INTERNATIONAL
Tuscarora Mill
[$$$] Food: 7.3 / Ambience: 7.4 / Service: 7.6
203 Harrison St. SE, Leesburg; 703-771-9300; www.tuskies.com.
Open for lunch Monday through Saturday, dinner daily, late-night dining Monday through Saturday, brunch Sunday.
Highs: Snazzy beertails
Lows: Rubbery lobster
Share: Lamb Bolognese
Savor: Veal porterhouse
“You going to do the lamb? I am too. It’s so good here,” one consensus-seeking neighbor confirmed with her friend after getting an earful of chef Patrick Dinh’s daily specials.
Dinh’s passion for geographically informed cuisine and willingness to please are writ large across the predominantly locally sourced menu, manifesting as gourmet flourishes (tomato sorbet-topped salads, local proteins tricked out with shaved Manchego) and sliding scale entrees (“petite” portions were initially launched as recession-busters, but have become quite popular with early birds and light eaters).
Basil-spiked waffles provide some extra lift to grilled duck breast (quite the savory duo).
Pulled crab, sliced shrimp and seared tuna come together in a seafood salad colored by creamy avocado, chilled buckwheat noodles, tart mango chunks, bitter greens and chive-studded curry oil.
Fresh berries (black and blues lead the flavor assault) infiltrate every last millimeter of a fruity, lightly fried Napoleon.
MEDITERRANEAN
Evo Bistro
[$$$$] Food: 7.8 / Ambience: 7.4 / Service: 7.0
1313 Old Chain Bridge Road, McLean; 703-288-4422; www.evobistro.com.
Open for lunch, Monday through Friday, dinner daily.
Highs: Mining the enomatics
Lows: Begging for water
Share: Zarzuela de mariscos
Savor: Spinach crepes
The woman kept gazing at Evo’s expansive wine list but couldn’t seem to make up her mind.
Her server carefully folded up the menu, looked the woman in the eyes and began weaving a tale of Bohemian summers spent flamenco dancing in Sevilla, playing music till dawn with friends in Zaragoza and downing bottle after bottle of lush, fruity garnacha.
The whole table changed their order right then and there.
Last fall’s expansion—Evo effectively doubled its seating capacity by annexing an adjoining space—seems to be sitting well with locals, as evidenced by the bustling rush crowds.
Fried mushrooms add crunch to butternut squash-filled noodles basking in heavy cream.
Stock-sopping risotto is engorged with sautéed onions (piquant whites, turned translucent) and truffle oil, all enrobed by a savory web of shredded Parmesan.
Serrano-wrapped trout is surf and turf supreme.
MIDDLE EASTERN
Me Jana
[$$$] Food: 7.6 / Ambience: 7.4 / Service: 7.2
2300 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; 703-465-4440; www.me-jana.com.
Open for lunch and dinner daily.
Highs: Mouthwatering lamb shanks
Lows: Dinner napkins as restroom towels
Share: Halawet el jeben
Savor: Well-seasoned kebabs
Whether cooling your heels inside on a banquette or resting your aching dogs out on the breezy patio, rest assured that any visit to Me Jana will likely culminate in your waltzing out the door with a little extra spring in your step.
The kitchen is staying the course with its hot and cold small plates. Meanwhile, the bar continues to break ground in the advancement of Lebanese viticulture (the conservative carte boasts around a dozen native iterations of everything from cult Cabernet Sauvignon blends to refreshing blanc de blancs).
Battered smelt are quickly scaled—frying makes spine extraction a breeze, speeds access to the oily flesh—and easily snacked upon.
Chicken livers, fresh from a citrus-hot pepper-cilantro soak, glide across the gullet before rattling the taste buds.
Grilled pitas, filled with a savory ground beef-lamb-onion mixture, are good but rocket to great when used to hustle alluring hunks of molten halloumi-manchego-mozzarella gratinee to the lips.
ITALIAN
Zeffirelli
[$$] Food: 7.2 / Ambience: 7.3 / Service: 7.5
728 Pine St., Herndon; 703-318-7000; www.zeffirelliristorante.com.
Open for lunch, Monday through Friday, dinner daily.
