I don't even know where to begin on this one so I'll just tell the story.
Yesterday I went with my sister to go pick up a new car she bought (I'll talk about that in another review) and on the way back we decided to take a 'different' route crosses the Potomac RIver with a cool old ferry.
Via the wandering route to the Ferry we ended up in front of The House of Poolseville. I was hungry so despite the ancient sign, the strange name (particularly for an Asian Restaurant) and the fact that the place looks like a house we parked in what seemed like a nearly full parking lot.
I opened the door of the car and heard some live rock and roll coming from the other side of a tall white fence.
Ok - here we go; we enter: The House of Poolesville.
This is the strangest layout I've ever seen for a restaurant. Two bathrooms at the entry, a long dingy hallway leads to either a dark dining room with a 'take-out' sign above the door or winds around a corner to a big bar in the middle of a room. The staff greet us and are very friendly. Yeah, we'll sit outside and eat.
There is a band, four old guys playing old rock, playing at the end of a big white tent and a lot of people sitting drinking and listening. I didn't notice anyone eating but what the hell, we're hungry. How bad could it be?
The waitress is really nice and tells us that everything on the menu is really great (really?) even though it's like a small book. Flashes of failed restaurant TV shows enter my mind! This is getting concerning so I know!!!! I'll order sushi! Let's try, what's the worst that could happen? Food poisoning? I've survived it before! You don't get to be Elite without taking risks!
The band is to loud... either the guys need to turn up their hearing aids or turn down the sound a little. The waitress agrees (after she strains to hear what I'm saying.) She whispers something to one of the band people between songs and low and behold they get the levels right! Cool... They are a really solid cover band now that I can actually hear what they are playing! Nice work guys!
I order "The House of Poolesville Roll": Salmon, Yellowtail and Tuna with Avocado. When at The House of Poolseville.... We also order an Avocado Salad, some chicken and Eggplant and a couple of spring rolls.
The spring rolls are to hot to eat (temp) but once they cool down they taste like every other fast food spring roll. I'm not sure what I expected but I wouldn't order them again. I'm worried about the pending sushi!
The Avocado salad comes out. Wow! It's huge. For $5.95 it's a steal. I hope it tastes ok? Yip! Wow, it's great! I think it's a whole avocado over a really nice salad! The only bad thing is that it's go so much dressing that it's drowning in it... but it's a really good ginger dressing so actually it's great that there is a lot of it... I don't see how they make any money on this dish but it's good! It could be half the size and still meet expectation.
The Eggplant and chicken come out (with Brown Rice that my sister wanted). Very tasty! Japanese Eggplants, water chestnut, chicken... it's seasoned well (in fact a bit spicy for my sister) and there is a huge amount of it.
Ok... maybe the sushi will be ok...
The sushi arrives.... it's really pretty... wow! It's really good. Maybe I won't spend the evening praying in the bathroom after all!?! Could be worse even if I did, at least I'm not in Krakow at Śledź U Fryzjera!
We spent the next 20 minutes trying to get our check and a take-away box. Maybe they are just in the weeds but it really took a lot of effort to get out! At least the music was good.
Ok... so this place badly needs a make over on the inside. The food is surprisingly good given the enormous menu. The wait staff is super friendly but a bit overwhelmed I think.
I wouldn't hesitate to come here again but it's way outside my normal stomping grounds so who knows when the next time will be.
The House of Poolesville is a winner for what it is but I can't give it more stars unless the service gets more organized and the interior of the place gets a makeover!
Honestly, if I was a producer for one of the restaurant makeover shows I'd be all over this place! :) read more