I spend weeks at a time in the Herndon/Reston/Tyson's area of Virginia for work. Outside of Chains (PF Changs, Cheesecake Factory) and some very pricy hotel restaurants and steakhouses which I don't frequent (Palms, Maxey's) because I'm by myself usually, there isn't much to choose from. At some point I'm going to take a co-worker to The Inn at Little Washington, which I've been to before, but outside of that I've seen few good options for exciting food (I'm not talking about going into DC). Is there something I'm missing?

northern virginia is restaurant nirvana compared to some places (like where i'm living right now...)

someone here will probably have first hand experience -- but i gather the restaurant in the RC Tysons Corner is very well regarded.

more related to your home state than the topic -- how do you feel about curtis's ninth wonder of the world?

Oh please. Maybe because I live in London, which is the definition of culinary purgatory, or perhaps because I was born and bred there, I must take issue.

You're telling me that you haven't been to Eden Center and partaken of the legendary Pho 75 or the other restaurants in the Vietnamese center of Virginia? How about Dim Sum at Fortune at Seven Corners or Reston, where the former President Bush used to take his entourage, even though I much prefered the Golden Dragon in Chinatown (long since closed). Or, Thai... Herndon's Chao Phra Ya (known to the high-tech community as "The Cow," a name I coined back in 1999 when it opened at the height of the dot.com insanity) has the best Drunken Noodles in America (and trust me... I've tried to find better). Or Pan Asian at Pacific on Route 7 in Ashburn.

There's not just good Asian food. There's the quiant La Cote D'Or restaurant in Falls Church, right off I-66, which is fantastic French bistro cuisine, the small chain of Hard Times Cafe with the best chili in these parts (I recommend the half and half Cinny-Texas Mac) and the Clarendon Grill.

There's also the Serbian Crown with their yummy ice blocks filled with Vodka. Or Great Falls' legendary L'Auberge Chez Francois. Go for old fashioned, over-the-top decor and decent prime rib and other Comfort Food at Tom Sarris Orleans House in Rosslyn. And, a real hidden gem--the Peruvian chicken at Pollo Rico, near the corner of Wilson and Washington in Arlington--note the long line out of the building, filled with us gringos.

Back in Tyson's Corner, specifically, there's the fantastic Taste of Saigon on Greensboro Drive or Da Domenico, where the owner, a former Opera singer, will sing for YOUR supper (and quiet the room in the process--what a voice!). Plus, as they say, he makes the best Veal Chop in town.

If you're willing to settle for P.F. Chang's, you're really missing out. I can't believe the concierge wouldn't have given you a single, decent suggestion. Maybe you should tip more? ;)

Sorry for the long rant, but if you mock my hometown's food. I *MUST* throw down.

The area selected, and Rosslyn thrown in do not have a lot of quality restaurants. The problem is probably due to the lay of the land. Expensive real estate, and large office buildings that empty at night.

However, Alexandria is in N VA, and due to the ideal real estate, has a large number of decent restaurants in restaurant rows that look like 9th Ave in NYC, and Soho in London.

DC is about 10 miles from Tyson's Corner, and again there are quite a few decent restaurants there.

There are some extremely aceptable restaurants even in the Tyson Reston Herndon area, but they tend to be quite large, and very expensive.

I can't believe you are complaining about choices in No. Va. I just got back from 2 weeks in Westover, Ma. and the only options I had was Waffle House and Friendly's.

If you are in the Reston/Herndon area there are tons of ethnic and non-chain restaurants in that area.

Just in the Kmart shopping center in Herndon on Eldon St. I would recommend a couple.

1) Pho 75, Vietnamese soup
2) Hunan (can't remember the exact name but it is pretty good)
3) Hard times Cafe

Out of the Kmart shopping center take a right and go to the next shopping center on the right there is an excellent Mexican place called the Tortilla factory.

