Sizzling Express

I went to Sizzling Express for breakfast on 12÷12÷15. It had been several years since I had visited this location (and it was definitely before I started Unilocaling). I had a lox sandwich, coffee and a cookie (which was given to me for free as part of a promotion). I enjoyed everything.
I also liked the fact that I felt comfortable eating by myself at this location. It isn’t a terrible place to hang out.
Looking around it appears that this location (at least in the morning) tends to attract seniors.
I would agree that the price for salad bar is a little on the high side. I thought. The price of my sandwich was fair for the area (paid like $ 8.00).
It also appeared that the staff picks up and wipes down their tables on a regular basis. It felt very clean even after the morning rush had passed.
In a nutshell, I wouldn’t hesitate to go back if I want a coffee with more substantial food choices than a place like Starbucks.

They charge entirely too much for fruit. Total rip off like another reviewer wrote, fruit should not be priced at the same rate as meat etc.

YUM!!! Great portions of food for not very much money. I got a sandwich and it came with a water or a cookie – I chose the cookie! There is also a bar which I am curious about patronizing eventually and there is a nice looking buffet. Basically, I’ma give it more opportunities to feed me and I’ll let you know how it goes!

If I could give them zero stars I would. Today I got my usual a chicken cheesesteak and upon finishing it at home, I find a bug nestled in my sandwich! That just destroyed the love I had for this location… NEVER AGAIN

This casual restaurant offers a large salad bar and hot buffet with a variety of dishes from Asian to Italian to meat loaf. I think everyone can find something to enjoy here.
Typically, I will have a small salad, a spring roll, and noodles. I’ll put another selection, ranging from Chicken with Cashew Nuts to Italian Sausage with Peppers, with that. Hot buffet items change every day.
I’ve also tried the Miso Soup and Hot and Sour Soup. Not bad, but better soups at Hunan Dyansty or Young Chow.
Note that the food is sold by weight. Don’t overload your plate with all the temptations!
Deli sandwiches can also be ordered if you don’t find something you like on the buffet.

Clean restaurant, nice location, great selection of food.
My biggest beef, (no pun intended), is the amount of salt that is used. The string beans had so much salt on them, it made my mouth hurt.
So, to the owners, I love your place, but it’s a salt mine… any chances you can tone it down a bit? Cut back on the salt and I promise to eat there more often!
Thank you!

We recently started going here and found the buffet was decent but the sushi is pretty good. The indoor seating is not a great set up and usually have to find someone to wipe your table. The staff is friendly and glad to help with whatever you need. It’s a good place if you need a quick bite to eat and want to sit down for a minute.

3.5 stars… I can’t give it 4 because we paid $ 27 for two sandwhiches and fruit. Slightly off of our lunch budget!
The staff was friendly enough.
Me — A grilled chicken breast on kaiser with bacon, avocado and munster chesse (I know the triple fat no no) but it was worth it. It was pretty tasty. It came with a side of fries and also had sprouts on it. I love sprouts and I love a place that uses them.
Him — Turkey, Ham club on wheat came with chips. He was happy! I know, I know you cant mess up a club. But with my man… you never know what he going to say about the simplest thing. He was content with choice.
Fruit Bar… this is where we got ripped the eff off. I got fruit and he also got fruit. neither one of use loaded up … just a few grapes and other fruit but by my calculation this ran us a good $ 12 !!! WHAT THE?
I would return… and just not get the fruit bar.
SN– The buffet, looked clean and well stocked I mean they had a plethora of food.

I come here all the time but not for the majority of the food. I come here for the salad bar. It’s the same price/​pound as the meats, chinese food, and fruits so my salad and a piece of lean meat is pretty cheap. In fact, I used to go down the street to SweetGreen but you literally pay $ 10 for a salad with a little chicken on it. At Sizzling Express, the lettuce and all the other vegitables are just as fresh (if not fresher), you have a wider selection, and it’s half the price! That’s why I keep coming back. I’m on a strict body building diet (getting ripped for the ladies) so this place is perfect for me. Plus, the owner (i guess) is very nice and says hello and goodbye as you come and go.
They have a hot grill in the back and make all sorts of hot and cold sandwiches but I haven’t tried that yet. They also have a full sushi/​alcohol bar! Crazy! I’ve never seen a buffet like this before. Oh yeah, and they have some nice outdoor seating as well. It may not be the most gourmet food around, but I’m definitely a fan.

Really 3.25, but I’ll round down due to priciness and the fact that it is a buffet.
I’ve been to this Sizzling Express a gajillion times and it’s always the same… yummy. Great breakfast, nice hot, semi-​lumpy grits and corned beef hash always make me happy. Sizz Ex breakfast is a nice alternative to Eastern Market, especially when the line is ridiculously long. Best cheese steaks (or, since I’m a DC-​native, I’ll say steak and cheese), even when ordering to go.

Sizzling Express has a great breakfast buffet. Go for what you know. Eggs, grits, potatoes, ketchup, fruit, french toast, pancakes, muffins.
Stay away from the heavy-​weight (i.e. expensive) fresh fruit. That is a complete and total rip-​off.
I’ve only been there for breakfast so that’s all I can comment on. Eggs and grits from Sizz Ex: A-​OK with me!

