Posts Tagged ‘restaurant reviews’
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, December 16th, 2010
Break out those thinking caps, Gut Checkers!
(And it might not hurt to have a few back issues and/or our features page open. But you didn’t hear that from me).
Now, the rules of the trivia challenge are pretty simple.
All the restaurant-related trivia questions were derived from the past 12 months of reviews. The first 10 people to correctly answer all 10 questions–please send all submissions to warren@northernvirginiamag.com–will win a gift certificate to one of our participating restaurants. In the case of a tie, we’ll pick a winner at random from all the correct responses.
Submissions will be accepted until noon EST on Monday, December 20.
You ready? Then have at it!
2010 Relish Trivia Quiz:
Question 1: At what local gastropub was I unexpectedly greeted (and perhaps professionally “outed”) by a high school chum?
Question 2: What 50 Best Restaurant bowled me over with homemade donuts and sumptuous dipping sauces?
Question 3: What local hot dog haven cooks all their wieners in Dale’s Pale Ale?
Question 4: What LoCo bbqpreneur boasts a homemade hot sauce forged from 17 fiery peppers?
Question 5: Which Bavarian-born butcher treats his clients to seasonally-inspired spiessbraten?
Question 6: What ice cream oasis saved an ill-equipped fellow bicyclist from certain doom?
Question 7: What exurban cafe pads their signature paninis with pairings like bacon and apple or peppermint and Nutella?
Question 8: Which Tunisian restaurateur takes great pride in his Merguez-based mezze?
Question 9: What Crystal City eatery’s fish tacos did I feel completely floundered?
Question 10: Which licentious bingo caller showers patrons with vintage Barbies and off-color humor?
In order to avoid any confusion, please make sure to tag all responses with the question number (Q1, Q2, Q3, etc.) you are attempting to answer.
Good luck!
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
(Image: Capital Spice)
Capital Spice’s composite “best of” map that is.
Tech-savvy food blogger Mike Bober has incorporated our latest 50 Best Restaurants picks into an evolving dining atlas demarcating the current dining favorites trumpeted by local critics–myself, Tim Carman of the Washington City Paper, Todd Kliman of the Washingtonian and Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post (with the most prominent Zagat scores thrown in for good measure).
A quick scan of the fully integrated food awards uncovered a few interesting tidbits:
* 2941, Four Sisters and Ray’s the Steaks were the only universally acclaimed establishments
* Of the 19 overlapping reviews, we agreed with Kliman most (74 percent of the time), followed by Sietsema (47 percent) and Carman (42 percent)
We look forward to poking around Bober’s information buffet as it continues to grow.
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, December 4th, 2009
In the world of amateur restaurant reviewing, boundaries can be a wonderful thing.
Just ask local food sleuth Jim Webb.
The Leesburg resident has been cranking out one-shots about visits to area restaurants (chains and their multiple locations, included) for 20 months as part of his personal quest to critique every hometown eatery.
The biggest obstacle to date? Restaurant turnover.
“Lots of new ones keep popping up,” he noted. “So maybe I’ll never be done.”
The IT professional claims no culinary training–”I’m not a gourmet or anything,” he openly admitted–but does have a passion for Asian cuisine.
And while Ruby Tuesday remains a family go-to (“It’s somewhere we can all agree on,” he said), Webb has added many new favorites to his mental Rolodex, including:
*homemade pastas from Galetta’s (“That was really good,” Webb shared)
*curry creations from Thai Pan (“It’s tiny and in this weird location, but fairly authentic.”)
*deli delights from Puccio’s (“Really good sandwiches.”)
*spicy fare from the Cajun Experience (“Tiny but great.”)
To date, he’s injected about $2,700 into the local economy and has crossed circa 80 places off his original list–with another three dozen still to go.
What’ll he do if he ever does cross the dining finish line?
Webb’s not entirely sure. But he did leave the door open to devising another regional challenge.
“Maybe visiting every winery in Loudoun County,” he mused, quickly adding, “There’ll be something in the future.”
–Warren
