The Carlyle Grand

The Carlyle Grand has been one of my favorite restaurants for a long time. The excellent service, great food, and fun atmosphere never fails to deliver a wonderful lunch or dinner. I've had a majority of the menu but for this review will focus on what was ordered during my last foray at the Carlyle.

To start things we had the blue crab fritters. These are served roasted red peppers and a grilled corn salsa. The fritters are light and never too oily even though they have been deep fried and every bite contains ample amounts of crab. The sweet corn salsa paired with the roasted red peppers are a great contrast to the saltiness of the fritters and bring out great flavors. If crab isn't your thing every other appetizer on the menu is just as good.

The picture is a bit blurry but they are of Mongolian Lamb Chops. The lamb chops are served with couscous and dressed arugula. The couscous and arugula were good but nothing spectacular and a bit bland. The lamb though was excellent. Thick cut (double rib cut) and perfectly grilled medium rare the lamb chops had a smoky char grilled aroma and melted in your mouth with every bite.

The Hickory Smoked & Grilled Black Angus Rib Eye Steak was served with roasted mushrooms and cauliflower mash. Like the lamb chops the rib eye was perfectly grilled medium rare. The rib eye was tender with every bite filled with hickory. The mushrooms were roasted in a brown sauce that was a bit salty. The highlight of the meal was the cauliflower mash. The cauliflower mash was creamy and very buttery but not overpowering.

The Carlyle has great service and best of all during the warmer months they allows pets! You do have to sit outside but the servers do the best they can to accommodate people with pets with treats and water bowls. The decor of the restaurant is 1930s themed and consists of two levels. I suggest getting a table upstairs as the view over Shirlington is great especially during the holidays when they have Christmas decorations up. The service, food, and atmosphere you get for the price you pay is almost unbeatable. A great place to dine!

Rundown:

Price: Moderate

Service: Great

Food: Great

Restaurant Decor/Setting: Casual

4000 Campbell Ave
Arlington, VA 22206-3424
(703) 931-0777

http://www.greatamericanrestaurants.com/carlyle/

Urban Burger Rockville's Hidden Gem

Anddddddd.......he's back! I took a little hiatus bust made sure to take lots of photos and notes of the places I've eaten. I've continued my search for the best burger in the DC Metropolitan area and was introduced to a great local place called Urban Burger. Urban Burger won't be found easily. It's nestled in a small strip mall in the middle of a suburban community in Rockville, MD. There isn't much to do around Urban Burger but if you love great burgers it just might be worth the drive.
To start things off you choose a burger type (Black Angus, Chicken, Smoke Sausage, or Veggie) and then add a style to it (Urban BBQ, Savannah, Frank's Favorite, Blazin' Saddle, So-Cal, USA, Bleu Bayou, or Special Style). I've been to Urban Burger 3-4 times and have stuck with the Black Angus Burger cause it never fails to disappoint and I haven't tried it with ever style available.

The 6 oz patty is lightly seasoned and grilled to your liking which is rare nowadays with the fear of food poisoning. I've always been hesitant to eat ground meats not fully cooked but I can say that every medium cooked burger I have had at Urban Burger has never caused me to be ill afterward. The patty is always juicy and the quality of the beef is outstanding.

The styles which I've paired my burger with are Urban BBQ (BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, and a thick slab of bacon), Savannah (honey mustard BBQ sauce, provolone, and a thick slab of bacon), and SO-Cal, USA (honey lime sauce, sliced avocado, and melted provolone). The BBQ sauce used in the Urban BBQ and Savannah style are of the same base and are great condiments to the burger. The BBQ sauce has a great smokey flavor and do not over power the patty which I've found happen with BBQ sauces which are too bold. The highlight of both the Urban BBQ and Savannah styles is the use of a thick slab cut of bacon. The bacon used is from Virginia and cooked just right where it's not too crispy or too soggy. The saltiness of the bacon helps bring out the sweetness of the BBQ sauce but at the same time does no over power all the other flavors.

Other than the quality and taste of the patty, what impressed me the most was the bread used. Unlike Good Stuff Eatery the buns at Urban Burger hold up when eating and don't become soggy. They're lightly toasted and taste as if they were baked in house.




What's a good burger without good sides right? The battered onions rings are thick cut and fried to perfection. For a deep fried food they're light and crisp and old oil is never used. The servings are generous and the onion rings come with a side of horseradish remoulade that offer a bit of a kick.

A burger and onions rings will run you about $10 which is a great deal considering the serving size and consistent quality. Urban Burger is a bit of a drive since it's located in a suburban community but worth the drive if you're craving a good burger.









Rundown:

Price: Low

Service: N/A

Food: Great

Restaurant Decor/Setting: Casual

5566 Norbeck Rd.
Rockville, MD 20853
301-460-0050

http://www.urbanburgerco.com/index.html