Highs: Grilled swordfish
Lows: Over-truffled carpaccio
Share: Lasagna
Savor: Signature veal chop
Zeffirelli is all about presentation.
There are fresh cut flowers and crisply starched tablecloths at every table. Sly empty nesters lay claim to angled four-tops—easier to sit side-by-side that way—while others seek escape through sustenance.
“Just water and the ravioli,” one hyper-focused executive alerts her server before sitting down, pausing to look up from the ream of documents spread out across the table only when the ragout-covered cheese pockets are placed before her.
“Oh, wow. That’s incredible. It melts in your mouth,” the woman blurts out after her bite, the work spell now effectively broken.
Salmon swims amid a sea of cushiony gnocchi and boozy vodka-cream sauce.
Robust olives and corn-studded polenta fortify stewed chicken.
Frozen cherries and sliced almonds reside at the heart of a frosty treat binding sweet vanilla ice cream within a hard dark chocolate shell.
MIDDLE EASTERN
Nizam’s
[$$] Food: 7.2 / Ambience: 7.2 / Service: 7.4
523 Maple Ave. W., Vienna; 703-938-8948.
Open for lunch Tuesday through Friday, dinner Tuesday through Sunday.
Highs: Never a hard sell
Lows: Staid menulobster and Johnny cakes.
Share: Clove-spiked pear sultan
Savor: Arresting Turkish coffee
The hospitality shown by the Nizam’s team doesn’t just make you feel like part of the family, it makes you want to actually join the Ozgur clan.
Case in point: When some cash-strapped Russian expats quizzed general manager John Ozgur—mild-mannered scion of restaurant namesake Nizam Ozgur—about job openings, the sweetheart of a man apologized profusely for not being able to offer them work before retreating to the back. He emerged a short time later bearing the names and addresses of some better-equipped neighborhood establishments and encouraged the ambitious youths to seek their fortunes there.
Food for thought: free of charge.
Roast salmon, fresh dill and sautéed button mushrooms revel in the company of anise-spiked cream sauce.
Blistered tomatoes and pureed eggplant abet appetizing cubes of slow-simmered lamb.
Pruny bread pudding is inundated in cherry liqueur, sour cherry syrup and whole cherries (a tour de force of tartness).
Hooked’s Las Vegas roll—a proven winner
SEAFOOD
Hooked
[$$$] Food: 6.7 / Ambience: 7.7 / Service: 7.3
46240 Potomac Run Plaza, Sterling; 703-421-0404; www.hookedonseafood.com.
Open for lunch Saturday, dinner daily, late-night dining Friday and Saturday, brunch Sunday.
Highs: Lounging on the picturesque patio
Lows: Derivative sweets
Share: Crab cakes
Savor: Signature sushi
“Thank you, sir, for trusting me” sushi chef Yoshi Katsuyama says, tilting toward me in a humble bow, after I encourage him to prepare what he feels is best that day.
Believe me.
The pleasure was all mine.
Hooked proprietor Doug Palley has cycled through a gang of chefs since launching the original restaurant a few years back.
Luckily, he’s not lost hold of Katsuyama—the Zen master responsible for many of the mouthwatering images played on a constant loop on the wide-screen sets sprinkled about the cavernous locale.
Fresh jumbo lump crab and buttery avocado lovingly embrace beneath the cover of sesame-studded rice.
More delicious crab awaits in a Benedict- uniting poached egg, sautéed spinach, juicy tomato slices, hickory-smoked bacon and hollandaise (dear kitchen: just connect the final dot and layer the bacon across the eggs pre-saucing).
Unsettling chalkiness sabotages whole Maine lobster.
INDIAN
Rangoli
[$$] Food: 7.2 / Ambience: 7.3 / Service: 7.2
24995 Riding Plaza, Suite 120, South Riding; 703-957-4900; www.rangolirestaurant.us.
Open for lunch and dinner daily.
Highs: Paneer makhani
Lows: Middling lamb shammi kebab
Share: Chicken hariyali korma
Savor: Bombay burger
“How is your mojito?” sounds like it should be a punch line about the commercialization of Southeast Asian cuisine.
