Sweet Rice
Two Falls Church City restaurant reviews on my blog in one day?
Sweet Rice is one of two Thai restaurants in FCC. I also like the other option (Pilin Thai), and when they do restaurant week, the deals are incredible. Both Thai restaurants’ weak point used to be their wine lists. I’ve had some OK wines at Pilin Thai, but never a good bottle. I’m no wine snob, especially when the price is $20-30, so when I say the wine lists were weak, I mean the wine was pretty much undrinkable. Sweet Rice has updated their wine list, and now there are a couple pretty good options. My favorite is the Riesling (dry, creamy, great value). Sweet Rice has plenty to choose from on the menu, but the Kapow chicken (or seafood) is my favorite. If you haven’t been, definitely check it out.
I found another review here.
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Ireland’s 4Ps
Ireland’s Four Provinces is one of my favorite spots in FCC. Irish restaurants/bars are ubiquitous in this area (and most areas). What makes the 4p’s different is authenticity. I’ve been to bars in Limerick, Galway, Cork, Killarney, Feakle, etc, and I’m not saying the 4p’s is the same as being in Ireland. I’m saying that when you go to the 4p’s, more often than not, your server has an Irish accent, and you can get a proper pint with good fish and chips (see pic above). There are plenty of Americanized items on the menu too (I had she crab soup (amazing) and a caesar salad for lunch today), but as an overall experience, you’ll be hard pressed to find another Irish place thats more authentic (maybe try the Dubliner in DC). One of my favorite parts about the 4p’s is the music. On Tuesday nights (sometimes Monday), you can find a large group gathered round a large table in the main room, playing traditional Irish music. They don’t get paid, and don’t perform, but if you’re there, you can enjoy their music. For a low quality video of a vine, but a taste of the music none the less:
The 4p’s has a decent St. Paddy’s Day party, but if you’re looking for a crazy time, you’re better off at Murphy’s in Alexandria. The best Irish musician I’ve ever heard live was at the 4p’s one night. I requested the song found below, and it did not disappoint.
If you’re looking for more info on the 4p’s, or FCC restaurants in general, check out this blog I just came across:
http://www.littlecitylegend.com/2014/01/exploring-happy-hour-2-part-i-irelands.html#more
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EDC
At work, I have to go through security on occasion, so I don’t literally carry any knives daily (save for my swiss army knife on my keyring). If I did, it would be one of these:
Sanrenmu LB-763
I think I heard about this knife on a blade forum a while back. Not sure how I even came across that. Its got a bottle opener and has been very durable. The best part about this knife though, is that its practically disposable despite being just about as good as knives 10 times the price. I use this knife when tubing (because I need a knife for the cordage that keeps me tethered to the beer cooler). I use it when I travel (because its replaceable if lost, stolen, or traded). I’ve used it camping, hunting, tailgating, and just to open amazon boxes around the house. It even has a bottle opener built in. I highly recommend it. For more details, go here, but know that I’ve only ordered them though ebay. There are also tons of youtube reviews of the LB-763 out there. I tried to find a pic of one of mine, but all I could find is another sanrenmu I’ve been carrying:
If you want something a little nicer, I recommend a Benchmade Griptilian. I’ve owned the mini and the original (models 556 and 551 respectively). I gave the original to my sister after an incident in Africa. We were in Kenya, on Lake Naivasha in a thin little canoe shaped boat, with a guide at the rear working a small propeller. We were watching some hippos (the animal responsible for more human deaths than any other large African animal), when our guide ran us though a submerged fishing net, tangling the propeller and leaving us floating towards the increasingly perturbed hippos. I was in the front of the boat, but I threw my griptilian to my sister in the stern, who put half her body underwater to cut out the net. The hippos submerged, the guide banged on the side of the boat like crazy (he didn’t speak english, but we later found out it was to try to scare the hippos away), and we were waiting to be capsized and chomped. My sister freed the propeller, and we sped away, perhaps, just in the nick of time. I’d recommend either I’ve owned. Ultra high quality, lifetime sharpening, and American made.
If you don’t know which blade to pick, I’d go with drop point over tanto. The half serrated gives you a bit more functionality, but its harder to sharpen yourself. Google those points to make a more informed decision.
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The Winter Olympics
http://gearpatrol.com/2014/01/30/ode-winter-pentathlon/
The above link describes the winter pentathlon, a one time event held in 1948. The event is described thusly:
“A winter pentathlete in 1948 did the following in rapid succession: cross country skiing, shooting, downhill skiing, horse riding and…fencing.” ”
When the pentathlon was reintroduced in 1912, it was said that it:
“tested a man’s moral qualities as much as his physical resources and skills, producing thereby the ideal, complete athlete”
The modern pentathlon as explained by wikipedia:
“The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport that comprises five events: fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a final combined event of pistol shooting, and a 3200 m cross-country run.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_pentathlon
I enjoy downhill skiing, shooting, and horseback riding, but I’ve never competed as a skier. I’d love to try cross country skiing and fencing. The only competitive shooting I’ve done is with shotguns (and 22s as a boy scout), but I do know my way around a pistol. I’ve also done some show jumping as a young man. My point is that I’d love to see the winter pentathlon reintroduced. That would definitely be my favorite sport to watch. As it stands how, I’ll probably only watch ice hockey and maybe some biathlon.
