Clarendon Culture

Lyon Hall brunch

If you’re staying in town this holiday weekend and trying to line up brunch plans, consider @LyonHall, one of our personal favorites.  We headed there with some good friends last weekend, and had a pretty amazing lineup of dishes.  I’ve blogged about Lyon Hall before (here, here, and here), and I’m certain you’ll see it again.  It’s always a solid choice.  

(Awesome coffee)

(Freshly baked bread)

(Housemade donuts!)

(Steak & Eggs)

(Pulled Pork Poached Eggs)

(Short Rib Hash & Eggs)

(Squash Poached Eggs)

(Sausage & Eggs)

@ScrewtopWineBar

I love Screwtop for several reasons:

• The owner, Wendy Buckley, is a fellow Texan!
• It’s 20 steps from the front door of my building;
• Despite a poor economy and a “tucked away” location, Screwtop seems to be thriving;
• The coziness and warmth that you feel (even before the wine gets to you) makes you forget about the rest of the world;
• The FOOD!

For a quick mid-week date night last week, hubby and I headed to Screwtop.  We had a late lunch that day, so instead of two separate entrees, we decided on three small plates to share (who knew the small plates would end up so big?!)  In addition to our menus, we were also given a little serving of freshly popped popcorn drizzled with truffle oil.

The wine-by-the-glass selection is impressive, and hubby chose a beautiful wine for us. (if he reads this post and emails me the name and vintage of the wine we drank, I’ll update this post with that information.)

The small plates we selected were the ‘Buffaloaf’ sliders, the beef brisket quesadillas, and the lamb ‘nachos.’  

The buffaloaf sliders were simple, yet utterly amazing. My husband nearly fell out of his chair.  I love him so much that instead of going halfsies, I let him have two of the three sliders all to himself.  Each bison meatloaf slider is topped with cheese, onion chutney, and chipotle aioli.

The beef brisket quesadillas are my personal favorite.  I tend to order these every time I go to Screwtop.  Filled with barbecue beef brisket a blend of cheeses, and caramelized onions, these quesadillas take me back home to Texas.

(I even took a shot of the inside for you….)

The Greek nachos included warm pita triangles topped with lamb chili, feta cheese, and garnished with green onions, and served with a side of tzaziki dip.  The lamb chili was seasoned well, and the tzaziki was nice and thick, but the whole ‘nacho’ thing never seemed to work on me.  I think I’d just prefer to have a gyro or Greek salad or something.  It’s a temporary menu item, so if you want to try it out, head over to Screwtop this month.

While on our own date night, we also declared Screwtop to be the perfect “first date” place:

• It’s cozy and romantic
• It’s dimly lit in the evening, with twinkly Christmas lights surrounding you (perfect mood lighting, in my opinion)
• It can be just a “quick” glass of wine if things aren’t going well
• If things ARE going well, you can drink and be jolly & eat and be merry to your heart’s content!

Faccia Luna

Since moving to Clarendon five years ago, I’ve admittedly viewed Faccia Luna as just a ‘pizza place.’  Their pizza is considered the best by many Clarendonians, and if you walk past the restaurant when people are eating pizza, you can’t help but do a double take.  There’s no question they make good pizza.  But… did you also know that their pasta dishes are incredible?  We went to Faccia Luna for dinner Saturday night, and left asking ourselves, “how have we lived here for this long, and NOT known about this little gem?”

The modern light fixtures at Faccia Luna give the restaurant a more “new-American” look than Italian, but the food is a different story all-together - it’s wonderfully authentic Italian.

My husband had the mushroom ravioli pasta, and I had the fettuccine bolognese.  I think we were both expecting dishes that would merely satisfy our Italian itch. What we got, however, ranked up there as some of the best pasta we’ve had in Arlington.  Every part of the meal tasted hand-made.  

The bolognese was just incredible. The ground lamb was minced so finely that every part of my twirled pasta was laced with it.  Bolognese at Faccia Luna is not any ole’ meat sauce. The bolognese at Faccia Luna makes me understand why this sauce’s popularity has lasted centuries.  

We also ordered a side of sauteed spinach.  Freshly sauteed spinach is a staple in our home, so I know fresh spinach (vs. frozen) when I see/taste it.  Faccia Luna’s spinach was fresh, and sauteed with olive oil, whole chunks of garlic, diced tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese.  It was a heaping portion, too. 

Before the end of our meal, the manager came by to check on us and make sure we were having an enjoyable meal.  All around - Faccia Luna was an excellent dinner.  I still can’t believe it took me that long to find that bolognese.  I’m already craving it again.  

To top it off, we spotted this beautiful moon on our walk back home: 

Circa at Clarendon

After all the rain last week, hubby and I were dealing with major cabin fever.  I’m certain most restaurants must have taken a pretty big hit because I know we weren’t the only ones hunkered down all week, sheltered from the nasty storms.

