5/13/10

Hey Friends!

Happy Thursday, the 13th! Ok, that's not nearly as momentous as the more popular 13th, but I'm in a good mood regardless. This week we have 3 glowing reviews so enjoy!!!

Music:
Iyaz --- Solo

So for those of you who remember, Iyaz bursted onto the music scene last year with his debut single "Replay". You no doubt heard the song on the radio, assumed it was Sean Kingston, and couldn't find it when you searched. Then you found out it was actually Iyaz. Well, he's back again with his follow-up single entitled "Solo". The song samples the classic Janet Jackson song "Again" and is awesome. I'm a sucker for a great hook, and this song has just about one of the catchiest hooks I've ever heard. Add to that great lyrics, and a good beat and you've got yourself a hit single. The song is starting to get some radio airplay so listen for it next time you're in the car. 4/5 Stars.

Movies:
Ironman 2

Just like pretty much everyone else in the country, I went to see Ironman last weekend. It did not disappoint. The action scenes were great. Robert Downey Jr put in another great RDJ performance as he always does. And Scarlet Johansson was smoking hot. Oh and did I mention War Machine? Don Cheadle did a great job replacing Terrence Howard as the iconic Ironman protege. For those of you who are fans of the superhero genre of movies, Ironman will surely meet your expectations. I like it almost as much as I liked Kickass. 4/5 Stars

Restaurants:
Uncle Liu's Hot Pot

One of my favorite cuisines is the Chinese Hot Pot. It's a great way for friends and family to share a meal and have a great time. In the DC metropolitan area, the hot pot is a relatively inexistent dish, so I was excited when I heard this restaurant had opened (even though it replaced South East Asian Corner which was a restaurant I enjoyed). Owned by the owner of the famous Hong Kong Hotpot Palace restaurant, Uncle Liu's gave me everything I hoped for. We ate the split pot which contained both a mild and a spicy broth separated by a divider down the middle of the pot. We added watercress, enoki mushrooms, noodles, tender beef, tender tofu, and fish balls to the soup and it was all tremendously delicious. As a relatively inexperienced hot pot customer, I had no idea what sauces (out of the 10 or so available) I should mix together to make my dipping sauce, so I blindly mixed and matched...and it turned out great. I will definitely return here again to eat with other friends. 4/5 Stars

4/26/10

Wassup Friends!

Short and sweet today. Here's the weekly hot picks. Enjoy!

Music
DJ Miss Lisa --- Crawler

Recently, I began listening to Pandora again at work. For those of you who have been lost in a closet for the past couple years, Pandora is an online website where you can type in your desired artist/band/etc. and it will play songs by that artist as well as other artists similar to it. DJ Miss Lisa is someone I had never heard of until Pandora played this song by her. And immediately, it was my jam. She takes Crawlin, by Linkin Park, and converts it to an upbeat electronic club buster. After hearing this, I listened to other Miss Lisa tracks, and they're all great as well. A quick google search revealed to me that Miss Lisa is a veteran of the HIN (Hot Import Nights) car show. In any case, this song and this DJ is the bees' knees. 4/5 Stars.

Movies:
Kickass

If you guys haven't seen the trailer yet, let me recap. The movie is about an average joe schmo who wonders why no one's ever tried to be a superhero before. So he decides he'll try...even though he's got no super powers, and does not even have average athletic ability. Without giving away anything, all I can say is that this movie is awesome. If I had to describe it in one word...it's literally "KICKASS!" I've already watched it twice. It's a must see if you're thinking about seeing a movie this week. 5/5 Stars.

