Amazingkae

Rockville, Maryland has the most unusual and fun new culinary hot spot: ”Bob’s 88 Shabu Shabu”—all locals, authentic Asian, absolutely wonderful. Make reservations, arrive early, come hungry. It is a new place that looks like a dive but the food is unreal—so good, so plentiful, so fresh, so perfect—and the service was fantastic, too. We had a great time being the only token caucasians. Everything turned out to be perfect (in atmosphere and service) and all the food tasted divine!

The drive this fall was beautiful and so worth the trip; the restaurant is an easy jaunt from 495 to 270 and then into the heart of the historic downtown center. Elders and children will delight in the pan-asian authenticity of the food; cooking and seasoning your own pot of soup at the table, combined with the freshness of the ingredients, made it a home-style family oriented delight. As the cooking process takes a while and the lines are so long, “Bob” has thoughtfully extended the dinner hours to one o’clock in the morning—a plus for night owls or those hoping to avoid any rush hour traffic.

Proper Shabu Shabu is like having a little taste of Nirvana delivered in a steaming hot pot of broth. If you are within four hours of Rockville, I promise the gastronomic adventure is well worth the trip. I am adding information on how to to find the place onto 43places.com as a destination in Maryland with the hopes of encouraging new patrons—but from the look of long lines wrapping out of the building when we left, I would say (to quote my mum to Bob tonight), “[They] already have a winner!”

Note to non-Asians: Don’t go and expect to act like a typical American boor. Be sure to give a proper bow (or sign of courtesy) to all the staff and owners when you go; your best manners and patience with any language barriers will be richly rewarded. We will happily be returning many times.

They are really outdoing themselves to cater to the public at Bob’s 88 SHABUSHABU!

Tell them someone fun and friendly from 43places.com sent you.

:-)

I don’t know why I want to go to this place, honestly. I have the wild urge to eat a cheesesteak in Philly (and of course new skylines always intrigue me).

Peace and late night cyber insomnia love to the board on 43!

Amazingkae, perpetually.

ROADTRIPPENDING—see notes. ;-)

On a lifelong quest to spend time in all the geographical regions of our beautiful country.

Kitty Hawk, and all of the Outer Banks area, is a very up and coming “quiet your mind and soothe your soul” retreat. There is alot of great laid back activity stuff to do here—and of course there is the beach. Whether you are up for a physical challenge or just out for a drive, you will find the place to be incredibly relaxing. Combine the small beach village atmosphere with all the aerospace history and you have yourself quite a fun and funky little place to be. Make sure you grab yourself some Carolina BBQ and some fresh seafood treats—and yes, parasailing and hang gliding! Thanks to my friends flawless recommendations, we have found lots of new really cool places here to bring the family. KEYTRAVELNOTE: Get in good with the locals and they can give you a heads up on all the best places in town to play, relax, and eat.