DC SteakHolders Food Truck @ Crystal City Food Truck Thursday – 8/3/2017
#ThePlace
Where: DC SteakHolders Food Truck
When: 8/3/2017
Who Picked: Eric & Nick
This week we wandered down to the food trucks to a poor showing of just three food trucks. The weather was really nice, so it was a shame to see such limited options. Nonetheless, we still had a good lunch as we both decided to try the DC SteakHolders Food Truck. This is a no frills truck that serves legit cheese steaks. The owner seemed pumped that no other trucks showed up and told us he was expecting over 100 customers today.
#TheFood
Nick got a cheesesteak with grilled onions, mushrooms, tomato, pickles, and jalapeño peppers. Everything mixed really well together with the cheese helping to keep everything together. He was expecting a slightly smaller offering so it was a nice surprise. It would have been nice if there was a bit more meat.
Eric ate an entire cheese steak with provolone cheese, mushrooms, grilled onions and a side of fries. The cheese was super melty, which made for a good cheese steak. The crinkle cut fries were the best, we don’t see them often. The fancy ketchup they had was a bit underwhelming. If you are in for a delicious, straightforward cheese steak with a bunch of toppings to choose from, the is a good food truck to visit.
#Regrets
Not trying one of the award winning sauces
#TotalBill
The bill was just under $10 each. The truck accepts credit cards.
#OurRating
| Nick | |
| Eric |
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 |
Taylor Gourmet @ Crystal City, VA – 6/23/2017
#ThePlace
Where: Taylor Gourmet – @TaylorGourmet
When: 6/23/2017
Who Picked: Nick
We are back after missing payday last week as Nick was away for the weekend at a wedding. Taylor Gourmet serves a variety of unique hoagies with a rotating seasonal menu, and a new location was opened in the past few months within walking distance of work.
#TheFood
We started out with the seasonal risotto balls which add corn, chives, smokey bacon, and jalapeno to usual offering of mozzarella and switch out marinara for a black pepper buttermilk dipping sauce. There were five in total and they were excellent. 
Nick went with a seasonal offering, the Barrientos, which feels like it has a bit of Tex-Mex flavor with a black bean spread, charred poblano, and smoked chili sauce. The chili sauce added some nice flavor and wasn’t too spicy. The spice grilled chicken was well seasoned and overall the hoagie had a good ratio of bun to filling.
Eric chose the Mr. Morton sandwich which has pepper-crusted roast beef, avocado spread, Herr’s Jalapeno kettle chips, Smoky bacon, Gorgonzola, red onion, red bibb sauce, and olive oil. The bacon and potato chips both brought a lot of crunch and flavor to the sandwich and the avocado spread combined with the Gorgonzola made for a really creamy combo. Eric is not usually a roast beef sandwich guy, but this sandwich was packed with flavor. The red sauce didn’t really add much to the sandwich, it was barely noticed. A regular was enough for a hearty lunch.
#Regrets
None
#OtherNotes
Nick ordered a large Barrientos, but was only give a regular size. After informing the staff, he was given an additional regular size and was offered a complimentary bag of chips or cookie, but politely declined. High ratings for customer service.
We could see directly into the kitchen from the register. Everything looked really clean and everyone looked like they knew what they were doing, no one standing around chatting.
#Decor
Eric really like the decor, it had a really fun feel to it with lots of bright colors. He was not a fan of the pallet wood style wall hangings, but they still get points for trying. The 55 gallon barrels and the 5 gallon buckets that were used for lights looked really cool as did the recycled bicycle tires on the wall near the line.
#Bathroom
Neither of us checked out the situation there.
#TotalBill
Nick’s total was $20 for the hoagie and balls. Seems reasonable and in line with other sandwich type restaurants. Eric’s was around $10 for just the regular size sandwich.
#OurRating
| Nick | |
| Eric |
Hen Quarter @ Alexandria, VA – 6/2/2017
#ThePlace
Where: Hen Quarter – @hen_quarter
When: 6/2/2017
Who Picked: Eric
Southern cooking served right on the corner of King Street & North Columbus Street in the heart of Alexandria.
#TheFood
We decided to start with the fried green tomatoes as an appetizer as they are always a good choice. They had just the right amount of breading and provided a nice crunch. They were topped with smoked mozzarella and a black-eyed pea salsa which had a nice touch of honey. Amazing appetizer, highly recommended.
Nick went for the chicken & waffles which was available in a half or full order, which include 2 or 4 pieces of fried chicken, respectively. Nick went with the half as it was National Doughnut Day and he is adamant about observing the holiday. The waffle was full of cheddar cheese and scallions and was a tad dry on its own. It came with a breast and a wing, both of which were perfectly cooked. The amount of breading was just right and was nice and crispy. The Jack Daniel’s maple syrup had good flavor and you could definitely taste the bourbon, but it wasn’t overpowering. The syrup was an excellent compliment to the waffle as well as the chicken. The melon balls were a great way to finish out the meal.
Eric went for the HQBLT which included a grilled chicken, bacon, lettuce, and fried green tomato, all on naan bread. It also came with an aioli to dip in along with truffle chips on the side. As you can see in the picture, the thick crispy bacon is hanging off of the sandwich. The chicken was cooked to perfection and dipped into the sauce that came with it made this a perfect sandwich. Eric was unsure of the naan bread at first but it really helped hold everything in the sandwich nicely and had a really good texture. The truffle chips did not seem to even have a hint of truffle, but they were nice and crunchy, waffle chips is not something you see everyday. Perfect portion size even considering the mandatory maple bacon donut (from @SugarShackDMV) Eric ate earlier in the day in observance of national donut day.
