Brent S.'s Profile

A great place to get Chinese for lunch.  They have a somewhat small lunch menu written on the board at the door that doesn't disappoint, and is very reasonably priced.  Most items on here are between $6 and $7, and the portion size is generous for a lunch menu.  My lunch favorites are the Kung Pao chicken and Ma Po Tofu.  And you can add a soup or roll for only $1 or $1.50 more.  They have a full regular menu but I've always gotten from the lunch menu.  

The bubble tea is pretty good here too.  It's worth a try at least once.  I think I like the tapioca balls that the Lemongrass food truck has a little better, but TNR has more varities of bubble tea.

I've gotten pizza here several times for lunch, and it's usually pretty good.  The crust in particular is very good, it's more of a traditional style that's more chewy than crispy.  The margherita pizza is good, although I find the pizza with sausage to be the best.  I got a white pizza with salmon once that just wasn't good, I'd recommend against getting a white pizza.  All lunches come with minestrone soup or a salad.  The soup is good, but I'm not a fan of the salad, it's just lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

My hair cut is very simple, I get the standard buzz cut.  But nonetheless, the barbers here do a great job.  They taper it off in the back and even get out the scissors towards the end to get the random hairs that the razor doesn't get.  Like any good barber should, they use a straight edge razor along the back of my neck and around my ears at the end.  The price is decent ($14 as of this writing for me).  There's not much more to say.

Usually I hold off on writing reviews until I've been somewhere at least 3 times.  But I've got to give a 5 star review for Raskia after one visit.  It was easily the best meal I've ever had in my life.  My main entree, the black cod, was so good, I was in a sort of daze after my first bite.  I've never eaten something so slowly to savor the taste like I did here.

First, the appetizer.  My wife and I got the palak chaat and plantain/apricot cakes.  The plantain cakes were really good, very different.  As every other review here says, the palak chaat is awesome.

However, the palak chaat was upstaged by the entrees.  I got the black cod, and as I said earlier it was incredible.  The fish was the exact right texture and flavor to absorb the flavors of the dill, honey, and other spices that it's prepared with.  There is no sauce, just the fish and skin.  Dill and honey with a fish sounds a little strange but it's a perfect mix.  My wife got the lamb roganjosh which was excellent.

We also got two sides - the paneer chili garlic and butternut squash kootu which were also great.  I love paneer cheese and their paneer did not disappoint.

Dessert was good, but wasn't quite in the same league as the rest of the food.

I think I have a new favorite restaurant in DC.  It's nothing like any Indian restaurant you've been to before.  A lot of things, like the black cod, aren't even really Indian food but are prepared in a similar way to Indian food.  Service was great, the bar area is really nice, drinks are good although a little pricey, but the food is reason to go here.  Be sure to make reservations well in advance, I had to make them a month in advance to get a table on a Saturday night!

The best of Ray's Hell Burger and Ray's the Steaks, with chicken and seafood as well.  It doesn't get better than this.

The steaks are incredible.  They don't have as many types of steak as Ray's the Steaks, just the filets and sirloins.  But they're just as good.  

Burgers are just as good as Ray's Hell Burger, although you don't have quite as many choices for size, cheese, and toppings.  The burgers are now called "gushers" - they put cheese in between two smaller patties, so it's basically a hell burger with cheese.  Fortunately they do have some of the same toppings as RHB, including my favorite, the charred jalapenos.  

Something unique to Ray's the to Third is the steak and cheese, which was the only item at the short lived Ray's Steak and Cheese.  It's really good but I think the burgers are better.

They also have a hell chicken sandwich here, which is awesome.  The best chicken sandwich I've ever had.  Despite the name it's not crazy spicy, just spicy enough.  

Ray's to the Third is great.  If you want to get a hell burger or steak, but don't want to be rushed like and hell burger or have to worry about getting there early to get a table like and Ray's the Steaks, go here.

This is a tough call, 3 or 4... I'll say 3.25.  Their Chinese dishes are really good, and I really like how you can build your own.  You can choose from 12 styles (Mongolian, Kung Pao, Hunan, etc.), choose a meat (Tofu, Chicken, Pork, Beef, Shrimp, Scallops), and white or fried rice.  One of my favorites is the Kung Pao Tofu.  They also have a lot of other non-standard Asian dishes.  The Chinese dishes are usually really good, although a few times I've had ones that were just OK.  

I'm not a fan of their sushi, however.  It just wasn't that good.  Not terrible, but I wouldn't get sushi again there.  

I've eaten in here, and gotten both delivery and take out.  Delivery can be a little slow, I live close to them and it usually takes 45-50 minutes, I've had it take a little over an hour a few times.  I really like their online ordering site, you can customize your orders, do the build your own dish, etc. and it works really well.  Oh and be sure to get the pineapple rangoon for dessert, it's really good!

And my first 1 star review goes to..... Kings Park Exxon!  Several times while pumping gas, I've been approached by people trying to sell stuff, I think some sort of head light cleaner.  They had a table set up right at the doors to the store, so I'm sure they were working with the owners, they were not random people.  I just want to pump my gas and get out, not have to try to shoo away guys trying to put stuff on my head lights.  

Like most Exxons their prices are high.

And the worst is reserved for the inspection station.  I got my inspection done here once.  It went fine, until the next day I noticed a flat tire. Turns out there was a screw stuck in the tire and I had to get the tire replaced.  I don't know for sure if that happened during the inspection, but the only driving I did between the inspection and when I noticed the screw was driving the short distance home from the gas station.

Despite the fact that this is the closest and most convenient gas station to my house, I never go here any more and go out of my way to get gas at the Sunoco on Braddock road by the 495 exit.

I was really disappointed when the Aladdin's that used to be in Ballston closed, but was pleasantly surprised to find one in Burke after I moved from Ballston to Burke.  Aladdin's has some of the best Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food in NoVA, definitely the best in the Burke area. The rolls here are awesome, it's a rolled pita filled with different ingredients and then grilled where the pita is crispy.  My favorites are the chicken curry, lamb, and hummos falaffel.  The prices are really good for these too, ranging from $5.50 to $7.50.  The smoothies and desserts are also great.  I've tried the salad pockets and pita pizzas, and wouldn't recommend them.  

Aladdin's is one of the few really good places to get a quick meal in Burke.

Just as good as the other Super Pollo location.  They have the best chicken you'll ever eat!   It's always tender and juicy, and the seasoning is amazing.  The green and yellow sauces are great and really compliment the chicken. I wouldn't recommend getting the 1/2 chicken platter unless you are starving, the 1/4 platter with two sides will leave you full.  I usually get the 1/4 dark with plantains and chickpeas.  Those two sides, plus the beans are really good.  And you can't beat the prices.

Ah, my first Burke review since moving here.  The fact that I've been here more than any other restaurant in Burke says a lot.  They do the "family restaurant" thing really well - a wide variety of food types for any meal, good service, a good location.  

They have lots of different sandwiches and subs, lots of Italian dishes, and seafood too.  The gyros are one of the best things here.  The burgers are really good too.

My complaints are typical of family restaurants.  Everything is decent but nothing on the menu is awesome.  One other complaint.  I got a "patty melt" the last time I was here.  I put it in quotes because what they served me is not a patty melt, it was a burger on rye with American cheese, no onions.  That's not a patty melt, that's a cheeseburger on rye bread.