named for the year the municipality of McLean was established by the founder of the Washington Post and its first editor, John R. McLean.  For many years, McLean’s Three Pigs barbeque resided in the corner lot in this McLean strip mall laced with nick-knack shops, a lighting store, a Russian store, a pharmacy and a paint store. 

Although the menu was rather limited, we appreciated the fact that McLean 1910 serves humanely-raised meats and other sustainable ingredients.  The server, Eduardo, helped us to select our food.  Our appetizers included a rich Lobster Bisque and the “1910 Salad.”  The bisque’s aroma and taste were superb.  We had to order a second (or was it the third?) plate of fresh bread to dip into the bisque—a combination that represented the best lobster roll this side of Boston.  A signature bread spread on the table was a combination of a green chimichurri sauce and a white bean sauce.  Neither of these was particularly tasty, though the presentation had an aesthetic appeal, but the rest of the food more than made up for it. 

For our entrees, we ordered the Buccatini pasta and Diver’s Scallops.  The homemade pasta was thick long tubes of spaghetti in a rich tomato-based gravy, spinach and pine nuts, as well as two slices of garlic toast.  The scallop dish was served with a green-tinted lemon caper sauce.  The five scallops sat atop a circular presentation of spinach sauté, tomato, garlic and an abundance of crunchy fennel root (perhaps they can back off on the fennel a bit).

From the bisque to the check, the attentive service, including a visit from the chef, made this an enjoyable dining experience.  Though the meal was indeed pricey, the quality of the dining experience was worthwhile.  It might be a good venue for small special occasions or special nights out rather than a regular place to visit.  It will probably be a while until we return.