If you like a little more upscale go out to Rt. 7 in Sterling and try the Pacific in the Target shopping center or Chengs (not PF Chengs) by the regal cinemas.

Reston Towne Center has tons of restaurants but mostly chain stuff but all good.

Euro Bistro in Herndon is quite good...

SBC Cafe in Herndon is also very enjoyable.... red and yellow bell pepper soup is fantastic....

Reston (my town) is full of ok chains, but not much else... (Big Bowl is about the best of them)...

I tend to favor the i-dine restaurants , most of which are decent

(not Idine)
China King
in Falls Church, and Herndon
good takeout about $5

In Herndon at the Mall at Elden Street and the Toll road
there is 2 great options
(both not i-dine)
Charlie Chiangs - chinese and mongolian bbq
a Japanese Restuarant/sushi Bar which has an all you can eat buffet lunch

if you like thai
this is the place as there is a small thai restauarnt war going on
futherdown Elden street at the 2nd intersection of Elden and the herndon parkway, is a non idine Thai place which runs 2-1 coupons in the area duning magazine

futher down, near where elden intersects fairfax county parkway, across from the hotel, there is a very good I-dine Thai place, no 2-1 meals, but this month it was 12.5 miles /dollar

on rt 7, just past the fairfax county line, in the shooping center with the food lion is Tup Tim Thai, if you shop in the giant at Rt 7 and Dranesville, your reciept will have a 2-1 coupon on it. The way to get your idine miles is that i go once a month and buy 4 - $25 gift certificates, then use the gift certificate when I use the coupon. so i get the 1000 miles when i get the certificates.

in the next mall up, on the same side of the street is Chengs, also a great place, but as of last month the were no longer in I-dine

before you reach Chengs on the other side of the street is Pacific, they are also no longer in I-dine, but is ranked as one of the top 50 restautrants in the area. they serve Pan-Asian which earns on their menu they have items from china, japan, malaysia , etc, etc

Bo apettit

PS
BUT I STILL LOVE THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY

With quality offerings like the Inn at Little Washington (if you can consider the Shenandoah's part of Northern VA) and Maestro at the RC Tysons Corner, NoVA is hardly a restaurant wasteland.

Around Herndon/Reston, I agree with Pho75 on Elden St as the #1 for Vietnamese beef noodle soup. My favorite Thai joint is Thai Luang on Elden St as well (near the FC Parkway). Thai Luang serves amazing Drunken Noodles (though I must try "The Cow" now based on <b>GodOSpoons'</b> rave ;)). The best Drunken Noodles in the DC area, IMHO, is Rice on 14th and Q. I would also second the Tortilla Factory (also on Elden) recommendation. My favorite Japanese in this area is Yoko, also on Elden!

I'm not a big fan of L'Auberge but I love Da Domenico.

Reston Town Center is definitely full of chains. I actually quite like PF Chang's and their lettuce wraps and kung pao scallops. The portions are a little too big though (much like Big Bowl which I like as well). And Rio Grande is always convivial :)

Other recommendations outside of the Herndon/Reston area:

7 Corners: Four Sisters/Huong Que (Viet), Mark's Duck House (dim sum)
Bailey's Xroads: Duangrat's/Rabieng (Thai), Peking Gourmet Inn (Chinese)
Annandale: Ye Chon (Korean)
Falls Church: Haandi (Indian)
Rosslyn: China Garden (dim sum)
McLean: Pulcinella (Italian)
Merrifield: Sweetwater Tavern (American)
Shirlington: Carlyle Grand (American)
Alexandria: Majestic Cafe (American)

And if you cross into DC, the choices expand dramatically.

You could definitely eat out a whole month at good, quality restaurants in NoVA before having to resort to Olive Garden ;) It's not New York but hey, not many places are :)

Previous posters have hit the high points. Let me add a few personal favorites. These are joints you dont mind walking in alone with a book.

Three resturants in Lake Anne Plaza are good. Il Cigno most expensive, Montmartre cheapest. All 3 have al fresco dining on the lake. Bands on Thursday.