Restaurants:
Thai Tada

It's always been my goal, to let all of you know about the good unknown music, movies, and restaurants in the area. And so every week, my picks have been things I could see myself indulging in again, and so I'd recommend it to my friends. But today, I have a NEGATIVE review. Located in Herndon, Thai Tada is a new Thai restaurant that has taken over the former location of Tarin Thai. Tarin Thai was one of my favorite Thai restaurants and was listed on this blog previously as a recommendation of the week. In any case, Tarin Thai had amazing food, an amazing lunch buffet, and pretty much was great in every way. By comparison Thai Tada is horrible. The food there was pricy, almost double the cost of traditional Thai dishes for many of its plates. And the quality was sub par. I ordered Drunken Noodles which could only be described as boiled instant noodles drunk in a soup of sauce and horrible minced chicken mixed in. I was supremely disappointed. The steamed dumpling appetizers were horrible too. It was like getting premade microwaveable dumplings and heating them up and serving them to customers. Ordinarily, I'd give a Thai restaurant like this a second shot, but compared to the amazing restaurant that was there before, I don't think I will try this place again. There are many other Thai restaurants in the area that I prefer to eat. 1/5 Stars.

4/16/10

Wassup Homeys,

Before we get into the review this week, can I get a moment of silence please in memory of those that lost their lives 3 years ago at Virginia Tech (my alma mater)....


...Thanks. Now on to the goods. Here's the hot joints for this week, enjoy:

Music:
Usher feat. Will.I.Am --- OMG

I can't say enough things about this song. It's typical Usher with that R&B groove to it. But it's also got enough of a dance vibe to it that you can cut a rug at the club. Quicker upbeat remixes of this song have already made their way onto youtube so check it out. 4/5 Stars.

Movies:
Up in the Air

One of last year's nominees for multiple oscars, this movie was awesome. If you're a Clooney fan, or a Thank you for Smoking fan, I think you'll like this movie a lot. If you're a casual movie watcher, this movie was appropriately nominated for oscars, so check it out. And if you're not a big movie watcher at all, this movie is one of those gems that slipped under the radar cuz it wasn't a blockbuster...but it's still good nonetheless. 4/5 Stars.

Restaurants:
Lebnan Zaman

Located in Vienna, a stone's throw away from the "Toilet Bowl" building, this "Lebanese" restaurant is actually a kabob restaurant. I went at lunch time, otherwise I would've tried their hookah as well, since they have an assortment of enticing flavors. As for the food, my kabobs were average. Worth checking out if you're a kabob enthusiast like myself. 3.5/5 Stars.

4/1/10

Happy April Fool's Day buddies!!! Real holiday or not, April Fool's Day is one of my favorite days of the year. It's the one day a year where you can prank your friends and family and fear no serious retribution other than even more creative pranks in return. That being said, here's this week's reviews. They are all legitimate...no pranks on my end. Enjoy!!!

Music:
UC Men's Octet - Down/Forever

Allright, so today's music selection is weird. For those of you who know me, you know that I love acapella music. And no, I don't mean taking a pop song and dropping the music and just having the singer sing alone. I mean the acapella in which you have a group of singers who sing a popular song completely with their vocals, including creating the beatbox/drum noises. It's very popular in colleges. In any case, as far as college acapella goes, my new fave group is the UC Men's Octet. This group of 8 guys is hilarious in their performances and they perform lots of current songs. Take a look below and if you're impressed, youtube UC Men's Octet for more of their great performances. 4/5 Stars



Movies:
Inkheart

OK, so I doubt many of you have ever heard of this movie...because I had never heard of this movie. I was scrolling through the channels on tv last weekend, and I saw that HBO was about to air this movie. I read the info on the movie and found out that it's based on a book about this man who realizes he has the power that causes any book he reads aloud to come to life. Inkheart happens to be a fantasy novel that he has read in the past, and stumbles across a copy of it again in the present. Long story short, characters from the book appear and request his help (along with his daughter) and the fantasy tale begins. Sounds great! So I started watching, and for the most part, I didn't think the movie was bad. It was a little cheesy, and definitely would've been better suited for a kid to watch. And Brendan Fraser (the main character) didn't help, because let's be honest, most of his movies are pretty cheesy. But overall, I thought it wasn't bad. In any case, if you haven't seen a movie in a while and are looking to make your evening a "Blockbuster Night" (even though that term is basically outdated now), go ahead and give this movie a whirl. 2.5/5 Stars