#Regrets
Not trying the biscuits, just didn’t have room.
#OtherNotes
The bar had a wide selection of bourbon with 70+ varieties and offered a number of different flights. They also make a Sazerac which is a licorice drink that Eric’s dad happens to really like. Most bars will have no idea what it is if it is not on the menu.
#Decor
Decor here earned a solid 10 from Eric. Everything had it’s place and a nice hipster/farm theme. Nice big sign on the wall, nice bar with good lighting. The high tops Nick and Eric sat at were sturdy and had a good amount of room for all the food. The staff is attentive to detail and keep this place very clean. A staff member even took care of an Edison bulb while we were eating that had just burned out.
#Bathroom
Neither of us ventured into the restroom on this trip.
#TotalBill
Hen Quarter is a bit on the pricier side compared to some of our recent choices, though nothing outrageous. The food was excellent and we think it was well worth the cost. Total for lunch for 2 was ~$45 not including tip.
#OurRating
| Nick | |
| Eric |
Loopy’s Eatery Food Truck @ Crystal City Food Truck Thursdays – 5/25/2017
#ThePlace
Where: Loopy’s Eatery Food Truck – @LoopysEatery
When: 5/25/2017
Who Picked: Nick & Eric
This week for food truck Thursday in Crystal City, the rain and clouds cleared just long enough for us to eat lunch. We both brought our rain jackets in case it rained again, but the sun broke through the clouds and blinded both of us as we both forgot our sunglasses. We got there after 11:30 am, it seemed like most of the crowd was scared away by the rain earlier. We quickly narrowed down our options and both ended up choosing Loopy’s Eatery.
#TheFood
Nick had the Bulgogi cheesesteak which wasn’t on the menu, but was a special listed in the window, which you can kind of see in the first picture. Loopy’s packs thinly sliced Bulgogi beef, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and American cheese on a sub roll and tops everything with spicy mayo. The Bulgogi had great flavor and the onions were perfectly cooked. The American cheese tied everything together nicely and the spicy mayo added plenty of flavor, but it didn’t quite meet my definition of spicy.
Eric had the “Bowl (bibim bap)” with beef. This is a traditional mixing bowl with a fried egg, carrots, spinach, bean sprouts, lettuce, white rice and a choice of meat with Korean chili sauce on the side. He really liked that both the carrots and the bean sprouts had been marinated and cooked, they had really great flavor. He also really enjoyed the sauce which seemed like a cross between Sriracha sauce and something sweeter. Upon further research, maybe it is house blend Gochujang Korean chili sauce? Eric added a little bit of the sauce to the top and made some room in the container before mixing everything together and adding the rest of the sauce.
#NoRegrets
#OtherNotes
The man at the window who took our orders was very friendly and attentive, we did not feel rushed placing the order or picking up the food, he even offered a bag for the food while he was putting the lid on the container.
#Decor
The truck design is minimalist and looked very clean on the inside. The green sphere in the logo reminded me of the green sphere on the old Peapod trucks.
#TotalBill
$11 including tax for the Beef Bowl. We both paid by credit card on a tablet.
#OurRating
| Nick | |
| Eric |
Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot @ Eden Center – 5/19/2017
#ThePlace
Where: Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot
When: 5/19/2017
Who Picked: Nick
This was our first hot pot experience and our waitress took really good care of us. She gave a great introduction to their hot style and gave many good recommendations. The rest of the waitstaff was very attentive, filling our water and our broth.
#TheFood
We got the lamb lunch special with the half and half pot. This came with a pot of half spicy and half regular broth, a plate of lamb, and a plate of sides that included sponge tofu, a fish ball, a fish ball with pork, a meatball, enoki/shiitake mushrooms, crab sticks, a seaweed knot, napa cabbage, and house noodles.
We started with just the 1 lunch special for the two of us, ate that, and then asked for some recommendations on what to try next. Our waitress recommended the beef & lamb combo and bean curd sticks, so we went with that and some daikon and potatoes. The lamb and beef were both good cuts and while the potatoes and daikon took quite a bit longer to cook than the meat, we felt both were worth it. Neither of us have had bean curd sticks before, but in the end they were a good choice and were a great value for how much we got for the price.
#Regrets
We regret not trying the sides. We saw some on the menu that looked really good, but we were very full and also kind of forgot. We meant to try the Mongolian Kimchi. Nick would also order the extra spicy addition to the broth and some more noodles at the end to soak up more of the broth.
#OtherNotes
I believe an all you can eat hot pot offering is available Monday-Thursday, so unfortunately we missed out on that. Little Sheep differs from other hot pot restaurants as they don’t recommend adding any kind of sauce, they let the broth impart all of the flavor you need.
#Decor
They put some effort into the decor, I really liked the mixed wood on the walls and the floating ceiling pieces. They had nice cubbies under the benches for your jacket so they don’t pickup any smells. We also noticed USB charging outlets under most of the tables.
#Bathroom
The bathroom was clean, well-lit, and had nice decor.
#TotalBill
~$40 for two people who left very full
#OurRating
| Nick | |
| Eric |
About Author
ERIC
#Like Bacon, Colesaw, Vietnamese Ice Coffee, Low/Medium Spicy #Dislike Pickled beets #WordsToLiveBy If Fish & Chips is on the menu, I have to try it.
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