El Manantial (sp?) in Tall Oaks Plaza, and Zefferelli's in Herndon are iDine.

Shahi Kabob in downtown Herndon. Go for Chicken Karahi.

Tara Thai in Vienna (iDine). Go for soft-shell crab or crispy fish in chilli sauce.

Nizams in Vienna. Better Doner Kebab than I had in Istanbul.

Clydes in Reston Town center. Again, sit outside and watch the kids on the plaza, or sit inside and watch bigger kids picking one another up.

Thanks for all the suggestions, particularly listing which restaurants are I-Dine. Some of the suggestions are new to me (where is Lake Anne?),some are favorites I've gotten bored with. I will try SBC and Hard Times. I too recommend Thai Luang.

Easiest way to get to Lake Anne from Reston Town Center is to take Reston Parkway to Baron Cameron, hang a right and just before Wiehlie, make a right again. At the T-junction for North Shore Dr, make a left. We usually get on Temporary Road halfway up Reston Parkway and turn onto North Shore Dr from there. It loops around eventually to the Lake. If you take North Shore the other direction and go past Wiehlie, there's another Pho joint and a new fairly decent Chinese place called Mama Wok in the strip mall with the Giant in it.

I, too, am a fan of Il Cigno although it is slightly pricey (esp. for lunch). Also, Taste of the World on Sunset Hills past Target and 7100 is pretty good. Have you tried the international buffet at Metropolis in Plaza America off Sunset Hills? It sounds corny but it's surprisingly good :)

There's the quiant La Cote D'Or restaurant in Falls Church, right off I-66, which is fantastic French bistro cuisine,...


I had a good laugh about this place with Phyllis N. Richman before she retired as the Post's food critic. Its reputation at that time with us was as the one worst French restaurant in the DC area, with food that was pathetically prepared and service that was to say the least, unserviceable. It did have a quaint setting, but also tables too near the swinging kitchen doors that should have been service area locations. Perhaps in the interim (at least five years and maybe even ten) the management has changed and brought the place up to standard. Maybe it's time to make some inquiries as to whether to try it again.

Since I have working in that Falls Church-Fairfax area about three days each month for the last nearly 20 years, I do have a lot of restaurant experience there. Two of the fine Chinese barbeque houses in that immediate area that have escaped notice in this thread are Mark's Duck House in the Williston Center and just down the street is Miu Kee, in an anonymous (to me) new strip on the NW corner of Arlington Blvd and Annadale Road (where one can also find the latest incarnation of the frozen dessert stand which was formerly freestanding at that corner).

Also missing from the thread are a couple of casual places that I think deserve mentioning. These are RT's on Mount Vernon Avenue in Alexandria which serves upscale New Orleans style food with an excellent wine list and Artie's near the Fairfax Circle, which serves real American bar food much better than the national chains which specialize in the same stuff.

Since I've spent hundreds of nights in that area on expense accounts, I can go on and on, but enough is enough. Just seeing the title of this thread made me think that I should join in for a bit in order to help set the poster straight on the matter.

Lake Anne Village Center... isn't Cafe Montemarté there? I used to love Pho AND French Pastries for lunch. Didn't get much work done afterwards.

I can't say that I've eaten there since 2000 (I moved to Denver, then, but I come back often to the city), but my memory of the meal was good. I didn't notice the service being bad by any means. I do remember Richmond having as issue with the restaurant but, alas, the review is no longer on the Post web site and is probably no longer relevant if it was.

However, I did go to The Washingtonian, the DC magazine with the most accessable restaurant cheat sheet (www.washingtonian.com), which, of course, rated Pho 75 as a Top 100 Cheap Eats (for like the millionth year in a row).

