Fly the friendly skies

Alright, I made it on the flight and landed safely in Chicago (on time). 
Let’s start from the beginning…..Dulles Airport Daily parking…if you are planning to park in garage 1 then, park on level 3 towards the back because that’s where the terminal walkway is *note: daily parking rate is $17 per day. Now the fun part (I’m flying United)…finding the check-in area….which is ALL the way at the end of the bloody airport!! While I going through the e-ticketingself check-in I almost hit yes to it asking if I wanted to pay for the extra leg room ($30 something…that they automatically selected and you have to unselect it…tricky, tricky)…my legs aren’t that long…haha…I didn’t take it of course which was a good thing because the flight wasn’t full. I guess that’s the benefit of taking 6AM flight. I moved to the extra room area anyways and had the whole row to myself.  The morning had to be one of the best days to fly. The clouds are look like fresh 3 feet of snow. They also had XM radio on the plane..my, my times have changed. The flight attendance are usually funnier in the morning as well which helps. All in all it was a great flight.

Asian Festival 2008

Asian Festival (DC) will be held in Reston, Va on August 9-10, 2008. I was a bit disappointed last year since they didn’t have some of the food vendors as they did the year before….some of the Thai street food I was looking forward to…. I am hoping that they will have more this year.  If not at least go there for the sticky rice and mango. They actually cook the sticky rice there and cut the mango…can’t get any better than that. Also, check out some of the martial art stuff. Mark it on your calendar!!!  
http://www.asianfestivaldc.com/

Tippy’s Taco House

Tippy’s Taco House (Warrenton, VA)- http://www.tippystaco.com/
Goosh, I went here for the first time a few weeks ago after a hard day of haggling at the mattress place (Mattress Authority….should I blog about that??). It was raining so I couldn’t get the mattress at the time. Figure I get something to eat…..again, after much driving around looking for a place end it up here….the FISH TACO signed may of helped in the decision making.  It’s a little place with a foosball and pool table on the left hand side as soon as you walk in.  You place your order and then just take a sit.  They also have a jukebox as well.   

I must be honest I was not sure about the fish taco. It’s made with fried cod….with shredded cabbage, pico degallo and the chipotle sauce in a soft taco shell….it was SMACK YOUR MAMMA GOOD!!!! Of course to wash all that down with a nice cold Corona.  Also tried the Guacamole taco and that’s really good as well. The guacamole tastes fresh.  Seems like they actually fried the cod once you put the order in and it’s not just sitting there under some light bulb.  

Good food, service and price.

I give it a 4 out of 5 cherries

The Woodstock Cafe and Shoppes

The Woodstock Cafe and Shoppes (Woodstock, VA)-http://www.cafeshoppes.com/index.php
I had stopped in here once about a month ago. Now if you have ever been out that way, you know there’s not much out there . This is a great find! So. if you ever get out that way or lost in that area…stop by there and say hi to the good folks.

When I first walked in, I thought they just sell coffee and muffins. It looks like a coffee shop that also sells wine…… Anyways, they actually have food as well. I ordered the Jeremy Smithfield and it came with a side salad with the house balsamic dressing. While I waited for the food, I was checking out the wine selection. They had these two bottle of wines that was called “Evil” and “Bitch”….they both were from Australia..oh, you Aussies, you. Anyways, the guy who was in charge of the wine area pointed them out and put them together and suggested that they would make a great pair as a gift for your special someone….haha. Let’s get back to the food….so, my sandwich arrives at the table (they give you this thing like Corner Bakery does so they can find you).  The pork was so tender and the combination of cheese and spicy mustard…how can you go wrong…ooohhhh soooo good!!!! I even had the salad which as amazing as well.

I addition to selling food, drinks, and wine. They also sell books (contribution goes to RESPONSE,  a charitable organization dedicated to the prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault in Shenandoah County), Antiques and Arts.

Now I won’t usually rate a place without going there a few times first but I can already tell you here that the food and the service won’t change. They take pride in who they are and what they do. Also, the price is great for the quality of food.  This truely is a great place!  So………

I give it a 5 out of 5 cherries

Camry Solara

Just a quick shout out to my girl on I495 in the left merge lane this morning…you know who are….Now you know that your in the lane that have cars coming off I66 to and they HAVE to merge on to I495, right? So, why is it that you feel the need to not let people in? Here’s a thought…..move to another lane so you don’t cause more traffic : )  Also, get off your mobile. There’s no need to drive and talk on the phone at the same time……we’re not that good at multi-tasking.

Pho

Phở is a traditional Vietnamese rice-noodle soup dish. Phở is served as a bowl of white rice noodles in clear beef broth, with thin cuts of beef (steak, fatty flank, lean flank, brisket). Variations featuring tendon, tripe, meatballs, chicken leg, chicken breast, or other chicken organs (heart, liver, tongue, etc.) are also available.

More information at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ph%E1%BB%9F 

Here are my thoughts on the various Pho places around this area that I’ve tried.  There are tons of Pho places around that I just can’t get to all of them but they are all pretty much the same.

