About two and a half years ago I first wrote about my favorite Thai restaurant in the DC suburbs, Elephant Jumps in Merrifield. Regular readers know this place and word has certainly spread. I understand that some of the bloggers from First2Board organized a lunch there before the start of Frequent Traveler University at the end of April. There aren’t a ton of places that age well, and admittedly after it first got popular it had a few ups and downs especially with service (they were learning to staff properly and handle getting busy). They worked through the bumps well, and I kept going back. And going back. I had pretty much everything on the menu except for their Thai-Western fusion dishes which just didn’t appeal to me. This is a hole in the wall…
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The Best Hand Pulled Chinese Noodles in New York (or Anywhere)
About 10 months back I wrote about some of my favorite food spots in Lower Manhattan. One of those was Lam Zhou Homemade Noodle. The link above is to the restaurant’s Yelp page, they don’t have a website. They don’t have metal utensils. Or air conditioning. Or a credit card machine. Or an A rating from the health department, for that matter. What they do have is the absolute best hand pulled noodles and delicious soup, in expensively. They don’t speak much if any English, you order by number off of the big sign on the wall with pricing and you pay at the end by cash (it seems like they could care less if you tip or not, and the man taking my money recently looked at me funny when I overpaid by about…
Austin Food & Culture — and What it Taught Me About Barbecue and… Thai Food
I was in Austin recently, it’s one of my favorite cities, both for classic Texas and for much more modern culture. One of the things I did over the weekend earlier in the month is picked up tickets for ‘Master Pancake,’ a live Mystery Science Theatre 3000 style performance in a theatre/draft house. So you get something to drink, you can pay extra for comfortable chairs (a very modest upcharge), and watch some cutting-edge comedy. In this case, one of the original MST3K folks joined Austin regulars as they mocked Hunger Games. I may not have the most exciting Saturday nights, but it was a lot of fun. I also returned to some of my favorite barbecue spots, and I learned something about barbecue in the process. I expected consistency — restaurants that have been…
Return to the Maldives: Tea at the Burj al Arab, Dubai
Trip Report Index: Introducing and Strategy New York JFK – Abu Dhabi, Etihad First Class Park Hyatt Dubai Touring the Burj al Arab Tea at the Burj al Arab Abu Dhabi – Male, Etihad Business Class Male – Kaadedhdhoo, Maldivian and Transfer to the Park Hyatt Park Hyatt Hadahaa Maldives Kooddoo-Male-Abu Dhabi, Maldivian and Etihad Business Class Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi – Dusseldorf – London, Etihad First Class and British Airways Club Europe London Heathrow – San Francisco, British Airways New First Class Our hotel media rep dropped us off at the Skyview bar, where we identified ourselves to the desk. We were the third reservation there, they found us on the little slips of paper at the desk. It was important to us to be on the early side (and we arrived…
New Years in Paris: Air France Business, British Airways First, and the Park Hyatt Vendome: In and Around Paris
A trip report in five parts Air France A380 Business Class, Washington Dulles – Paris Park Hyatt Vendome Mostly Eating in Paris British Airways Paris Orly – London and the Concorde Room British Airways “New” First Class, London – Washington Dulles The first night’s dinner was a bit impromptu, the Park Hyatt’s concierge stepped in with a recommendation based on my request for something nearby (walkable), casual bistro, reasonably priced (I didn’t want to spend 50 euros per person), and good food — that was available at the last minute by reservation, so that it wouldn’t entail a wait. The recommendation was for Restaurant L’ardoise, which fit the bill perfectly. We walked in and the place was packed. I mentioned that we had a reservation and the woman greeting us said, “You talked to me??”…
Suites, Treats, and Eats, a Malaysian Mileage Thanksgiving: Things to See and Do in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur Tours: Introduction: Constructing — and Re-constructing — the Award Trip American Eagle DC – New York and the New Nicest JFK Airport Hotel, the Hilton Cathay Pacific First Class, JFK – Hong Kong The Wing lounge in Hong Kong and Cathay Pacific Business Class Hong Kong – Kuala Lumpur Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Airlines Business Class, Kuala Lumpur – Langkawi The Andaman Langkawi Malaysia Airlines Business Class, Langkawi – Kuala Lumpur Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur Things to See and Do in Kuala Lumpur Korean Airlines First Class, Kuala Lumpur – Seoul and the Korean Airlines First Class Lounge Seoul Korean Airlines First Class, Seoul – Washington Dulles I had only two days to spend in Kuala Lumpur. It’s a city, not quite as friendly and easy for first time visitors and Singapore and…
Can DC Pull Off Real Texas Barbecue?
Over Labor Day weekend I made a pilgrimage to Lockhart, Texas for barbecue. It would be an overstatement to say that it was life changing but I certainly had the best barbecue I’ve ever eaten and it changed the way that I think about barbecue. I used to think that barbecue was as much about the sauce as the meat, but that’s because I hadn’t ever tasted meat that was so fresh, cooked with such care, that not only didn’t it need any sauce but I didn’t want to detract from the subtle flavors. After Lockhart I thought I was more or less ruined from barbecue. The places in DC didn’t get much business from me even before this, but there’s a place in Florida I’d go to with some regularity and that was now…
Dinner With Mommy Points: Earning at the Blue Duck Tavern With Hyatt Gold Passport While Not a Hotel Guest
Last night I was fortunate to have dinner with Mommy Points at one of my favorite restaurants in DC, the Blue Duck Tavern at the Park Hyatt. Food and service are good but it also has to be the best looking restaurant space in the City. And Hyatt now allows members to earn and redeem points at restaurants and spas even when not staying at the hotel. The only downside is the lighting, not ideal for picture taking, especially with a phone. But the food is excellent, I had the foie gras starter. And the braised beef rib as my entree. The apple pie is the diamond food amenity, for those top tier elites staying on property and opting not to take the points. I grabbed the check, I’m a full-time professional with a business…
Bangkok Golden Thai Restaurant in Northern Virginia Isn’t a Thai Restaurant
I had lunch at Bangkok Golden Thai Restaurant on Tyler’s advice, and was totally blown away. It’s in the Seven Corners shopping center, next to the Tobacco Barn and a nail salon, and two doors over from a Jenny Craig. This place is maybe half a mile from the Eden Center — where most everything inside is Vietnamese, and very good, that was the originally-planned destination for the day (no place in particular, just the Eden Center and go from there). The photos in this post are just from my phone, since I really wasn’t expecting the lunch that I had and didn’t have my camera with me. The Yelp reviews of Bangkok Golden Thai are strange because in many ways it’s a strange place. There are tons of great reviews saying how wonderful it…
Eating Around the Grand Hyatt New York
I was staying at the Grand Hyatt, and as folks who read the review know I had a bit of room service on arrival. So I wasn’t hungry early, but headed out to get a little bit of dinner around 8pm. First stop was Schnitzel & Things, a small restaurant that started off as a food truck with both excellent schnitzel and sides, it’s counter service and a few tables in back. Unfortunately they close at 8pm and were cleaning up as I arrived. So had to go looking for something else to try. That neighborhood has plenty of Japanese restaurants, and wherever there are clusters of one type of food you have competition which gives you a good shot that the food at any given place will be ok. And walking down the side…