However, it writes about our topic:

La Côte d'Or Café

French

[Expensive]
[Very Best]
[2 stars]
Arlington
6876 Lee Hwy.
Arlington, VA
703-538-3033
Open for lunch and dinner daily. Wheelchair accessible.
This restaurant sits amidst motels, garages, and entrances to I-66. Its charming exterior and French-provincial interior make patrons forget the surroundings. One negative: The tile floors and stucco walls can make for noisy dining.

The cooking stays close to classic French but adds a distinctive touch or two. Good cold-weather starters are the soups, especially a lobster bisque, a velvety garlic soup, and a traditional vegetable soup. Other appealing starters are the shrimp Provenˆßal, a terrine of salmon, and a terrine of foie gras. Dishes change rarely.

There are several fine main courses. Dover sole meunière and swordfish steak on a bed of leeks with lobster sauce are enticing seafood dishes. Or try the thinly sliced calf's liver; the filet of beef with mushroom sauce; rabbit Dijonnaise with a mustard sauce; and the classic cassoulet with sausage, duck, and beans. Warm plates are a good thing, but some of the plates coming out of the kitchen are very hot. Desserts are traditional and good.

La Côte d'Or Café, 6876 Lee Hwy., Arlington; 703-538-3033. Open daily for lunch and dinner, Sunday for brunch.

— David Dorsen

Not saying I agree on everything, but I hope some of the other suggestions are useful. ;)

I did forget to Amen your original suggestion of the Inn at Little Washington. I haven't been in years, but the night I was there was one of the most fantastic meals of my life.

I'm hungry for Pho, now.

Timotby

Thai Luang serves amazing Drunken Noodles (though I must try "The Cow" now based on <b>GodOSpoons'</b> rave ;)).

PM me with what you think of The Cow. It's in the little Tudor looking shopping center on Centreville Road towards Chantilly. There are a lot of new restaurants, all ethnic, in that center--I haven't had a chance to try any of the others.

There's always China King... (ducks to avoid wads of paper being thrown in his direction!)

Timothy

I moved here from Monterey 20 months ago, and I have to agree with the original poster's opinion. I know, I know... Monterey is restaurant nirvana and all that, but overall I think this area stinks for dining.

All the Sweetwater's rock. La Bergerie in Alexandria was a pleasant surprise. As was mentioned, some of the chains live up their usual high standards (The Palm, Cheesecake Factory, etc.). The numerical Pho restaurants (all owned by the same conglomerate) are decent.

Other than that it's hit or miss at best, usually miss. Customer service is quite simply a concept not usually practiced in this area. I've heard raves about DC dining, but my forays there have usually been met by substandard service and double-take-causing prices.

Yup, overall I have to agree with the premise of this thread.

I moved here from Monterey 20 months ago, and I have to agree with the original poster's opinion. I know, I know... Monterey is restaurant nirvana and all that, but overall I think this area stinks for dining.

.

I've heard raves about DC dining, but my forays there have usually been met by substandard service and double-take-causing prices.

Yup, overall I have to agree with the premise of this thread.


Now, all of DC stinks? Let's add the rest of the East Coast.

As was mentioned, some of the chains live up their usual high standards (The Palm, Cheesecake Factory, etc.).

I guess we're coming from (and going to) different places ...

There's always China King... (ducks to avoid wads of paper being thrown in his direction!)


There are times when I subsist on China King fare for days in a row. It ain't bad really but the thing that amazes is how they get everything looking that shade of red?

Also in clocktower (anybody can explain to me why the clock never shows the right time?) area is Hama Sushi - one the handful places in NoVa where the sushi chefs are Japanese. To round up the clocktower is Minerva - good South Indian food (their rava masala thosai is particular good) where they play Indian dance movies on a projector on weekend nights.

Surpised nobody has mentioned Shamshiry (8607 Westwood Center Dr.) in Vienna - very good Iranian kubidehs. There's Chinese restaurant opposite that as well that has amazing Peking duck.

The numerical Pho restaurants (all owned by the same conglomerate) are decent.