Restaurants:
Lazeeza Kabob

Located in Vienna, a stone's throw away from Merrifield, this kabob restaurant has recently reopened as a kabob buffet. Don't let the restaurant's humble hole in the wall facade fool you. Yes, there's usually one staffer working the entire restaurant. Yes, there's usually maybe one or two other patrons in the restaurant. And yes, the buffet only features maybe 6 items. But it's a great success. Your meal will cost about $8-9. The bismati rice is cooked well, the butter chicken is probably the best I've ever had, and the ground beef dish is delicious as well. Add the fresh warm naan bread and you got yourselves a hit. While the buffet is exactly a kabob buffet, I still like it. Definitely worth a look if you're into Indian/Middle Eastern cuisine. 3.5/5 Stars

3/22/10

Hello there friends! The weather has officially christened the beginning of the 2010 Spring season. And that means that movie blockbuster season is just around the corner, restaurant lines will be longer, and summer jams will soon fill the radio airwaves. So, with all that being said, here's the week's hot joints:

Music:
Agnes - Release Me

OK, so this song really isn't new at all. It debuted last fall. But it's hit #1 on the Billboard's List of Dance songs, and pretty much nobody knows about it. Why do I like it? The beat reminds me of mid to late 90's style electronic music with a certain funky groove I just can't quite put my finger on. So anywhoo, for those of you who love to dance like me, you can't help but hear a song like this and not tap your foot (if you're unable to physically get up and dance). 3/5 Stars

Movies:
Alice in Wonderland

Original AIW was a classic. Johnny Depp is on fire on the tails of the Pirates series. The remake, pretty much the culmination of both. The visuals were awesome. A bit trippy as if you were on some kind of hallucinogenic drug, but for the most part, good. I'm still not sold on the whole 3D technology that so many movies are using nowadays, especially since they make already expensive movies that much more costly to watch, but I suppose it made the movie more exciting. Overall, I think the movie was good. Those of you who know me, know that I pretty much like almost any movie, so in my scale of movies, this one was average. It was good, but it wasn't AMAZING. 3.5/5 Stars

Restaurants:
Primetime Sports Grille

Located in Fairfax (corner of Waples Mill and Route 50), this new sports bar is going to be the new hot spot for sporting events in Northern Virginia. The atmosphere of the place reminds me of Velocity 5 except without the long drive out to crowded Falls Church/Arlington. For those of us who live on the western end of Northern VA, Primetime is the solution to our laziness. On top of all that, I had the pleasure of meeting one of the owners of the bar last weekend, and he couldn't have been a nicer guy. So bottom line, if you're looking for food, a drink, or a place to watch sporting events....no need to search anywhere but Primetime. Oh, and did I mention...it's a Hokie bar? Bam! 5/5 Stars

3/15/10

Waddup Peoples! Hope everyone has been keeping up with their adventures. With the recent airing of the Oscars on television, I've now got a "bucket list" of movies that were good last year that I hadn't watched and need to, so those will appear on this review sporadically over the new few months. For now, here's 3 new reviews for you guys this week. Enjoy!

Music:
Taio Cruz feat. Ludacris - Break Your Heart

At this point, it should be no surprise to you all that I like Hip Hop....I like Electronic...and I like silky smooth R&B like Ne-Yo. And this song, is yet again, another one that combines the three. Similar to Chris Brown's recent stuff, and the Tiesto/Guetta....this song features a super catchy electronic beat with Taio Cruz leading the catchy verses and hooks. Luda has a quick verse that brings me back to his earlier stuff that I liked a lot. All in all, this is a great song. I can't stop listening to it. 5/5 Stars.