But Rangoli is just doing what it can to roll with the economic punches.
Large Indian families—often helmed by stern-faced matriarchs in billowing, Technicolor saris and/or stoic gents with deep lines across their face but nary a wrinkle in their crisply starched shirts—remain the core constituency. But curious Westerners seem to claim more booths each time I visit.
Potatoes and cauliflower tossed with garlic, ginger, onions, tomatoes and shallots gave off a fiery glow, but bore only the faintest actual spice (pity).
Pepper paste-rubbed lamb—marinated in garam masala and mango overnight, infusing each morsel to its tender core—arrives on a sizzling skillet crowded with seared onions and green peppers.
Glassy saffron-almond ice cream smacks of almond milk and finely ground nuts.
AFGHANI
Bamian
[$$] Food: 7.0 / Ambience: 7.6 / Service: 6.9
5634 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church; 703-820-7880; www.bamianrestaurant.com.
Open for lunch and dinner daily.
Highs: Fawning service
Lows: Boxing my own leftovers
Share: Chaplee kabob
Savor: Mantu
“This is the only kabob place we go to … You’ve got such elegant decor and terrific prices,” I overheard a septuagenarian birthday girl inform staff after they surprised her with a candle-lit baklava.
That ballroom-like interior is something else.
Granted, the ersatz stage (now, clearly, a permanent fixture) could certainly use some sprucing up—draping even a decorative skirt over the rickety wood and exposed nails would class up the joint substantially. But Bamian still oozes charm when you consider that most of their competition relies mainly on plastic trays and static-y public address systems.
Meanwhile, the evolving beer list boasts several well-respected suds (Kingfisher, Grolsch, Bass, Southern Tier).
Yogurt-soaked lamb chops are resplendently tender—the meat flush with juice —and terrifically spiced.
Chickpeas, infused with tomatoes and onion, ladled over saffron-spiked basmati rice, become a fragrant banquet.
AMERICAN
Hank’s Oyster Bar
[$$] Food: 7.7 / Ambience: 7.0 / Service: 6.8
1026 King St., Alexandria; 703-739-4265; www.hanksdc.com.
Open for lunch Friday through Sunday, dinner Tuesday through Sunday, late-night dining Friday and Saturday.
Highs: Late-night beer deals
Lows: Disappointing Caesar
Share: Sake-oyster shooters
Savor: Smoked gouda-white cheddar mac ‘n’ cheese
For those who don’t know, Hank’s chef/owner Jamie Leeds has instituted a special late-night menu (kicks in after 11 p.m. on weekends) custom tailored toward: 1) stemming the tide of inebriation by soaking all previously ingested booze with finger-licking-good fried foods, 2) jump-starting desire with $1 aphrodisiacs (local and imported oysters), or 3) riding the wave into complete obliteration with discount drafts.
That, coupled with the addition of “Taco Tuesdays”—gourmet tacos AND cut-rate Tecates? You really shouldn’t have—should rocket Hank’s right near the top of anyone’s “most bang for your buck” short list.
Raw squid, shrimp and scallops mingle with minced onions, peppers and lemon juice in a laudable ceviche.
Grilled tilapia, zesty remoulade and crème fraiche make themselves at home in crispy homemade taco shells (serious crunch).
Slow-cooked ribs, brushed in sweetish molasses, shred like tissue paper.
THAI
Duangrat’s
[$$] Food: 7.3 / Ambience: 6.9 / Service: 7.0
5878 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church; 703-820-5775; www.duangrats.com.
Open for lunch Monday through Friday, dinner daily, brunch Saturday and Sunday.
Highs: Genuinely friendly servers
Lows: Overwhelming sauces
Share: Tamarind-spiked deviled eggs
Savor: Thai tapas
As much as I hate to leave Duangrat’s, I do look forward to strolling out the door for one, simple reason: the old school, candy-covered mints at the hostess stand.
A forgotten treat from a restaurant intimately aware that little extras breed loyal customers.
The family-run business continues to attract native Thai and curious Westerners alike thanks to a regiment of familiar favorites (long live crab-stuffed wings!) and seasonal tweaks. The addition of nearly three dozen, bite-sized treasures rewards more adventurous palates quite handsomely.