Er, sorry , no they are not owned by the same conglomerate.

Pho 75 is the one that kicked off the craze. The other "numbers" are competitors.

Pho 75 is the one that kicked off the craze. The other "numbers" are competitors.

I always thought the last two numbers represent the year the respective owners left Vietnam. :D Yea, I'm silly.

Try as I may, I always end up at China King about twice a month. It's decent, it's quick and it's dirt cheap (some of their menu items taste that way too!). I usually get <insert-meat-craving-of-the-day-here> fried rice coz everything else is, like you said, red.

On the DC subject, there is definitely a growing number of high-end restaurants (Citronelle, RC Grill, Fahrenheit, Vidalia, 1789, DC Coast/Ten Penh) as well as neighborhood restaurants (Zaytinya, Panache, Komi, Little Fountain, Firefly, 15 ria, Cashion's, Obelisk, Pizzeria Paradiso) that serve great food with good service. Compared to most major metropolitan areas, I think DC dining stacks up quite well but compared to NYC or SF, DC is no match.

I've lived in this are for nearly 10 years (first in Arlington, then Alexandria, now Falls Church/Fairfax) and can safely say that, if nothing else, we have variety!!! From big chains to little "no-name" places you can find it all: Continental, French, Japanese, Thai, Mexican, Salvadorean, Peruvian, Korean, Afghan, Lebanese, Chinese, Cuban, Italian, Southwestern, Ethiopian, German, Polynesian, Spanish... heck, in some neighborhoods you can get most of these in two square blocks, LOL! So unless you're VERY picky I doubt anyone would consider this a culinary "wasteland."

I'll have to re-read this later to add any other places that haven't been mentioned, but off the top of my head, here are two that I actually "discovered" from the recent $3 restaurants.com certificates promo: Amerigo near Tyson's Corner, and Ice House in Herndon. Amerigo was a very pleasant surprise. We went to this kind of tucked-away place primarily because of the gift certificate and were very satisfied. Nice decor/ambience (it has a piano bar), good food, and good service. Ice House I haven't been to yet (though I also bought a cert for it) but they say it's nice and it has a Sunday brunch. And I know you don't like chains, but the weekend that we went to Carraba's in both Centreville and in Reston we got some of the best service (and good food) ever.

Also, if you haven't made it out to Old Town, you're missing out on everything from Scottish to Greek. By far my favorite place there is Fish Market: fresh, inexpensive, and always very good and very FAST and accurate service. And if you ever make it down to Manassas and are in the mood for pub food at a good sports bar, go to Brady's -- I know the guy who owns it and the staff is very nice.

DC isn't San Francisco or New York, but it's the next notch down.

Now, the original poster was strictly confining remarks to Northern Virginia as opposed to DC. Fine.

Maestro has already been mentioned (at the RC-Tysons). I'll stack that against just about any restaurant you want to compare it to.

Have to disagree with the positives regarding La Côte d'Or Café, though I haven't gone back in about 3 years. It was once a decent place I understand (mid 90s perhaps) but was terrible each time I tried it in '99, '00, '01. :td:

Has anyone here tried Restaurant Eve in Alexandria? :cool:

Northern Virginia has truly phenomenal ethnic food, especially Vietnamese, not just at Seven Corners (Eden Center) but in Clarendon as well.

Okay, limit the discussion to the Tysons Corner area, I haven't heard mention of Colvin Run Tavern yet. Not anywhere in league with Maestro or Inn at Little Washington (truly world class, btw, but too far outside of the area to really count at an hour's drive). But still a decent place to eat - though I've never been blown away there. It's right smack in Tysons.

The subject is Northern Virginia.

Last week two nights at the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons and two dinners on the property, one at The Palm and the other at The Steakhouse at the RC.

