I always look forward to the biannual release of Seitsema’s dining guide. It’s not that I always agree with his assessments, but the guy has good insights and I am always curious about what he has to say about the dining scene in this area.
I’m sure it’s hard to put together a dining guide that’s comprehensive and for the most part, I think he steers people in the right direction. But being the opinionated person that I am (particularly when it comes to food) here’s what I think:
Though they are on the list, these are not on my places to go to:
- La Canela - Go to La Limena instead, which is nearby. La Canela food was too salty and it didn’t make me want to go back. La Limena, on the other hand, was delicious. I’ve been back numerous times. The only difference is La Canela is fancy sit-down while Limena is almost cafeteria-like. But, for me, you can dress up a room any old way. If the food doesn’t shine, nothing else matters.
- Han Sung Oak – There are a ton of good Korean places. If you ask even one Korean, you’ll get a bunch of different recommendations. Personally, I like Arirang in Germantown. In Annandale, there are so many I haven’t tried, it’s hard to say, but Yechon has been great the 2 or 3 times I’ve been there. I guess it’s like pho… just wherever is convenient and suits personal tastes. I wouldn’t go out of my way to patron this one in particular.
- Pete’s Apizza – While this DC one may be different from the one I went to in Arlington, it’s pizza. Convenience plays a big part in this. As pizzas go though, we both came out of the Arlington Pete’s saying, it was good but we probably won’t go back, it just wasn’t that good.
- Burma Road – It’s alright, as in edible, but I wouldn’t choose to go back nor recommend it to anyone.
On my list of places to go after reading this guide:
- Ripple – Well it was on my list already, but this makes me want to try it all the more.
- Fast Gourmet – It’s a gas station cafe. I’m curious. Sometimes the best finds are these tucked away (though now, not so tucked away) gems.
Granted, these are the places I’ve never been on the list that I want to try. I would love to go back to Rasika any old day.
Meh, maybe
- Ren’s Ramen – This place really isn’t a huge go-out-of-my-way to try place, but if I were in the area and wasn’t sure where to go, I might go here. Though I’d prolly head to Max’s nearby first to get that shwarma and falafel. Now THAT’s on my list. Max’s.
- Nostos – This is from the same owner as Mykonos Grill off the Pike. I might try it if I happened to be driving around Tyson’s which is rare. Mykonos is great though and the 3 or so times I’ve been to Mykonos, I’ve enjoyed it and have shared it with others. It’s quite special. So it’s not on my gotta try list, I’d just as well go to Mykonos. But I wouldn’t be against trying it either.
ren’s ramen is great. one of the only ramen places that does it right in the DMV. broth can be a bit salty depending on what you get though, but i dont really mind that lol. and it gets pricey when you add stuff, but I cant do without that liquid creamy soft boiled egg and fatty pork. sooo good.. especially with the weather getting cold
Mmm… that does sound good. I do want to try it now! Have you tried Temari Cafe? It’s tiny but they also specialize in ramen. I’ve gone there 3 times and eaten there once because I mean, it’s ramen, I’m not going to wait to eat ramen. And A&J’s is nearby. Not quite ramen but noodle soup nonetheless.
temari’s ramen was pretty bad last i had it, but that was about 2 years ago so i dunno. i’ll have to try it again sometime. the noodles werent the right texture and there was no fatty pork lol. i do however love their other japanese comfort food, like the curry ton-katsu, the hamburg steak, and the omurice
Good to know! Thanks!