2/17/10

Happy Lunar New Year, everyone! Chuc mung nam moi to all my Vietnamese followers out there! Happy new year indeed. It's been a couple weeks of snow for me, so I've not been out in quite some time. Nonetheless, the review must go on...and so here we go. Enjoy!

Music:
Gorilla Zoe - What is Love

I have mixed feelings about this song. On the one hand, I'm loving the new trend of hip hop artists going outside their comfort zone of a deep bass and a snare to utilize things such as electronic music. On the other hand, I was neither a big fan of Gorilla Zoe prior to this song, nor was I a huge fan of What is Love (aka the night at the Roxbury theme). So when these two decided to make love and create this unbelievable song, I'm honestly at a loss for words. I give GZ a two thumbs up for effort, and I give Haddaway two thumbs up for capitalizing on their one hit wonder for royalties before it becomes public domain. However, I give a -2 thumbs down for Autotuner, and a one thumb sideways for the mashup. Final verdict? 2.5/5 Stars.

Movies:
Notorious

With the recent snowmageddon that has hit the DC metro area, I have not had a chance to see any new movies. I did however get to watch movies On Demand on HBO. And one of those movies was one I saw when it was fresh in the theatres. And that film is Notorious. The film, which depicts the tragic life of the rapper Notorious B.I.G. is not only a good film about one of my favorite artists of all time, but a GREAT film in general. I highly recommend those who have not seen this movie to hit up your blockbuster or netflix or On Demand and check it out. 4/5 Stars.

Restaurants:
Vapiano

Up until recently, I had never ever eaten at Vapiano's despite driving by it countless times. In the DC area, the restaurant features two locations. One in Ballston, near the mall and the other inside the Dulles Town Centre mall. And let me tell you, this restaurant was amazing. So the concept is that you enter the restaurant and the hostess gives you a card. You, in turn, go to the chef behind the counter (Mongolian style) and order one of countless delicious gourmet pastas or pizzas customizing everything from the noodles to the sauce, and even adding your favorite protein if you want. The chef cooks it fresh in front of you and delivers a healthy portion of food to you in a gourmet bowl. Simply scan the card that was given to you at the counter where you ordered and you're good to go. If you feel the need for soda or dessert, go right ahead just scan your card again. At the end of your meal, take your card to the hostess on your way out and she rings you up for whatever you purchased. Happy Hours are off the chain here too. 4/5 Stars

2/1/10

Welcome to February my friends. New month, new reviews. I hope everyone has been enjoying the winter thus far. I know I have. Here are the hot picks for the week. Our movie pick this week, is going to be a TV show, instead of a movie...but more on that in a little bit. Enjoy!

Music:
Gucci Mane feat. Usher --- Spotlight

As far as music goes, I'm a sucker for a smooth voiced R&B/Hip Hop artist who can sing a catchy hook. That's why I love songs by people like Ne-Yo, Maino, Akon, Jason Derulo, Jay Sean, etc. Usher is one of those guys who's been doing this for years and probably even inspired some of the aforementioned artists when they were beginning to burst onto their careers. On the other hand, Gucci Mane is one of those guys who I thought would have one hit single and disappear from the radio. But here we are a year or so later, and you almost can't listen to the radio without hearing Gucci on some song. He's like the new Lil Wayne/Young Money 'cause he's featured on so many songs. So anyway...I love this song. Like I said, it's got the flow of Gucci in the rap verses with Usher's smooth voice lending the extremely catchy hook. 4/5 Stars.