The Olympics start on the 6th, but most coverage starts on the 8th.
http://www.sochi2014.com/en/schedule-and-results
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Virginia’s best Fried Chicken
I’m craving some friend chicken. Here are my two faves:
The little river market has great salty friend chicken. I only get to go maybe twice a year, but its always delicious. The only pictures of it I could find were when we got some, “salty fried chicken” (as requested by the captain) for some fishing in bay. Natty boh optional, but highly recommended.
I blurred my buddy’s face to protect the innocent.
My second favorite fried chicken spot is Moseberth’s. If you’re in the Portsmouth area, stop by, and don’t forget some gizzards.
(photo credit, I couldn’t find a pic I took)
As for a local option, I’ve heard good things about Flavors, but I’ve not been. My favorite local fried chicken is bon chon, but thats Korean style, not Southern style. My wife and sister both make great friend chicken. Anybody know where to get good Southern friend chicken in Nova or DC?
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Heroism
One of my fraternity brothers was recently honored for his heroism. While in school, I always thought of him as one of the nicest guys I knew, funny, hardworking and very virtuous. Given the article, we can definitely add brave and inspiring to that list. Damn proud.
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Football and BBQ
I got my dad a smoker for xmas. He called me about coming over and breaking her in before the big game. I got on the interwebs and found a recipe for beef back ribs (something I hadn’t smoked before), called around until I found some (all the way out in Springfield), threw some beers in the cooler, cooler in the truck, and headed over.
There a ton of info out there on what to buy, and how to get started smoking, so I won’t get into it in depth. I will say that no matter what kind of charcoal cooking you do, you’d be crazy not to start without a charcoal chimney. To keep an even temp in the Weber Smokey Mountain, I used the minion method. For wood, we chose mesquite and apple. Mesquite can impart too strong of a flavor in some meats, and for some people, but I tend to like it most of the time. When the grill got up to temp, and I’d rubbed the ribs and threw them on, I headed back inside. My mom isn’t a beer drinker, so I made her a margarita.
The instructions I found online for the beef ribs called for about a 5 hour smoke, so we had some time to kill. The wife got some buffalo chicken dip going in the crockpot, and we headed downstairs for some pool, pinball, and darts.
At 4:30 or so our friends started arriving. I sauced half of the ribs about then, and left the rest dry. I pulled them at 5, let them rest, and then served.
One of the wives made peanut butter cup cakes, and another guest brought a peanut butter porter. It was a pretty crazy combo. The ribs were a big hit. None of us really had a team to root for, but we had good food, good friends, and plenty of beer, so it was a great night.
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Home Sweet Home, with a small town feel
I grew up in Arlington Virginia. I loved it. I thought, and still think it was a prefect place to grow up. We lived near a park, walking distance to the metro (but quite a walk), close to the bike path, and walking distance to Ballston. We lived on a quiet enough street that kids could play on it. The public school system was one of the best in the country, and still is highly regarded. While I was away at college, my parents decided to move. They only moved a few miles away, but they no longer lived in Arlington. This bothered me at first, but then I came to love Falls Church City. I expect a lot of my content to be Falls Church City focused in this blog, but I’ll keep the topics diverse and try to go for mass appeal.
Falls Church City is a 2.2 square mile, 12,332-person independent city. Its boundaries do not include greater Falls Church. What I love most about Falls Church City is that you get a small town feel, in an otherwise, metropolitan suburb. I liked FCC so much, that when it came time to get my own place, my wife and I picked a place in the little city. The city is extremely walkable, and we’re right near the bike path. Our friends in DC complain that we rarely leave.
FCC will only get better for us, as they have a great public school system (recent rankings here), and a very family friendly vibe.
The local newpaper keeps us up on the goings on, as is the case with the super bowl this weekend. I’ll be smoking some ribs, but if I wasn’t, I’d consider watching the game on the big screen at the state theater.
I’m off to run some errands around the city, and enjoy many of the amenities FCC has to offer (more on that later). I’ll see y’all at Mad Fox, Space Bar, the farmers’ market, and around town.
For FJ who really did grow up in a small town:
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Lazy Saturday, Sunshine, Spring
I watched Sunderland get a win against Newcastle this morning, and I’m going to watch the US v South Korea friendly later this afternoon. The only thing on the agenda today is getting the superbowl food ready for tomorrow. In the meantime, I’m wishing it were spring, and enjoying someone’s great taste and style via tumblr here.
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