Falls Church/Fairfax County Boys’ Dining Club

 Andrew’s only request for my pick this week was for it to be off the beaten path. We ended up going with Inca Social, the exact opposite. Their Instagram is loaded with content, and the restaurant is prominently featured in a congested Arlington wannabe area in Dunn Loring right next to a metro station. It was also the first time we had to book a reservation days in advance. However, we could not just ignore their claim of being the #1 Peruvian restaurant in all of Virginia.  Our reservations were for 630 on a Friday night. We both arrived around the same time, but struggled to find parking, ultimately giving up and parking in the metro garage. After the couple mile walk from my car, I finally arrived at Inca Social, which boasted an underwhelming facade, resting awkwardly on the corner of two very busy streets. Based on the need for a reservation and their instagram posts boasting of a lively and busy environment, I expected to be strutting into good vibes. Instead, I walked...

Atmosphere - 4/5  Service - 5/5   Price - 5/5 Food - 5/5  Drink - 5/5  Bathroom - not sure Overall - 4.5/5 Who is the Choong man? And what of his chicken? It's these questions that drew us to this little eatery, which I've passed dozens of times on route 29. It was bound to be my first pick off the FCBDC list.  To be honest I didn't know what kind of place Choong Man was when I picked it. Peruvian? Maybe. Thai? Perhaps. Southern? Could be. The Choong Man is Korean. And his chicken is tasty as hell. I ordered some fries and the garlic chicken wings, the first thing on the menu. First, though, came something we learned was pickled radish; not bad. The fries popped out quickly. Crispy, curly, and in a heap so large I thought it was two orders. Really nicely done and served with some spicy and sweet mayo. Then the wings came. A beautiful, glowing orange pile of fried wings. They were really quite spicy and there are no options to scale up or down that spice lev...

 "Choong Man Chicken" I awaken suddenly, drenched in sweat. I see the familiar shadowy figure standing at the foot of my bed. Originally frightened by this unnerving situation when it began three weeks ago, this time I find myself nonplussed. Although just a silhouette, the toned outline of the thighs give the identity away. I rub my eyes and the demonic vision of Andrew's spirit dissipates. I grab my phone from the nightstand to check the time. I see I have a text from Andrew. All it says is... "Choong Man Chicken" It's time.  From the moment we decided on this project, Andrew has consistently mentioned Choong Man Chicken, a Korean chicken joint close to his house. It only took two outings until we gave in and decided to try it out. I knew nothing about this restaurant, but a quick glance at the reviews alerted me to the apparent 5 star quality chicken wings. So after all this buildup, how did it hold up? Godamn this is some good chicken. Not only that, but...

(Ratings for Panjshir only) Overall: 2.5/5 Food: 2.5/5 Wine (a cheap bottle from Oregon): 1/5 Ambience: 4/5 Bathrooms: untested Service: 4/5 It's Wednesday. 5:30PM. I get in my 2017 Honda Civic and drive east on route 29, French metalcore loud on the stereo. The weather: the rare, perfect Spring day. The main thing that Panjshir has going for it is its proximity to the quite popular (deservedly so) Audacious Aleworks, which opened in Falls Church a few years ago. It wasn't around when I first lived in FC circa 2013-2016, and it's too bad because their beer is solid and they tend to do a lot of great stouts.  We stop in there first before dinner and grab a couple flights. For me, it's a--very--light lager, a hefeweizen, a nut brown ale, and the mexican stout. The last of these is the real hit for me, lots of cinnamon and a hint of pepper. Lots of little kids run around our table and play with a dog. Tim and I suck down our beers and the free popcorn quickly and stick our...

 Background: Andrew and I compiled a Google Doc of restaurants for this project from just looking around on google maps as well as marking interesting looking places that we have seen but never checked out. Right now that list sits at 42 restaurants. However, instead of using that list for this week's outing, we settled on Panjshir, an Afghan restaurant in Falls Church. While meeting with a friend from out of town earlier in the week at Audacious Aleworks Brewery, I couldn't help but be intrigued by the restaurant next door with a haphazardly thrown together outside dining area and absolutely zero customers. I also really liked the vibe of the manager who repeatedly would come outside, arms folded, and glare disapprovingly at some unruly drunk customers of the brewery that were causing a scene. I mentioned the spot to Andrew, and after two minutes of him looking at the list and being overwhelmed by options, we settled on Panjshir for this week.  Audacious Aleworks : Andrew and...