Movies (TV Shows):
LOST

OK...so for those of you who don't know. I am a LOST Fanatic. I have no hesitation in saying that it is my favorite tv show. Every week, I watch the episodes with my other close friends who are fanatics and we discuss the episode the following day in email threads. I even read forums dedicated to the discussion of things hidden deep in the show that only fanatics who care enough to investigate may have found. So all this is great, but you're probably wondering what this has to do with our movie review this week. WELL, the answer to that...is that tomorrow, the season premier of the FINAL season of Lost airs. It's a 2 hour episode (kinda like a movie) with an additional 1 hour recap episode prior to it. So...if you've watched Lost at all in the past, this is the time to get back on the horse as we reach the end of a milestone era in American television. And if you haven't watched Lost, well all I can say is you've missed out. Go buy the dvds or borrow them from a friend. Or stream the show online at www.sidereel.com/Lost. I guarantee you will be hooked as soon as you start watching season 1. 6/5 Stars. That's right...I've never given an above perfect rating to any review....until now. Stay excited, my fellow LOSTIES!

Restaurants:
Maple Ave Restaurant

Last summer (prior to the first new posting of this review), I mentioned via AIM about Maple Ave in Vienna, VA. This restaurant, owned by two friends of mine, is a trendy new restaurant that features an Asian chef with French culinary training and a menu that blends Contemporary American dishes with a modern twist. I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant. Their menu is constantly changing with new specials and everything I've ever tried has been delicious. Last week, I was treated to a dinner here by my two close friends and I tried their Chicken And Waffles special entree. It was amazing. Add to that, the fact that there really aren't many Chicken and Waffle places in the DC area, and this experience really amazed me. I personally go to this restaurant whenever I have a good reason to do so, so I highly recommend you try it as well. The restaurant is not huge, in terms of dining space, so making a reservation online or via phone is highly recommended. 4.5/5 Stars.

1/25/10

Hey hey. Another week, another review. First, I just wanna put it out there that I spent the majority of last week taxi-ing my cousin (who was visiting us from Vietnam) around DC for various tourist attractions. That being said, my restaurant choice this week isn't a new restaurant, just one I hadn't been to in a very long time, and definitely one that is worth checking out if you've never been before. So anywhoo, here's this week's hot joints. Enjoy:

Music:
Alicia Keys - Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart

I realize this goes without saying...but Alicia Keys is awesome. And if you're as sick of Empire State of Mind as I am, give this song a try, cuz I can't stop listening to it. 4/5 Stars.


Movies:
Book of Eli

As far as I can remember, Denzel Washington has not made a bad movie. Even when he makes a movie that isn't an amazing success, it's still good. This is one of those movies that is AWESOME. You begin watching the film, and immediately, you're invested in what Mr. Washington's character is doing. And the only thing I'm gonna say, without giving away anything about the movie, is that as soon as you finish watching the movie, you're gonna wanna go back and watch it again. 4.5/5 Stars.

Restaurants:
Minh's Restaurant

Located in Arlington, which is arguably the mecca of trendy food in Northern Virginia, this Vietnamese restaurant is great. From the trendy traditional decor to the tasty authentic flavors of the food, this restaurant delivers on all cylinders. So much so, that the restaurant made Washingtonian magazine's top 100 restaurants list this past month. Now, avid readers of the magazine will tell you that there were other Vietnamese restaurants that also made the list at higher rankings (Present, Four Sisters, etc.), but if you're looking for a classy place to eat, Minh's is right up there (regardless of number ranking). And take it from a self-proclaimed food connoisseur, Minh's won't disappoint. And if you don't believe me, just ask former Top Chef winner Hung Huynh, who has made an appearance at Minh's in the past to support the local hot spot. 4/5 Stars

1/13/10

Happy New Year Everyone! I realize I'm a week late in this edition of the Review so I'm gonna double up on the critiques this week. For those of you who don't know, this week is the beginning of Restaurant Week DC, so I highly encourage you all to get out there and be adventurous and try some amazing food:

http://washington.org/restaurantwk/

Here's the double dose of hot joints for the week:

Music:
DJ Earworm - United State of Pop 2009

OK, so at this point, if you haven't heard of DJ Earworm, or his famous United State of Pop mixes, you need to youtube it immediately. What this DJ does every year is he takes the top 25 pop songs of the year, and mixes them together into one fantastically awesome mix called the "United State of Pop". He has done this for several years now...and I can say that the 2009 version he released a couple weeks ago is easily his best mix yet. 5/5 Stars. For extra bonus points, I encourage you guys to go to the Sporcle site (Sporcle is an online quiz site) and see how many of the songs you can identify in the mix:
http://www.sporcle.com/games/rockgolf/Blame_it_on_the_pop

Sean Paul - Hold my Hand

For years, I've been a huge Sean Paul fan. While I don't DJ much anymore, when I used to spin, I always threw in a Dancehall mix into my sets, and that mix always consisted of 6-7 of SP's greatest hits. But I can admit when someone has dropped off the radar...and until this year, that's exactly what Mr. Paul has done. However, with a cameo on Jay Sean's new single and the release of this song, I think SP is on the verge of a return to the spotlight. The reason I like this song a lot is that it's more mellow than his dancehall jams...plus you can't go wrong when you have Keri Hilson on your track. The music video is hot as hell too. 3.5/5 Stars

Movies:
Sherlock Holmes

The last time I reviewed a movie, it was the incredible Avatar, which has been blowing away the box offices. It's unfortunate that Avatar has been doing so well, because it overshadows the fact that Sherlock Holmes is a good movie that's been doing quite well itself. My only problem with SH is that I felt the movie had a little too much story sometimes. I would've preferred to just see Sherlock and Watson on a non-stop adventure to solve the crime/mystery rather than all this additional drama crap. Nonetheless, Robert Downey Jr is amazing as always, and Jude Law puts in one of the better performances of his career (I'm also a fan or Mr. Law ever since Enemy at the Gates). 4/5 Stars

Youth in Revolt

This is one of those movies that I'm sure most people either love or hate. I fall in the love category. If you like Michael Cera, and his insecure naive boyish style of comedy, then you're going to love this film. Additionally, to see Cera go outside his box and play a badass alter ego is extremely entertaining as well. Don't expect another Superbad, but give this film a shot if you're into quirky humor. 3.5/5 Stars

Restaurants:
Jackson 20

Volt

So this week, my restaurant reviews will be a little atypical. My first review is a repeat review that I'm bringing back from my days of doing this review in AIM. My second review is a restaurant that I actually haven't eaten at yet. You'll understand in a sec. So first, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, this week is the beginning of Restaurant Week in DC. And Jackson 20 is one of the many restaurants I've tried in past RWs. Located in Alexandria, this restaurant looks rich and elegant from the street...sitting in the base of a hotel. As you enter, you are greeted by a nice hostess who takes your jackets and such and sits you at your table. The decor is poshy and very classy. Then you see the menu, and you are greeted with the warmth and familiarity of southern hospitality. Fried chicken, collared greens, bbq pork, mac n' cheese, beef brisket, ribs, etc. Southern Comfort never felt so hospitable. And just think, I never would've known about this place if it wasn't for restaurant week and a random adventurous date out to a new place! 4.5/5 Stars

The second review I'm writing today is more of a TBD (To be Determined). Among the many restaurants listed on this year's Restaurant Week DC list is Volt in Frederick, Maryland. Those of you who are tv junkies like me will recognize this restaurant as the one being owned by Top Chef runner-up Bryan Voltaggio from this most recent season of the show. He and his brother Michael fought it out in the final, and while his brother edged him out, the two were nearly unstoppable throughout the entire season. Ever since then, Bryan's restaurant in the middle of podunk Maryland has become a hot spot for DMV-ers (Dc, Maryland, Virginia) and has even earned itself a spot on Washingtonian magazine's top 100 restaurants of 2009. So...all that mouthful said...I cannot wait to try this restaurant out for myself. Stars TBD

12/28/09

Hey everyone,

Hope you all had a great Xmas holiday (whether you celebrate it or not). Short and sweet this week, here's the hot joints:


Music:
Ke$ha - Tik Tok

Ok so first off, this song isn't really new, you've probably already heard it on the radio. But you probably just never knew what it was. Now you do. Ke$ha (yes I realize she spells her name with a dollar sign instead of an S), sort of sounds like Amanda Blank (another artist I've chosen before as the music pick of the week). Her song Tik Tok even has that "in your face, hip-hoppish Fergie sound" that Amanda Blank has. I still prefer AB over Kesha and Fergie, but if you're looking for a change of pace from typical hip hop/pop, this is worth checking out. 3.5/5 Stars.

