RoobiFood

Coastal Flats
1961 Chain Bridge Rd
Mclean VA, 22102
(703) 356-1440

Not one (as you probably already know) to regularly visit chain restaurants, Coastal Flats proved to be a last minute choice while waiting for a movie this past weekend.  Before we requested a table, we notified the hostess that we were waiting for the 8pm movie, and inquired if, in her opinion, we would have time to eat (it was 6:30).  She said yes, and that the wait would only be five – ten minutes (even though the entire place looked packed).  True to her word, we waited al of five minutes before being seated.

We informed our server about our tight deadline, and he responded empathetically.  We kept the meal simple; crispy sweet & spicy calamari, mixed field greens salad, and the pecan crusted trout. We requested that everything simply come out when ready, foregoing the standard timed delivery.  Our waiter responded magnificently — not only did he respond with speed and efficiency, he also recruited TWO other waiters to constantly monitor our table — both in terms of making sure we had everything we needed, as well as bringing out the dishes as soon as they were ready.

The calamari was great; crispy enough without being rock-hard, with a kick at the end without being over-powering.  Portion size was plenty for two adults.  Personally, I would have preferred a little less of the sauce; by the end of the dish the sweetness was almost too much.  The mixed green salad was standard fare, but the dressing was a little too salty.  The trout was cooked perfectly, with just the right amount of the pecan crust.  The couscous that accompanied my fish was stone cold, which in combination with an overpoweringly sweet sauce led me to not want to finish.  But, the fish was tasty enough without the sauce that I was able to navigate around it and finish it off, though I did leave a healthy portion of couscous behind.

We skipped dessert due to time, but could very well have had some as we were out in just about an hour, leaving us 30 minutes to spare.  I was so pleased with our service, I made note of it to the manager who was delighted to hear my praise.

A final note; apparently you can pick up movie tickets there too, for a generous discount of about $4.50 per ticket!

Koi Koi Sushi
450 W Broad St
Falls Church, VA
(703) 237-0101

Koi Koi sushi is a needed addition to a neighborhood that is in the midst of a ‘revitalization’ though its mere presence does not carry it beyond mediocre territory.  While the area is certainly still in need of a great sushi place, patrons will find themselves having a difference experience depending on what they order.  For example, within the realm of appetizers, the soft shell crab was fantastic — cooked to perfection, lightly breaded and fried (no hint of greasiness), and the appropriate portion size to start a meal.  The accompanying sauce matched the subtle flavors of the crab well, with tanginess to keep things interesting.  However, the gyoza we ordered were a complete disappointment, falling short of what I would expect at an establishment of this caliber (and price range!) and certainly falling short of what I would expect from my grocers freezer (which is where I expect they came from).

The duality continued into our main course, where we found a scintillating example of beef udon done right, paired with a rainbow roll that fell completely flat.

Our beef udon was seasoned to perfection, had the right mix of beef and noodles, and was sized perfectly for a single persons entree, with enough for a small bowl to be shared with another, with the added bonus that our waitress actually provided the small bowl even without our requesting one.  The rainbow roll, however, was not quite as satisfying.  The fish that adorned the top were wafer thin, and tasted as if they had been frozen for far too long before being served.  The roll was over-stuffed in the middle such that you couldnt even taste the fish on top without taking the pieces off and eating them separately.

Pricing was OK, and the atmosphere was a bit dour; the sushi chefs were not quite as lively as one might expect from a fairly full dining room on a Friday night.  The final draw-back was our wait – we were seated at a table quickly enough, but our food took an eternity to arrive.  All in all, we likely won’t return, as the positive were simply overshadowed by the negatives.

Shiki Sushi
671 N Glebe Rd
Arlington, VA 2220

The other day while leaving the gym, I noticed some signage announcing the soft-launch of a new sushi restaurant in the mall. Given my love of sushi, I decided to check it out.  As luck would have it, they were holding a sushi tasting — for free.  A quick reality check made me realize that there was no way in hell I was passing up free sushi, so I ventured inside.

The decor is actually really well done, as long as you arent expecting much in the way of Japanese culture.  The place has a decidedly american look and feel.  Of particular note were the Swarovski-esque crystal cluter lights.  Hard to envision, but picture a slew of large Swarovski crystals hanging in the pattern of a large 3-D ball, with a light shining down from above.

The sushi itself (at least at the tasting, more on this in a minute) was pretty good.  They were serving four types of rolls, some kind of thin, fried dumpling and Miso soup.  The soup was a bowl of salt, the dumpling was cold, but tasty, and the rolls were large an inventive — with almost as much fish adorning the outside as the inside.

