17431 Brookhurst St, Ste A, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Pricing - $/$$ | Dining - Casual, To-Go | Cuisine - Thai

At the end of a long day, all I want is to eat is Thai food...or just more specifically, something warm and soupy but substantial like curry. Since Duc moved, we've had to explore the eateries near him and recently came upon this gem of a Thai restaurant in an unassuming place. However, though the exterior is unimpressive, the decor inside is quite chic and modern.


Prior to this review, we had already eaten here by doing take-out. For the purposes of doing the review (and enjoying more of the good food), we decided to eat in and order a full course meal. So, drinks were a definite yes! I grabbed a Thai iced tea which was smooth, creamy, and just the right amount of sweetness to keep me coming back for more. Duc went with the mint tea, a strong fresh mint tea with plenty of actual mint in the pot.


We wanted to snag an appetizer so the "Shrimp Blanket" was our choice. What was it? Wonton wrappers were wrapped around large shrimp and then deep-fried. With the sweet chili sauce, these were great finger foods that weren't oily but were crisp on the outside and thick with shrimp on the inside. I would have preferred if different shrimp had been used (black tiger maybe?) but overall, a great starter.


Since we both hadn't had pad thai in just about a year or so (we've been trying different things okay?), we opted for that with chicken. They brought out quite the enjoyed dish as the noodles had a nice firm consistency. The sauce was well incorporated without being smothering or sparse. The crushed peanuts and fresh bean sprouts made it more authentic feeling, and the fresh lime gave the sauce some extra zip though the whole dish was fine on its own. A great plate of pad thai is a good thing to come by, and we enjoyed ours.


For my curry craving, we got the Red Tofu Curry which was red curry with tofu, green beans, and bamboo shoots. We had gotten their pineapple curry and massaman chicken curry before which were both extraordinary. This red tofu curry at their medium temperature had a flavorful sting to it but could have been a little spicier perhaps. Nevertheless, it was smooth and rich with the complexities of their spices. I wouldn't say it was as good as the other ones we've had there but it's still a solid red curry. I'm excited to keep coming back here!

9211 Bolsa Ave, Ste 101-103, Westminster, CA 92683
Pricing - $ | Dining - Casual | Cuisine - Vietnamese
http://phoquangtrung.com

It's a travel tradition for me - I need pho when I get home! While my favorite pho place is Pho 79 in Garden Grove, it isn't open at all hours of the night (WHY NOT?!) and when your flight lands at 9:40pm, your choices become more limited for good pho. However, since Duc was going to pick me up, he did some research and said that Pho Quang Trung in Westminster might be our best bet. I looked up the reviews on Yelp and saw some positive comments so I agreed. Also, I was sick so having some warm noodle soup seemed like an awesome idea at that point.


So many of the rave reviews were commending the chicken pho - I have never had chicken pho before but since that's where the praise was going towards, I decided on that with chicken breast instead of thigh and no add-ons of liver or skin (I know it's traitorous to beefy tradition but...I had to). The "medium" that came out was HUGE! I mean, I normally would have said no but my congestion wanted some brothy lovin'. As I ate it, I felt like I was betraying my dear Pho 79 because I was actually enjoying my meal. The broth was hot, clean, and rich. The noodles were perfect in texture. The meat was fresh and bountiful. Why did I have to like it so much?!


Duc went for the pho tai sach (the tripe was for my sake since I was craving it) in the medium size too. That broth was also hot, clean, and rich; there weren't any traces of greasiness which a lot of pho restaurants have. The meat was so plentiful, and the noodles spot-on too. Because the broth was so clean, it did lack a little bit of the savory marrow flavor we like in our broth (which is so deliciously heavy and apparent in Pho 79's broth) but in general, was fantastic. We both felt bad about enjoying the meal so much as well as seeing that this place actually took credit cards (no shady Vietnamese cash-only business?). We'll keep it for our late-night cravings then and still visit our dearly beloved during its opening hours. WELL-PLAYED PHO QUANG TRUNG, WELL-PLAYED. You made us feel like we were having an affair, sigh.

608 T St NW, Washington, DC 20001 (Neighborhood: Shaw)
Pricing - $ | Dining - Casual, To-Go | Cuisine - Ethiopian

I must now go find if there are Ethiopian places near where I live because I had such a delicious meal from this place in Little Ethiopia. I had read about there being good food in DC but had never had Ethiopian food and was willing to give it a shot. Too bad there aren't closer restaurants to me in Garden Grove than north Anaheim!


Anywho, the place was just a shabby shell of a restaurant when you walked in. Tables, chairs, and a counter - the basics. The menu looked unchanged for quite some time but who cares when the food is good? I opted for the Nech Tibs (lamb in a juicy curry sauce), and when it came out in all its $10 glory, I was amazed. The platter had some injera (the spongey, somewhat sour bread for Ethiopian food) as the "plate," a bowl of the meat on top, some chickpea paste, extra spicy sauce, and more injera. When you don't use utensils, I guess more bread works out! The injera was very moist and delicious. I loved the spice that came from the tibs as it was just enough to make my slightly sore throat feel like it was healing. There was so much rich flavor in the heat. The meat could have been a tad more tender but it was still good.