Movies:
Avatar

I'm sure I'm the last person to tell you about this movie, but I actually did watch it during the first week it was out, I just hadn't posted a review of it until just now. I saw the movie in 3D, which I was advised to do. On the whole, I thought the movie was really good. It didn't quite blow my mind as I had expected with such a big hype going into it, but it was definitely a good movie. Yes, it's long. Yes, it's predictable. But yet, somehow it still gives you a good sense of fulfillment. A definite must-see during this holiday season, as it's the best film I've seen since Thanksgiving. 4.5/5 Stars.

Restaurant:
Kyoto

90% of the time, my restaurant critique is centered on the DC Metropolitan Area. Occasionally (especially back when I was a student), I rated a restaurant near Virginia Tech. This week, I'm rating a restaurant at JMU. Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of eating at Kyoto. Like other Japanese Steakhouses, the restaurant uses a hibachi grill and skilled chef to prepare traditional dishes such as filet mignon, shrimp, scallops, chicken and lobster with fried rice and veggies. As far as Japanese steakhouses go, this is probably the best one I've ever eaten at in terms of quality. The chef that served us, I believe was their head chef, because he was dressed differently from all the other chefs and because we had the largest group reservation of the night. If that's the case, he definitely showed why he was the top dog with his juggling and cooking utensil skills. While the dinner was pricy, I highly recommend anyone who's a fan of hibachi cooking to try this place out next time you're in the Harrisonburg area. 3.5/5 Stars.

12/16/09

Hey peoples,

Hopefully as the inclement weather and temperatures of DC winter start to creep in, you aren't too discouraged from going out to eat, watch movies, and buy music. OK, I put that last one in there just for the purpose of being complete...no one actually goes out to stores to buy music anymore unless you really really want a CD. Everything is electronic nowadays...but you get my point. Here's the hot picks of the week:

Music:
Chris Brown feat. Eva Simons --- Pass Out

So, like I said last week, the new trend is to blend or mash-up hip hop/r&b with electronic music. Chris Breezy's new album is a good new blend of lots of music. Most of it is more clubbish than his hip-hop tracks historically. This track is a prime example of that. It samples the song "Call on Me" by Eric Prydz...which in turn sampled the song originally from the song "Valerie" by Steve Winwood. Irregardless of who is responsible, this electronic beat with an 80s groove to it is great, and Brown is able to put his vocal talents and dance-ish attitude to yet another hit single. Despite his problems and scandals within his personal life, it's clear it hasn't affected his music. 4/5 Nicky Long Stars.

Movies:
The Blindside

It's not exactly a new movie, in fact it's been out for a little while. But I just saw this movie this week, and it's great. For those of you who don't know, the movie is about the life of professional football player Michael Oher of the Baltimore Ravens and takes place during his high school years and stars Sandra Bullock as Michael's adopted mom. The story of Michael is he was born to a crack addict mom and taken away from her at a young age by the state child custody services. He bounced around from foster home to foster home and from school to school. Eventually, a man he is staying with, tries to get him into a Christian Private school along with the man's son. It is at this school that Michael meets Sandra Bullock's character, whom along with her husband, takes Michael into her home and gives him food, clothes, bed, etc. Over time, this relationship turns into an adopted family for Michael. And over time, Michael's skills as a football player in high school earn him a chance to go to college to play football and eventually the NFL as well. It's a great movie based on a true story, and might be one of Sandra Bullock's best movies. 4/5 Nicky Long Stars