This is, by far, one of the worst restaurants I’ve ever eaten at.
I’ve seen my co-​workers come back from this place with things I wouldn’t touch with a ten-​foot pole.
I went once, and ordered a philly cheese steak, which is probably one of the hardest things to screw up. Seriously — in it’s simplest form, it’s just cheese, steak, and bread. What they gave me was awful, and I couldn’t finish it. I’ve never been back and never will.
What it has going for it is variety, so you and your co-​workers can all go the same place and find different things to eat.
Maybe it’s unfair to give it one star since hey, I’ve only been there once. But I’m never going back, and I wouldn’t even eat there if someone was paying for my meal.

I’ve worked across the street from this place for a while now and have never really paid it any mind. Coworkers have claimed that the food is good, but kind of pricey, particularly if you are ordering from the hot or salad bar, because they charge by the pound. Admittedly, the only way a buffet would be enticing to me is if it included some sort of all-​you-​can-​eat clause.
I noticed somebody on my team come in with these giant sandwiches on some marbled bread and decided I had to give the SizzEx a shot. I got a lamb gyro wrap that was devoured with the quickness. Pricing was reasonable. And, entering at lunch time made me aware of the sushi bar also on the inside! Sizzling Express would be guaranteed at least a second visit.

We really loved to make fun of Sizz-​Ex, even before having eaten there — mostly because they actually have the abbreviation «Sizz-​Ex» lit up on the outside of the building, like it didn’t dawn on them how much that sounds like the way «sex» would be pronounced in a Sir Mix-​A-​Lot song.
Wednesday night a friend called me from the sushi bar, and I decided it was time to give this place a chance. Whose to say it couldn’t be completely legit despite its name? Well, I don’t know your standards for legitimacy, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t qualify.
There were six others saddled up to the sushi bar, most with a glass of wine. The silence, enhanced by the elevator music, was impeccable. Over an hour or so, a few cops and security guards showed up, loaded to-​go containers with Chinese food and salad from the pay-​by-​the-​pound buffet, and left without uttering a word.
The sushi was less than $ 5 for six pieces, but it wasn’t really a deal since it sucked. The California rolls are made with imitation crab and the rice is kinda soggy.
I wouldn’t say good ol’ Sizz-​Ex is really a dining destination, but I can see how it would be fine for a cheap workday lunch.

Nothing wrong with Sizzling Express, but nothing really worth writing home about for me either. It is a by-​the-​books mass-​appeal «Do everything» lunch spot, meant to cater to Hill people in the area quickly and with minimal hassle. But that’s part of the problem, it does /​so/​many things that it doesn’t do any one of them really really well. It feels too sterile, too mass produced assembly-​line to have any character. But hey, if you’re hungry and in the area, you will find something to satisfy you here. It’s just bizarre, like a cafeteria crossed with a sushi house crossed with a Harris Teeter.
Staff are all very nice and know that going in there’s a complicated ordering system, depending on which «station» you’re hitting up. Don’t let that intimidate you, you get good value for your $$… Although I’ve heard grumblin’ about the price of the salad bar. I usually stick with the hot sandwiches, which are all what you’d expect to see (steak and cheese, italians, etc).

My body is probably at least 20% Sizzling Express at this point. There’s something for everybody at this place. They have the freshest food and salad bar of any of the by-​the-​pound places in the area. You can also get a hot sandwich or a decent burger. And then there is the sushi bar.
The sushi bar at the Capitol Hill Branch prepares really nice sushi for much less than you pay in other places. They also have a full bar to go along with it. They have Sapporo and Rolling Rock on tap which they will serve to you in a frosty mug. You can easily go in and fill up on sushi, drink a cold beer, and pay less than $ 20.
Usually got some decent vegetarian options at the food/​salad bar. I always go there during vegan month. Except this year, because vegan month is stupid and I never get anything out of it so I quit.

Sizzling Express is full of goodness. You have to be smart about it to get everything out of going here though.
For instance, you gotta be smart about the salad bar. Salads are light and you can get a good meal pretty cheaply, but don’t throw a bunch of tomatoes or mangoes on there, or you’ll be paying $ 10 for your meal. Many a good man have failed here.
Also, try the special sushi rolls once. They’re expensive, but well worth it. You can’t beat having them with Sapporo on tap too.
The sandwiches are pretty good as well. I highly recommend the Waldorf Chicken Croissant and Kay’s Chicken Bravo. Thus far I have not been steered wrong by their sandwich selections.
In my experience, the staff here has always been happy and very helpful.
If you play your cards right, Sizzling Express can be a powerful ally.

This is a good office-​lunch place. Walk here with half my office every few days. I usually take my lunch, so can’t comment on the food too much, but the salad and espresso I’ve gotten there before were pretty good. Their salad bar looks pretty good and their grill makes some good sandwiches. The sushi is very fresh, made by a chef right in front of your eyes! I really want to try it sometime.
They also have a great selection of beverages (almost anything you can think of) from a grocery store-​style display case and a nice selection of gourmet candy. Good place to find Haribo gummies! Probably not recommended for a nice dinner or anything like that.

Eggs are always cold
So are the friggin’ hash browns.
Please don’t waste your time.

I have a love/​hate relationship with good olé Sizz Ex, but it always comes through in a clutch on those work days when I just want to pig out. This place is certainly conducive to pigging out, since it’s salad bar is about 30 feet long and its buffet is probably 50 feet.
You pay for it, though. I think a regular-​sized lunch averages out to about $ 11. They also have made-​to-​order sandwiches for lunch and breakfast, some pretty good french fries, a sushi bar and all the booze you could ever want.
It’s very comparable to Epicurean & Company, if you’ve ever been there. It’s kind of an all-​purpose answer to «where should we go for lunch?»