Movies:
Shutter Island

My review of this new movie is a little Jekyll and Hyde today. On the one hand, Scorcese is a legend, and Leo DiCaprio has had his fair share of amazing movies which I've enjoyed (Titanic, Catch Me If You Can, Departed, Blood Diamond). This movie also had a great plot and ending. However, the ugly other personality of this film is that it's confusing at times, slow at many parts, and way too long for its audience. Had the story been told a little more clearly, and had the producers cut about 30-45 minutes of stuff out of it, this movie could've been amazing. So the verdict? It's a decent movie that warrants watching if you're looking to see something different. But would I recommend watching it if you haven't seen Alice in Wonderland, or any other blockbuster films out right now? No. 3.5/5 Stars.

Restaurants:
Dominos

Yes sir, that's Domino's the "fast food" Pizza chain. Why is it on the review this week? Well if you've watched any television in the last couple months, you've no doubt seen the commercials for Dominos claiming that their new crust makes their pizza better than Papa John's and maybe even Pizza Hut in blind taste tests. Verdict? I don't know if it's BETTER than PJ or PH, cuz I love both of the other chains. However, it's vastly better than what Domino's old pizza used to taste like. So in that regard, if I'm ever in the mood for pizza and there's no pizza hut or papa john's nearby, I have no problems ordering from Domino's now cuz their pizza is comparable...whereas previously I would never have eaten at D's unless I had no better options. 4/5 Stars

2/25/10

Waddup Peeps! As you can clearly tell, I'm already straying from my regular weekly postings on Mondays. At least I'm able to more or less keep up though, and not just forget about this review altogether. Anywhoo, it's been a good week for reviews. So here you go, enjoy:

Music:
Jason Derulo - In My Head

Earlier in this blog, I mentioned an up and coming artist named Jason Derulo. The closest comparison I can make about his music is that he's a Chris Brown clone as far as singing goes, but he has the luxury of having very good producers who either sample great beats, or come up with catchy new ones. In any case, you've probably heard his song "Watcha Say" on the radio quite a bit...it's the one that samples the song that played on the OC when Marissa shot Ryan's brother Trey (and no...I'm not gay...I don't actually watch the show...I just know about this scene because SNL spoofed it in their "Dear Sister" digital short). In any case, In My Head is the new single from JD, and it's beginning to get airplay now on the pop radio stations. The song itself is catchier than Watcha Say and the video ain't half bad either considering it's supposed to be an homage to Michael Jackson. 3.5/5 Stars

Movies:
District 9

At this point, you must realize I'm a slacker at the movies. I just don't go out to see a movie in the theatres as often as I'd like anymore since they cost about $23495238734978545 a ticket. So when I do catch a popular movie nowadays, it's either a blockbuster everyone's been waiting forever to see...or I catch it on tv or on demand. That brings us to numero nueve. District 9 was far better than I expected. I thought it was going to be another failed attempt at human killing alien invasion action, which hasn't really succeeded in movies since Will Smith stopped making annual summer blockbusters about that very theme. Yet, D9 was a great return. It featured a good story, good action, and good effects. Am I psyched about a sequel...probably not...but at least the original was pretty good. 4/5 Stars

Restaurants:
Yamazato

Located in "Alexandria" across from the GrandMart on Route 236 (Little River Turnpike just before it turns into Duke Street at Landmark Mall), this restaurant might be my new favorite find. The restaurant labels itself as a Thai restaurant, and when it comes to that cuisine, it is exactly that. The Panang curry is full of taste, spice, and consistency. The Tofu is delectable, plump, and well cooked. The Drunken Noodles are hot and spicy. And the coup de grace is a special dessert they offer called Tempura Ice Cream. Yes, fried ice cream. The restaurant succeeds in all things Thai. As if that wasn't enough, the restaurant also boasts a diverse selection of sushi. I didn't get a chance to taste it myself, but looking at the cuts of fish and the sushi chefs preparing it, I could tell it was quality fish. On top of that, my guide to my first trip to Yamazato said she had eaten the sushi there before and that it was good. Soooo....looking for a new restaurant? Maybe something intimate for a date? Or just looking for another great place to food your face...welcome to Yamazato. 4/5 Stars