Necessary Change?

As widely reported, Mike Isabella is shutting down all of his DC area restaurants after Christmas. I don't want to dance on his grave. It's sad, nearly as sad as what caused this -- a toxic environment for his female employees. A ton of restaurant workers now have to stress over the holidays as to how they are going to pay the rent in January. I never made it to the well-rated Arroz but had mixed feelings about his Arlington establishments. Kapnos was great, Pepita was lousy and Yona clocked in terrific in my first visit and terrible in my second. I do believe things happen for a reason though. It's not so much that Mike Isabella did bad, it's that he did the kind of bad that has been going on forever, and it's time to get woke. TV "reality" shows be darned. A dominant male, slightly tipsy, moody, flirty head chef and restaurateur is no longer acceptable. For that matter, female chefs and restaurateurs still make up a teenier portion of this industry than in almost every other business. There are fewer notable female chefs than there are new female representatives in Congress. It's time for the food industry to get with the times and realize that women are just human beings who are capable of creating amazing meals ~and~ running complex businesses. Let's use the Isabella downfall not simply as a single lesson learned but a chance to take a step forward. I, for one, would be thrilled if the replacement restaurants are female-forward.

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Afghan Bistro

With family members moving to Springfield, it has been a struggle to find good places to eat so far afield. After flirting with some chain restaurants near the mall, we tried a Pakistani restaurant (there are many, many Pakistani restaurants there), but it fell flat. Finally, someone suggested this amazing place. It's a little hole-in-the-wall in a strip mall. With oilcloth table coverings, the vibe seems questionable. For about a minute. Then you are warmly greeted and given menus with a plethora of choices. My party ordered a great number of items and every dish rose above expectations. The staff are eager to please and checked in to make sure everything was okay, from food to drink needs. When a member of my party dropped a piece of silverware on the floor one of the waiters swooped in with a replacement before we could even ask. But onto the food. We ordered the Potato and Leek turnovers, the Aushak (leek and sc...

First Watch

Meant to invite some family members here but a friend beat me to the punch. We compromised and went together. Unfortunately, this is a place where it looks better than it is. Across the board. The funky design scheme makes it an echo chamber and, with the pumping music, very loud. Conversation was difficult. The menu is covered in glossy photos and descriptions of the food but ... I started with the Morning Meditation Fresh Juice, a pretty blend of citrus and beet. Or I tried to. Took three reminders to the waiter and when it finally arrived, halfway into the meal, it was 90% ice and 10% juice. My companions opted for coffee. It was ice cold. Another long wait (about 20 minutes) to get new coffee -- and included a reminder to staff that they wanted fresh cups as well. I ordered the Vegetarian Quinoa Bowl, which was described as having up to 12 ingredients. It had three. The quinoa, an egg, maybe two teen...

Dera

Was looking for a good Pakistani restaurant in Springfield and this one had some of the best reviews, so I gave it a shot. Arrived for an early dinner to find some regulars around a table in a cavernous room. The restaurant staff looked at us like we had interrupted a private party. We sat and were grudgingly given menus after asking. Tepid water in questionably clean glasses were eventually brought. One member of the party ordered a salad. It arrived in a large mixing bowl and was mostly iceberg lettuce. A plastic basket of cold bread was literally "dumped" on the table, then the waiter disappeared. Eventually we were able to get someone to take our orders, which included a curry, a biryani and a kebab. Portions were huge and the rice, again, came in what looked like a mixing bowl. It was enough to feed ten. The food wasn't bad. Sometimes the seasonings were a bit heavy handed (particularly for the rice) but it was...

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