My friend at first ordered something which the cashier said was raw meat. When asked what wasn't raw or too spicy on the menu, the response revealed few options. However, he did manage to get away with getting the Kitfo (minced beef sauteed with Ethiopian butter, hot chili peppers, and herbs). I tried a bit of it, and it was quite flavorful and still spicy (but I suppose it was mild in comparison to other dishes). There had to be about a full pound of minced beef on his plate though. For both of us, we had to take our meals to-go after getting stuffed on the goodness but mmm were they good leftovers. I'm craving some more right now as I finish up the review, dangit!

1025 5th St NW, Washington, DC 20001
Pricing - $/$$ | Dining - Casual | Cuisine - American
www.busboysandpoets.com

When your friend misses out on dinner with you and makes arrangement for brunch the next day, how do you deny going out for another meal in DC? How do you deny BRUNCH? He chose Busboys and Poets, a place whose name is dedicated to poet Langston Hughes who used to work as a busboy prior to regaling us with his poetry. The first thing I thought when we drove past the place looking for parking was that it was bustling!


When you walk inside, you have some interesting eco-friendly giftwares on the side in an open gift shop of sorts. The inside is a hodgepodge of artsy decor and hipstery people (or perhaps just people trying to look hipster). I was just starting to feel under the weather that day so I only briefly looked at the interior before hastily ordering orange juice to hopefully quell the sickness rising in my throat.


Of course, this led me to order a fairly simple meal from their extensive menu (almost TOO many choices to look at!) of scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast, grits, and turkey sausage. Also, yes, they are vegetarian friendly there. I definitely enjoyed the eggs but the toast remained fairly untouched thanks to my scratchy throat. The grits made me miss grits so much - I used to eat them all the time when I was in North Carolina but alas, they exist not around here. Bollocks! Anywho, seeing as my meal was fairly standard, I suppose I can't give a fair review but my friends definitely enjoyed what they had. Cheers to them! I still got a solid breakfast so I won't blast Busboys and Poets for anything - perhaps I'll give them another try the next time I'm in DC and will choose more tale-telling food.

675 15th St NW, Washington, DC 20005
Pricing - $$/$$$ | Dining - Casual, Dressy Casual | Cuisine - American
www.ebbitt.com

In my research on DC prior to my trip, I came across Old Ebbitt Grill as being a place that I had to hit up. Aside from it having some pretty good food, it's also Washington DC's oldest, most historic saloon having been founded in 1856! It didn't start off as a restaurant so much; as a boarding house, very many famous politicians, presidents, and so forth had visited and stayed. So when you're inside and take a look around, it's very Victorian, clad with paintings and furnishings to create a regal environment. Funnily enough, it was still okay for my friends and I to come in dressed fairly casually (as tourists often drop in too). Sounded good to us! We made reservations and dropped in for an early dinner on a Saturday night.


With four of us, two appetizers were needed as we were also starving. I had just come from the zoo, power-walking through it and all! We got the crab and artichoke dip (a hot, creamy feel-good punch atop mediocre sliced white bread) and Colombian empanadas (crunchy on the outside and wholesome on the inside with chicken and vegetables).


We all went quite separate ways with our orders in terms of style but I was glad to see so many options. One went with a salmon salad, another for a burger, and the other for steak. I opted for their goat cheese and basil ravioli which was portioned at a definite American size with several of the stuffed pasta pieces on my plate, covered in generous amounts of soft roasted pumpkin and garlicky spinach. The goat cheese was smooth and strong, wrapped within the pasta, and the accompanying vegetables overflowing. I had a good time at dinner, and the food overall seemed quite liked by all. It was also a good people-watching place. I only skimp on a full five stars seeing as the place was solid but not extraordinary. They had fairly typical American food at satisfactory but not mind-blowing levels of tastiness. Does this make me a bad person, for wanting to be wowed? Anywho, it was fun nevertheless to catch up with friends!

Take 1, Take 2!

645 Elden St, Herndon, VA 20170
Pricing - $$/$$$ | Dining - Casual, Dressy Casual | Cuisine - Indian
www.angeethiva.com

So though I was taking a trip to DC, I was actually staying in Virginia. That's one of the perks of the East Coast right? The states are so close to each other there! Anywho, my friend's friends were planning on joining us for dinner, so I suggested we go to Angeethi Authentic Indian Cuisine based on a recommendation from Yelp friend Sidney.


What a stellar suggestion he gave! Even though it was just a hole-in-the-wall when he went and our experience was at what looked like a newly remodeled larger restaurant with swanky decor inside, the food was just as excellent as raved about. Unfortunately the lighting was quite dim so my apologies for the poorly lit pictures I had. For the four of us, we ate family style (how else do you tackle an Indian meal?) with orders of Pineapple Murg (chicken) Curry, Palak Paneer, Gosht Madras (lamb), and Murg Tikka Masala. We also got two orders of naan and one of garlic naan which was so fresh and perfect - in fact, one came out right from the tandoor so it was mindblowingly good. The food had definite personality. The pineapple curry was actually just to try out but was the least favorite of the crowd (yet still awesome). The palak paneer had just the right amount of spinach to paneer ratio, creamy and long-lasting in savoriness. The gosht madras was the table's favorite with its make-you-sweat spice and tender chunks of lamb. As for the murg tikka masala, you can't go wrong. I also greatly appreciated my huge glass of mango lassi, especially after the heat brought on by the lamb. I think my friends in the area will definitely be coming back! Why no full five stars? The service was a tad slow...and the prices a bit high.