Pho 75-Herndon, Va: This is the most “authentic” of all Pho places. And by authentic I mean a couple of the ”buffet” tables pushed together in the middle with a few tables on the sides for 2-4 seaters. The chopsticks already at the table along with the “pho spoon”.  Not to mention the “cock” sauce (not sure if I can say that but I really don’t know what the name of the hot sauce is….) and the hoisin sauce. The menu is simple….noodle soup and drink only and you pick the size bowl you want.  All you have to do is decide what cut of beef you want. Also, they have chicken and meatballs. You can get your food here quick, eat and leave before the hour on your lunch time is done.
Now, I’ve read some reviews of this place and they say  this place is dirty, the utensils are out and it’s not “clean”. Not sure what you’re eating (if it’s real beef?)..haha….it’s authentic. I know if you go to Thailand to get a bowl of noodles like this from the street side, it would be the same way. So, if you’re worried about that stuff then this is not the place for you. FWIW–the pho is good.

Pho 50-Falls Church, Va: This is “cleaner” than Pho 75.  They actually bring your utensils out to you after you order  : ) . They also have some appetizers as well.  They don’t really give you enough meat….

Pho 2000-Herndon, Va: I used to get the Egg noodle wontons here….ummm so good. They have a bigger selection of other food here as well.  They have Hot Pot but I have not tried it. I haven’t been there for awhile though so, I’m not sure if it’s still run by the same folks

Pho Hot-Annadale and Centreville, Va http://www.phohot.com/home.php: They just opened a new one in Centreville, Va and I must say…thank goodness.  It’s clean and the food it great….(E-sorry for suggesting the wrong thing for you) . The meat portion is good and I like that they have the different bowl size. They also have some vegetarian stuff as well. This is one of my fav pho place.

Pho Gourmet: I’m not that impress with it.  I didn’t care too much for the broth there. I don’t really recall much about it other than that.  They do have a decent vegitarian selection though and thought that looked better than what I had.

Pho Bistro: Well, the “bistro” is a good hint. I can’t really say anything bad about this place. I’m not too keen with the Pho Chicken and think the broth for that has no flavor.   The bowl comes in one size and that is big.  I must say that the steak cubs there are really good and I would go there just to get that rather than Pho.

Wii – Deca Sport

I haven’t really found anything that is as good as the Wii Sport.  It was hard to play especially 2 player…Badminton and Volleyball was just terrible. Curling wasn’t too bad and was the most fun thing on the game.  Archery was alright once I got the hang of it. I didn’t even attempt to play other games since I just bord with it.

Also, I’m having a hard time with some of these games that I can’t use my Mii on….why have them if I can’t use it!

Mojitos & Tapas

Mojitos & Tapas (Warrenton, VA)-http://www.mojitosandtapas.com/

So, I’m driving around the area feeling a bit peckish.  I had plans to have some Korean food for dinner and just wanted something “small” for lunch. I finally decided to pull in this shopping center to walk around and see if I fancy anything.  After walking around and checking out the shops…I ended up standing in front of the restaurant looking at the menu. I’m still not sure if I want to try it until this family (who was walking in for lunch) stated that “it’s good, and we eat here all the time”.  *Just a note that people around there are so nice and friendly* Alright then, I’m convinced (BTW- Thanks!!!).

I’ve decided to go with a couple of things on the tapas menu….fried calamari, baby potatoes and mojo sauce and of course the classic mojitos…*one more side note: if you want a little more kick or get drunk…try the la caipirnha. * While waiting for the food they brought out some bread and garlic and oil to munch on. The tapas were bigger than I expected and it tasted sooooo GOOD! The mojo sauce on the potatoes were an explosion of garlic and citrus juice….YUMMO.

This place seems like a good hang out spot as well.  I’m not going to put any cherries on this right now but I can already tell you it’s great.

Thai Basil

Thai Basil (Chantilly, VA)-www.thaibasilchantilly.com

This place is located in the same shopping center as the Indian place but a bit hidden away. First walking in the place look very “thai-ish” with the pictures of the King and Queen, some Thai stuff that were hung on the wall. There were a couple of ladies sitting near the register eating and chatting away. I’m not sure if they were customers or if they were staff….but there was not one else in the restaurant . Which can be worry some.  The service was really good but then again there was no one else there.

Since I was only peckish I ordered a couple of “salad” dishes (I know, I know). My first choice was the papaya salad and the other was larb gai (ground chicken salad) and the Thai beer. The waiter had gone back to put the order in and I notice that he was speaking Thai. At least that was a good start. I was not very impress with the menu selections however, they did have a separate vegetarian menu.  Also, notice on the menu that Thai hot is low than Laos hot……hmmmmm.  I just want to make a quick mention that they were playing some annoying elevator music…for those who can’t block that type of thing out. Underneath the glass on the table there were some pictures, post card, and some printed reviews. I notice that it was dated a few years back and that this place was rated above Thai Luang.  Perhaps that gave me a higher expectation. I was a bit disappointed that the food was not that great. This place seemed more “fusion” than a “Thai” restaurant.

I give it a 2 out of 5 cherries

Rainbow

This was after one of the storms that came through this area. Notice that one of the pics has 2 rainbows!!!
Here’s a link to wiki if you want the “scientific explanation” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow

Doesn’t it make you want to sing……

Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high

Take a look, it’s in a book – Reading Rainbow.

 

I can go anywhere!

Friends to know and ways to grow – Reading Rainbow.

 

I can be anything!

Take a look, it’s in a book – Reading Rainbow…….