Restaurants:
Aditi

Recently, a new restaurant opened in the Kingstowne Towne Center shopping center (where the Kingstowne 16 Cinemas is located). Directly across from the movie theatre is Aditi, an Indian restaurant. Now, having eaten my fair share of Indian restaurants, I think I am fairly educated on the difference between good and great Indian food. Aditi is GREAT. In terms of quality, the food is probably the best I've had...ranking on the same level as Jaipur in Fairfax (another Indian restaurant formerly recommended by this blog). The atmosphere in the restaurant was great as well. And the wait staff could not have been friendlier or more attentive. Overall, it was a great dining experience. Those of you familiar with traditional Indian cuisine will enjoy the authentic made from scratch samosas, the creamy large portioned saag paneer, and the large and tasty thali (thal to those of you famiiliar with Jaipur. Basically a large plate with 5 or 6 different samples of Indian entree cuisines with rice and bread---naan to enjoy. Available in either meat or vegetarian). 5/5 Nicky Long Stars.

BRAND NEW BLOG.

Wassup Peoples,

So those of you who have known me since my AIM days know that I keep a review in my profile of the weekly Hot Movies, Music, and Food in the DC Area. Since I don't ever log in to AIM anymore, except through GMAIL's gchat system, I've found it easy to forget to update my AIM profile. Thus, I am going to edit my profile info to link to this blog and simply update my reviews here from now on. So for those who have followed me in AIM in the past, continue doing so here. And for those of you who have never followed me on AIM before, please enjoy:

Hot Joints of the Week:

Music:
Three 6 Mafia feat. Tiesto, Sean Kingston, and Flo Rida - Feel It

Lately, the trend has been for electronic artists (such as Tiesto and David Guetta) to continue creating their awesome electronic beats, but to feature hip hop and R&B artists as their vocals. It's like creating a new live mash-up as opposed to club djs who take two existing songs and mash them together. I still haven't made up my mind on whether I prefer this or regular all-electronic songs, but some of Guetta's new songs have been great. And this song, which I'm gonna call a Tiesto song even though it's listed as Three 6 featuring Tiesto, is HOT FIRE. Tiesto's beat has everything to do with it, and there are remixes out that are just the beat without the rappers. All in all though, this song in general is pretty awesome. 5/5 stars.

Movies:
Ninja Assassin

People will likely disagree with me due to Korean pop star "Rain"'s limited acting skill, but let's be honest, a great action movie isn't great because the actors are giving Oscar award winning performances. What DOES make this movie awesome is the special effects and unique cinematography. Action film enthusiasts may claim that this movie doesn't live up to its hype because too much action takes place in the dark....but I think that is exactly what MAKES this movie awesome. The concept of ninjas stealthily stalking their targets in the dark and killing them in vicious gory fashion without hardly being seen is why people go to see this movie in the first place. It reminded me of how I felt the first time I saw Kill Bill or 300. 4/5 Stars.

Restaurant:
Buffalo Wild Wings

OK, so for those of you who have never lived outside the DC metropolitan area, you may not have ever heard of a chicken wing chain called Buffalo Wild Wings (aka BW3's). This chain typically exists in college towns such as my alma mater Virginia Tech. BW3's (sometimes also called BDubs) is a great chicken wing restaurant that features some 15 or so different sauce flavors for their mighty chicken. You can even order the sauce on full size drumsticks as opposed to buffalo wings. And once a week, there's a wing night where wings are like $0.35 a piece. There's also a drumstick day where drumsticks are like $0.55 a piece. Either way, the chicken here is great, the sauces are delicious, and the atmosphere is great for watching sports, hanging out with friends, or just grabbing a bite to eat. For those of you with a gastronomical need for adventure, I recommend trying the "Blazing" wings. This is the hottest wing available at BW3's, and it's sure to bring a tear to your eyes. I also recommend not eating these until the end of your meal, so that you can enjoy the rest of it first. 5/5 Stars