Toastypanda

Had the chance to eat here 3 times since arriving in Richmond. It’s a great place to eat if you are perusing around Carytown (Cary st. around where it starts as a 1 lane road). Its located right in the middle, so dining there is a good plan if you plan to hop over to the Bryd Theater or chill at the bars later that night.

I cannot stress the “diner” feel of it. Granted, I didn’t grow up in the 50’s (or whenever diner’s were popular), but I can definitely imaging that this is how a diner is supposed to feel like. The whole restaurant is a long hallway, with a bar in the front and a long wall separating the rows of booths from the kitchen in the back. The “galaxy” part of the Galaxy Diner is what it sounds like. The whole place is decked out in a space theme. From the vintage sci-fi movie posters to the space themed names of the dishes, it works well.

On to the food. The first time I ate there, I ordered the black and blue tuna steak sandwich, the second time i ordered the Aztec burger, and the third was chicken bruchetta. All of the food was good. The tuna steak sandwich is my favorite so far. It was seared tuna spiced just right very similar to the way my father makes it (he doesn’t sandwichify it though). The aztec burger was equally good, with avacado and feta (or blue?) cheese. Chicken bruchetta was good, but not as good as the firsts. The dishes are bold and for the price of $9, its not bad since you get 2 sides. Sides choices include fries, mac and cheese, coleslaw, applesauce, and some other quirky ones. Stay away from the cucumber salad. I ordered it, but it was way too sour to enjoy (thats something my father makes well). The whole meal is topped off with a fried pickle, which is something I never experienced before but am starting to like.

In summary- good food for a reasonable price and a good location. The atmosphere is enjoyable enough to warrant a return and I am interested in how it fares at night.

A few musings before I write something that actually has any meaning:

I like string cheese. I just had some and it was gooood. My fascination with cheese of the string variety started at an early age (the summer of 95 as i believe). It is the combination of stringiness and cheesiness that keeps me coming back for more.

It has been demanded that I post some pictures of my stint in Richmond. I’ll get on that soon.

That is all.

During the workweek I don’t have enough time to write reviews or posts (read: lazy), so expect some either today or tomorrow. Reviews of local Richmond places like the Galaxy Diner, the Byrd Theater, and the movies 21 and Definitely, Maybe.

Sorry for the delay on new posts. I just moved into a new apartment in Richmond VA where I will be living for the next 3 months while I work at an internship this summer.

I doubt the internet needs another review of Iron Man, but I saw it twice (once with my girlfriend and once with my parents on mother’s day weekend). Plain and simple, I loved it. I might be a huge tech geek and a even bigger comic geek, but I feel it was an enjoyable movie for everyone. My parents found it entertaining and my mom doesn’t know how to work her digital camera and my dad could care less who Nick Fury is (although I made them stay past the credits for that tid bit of awesomeness).

My only complaint (its minor, no worries), is that it could have used more of Iron Man kicking ass. And no, I don’t mean more scenes of him duking it out with the Iron Monger (Stane’s suit). I want like a good solid 10 min of him owning some non armored villains. Some puny humans that he can just stomp and throw around.

If you haven’t already, go see it. Its worth the money.

For mother’s day I returned to Northern Virginia and my family decided to try out this new Middle Eastern restaurant in Tysons II called the Lebanese Taverna. The atmosphere was amazing. I had no idea such a huge restaurant lived in that mall. Between the glass walls and the modern furniture, they kept it the scenery interesting while we ate.

Putting a Lebanese spin on things, the first thing served with drinks was pita bread. They are delicious, but watch out- they are puffy with the heat trapped inside, which can lead to some steam in the face or on hands when opened.

For appetizers, my family shared a Taverna Platter, which was a selection of their most popular appitizer dishes. This is where the pita bread I mentioned before comes in handy. The humus and the cilantro/tomato salsa are exquisite with real simple, but bold flavors (the later especially).

My main dish was a fish gyro off their lunch menu. My father ordered one of their pita pizzas and my sister and mother orders I do not remember. This is where the restaurant fails to impress. Don’t misunderstand, my fish gyro and the slice of my father’s pita pizza was good, but for the price we paid and compared to their appetizers, they failed to shine. The flavors were not as bold. From what I tasted of my mother’s and sister’s dishes, I have the same feeling about what they ordered. Good food, but not spectacular, again, especially in regards to the price (10+). I feel like you can get that kind of meal from a smaller middle eastern sandwich shop.

Desert, however, was extraordinary. We ordered the Turkish coffee cake with pistachio ice cream and some whipped cream. It was amazing how sweet the whipped cream was and how well the pistachio flavor mixed with the cake.

Overall, if you can spend the money, and want a nice place to eat/celebrate, this is a good choice. While the main dishes were by no means bad, I was unimpressed with my main dish. The appetizers and desert were amazing, however, so that might balance out your experience. Aside from the posh atmosphere, I feel like I could go to my local kabob shop and get more bang for my buck…but maybe I am just a poor college student.