#1. There is a new (a few months old) location of a Maryland Peruvian rotisserie chicken joint (Don Pollo) in Vienna (same strip mall as Taco Bamba). They use charcoal, and the rotisserie chicken, Lomo Saltado, and the beans (side) are must haves. The sides are good in general. The Chaufa (fried rice) is good.

Avoid the Pollo Saltado, not just because it was served to use under cooked, but also because they use prepackaged, skinned and boned chicken breast for it, and the texture winds up not being good.

Oh, for the chicken happy hour, they must RING YOUR MEAL UP by 5pm, so if you come in just before that time and there is a line at the register…you missed the special pricing.

The Manager (Milton) is great, so say hi to him.

City Large Plate Spicy Chicken with Spicy Sauce

#2. Uncle Liu’s Hotpot now has new owners, (who as per Jessica Sidman of Washingtonian previously ran Tempt Asian in Alexandria) as of a few months ago. There’s still hot pot on the menu, and the previous Sichuan menu (and added a few Henan dishes).

We tried the City Large Plate Spicy Chicken with Spicy Sauce, and it was great (and a huge amount of food). I’ve never found so many bay leaves or pieces of star anise in one dish before.

#3. Urbano 116 is a new upscale-ish (a bit pricey) authentic Mexican place on King Street in Alexandria. We only tried a few things, but all were good. The churros would have been just ok if not for the just amazing chocolate sauce, and the guava sauce in comparison, fell flat. We ate at the bar since there was a 75 minute wait on a Saturday night. The drinks looked good. Their Chef is from Oaxaca, has worked in Europe, and just opened a restaurant in Mexico City–it took some convincing to get him to the DC area, I’m sure. Check out their menu.

-JAY