• 24Jan

    Clarity’s Beef Chili is a Spicy Treat

    Clarity in Vienna, Virginia has specials that change throughout the week. Tomorrow evening, there will be a guest chef cooking the food of Ghana, but the event is already sold out. This Thursday’s specials will be Dry-Rubbed Cherry Wood Smoked Barbecue Grass-Fed Brisket and Heritage Pork Ribs; Balsamic Pineapple Barbeque sauce comes on the side with either dish. I’m keeping an eye out for when Chef Jonathan Krinn makes pho again, since we missed it last time.

    Clarity’s Smoked Beef Brisket Chili

    We were happy to pick up Chef Krinn’s Smoked brisket Chili special today. It came with sun-dried tomato corn bread. We also got to try three mini breads: baguette, garlic, and herbs de Provence. We didn’t take the sour cream of cheddar cheese, since we don’t use them.

    The chili was very good but a bit spicier than we generally eat. We did add onions, scallions, and rice (with garlic) at home, which helped a bit with the spice level, as did the corn bread. I had planned on adding chopped tomatoes, but figured there was already enough going on the plate.

    Sun-Dried Tomato Cornbread

    Chef Krinn’s father does the baking, and he is extremely skilled. Herbs de Provence was our favorite of the 3 mini breads, although all of them were quite good. The corn bread was tasty too. You should pre-order dad’s baguettes or gluten-free bread (for Thursday pickup), or his stuffed crust pizza when it comes up as a special again. This week’s baguette flavor will be “everything.”

    Three Mini Breads

    My dining partner pickup up the food, and said Clarity has a great upscale NYC restaurant type of vibe. She was impressed.

    -JAY

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  • 26Feb

    Gallery of Tasty Recent Dishes

    We’ve had some great dishes recently and want to highlight some of them. Featured: Kiin Imm Thai, Mama Chang’s, Marumen, Kizuna, Silver Diner, Rice Bar, Hei Hei Tiger, Bethesda Bagels.

    • Hei Hei Tiger
    • Silver Diner
    • Rice Bar
    • Marumen
    • Kizuna
    • Mama Chang
    • Bethesda Bagel
    • Kiin Imm Thai

    In no particular order:

    We were at Hei Hei Tiger (Tiger Fork’s sister) a few days before the official opening. They wouldn’t let us order the duck because they said they were still working on making it crispy, but even so, it was the best protein we tried, including the chicken, pork belly, and BBQ Pork. The bok choi was very good but was given to me in error, since I ordered the Chinese Broccoli. Those are the only two things we as a group ate that we would order again, unless they tweak the recipes (which they are working on). They had a good crust on the pork belly but, it tasted both too salty and smoky. The BBQ pork’s flavor was a little off too, and the meat was tough. Hei Hei Tiger also has a bar in front of Sen Khao.

    The meal at Silver Diner (steak, mashed potatoes, winter vegetables, spinach with garlic) was good, and definitely worth ordering again. The winter veggies (beets, Brussels sprouts, winter squash) were excellent.

    Kizuna’s ramen is really good (including the pork belly), and does not include MSG.

    Marumen’s kimchi (that little bowl on the side of the ramen bowl) is made by Grandma. The ramen house is open late, and tends to be busy.

    Kiin Imm Thai was empty when I sat down 6pm on a Sunday and was fully packed within an hour. People were eating a huge variety of delicious looking dishes. We need to try more dishes here. The place is new and promising, but small.

    At Rice Bar, a Chipotle-style Korean rice and noodles concept based in DC, avoid the miso soup they give you on the side, since it isn’t very good. Rice Bar is run by a couple of really nice guys from Mongolia. We ordered Rice Noodles with Kalbi, Marinated Cucumbers, Eggplant, Radish Kimchi, and Seaweed, which was good.

    Mama Chang is an adventurous Hubei/Sichuan restaurant in Fairfax (near Marumen) inspired by Peter Chang’s mother.

    The image of of a bagel with lox features vegan veggie cream cheese. I didn’t take a picture of them, but Bethesda Bagel has secret potato pancakes. The sign for the latkes fell down, but they still have them (with sour cream or apple sauce).

    -JAY

    Editor’s Update, January 12, 2021:

    Rice Bar in Crystal City is closed for the Pandemic, but they are open in DC. The other mentioned restaurants are still open.

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  • 17Jan

    A Grande Fiesta of Flavor

    • Guacamole
    • Burrito Gordo
    • Tres Enchiladas (Shredded Beef, Cheese & Onion, Chicken)
    • Chips & Salsa

    A few nights ago my family and I went to one of the more favorite local restaurants, Tequila Grande (in Oakton). At Tequila Grande, guests should be aware that the “grande” in the name is by no means a joke. The portions and quality at TG are unmatched for this classical Mexican eatery. The interior of the restaurant is very comforting as the orange painted walls and many windows present a homely vibe. The menu at Tequila Grande offers an array of different Mexican specialties like carne asada, enchiladas, and tacos in addition to more Americanized menu options like burritos and chimichangas.

    When we arrived were greeted with chips and salsa as we perused the menu. As customary at Tequila Grande we started off with their fresh guacamole. The guacamole is smooth and spicy and served in a very charming blue corn tortilla bowl that gets slowly devoured with the dip. For dinner, I ordered the biggest menu item they have, the burrito-gordo. This is the biggest burrito I have ever experienced in my life. It is overflowing with flavorful ground beef, stewed chicken, re-fried beans, and Spanish rice. The burrito is also covered in cheese, pico-de-gallo, and sour cream. As terrifying as it looks coming straight at you it is an extremely delicious burrito with a dense and hearty filling that leaves you stuffed for several days. As usual, however, I was only able to eat half the burrito and saved the rest for later (which is perfectly fine as it heats up great).

    My father ordered his favorite, the enchiladas. His go-to combination, which he highly recommends to anyone ordering enchiladas is one shredded beef, one cheese and onion, and one stewed chicken. I had a portion of some of his as we were all sharing and the winner to me was the tender shredded beef enchilada. All of them come smothered in sauce and cheese served alongside beans and rice.

    My sister and mother shared a combination of chicken and shrimp fajitas. As they were picking at my burrito I grabbed a small flour tortilla and scooped the grilled shrimp, caramelized onions and soft bell peppers into the tortilla. I topped it with some sour cream, salsa and lettuce and had a fantastic albeit wet mini shrimp taco.

    The food at tequila grande may be grande but that does not at all undercut its quality. Being a small family establishment tequila grande manages to have some of the best Mexican food while also having a lovely atmosphere all for a reasonable price in local midtown Vienna. It is somewhere you should definitely consider the next time you are in the mood for a fiesta of flavor.

    -ARM

    Editor’s Note 12/20/2020: Tequila Grande was recently rebranded as Mama Tigre (under the same ownership). It is now fusion of Mexican and Indian cuisines.

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