Steak and shrimp skewers draw heat from green curry (leads with sweet, but slowly looses creeper heat).
Pork-filled lychees are savory-sweet nibbles of lush tropicality.
Five-spiced fowl, its tender, rosy-colored flesh peeking out from a sheath of barely crispy skin shellacked in tamarind barbecue sauce (which also colors the surrounding sauteed vegetables and golden raisins), gets crowned in generously buttered crab meat.
SEAFOOD
The Dock at Lansdowne
[$$] Food: 7.0 / Ambience: 7.0 / Service: 6.9
19286 Promenade Drive, Suite P-101, Leesburg; 571-333-4747; www.thedockatlansdowne.com.
Open for lunch and dinner daily, late-night dining, Thursday through Saturday, brunch Sunday.
Highs: Fresh baked popovers
Lows: Pedestrian po’boys
Share: Mussels Provencal
Savor: Salmon over spinach risotto
“This is a very important lunch with my granddaughter” the beaming octogenarian announced to her Dock server as the well-composed ladies slid into their cream-colored booth for an afternoon of gossiping and good cheer.
Hats off to Nana.
Though still focused on all things marine, the Dock is shoring up its come one, come all persona with more turf-y options as well.
Grilled portobellos are the foundation for a garden medley of scorched asparagus (conveyed smoke and grassiness), red and yellow tomatoes (flooded each bite with summer juice) and zucchini, all smothered in chunky-style tomato ragout (a peppery wash).
Parmesan-crusted trout filets bear dissolves-on-the-tongue skin on one side, bronzed cheese-crusted flesh on the other, while the corresponding beurre blanc seals everything in fat-encasing brush strokes.
Herb-kissed jumbo shrimp, scallops and mussels keep the focus on the sea in a protein-packed linguine pescatore.
VIETNAMESE
Four Sisters
[$] Food: 6.9 / Ambience: 7.1 / Service: 6.8
8190 Strawberry Lane, Suite 1, Falls Church; 703-539-8566; www.foursistersrestaurant.com.
Open for lunch and dinner daily.
Highs: Thunderously crunchy baked squid
Lows: Clamoring for refills
Share: Hanoi-style pork and vermicelli
Savor: Grilled lemongrass chicken
I’d be willing to bet big money Four Sisters handily trounces the 49 other Best Restaurants—possibly even combined—when it comes to carry-out business.
No matter the hour, there always seems to be a steady stream of customers who bee-line for the bar to either pick up a ready-to-be-rushed-home order or plot their next totally totable repast.
Conversely, staff seem obsessed with munching anything except what’s on their 125+ item menu (seen them sneak in everything from grease-stained McDonald’s sacks to cupcakes from NYC’s Magnolia bakery).
More for me, I guess.
Cooked-till-sour ginger and caramelized chicken rumble in a clay pot.
Lime-pepper sauce slices right through soy-marinated quail (a spicy-sweet saga).
A hot pot bubbling with garlic- and onion-spiked stock puts the fate of catfish, clams (briny) and calamari (scored stalks of ivory squid), in your chopstick-wielding hands.
Spicy barbecue pork hangs with some incendiary accompaniments.
KOREAN
Han Gang
[$$] Food: 6.8 / Ambience: 7.5 / Service: 6.6
7243 Little River Turnpike, Annandale; 703-256-7077; www.hangangkorea.com.
Open for lunch Monday through Friday, dinner daily.
Highs: Bracing sakes
Lows: Bland abalone
Share: Bul gogi
Savor: Kimchee-dumpling soup
“Do you like spicy?” the meal-tailoring manager inquired during a visit to this handsome addition to Annandale’s diningverse.
Han Gang offers all the familiar trappings of Korean cuisine—Easterners seem to prefer the cleansing fire of bubbling hot pots while Westerners remain fascinated by the Hiss! Pop! of tabletop barbecue options—with an added dash of sophistication and class.
All guests are treated to complimentary soups—warm mungbean porridge was much appreciated on a wet, blustery, afternoon—and parting gifts of chilled rice punch (sweetens the breath and aids digestion).