400 8th St NW, Washington, DC 20004 (Neighborhood: Penn Quarter)
Pricing - $/$$ | Dining - Casual, To-Go | Cuisine - Asian Fusion, Teahouse
www.teaism.com

Since my priority for the DC trip was to go see the Art of Video Games exhibit, my first planned place to eat was to be nearby. Teaism caught my eye with its afternoon tea special that others on Yelp had talked about so we went for that (which is from 2:30-5:30).


The inside was quaint and had their multitude of teas up top to look over. Luckily, my friend knew that he wanted green tea so our choices narrowed down a lot. Our green tea was their Dragon Well which tasted more herbal than I think my friend liked. We shared the traditional menu (they have an Asian version) for the afternoon tea which came with tea sandwiches, sweets, and a whole pot of tea. Yum!


Let's start with the sandwiches. There was a smoked salmon on that had a bit more mayo on it than I would have preferred. The presentation was nice but the sliminess from the sauce was a little much. The cucumber sandwich was actually fairly good if not substantial. There was ginger in it and what tasted like wasabi so there was definitely some Asian influence there.


As for the sweets, they were impressive. We both especially enjoyed the ginger scone as we hadn't heard of or had one before. There were fresh pieces of ginger inside! The lime curd tartlets had a tasty curd as well as hardy tart shell. Then there were the white chocolate truffles covered in matcha powder - these were delightfully smooth and good. It's hard to pick a favorite amongst any of the sweets because even their cookies were delectable. It was a well-put together shortbread that was light and had a lot of texture from chocolate chips and perhaps nuts? It was a good experience - I'd definitely want to come back next time I'm in DC, especially to browse their attached tea shop!

I suppose I had become a Yelp Elite during a dry spell of events because I had only been to one event in Orange County for 2012 until just now. With a new (and obviously super cool) Community Manager, Yelp OC got a makeover with a barrage of what I've heard to be awesome events. I luckily made it in under Mr. Ryan's scrutiny to the Downtown Disney Dine Around, and man oh man did I feel spoiled! We were really elite that night.


Where to start? The location was the hip and happening UVA Bar in DTD which was closed off to just us (whoohoo for feeling like the 1%!). The food was just as hip and happening. In fact, right when I first walked in, I had a variety of alcoholic beverages thrown in my face (not literally...just available in every direction) so I opted for the Sexy Mamacita, a jalapeno and cucumber magarita of wildly spice-laden imbibing. Actually, it was good for my throat as I was under the influences of a cold. One free alcoholic drink is not enough so soon after, I snagged a blueberry mojito which quenched the fire in my throat. A glass of white wine soon followed - they did not stop making us all happy.


Let's then take a look at what other amazingness was all around. There was an enormous paella skillet at one of the booths and a million other tasty food stations. There was an ultra-fun Splendid Photo Studio Booth that I regretfully did not make it to. There were mounds upon artfully presented mounds of delicious foods from Catal, Naples, Tortilla Jo's, and Devilicious Donuts. The favorite at the table was the corncake slider with arepas (pork) atop. We were jonesing for it so badly after the first helping that one of UVA's managers (Mark) sent over a full platter. Star treatment! The service was phenomenal as we were catered to left and right with individual and table requests. Lamb sliders were succulent and perfect. The paella lent homey feel-good emotions. Croquettes produced pleasurable sounds from me as did the caprese skewers. The ravioli was mm-mm-good. Our table tried six - yes, count them, six - different donuts (red velvet, Oreo, maple bacon, Nutella, pumpkin spice, and peanut butter toffee), and ultimately came out liking the this-is-different-but-amazing bacon donut and the toffee best. Score points for these indulgent sweets!


The raffle at the end was a nice touch to the evening, and I highly commend Ryan for keeping everything on time with no visible hiccups. As an event planner, I know it gets hard sometimes to keep a crowd on a schedule and to make sure everything's working out for everyone but he did a fabulous job. I definitely had an elite-feeling time and greatly appreciated that there were charitable donations from this event to CHOC. Though I had already grabbed a whole bunch of Yelp swag, I also got a cool goody bag on my way out just for checking in. It had some lovely olive oil, some raunchily-shaped bottle of tequila, and a void where my special Patina group appetizer card was supposed to be! I guess that's what I get for opening my bag the next day but kudos to those who got a freebie card in their bags - that's such a great gesture from the restaurants. Fun times were had by all. I can't wait until the next event (though I suppose I literally can...and will have to...)!

Photography by Minerva Thai. More photos on Facebook.