As a final bonus, they were offering 50% off coupons for real launch, which was February 5th.  As luck would have it, I was in the mood for sushi on the 5th and figured they were worth visiting again.

Ill cut to the chase — the food is over-priced, rolls were small, but decently put-together, and the sushi was mediocre at best.  The sushi pieces were on the small to medium small size, relativly fresh but most seemed extra fatty — and not in the good way.  I selected Chirashi for mysel, and one bright note was presentation. Definitely not your standard “sushi in a bowl over rice” the chef took the extra time to prepare 3-D triangles of rice (covered in row), interesting arrangement of sushi, and even included some seared Ahi slices.

The problem is, the dish was so visually appealing, that is seriously under-delivered on taste.  I believe I had the House roll, and it was OK, but not memorable enough to recall the specific ingredients. Chirashi included; shrimp, egg, king crab, tuna, salmon, white fish, yellow tail, and seared Ahi tuna.  Oh, and of course, Ikura.

Anyway, if I hadnt had a 50% off coupon, Id have been even more disappointed than I was.  As it stands, I highly double Ill be returning, unless Im desparate for sushi and happen to already be at the mall and am feeling too lazy to drive to any of my other favorite places.

Restaurant Eve
110 South Pitt Street
Alexandria, VA 22314 
Phone: 703.706.0450
http://www.restauranteve.com

Nestled one block off of King St. in the heart of Olde Towne Alexandria, Restaurant Eve once again proved why it remains at the top of my favorite restaurant “short list.”  Dining at Restaurant Eve is truly a complete sensory experience, with exquisite, yet approachable food, and service to match it.

One of the few downsides to dining at this fine establishment is the difficulty in obtaining a reservation.  However, that is easily solved by picking an off night to go, such as a Tuesday evening.  I was able to book a table in the ‘less formal’ yet still upscale ‘bistro’ about two weeks in advance.   The other option, and typically even more exclusive, is dining in the Chefs tasting room, which is a five or nine course extravaganza.  In the bistro, the menu is ala carte, but it is certainly not sub par in any way.

To begin our dining experience, my dining partner-in-crime and I started with the hand-cut tagliolini w/ clams and just a touch of cream sauce, and muscles paired with poached pairs in a buttery sauce.  Before this even arrived, our waitress supplied us with freshly baked Ciabatta bread w/ homemade Irish butter.  The bread was served warm, and was the perfect blend of crunchy crust on the outside, moist and chewy goodness on the inside.  The butter itself was rich and smooth, but otherwise unremarkable.

My tagliolini was served al dente, which is usually my preference, but I think it could have used just a minute more.  The noodles werent inedible, but they did leave the impression of being slightly undercooked.  The sauce itself was bold yet subtle at the same time, tasting heavily of oregano, salt and light cream.  Understandably, the clams were standard fare.  My impression of the muscles is somewhat tainted by the smaller amount that I was able to steal away, but I have nothing but good things to say.  The muscles themselves were fresh and quite large, and surprisingly paired well with the poached pairs.

The most surprising part of all were the portion sizes — each appetizer could have easily sufficed as a mean unto itself.  Regarding the true entrees of the evening, I selected the rockfish served with a fiery lobster & spinach polenta, while my counterpart chose the roasted rack of lamb.

My fish was cooked p-e-r-f-e-c-t-l-y which, in my opinion, seems to be a dying art.  It was crispy and delicious on the outside, yet juicy and yielding on the inside.  However, it was by no means even approaching being dry or overcooked.  The polenta was a delectible mixture of savory brown sugar and blazing red pepper.  These flavors were augmented by the lobster and spinach, rather than the other way around.  I was only able to sample the lamb, so comments are few; it was roasted to perfection with no further critique necessary.  Portion sizes matched the appetizers perfectly, leaving you satiated, not stuffed.

Finally, we ended the evening with the lemon brulée and huckleberry compote.  Personally, I would have enjoyed more of the huckleberry compote, and the sear on top was less crunchy than I have come to expect, but overall the brulée was satisfactory.

Ive droned on and on about the amazing tastes of the evening, but have failed to mention the first class service that accompanies every section of your visit, starting the moment you walk in the door.  Quite possibly, the great service at Restaurant Eve seems even better when compared with the usually horribly service that you are afforded throughout the rest of the DC metro area, but that shouldnt diminish the fantastic experience provided by a top notch wait-staff.  Either way, Restaurant Eve is still one of the best restaurants in the area, if not the country.