I hadn't stayed at the RC for a while, and the new Steakhouse has been located in a section of the very large bar area where I used to sit and have my morning coffee for the first few years this place was open. The only negative that I have for this restaurant which the RC bills as "casual", was that the night that I was there, we needed to change tables to distance ourselves from a rowdy party of six or eight louts reuniting loudly and getting plastered at a bar table.

But there was nothing "casual" about the food. It was outstanding. I had a piece of seasoned seared tuna that was of the highest quality and Franny had a mixed seafood grill over a citrus risotto. Every piece of the seafood dinner was carefully and properly grilled, and the risotto was as good as any that I have tasted in some time. Whoever does the F&B for this hotel really know his business, for I have heard nothing but good things about the main restaurant, Maestro, which I have not yet had a chance to try. I am staying there this Sunday night for an early meeting in Falls Church on Monday, but unfortunately when I called today to make a res, I found out that Maestro is closed on Sunday nights. I am sure that it will be back to the Steakhouse then for a more extensive sampling of appetizers and salads (I need to be sure not to fill myself up on the hors d'ouevres at the Club as I had the last time).

I must say that this Palm is consistently the worst in the chain, just as the DC operation on 19th St NW is one of the best. I have been to at least a dozen locations and 837 is just down Second Avenue from my house and is a regular stop for us. If there is a mistake to be made, they will make it here. If their lobster steamer isn't broken and out of commission, the lobsters come out of it severly undercooked. If it is cool outside, it is freezing in the place. If you order white wine, it frequently comes in need of some time in the ice bucket in order to be drinkable. Their list of wines by the glass is weak, but they do have a saving grace of making the creamed spinach exceptionally well.

As long as this thread is being kept current, I will dispute the OP's premise each time I come upon it, for I am intimately acquainted with at least a half dozen good to excellent serious restaurants in NoVa and only the shadow can know how many great ethnic places exist there, but I've been to so many that I have really lost count.

I spend weeks at a time in the Herndon/Reston/Tyson's area of Virginia for work. .... Is there something I'm missing?
I have also served time in that area. For work, that is. Months at a time. Anyway, I strongly suggest Ben's Whole Hog Barbecue at 7422 Old Centreville Road in Manassas, VA, 703/331-5980. Looks like a small shack. Just drive right up to it. You can find reviews via Google. I'm picky about 'cue, and this is a great find.

I have also served time in that area. For work, that is. Months at a time. Anyway, I strongly suggest Ben's Whole Hog Barbecue at 7422 Old Centreville Road in Manassas, VA, 703/331-5980. Looks like a small shack. Just drive right up to it. You can find reviews via Google. I'm picky about 'cue, and this is a great find.

Let us not forget that altho Manassas is now mostly just suburban DC, it was not very long ago that it was really the deep South. Ben"s Whole Hog is very good.

I always thought the last two numbers represent the year the respective owners left Vietnam. :D Yea, I'm silly.


^ That's always been my theory too. Glad to see I'm not the only one. :D

Had dinner at the Capital Grill last week at Tyson's. Thought that it was a very good steakhouse - good service, great meat, etc...prices are comparable to most other "classic" steakhouse type places.

Nizams in Vienna. Better Doner Kebab than I had in Istanbul.


Absolutely. ^ ^ :-: :-: :cool:

Haandi Indian in Falls Church (probably already mentioned).

The Mexican/Nicaraguan place (also on Rt. 7 in FC, but the name escapes me) about 1 mile past Haandi, on the opposite side of the road.

IMO, one of the best things about working in the IAD/DCA area is the amazing variety of food, and the fact that you can find pretty much anything (and I do mean anything) in both value-priced eateries and in more upscale restaurants.

Scour the web for ideas. Read the food and dining sections of the Post. Query your co-workers. Don't be shy -- try a new place just because you passed by it. I passed a lovely Saturday visiting the Amish markets of Annapolis and Germantown; both have restaurants as well. I'd have never had the opportunity at home in Atlanta, and I'd have never done it if I hadn't stumbled across it in the Post.

