You know, today Panda and I were having lunch at Coastal Flats and he was sort of surprised when I wasn’t eagerly taking pictures of the food. I usually take pictures of just about everything we order, but lately I’ve been low on memory space on my phone so I’ve been limiting my photo snapping. However, it did make me realize that perhaps I should take pictures of the food and actually share them! Part of why I was stopping was because I haven’t really been sharing them like I usually do on Facebook. Sooo I’ll start reviewing some of the dishes I have at various food establishments. Maybe it’ll help me remember when I want to relive a dish and can’t quite figure out where I had it or what it was called…

First up is our lunch today at Coastal Flats. This is our first time eating there and originally I wanted Seasons 52 right across the hall, but Panda didn’t know if there was anything new on that menu that he’d like to try. I’m usually up for trying something new and as soon as I heard Coastal Flats offered deviled eggs, I was sold. I love a good deviled egg. This was the location in Tyson’s Corner Center, over by all the restaurants on the Old Navy and Barnes & Noble end.

We chose to sit in the patio/pavilion area (I forgot what they called it) right by the hallway. The ambiance was mostly casual and not too loud, which was nice. I didn’t want to sit inside since it was darker and felt more like a dinner atmosphere. Plus, I like those elevated tables. The service was mostly efficient – they filled the water without having to be asked and always brought out more bread when we requested it.

I loved those little dough balls, which came out piping hot. The raisin bread was ok and the other slice of bread varied between white and jalapeno cheese. We got three baskets!

The deviled eggs tasted good, though there was a mystery ingredient that was mixed in with the yolk and provided a super crunchy experience that was unusual. Yolk to white ratio was good and not overwhelming. Panda seemed to enjoy the bacon!

My hickory grilled rock fish (of the day) dish had very seasonal influences – a mango and watermelon salsa underneath and crispy onion on top. I loved the mesh of sweet and salty, soft and crunchy. The flavors were strong, so I appreciated a fish with not so much flavor to balance it out. We devoured this.

His penne primavera with chicken was a more standard dish and offered a good variety of vegetables. Nothing super exciting here, but a nice dish when you don’t want a creamy sauce on your pasta.

Except for my dish, the choice of plates was rather boring. It didn’t give our food the pop it could have. Everything was quick to come out and we certainly liked the taste of it all. I’m sure we’ll be returning to one of their locations again. This menu offered multiple items that both Panda and I would like to try next time. A lovely meal that came to just under $50 before tip. Not bad!