Mission Dupont Twitter/X Food Review

Mission Dupont's Mexican Chile Wings

Mission: Overdone

Prior (dine-in) visits to @missiondupont have been great, but tonight’s delivery (via @DoorDash) left me disappointed, with 1️⃣ notable exception. Mission’s Arrachera Steak Taco ($7.50) was small but packed with steak. Unfortunately tough & overdone 🥩 ☹️ Late in the day perhaps? But no excuse. Vibrant cilantro & jalapeños subsequently got lost in the mix. D More disappointing? Mexican Chile Wings ($17.95) which were even more overdone. 8 wings with an A+ rub, cooked to death. I’ve had ‘em before (normally awesome) so I was really surprised. So surprised, I barely finished 3. D- (Thank God for the rub!) The aforementioned notable exception? A bag of $4.95 Chips & Salsa that seemed to come from Heaven above. Impossibly light but crispy chips & a perfectly zesty salsa (not thick, but delicious.) A (So good, they almost saved this meal.)

Grade: D+ (High expectations went unmet.)

One Fish, Two Fish Twitter/X Food Review

Drunken Noodles with Chicken at One Fish, Two Fish

Surprise, Surprise 😮

Friendly, quick delivery from One Fish, Two Fish in Georgetown. Might not look like much from across the street; but the food is really good, starting with a $3.55 cup of Miso Soup (nice but a little salty) B- followed by surprisingly tasty crinkle-cut French Fries ($5.25) B. Then things get… interesting. As in extra good. 3 gigantic Chicken Wings (a steal at just $7.59) were hot (sans BBQ sauce, which I forgot to apply) and chock-full  of perfectly cooked meat. Even the skin was tasty. A- Last but certainly not least, a HUGE portion of Drunken Noodles with Chicken ($13.95) which easily feeds 2! Tons of chicken, all kinds of extras (carrots!) and zesty noodles = another A-. Affordable, plentiful & yummy.

Grade: B+

The Salt Line Twitter/X Food Review

Portuguese Egg Sandwich at The Salt Line

Spice > Salt

Late breakfast at @thesaltline in Ballston. A+ reception by hostess, followed by a spicy takeaway Portuguese Egg Sandwich with Fries ($16.) Easily one of the best breakfast sammies in the DMV, starting with a full-size, soft semolina sweet roll (holds up well) fried egg, linguica sausage, beer tomato gravy (meh) and the aforementioned heat from a surreal scallion relish that demands to be on your radar, not to mention in a bottle in your fridge. Nice & big too. A- Their skin-on fries are good, but a bit flimsy & in need of (any/some) salt 🧂 B-. Sterling hostess & great sandwiches = many happy (future) returns.

Grade: B+

The Dog Stars Twitter/X Movie Review

Jacob Elordi & Margaret Qualley (r) star in The Dog Stars

I Am (Not) Legend

IMDb Plot: In a post-apocalyptic world, a virus wipes out humanity. Survivors face roaming scavengers called Reapers. Protagonist Hig, a pilot, survived the flu but lost his wife. Directed by Ridley Scott.

Chang Chang Twitter/X Food Review

Chang Chang's Sweet & Sour Spare Ribs

So-So

Relatively disappointing “Chang out” from Chang Chang. $4 Hot & Sour Soup provided a cold start. Bitter with a syrupy texture D $2 Purple Rice was a bad idea (clumpy) D $13 Chili Wontons were a bit better, nicely sized with plenty of pork & shrimp 🍤 filling and a strong dose of chili 🌶️ but not much else. C+ Best for last? $16 Sweet & Sour Spare Ribs. Tons of ‘em. Lots of meat (came clean off) not too salty with a rich sauce B+ Looking forward to a “Chang in” next time (great looking dining room) but today’s lunch? Meh.

Grade: C (Affordable, but average.)

P.J. Clarke's Twitter/X Food Review

The PJs 1884 Cheeseburger (sans cheese) at P.J. Clarke's

Cold as Ice

@PJClarkes is less than 3 miles away from home, but a burger & fries shouldn’t take an hour + 20 minutes to arrive (on a Sunday night) should it? The PJs 1884 Cheeseburger ($24, sans cheese) arrived RARE (requested medium) with ice cold fries in a paper bag. What a shame, as the burger was generously sized (good quality meat) and the shoestring fries were somehow tasty despite their temperature. Not sure what happened, but the end result = mass disappointment. 

Grade: D-

Thai Station Twitter/X Food Review

Drunken Noodles at Thai Station

Bait and Switch

There's an old joke that ends in, "Beige, I think I'll paint the ceiling beige." It has something to do with dull and uninspiring, the same thoughts I had while eating takeaway from Thai Station (incorrectly advertised as @SalaThai_DC on @wonder!) last night. The latter would be ashamed to be associated with anything this bland, so let's reiterate... this was Thai Station in Brentwood. Station's Chicken Wings (an apparent deal at $8.95) turned out to be only four unflavored wings, screaming for (any kind of) sauce. D As for the aforementioned beige, look no further than a large portion of Drunken Noodles that had zero heat (asked for medium spicy, received bland instead) for $16.95. The price was right, but I expected more than two measly strips of red pepper and half a cherry tomato, surrounded by beige (and opaque beige) chunks of dry chicken and (stuck-together) noodles. I can live with a lack of color, but no heat is unforgivable.) D (At least the noodles are a very generous portion.) Next time, I'll double check that the restaurant I'm ordering from, matches where it actually comes from (Wonder gets an F for that.)

Grade: D

Mutiny Twitter/X Movie Review

Jason Statham stars in Mutiny

A Man of Action

IMDb Plot: After his billionaire industrialist boss is murdered in front of him, Cole Reed is set up to take the fall for the crime -- leaving him on the run as he works to uncover an international conspiracy. Directed by Jean-François Richet.

The End of Oak Street Twitter/X Movie Review

Ewan McGregor & Anne Hathaway (r) stars in The End of Oak Street

(Life) in the Past Lane

IMDb Plot: The Platt family bands together to navigate their new surroundings after a cosmic event transports their suburban neighborhood to someplace unknown. Directed by David Robert Mitchell.

The Well Dressed Burrito Twitter/X Food Review

Steak Chimichurri at The Well Dressed Burrito

40 years. That’s how long @welldressed has been around. They’re (relatively) hidden in an alley near 19th & M, and my 1st visit arrived via (@wonder) delivery; but aside from the worst chips & salsa in the DMV, I actually enjoyed my dinner a lot. The tortilla chips were bitter/stale, and my salsa closer resembled a poor-man’s salad instead of pico de gallo. Lettuce? No thank you. Only $1.99 & $1/29 (not so) respectively, but still an F. The grilled steak (5 generous, well-seasoned strips) were delicious, even better with a zesty Chimichurri &  Brazilian Garlic-Herb Sauce duo B+ atop a dozen or so steak fries B. I still haven’t tried a trademark burrito 🌯 yet, but I’m now looking forward to it.

Grade: B (even with the chips & salsa.)

One Night Only Twitter/X Movie Review

Callum Turner & Monica Barbaro (r) star in One Night Only

Making It Happen

IMDb Plot: Two New Yorkers search for love on the one night of the year when sex is legal. Directed by Will Gluck.

The Odyssey Twitter/X Movie Review

Matt Damon & Zendaya (r) star in The Odyssey

The Peregrination

IMDb Plot: After the Trojan War, Odysseus (Matt Damon) faces a dangerous voyage back to Ithaca, meeting creatures like the Cyclops Polyphemus, Sirens, and Calypso along the way. Directed by Christopher Nolan.