If you're not finding great eats in the DC Metro area, you're just not trying. ;)

I'm glad to see that the legendary status of China King continues. Never has a restaurant with that questionable a product developed such a devoted following.

I haven't had a bad meal at the Tyson's Palm, but I would agree the one off K Street in DC is superior. But, is it the food or the clientel? There's much more to watch when you're at the one downtown (though, during the Internet era, a trip to Tyson's was a lot more lucrative).

However, I'm glad to see that the Northern Virginia crowd has defended its honor. Again, I think it was summed up earlier in the thread--it isn't New York or San Francisco, but it's the next tier down.

Timothy

Woo Rae Oak (Woo Lae Oak? I forget how they transliterate it into English..) in Crystal City is some of the finest Korean dining you can get in the US if you pick the right dishes. Annandale is full of really good and cheap Korean eats and the Vietnamese and Thai food in Fairfax is wonderful (I really like Sakoontra in Fair Lakes for Thai). There are great kabobs to be had all over and a lot of places that I don't mind going to alone.

I avoid chain restaurants like the plague (except for Baja Fresh! nothing remotely better in the fastfoodeatatmydeskwhenihaveto department)..

peace,
~Ben~

And for Korean food, there is always the old reliable Hee Been near Landmark.

For Thai, my favorite is still Duangrat's on 7 in Falls Church. Expensive and faux-fancy, but their food hits my palate just right.

Just in the Kmart shopping center in Herndon on Eldon St. I would recommend a couple.

1) Pho 75, Vietnamese soup
2) Hunan (can't remember the exact name but it is pretty good)
3) Hard times Cafe



I thought of the same area when I first read this thread. I spent about 4 months in Herndon after spending 3 months in Jackson , MS. Herndon was truly restaraunt nirvana after Jackson, MS. In additon to those you've mentioned, there is an EXCELLENT Thai restaraunt in that same area, an Indian joint, and Ethiopian and an Afghanistan restaraunt. Plus a second Vietnamese place, that new(er) mexican chicken chain and the all-purpose chinese buffet.

And for Korean food, there is always the old reliable Hee Been near Landmark.

FYI, Hee Been now offers buffet only during the lunch hours. For $12.99 the buffet is good deal. It includes cook at your table BBQ (3 meats), Sushi and many other selections.

It seems like the buffet is all the rage among Korean restaurants around Wash metro area...

I thought of the same area when I first read this thread. I spent about 4 months in Herndon after spending 3 months in Jackson , MS. Herndon was truly restaraunt nirvana after Jackson, MS. In additon to those you've mentioned, there is an EXCELLENT Thai restaraunt in that same area, an Indian joint, and Ethiopian and an Afghanistan restaraunt. Plus a second Vietnamese place, that new(er) mexican chicken chain and the all-purpose chinese buffet.

I had takeout from the hunan place in k-mart mall and was rather unimpressed, at both the quality and quanity

i will give them 1 more shot in sit down form

Have you ever tried their buffett?

last night i ate at the korean owned, sushi - chinese food place at the corner of Americana Plaza on sunset hills in reston

name is Metroplis

19.99 for the dinner buffet

but sushi to go is 10.99 a pound
that gets you 5 pieces for $2.60

I had takeout from the hunan place in k-mart mall and was rather unimpressed, at both the quality and quanity

i will give them 1 more shot in sit down form

Have you ever tried their buffett?

last night i ate at the korean owned, sushi - chinese food place at the corner of Americana Plaza on sunset hills in reston

name is Metroplis

19.99 for the dinner buffet

but sushi to go is 10.99 a pound
that gets you 5 pieces for $2.60

The chinese buffet is NOT the best option in the area. I found the BEST to be the Thai place on the corner (right across from the Residence Inn). Everything I ate there was FAN-TAS-TIC and I'd highly recommend the basil duck. Order it extra spicy / Thai hot - Thai food is always better that way and if you just order it "hot", you might wind up with mild.