Sometimes quick and easy is preferable to slow and elegant, especially at this time of year.
That’s when the Wok & Rolls of the area come into their own. The food may not win awards for creativity or presentation, but it is predicable and reliable, freshlyprepared and ready to go at a moment’s — make that five moment’s — notice.
Take Wok & Roll as an example. Yes, it is possible to eat in this small, all-but-hidden establishment at one of the tables along the window or at the counter, where it is almost possible to watch the chefs working their woks, but judging from the stream of customers, many prefer to take their food elsewhere.
The menu won’t offer competition to some of the more elegant Chinese/Cantonese/Hunan eateries in the area, but much looks familiar.
Chef’s recommendations include General Tso’s chicken, lemon, orange and sesame chicken, sesame and orange beef, among others (all $10.95 or $11.95), and the rest of the menu is replete with the expected moo shu, sweet and sour, kung pao and Hunan-style chicken, pork, beef and seafood, all priced in the $6.50 to $7.50 range for lunch, $8.75 to $11.25 for dinner.
What is a surprise is that the food that emerges from the busy woks is better than might be expected from a quick and easy. In the shrimp with crispy walnut, for instance, the shrimp are not smothered in a coat of gooey overfried batter and are not overcooked, and the crispy walnuts are, indeed, crispy and sweet, not the least bit soggy. If one were to find fault with this dish, it would be that the “special hot sauce” is temperate, at least by Thai, Indian and Szechuan standards.
With the quick cooking, the vegetables (all $5.95 at lunch, $7.95 at dinner) maintain their crispness and integrity, a refreshing change for those who don’t like overcooked string beans and broccoli. Again, the dishes marked “hot and spicy” come on the moderate side unless you ask for more heat, or less.
If you go
Wok & Roll, 1371 Beverly Road, McLean
» Hours: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday; noon to 10 p.m. Saturday; noon to 9:30 p.m. Sunday
» More info: 703-556-8811; 703-556-8812
