PF Chang’s China Bistro
4250 Fairfax Corner Ave.
Fairfax, VA 22030
703-266-2414
1716M International Drive
McLean, VA 22102
703-734-8996
901 N. Glebe Road
Arlington, VA 22203
703-527-0955
11301 Rockville Pike
N. Bethesda, MD 20895
301-230-6933
One thing must be made clear before any review of this restaurant:
PF Chang’s is in no way Chinese food. At best it is “Chinese-inspired”
or “Chinese-influenced” food, catered to Americans and marketed
in a kind of Asian-fusion, trendy way. What menu options they
had that were more traditionally Chinese, such as Cantonese roast
duck and Shanghai street dumplings, have slowly been weeded out
over time due in large part to a lack of popularity with their
customer base. That being said, it’s still a decent place to
eat.
Staff and servers are generally friendly, though the atmosphere
on crowded nights leaves something to be desired. PF Chang’s
is very popular, which means that you usually have to wait for
a table and the eating areas are quite loud with all of the chatter
that takes place. Prices are usually between ten and twenty dollars,
and entrée orders come with white or brown rice, or both. I would
recommend getting the brown simply because they don’t cook sticky
rice properly and the thus the white is usually a bit hard and
dry for rice. Some dish options that are worth checking out are
the chicken lettuce wrap appetizer (one of their most popular
options), the Mongolian beef, and the crispy honey chicken or
shrimp. The honey glaze is the closest thing to a sweet and sour
sauce you’ll find there. The Mongolian beef is usually crispy,
sweet, and very good.
If you want real Chinese food, PF Chang’s is definitely not
where you want to look, nor is it somewhere you’d want to go
often or on a regular basis. However, it’s not bad overall and
probably worth at least one visit just to see what they have
and figure out for yourself whether or not you like what they
have to offer.
-D.S. (08/06/08)
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