Chile-glazed shrimp heads and scallion omelets whet the appetite.
Marinated swine is grilled to perfection with scallions, garlic and herbs.
Heaping forkfuls of chili paste-slathered octopus and chilled cellophane noodles shock the gullet.
THAI
Bangkok 54
[$] Food: 6.9 / Ambience: 6.8 / Service: 6.5
2919 Columbia Pike, Arlington; 703-521-4070: www.bangkok54restaurant.com.
Open for lunch and dinner daily.
Highs: Frosty Orion
Lows: Cloying lychee wine
Share: Spicy pork belly
Savor: Duck roll
Pulling up a chair at Bangkok 54, at times, feels like the “safe” choice.
The restaurant certainly sports all the familiar hallmarks of a neighborhood haven: readily approachable menu, airy surroundings, friendly staff (check, check and check). And the wildly diverse clientele—it’s not uncommon to encounter multigenerational Asian groups, solo Westerners, nuclear families or 20-somethings on dates, all enjoying a little taste of Thailand—certainly corroborates the all-are-welcome theory.
Just as the dulling sense of complacency threatens to sour my dining outing, a new little something on the menu catches my eye and piques my interest.
Existential crisis: momentarily averted.
Sweet-and-sour hot sauce fires up herb-laced chicken meatballs (rolling heat eventually numbs the tip of your tongue, but when you are in the moment you can’t stop eating it).
Sesame-studded steak mingles magnificently with strident, sautéed bok choy, wood-invoking mushrooms, unrelenting ginger and savory onions.
JAPANESE
Tachibana
[$$] Food: 7.1 / Ambience: 6.2 / Service: 6.7
6715 Lowell Ave., McLean; 703-847-1771.
Open for lunch and dinner daily.
Highs: Comfort zone-expanding omakase
Lows: Coarse treatment by clock-watching servers
Share: Seafood-packed udon
Savor: Tempura soft shell crab
There we sat, locked in the ultimate staring contest.
Me: chopsticks primed, mouthwatering.
Red snapper: teeth bared, glaring back with one cloudy eye.
Ultimate winner: anyone wise enough to add Tachibana to their regular dining rotation.
Chef Tonka—he’s the stick-thin toque flashing the wide-mouthed smile from behind the main sushi bar—acts as the ultimate goodwill ambassador, saluting incoming customers, artfully arranging his raw seafood stores and thanking belly-patting patrons as they waddle out the front door.
Soy-sweetened eel mingles well with cucumber (kept its cool) and minty shiso (piggy-backed on diced scallions to bring the spice).
Tender sea scallops are dressed to thrill after being enrobed in spicy mayonnaise and strategically deployed crunchies.
The aforementioned snapper jaw boasts caramelized flesh as succulent and sweet as lobster, but you gotta work for it (prime picking zones: gills, eye socket and cheek).
ETHIOPIAN
Meaza
[$] Food: 6.6 / Ambience: 6.4 / Service: 6.1
5700 Columbia Pike, Falls Church; 703-820-2870; www.meazaethiopiancuisine.com.
Open for lunch, dinner and late-night dining daily.
Highs: No third degree when ordering native delicacies
Lows: Italian desserts?
Share: A pic with President Obama (cardboard standup in back)
Savor: Red snapper awaze
Meaza’s continuous service means there’s usually a welcoming face at the front door and, more often than not, hungry patrons already in the seats.
Staff continues to struggle a bit with the language barrier, a likely consequence of dealing almost exclusively with native Ethiopians (North Americans remain a distinct minority at this North African stronghold).
But though our tongues may clash, our shared penchant for spice unites us all.
Crunchy pastries piped full of peppery onions and lentils whet the appetite, but cry out for material support (some sort of sauce—hot, sweet or otherwise—would have sealed the deal).
A bubbling pot of powdered peas, onions, hot peppers and cubed beef slowly simmered in Ethiopian butter unleashes a punishing, jalapeno-fueled brew best reserved for diehard chileheads.
Minced lamb, amazingly, bests stewed tripe and coarsely chopped liver for most distinguishable protein in a berbere-spiked meat medley.