On one of the first sunny days to return, we ventured out to what I think might be one of Clarendon’s best outdoor patios: Circa at Clarendon.  My husband sold me on Circa when he pointed out the fact that their most recent menu features fried green tomatoes as a small plate.  (It’s no secret that I have a slight obsession with fried green tomatoes.)

For a shared dinner, we selected three ‘small’ plates (although none of the plates were actually small): fried green tomatoes, mac and cheese, and the “Shorty.”  

The fried green tomatoes had a latin/caribbean flair with pepper jack cheese, black bean mango relish and a cilantro lime crème fraiche.  Each order comes with 3 large tomatoes - plenty for sharing.  It was the first time I had tried this twist on fried greens, and I thought it was quite delicious.  

The mac and cheese was a nice addition to the mix, but it wasn’t the best mac and cheese I’ve had.  I loved all the components: Italian prosciutto, asparagus and artisanal cheese sauce.  My biggest complaint is that I wish the cheese sauce would have been thicker.  It was too runny, and just sat at the bottom of the bowl.  There was some cheese melted on top of the dish, but it didn’t give it the creamy texture I need in mac and cheese.

The Shorty, on the other hand, was phenomenal - best part of the meal.  It consists of sliced beef short rib, carmelized onions and blue cheese on a crispy polenta cake.  It was outstanding.  The short rib was tender, the gravy was thick and flavorful, and the blue cheese paired so well with the flavors of the short rib.  

In these last days of summer, and into the early fall, try to make it out to Circa’s patio.  It’s a lively scene with lots of people-watching, we had excellent service, there is plenty of seating, and the small plates work well for both happy hour and dinner.  The more I visit Circa, the more I grow to really love the place.  

Layalina

I’ve been out of town for the past week, without much of a pulse on what’s been happening locally. The best “first day back from vacation” post I could think of was a collection of photos and a mini review from a recent dinner at one of my favorite middle eastern restaurants: Layalina, located at Wilson Blvd. and George Mason Drive (if you click on the link and you’re at work, turn down your speakers, because blaring arabic music might disturb your co-workers.)  

The owners of Layalina come from Lebanon and Syria.  The menu is expansive, with plenty of meat and vegetarian options.  Layalina is the type of place you’d never think to go into.  From the outside, it looks like it may have once been a convenience store.  

The inside, however, is a completely different story.  It’s like cracking open an old rock to find beautiful crystals inside.  Persian rugs hanging on the walls, colorful light fixtures and hanging lanterns, walls covered in items that look like they came from a flea market in the middle east, fabric draped on the ceiling.  It’s other-worldly.  

No other middle eastern restaurant in the area that I’ve experienced comes close to the homemade nature of the food that is served at Layalina.  I’m middle eastern by descent, and this is the only food that actually takes me back to my grandmother’s kitchen.  

Middle eastern ‘meatloaf’:

Roasted lamb w/pomegranate seeds served over couscous:

Vegetabled stuffed with a ground beef/rice mixture, and served with roasted lamb:

I highly recommend that you order any of the lamb dishes or the daily specials.  I’ve been to Layalina 4 times now, and fall more in love with this place every time.

Tandoori Nights

With the Groupon for Tandoori Nights ticking down (about 13 hours left, at the time of this post), I thought I would post some photos of our recent meal there.  Tandoori Nights is our favorite Indian restaurant in the area, next to Rasika in downtown DC.  Purchase your Groupon ($20 for $40 worth of food & beverage) and enjoy!

Mango Margarita | Bread crisps & dip (brought out upon being seated)

Aloo Chat Papri - A medley of chickpeas, potatoes, flour crisps mixed with chutney and yogurt.  (it’s like an Indian version of Frito Pie - delicious.

Palak Paneer - Fresh homemade cheese cooked in a creamy spinach sauce.

Lamb Korma Kashmiri - Cubes of lamb cooked in a creamy sauce and garnished with almonds and fruits.

Plain Naan - Freshly baked white bread topped with butter

Cava Mezze

Some friends and I (Alla & co.) went to @CavaMezze for dinner on Sunday evening. Cava was a much anticipated new restaurant addition to Clarendon, and I had high hopes and expectations going in.  

As I’ve said before on my blog, I love all things Greek.  Having a top-notch Greek restaurant move into the next block is nothing short of hitting the real estate jackpot for me.  Hubby & I married in a Greek church, we went to Greece on our honeymoon, I crave avgolemono soup whenever time I’m sick, I cook Greek meals at home - the list goes on.  I know and love my Greek food.

Cava has a unique interior style - a very rustic overall feel with with industrial & modern touches.  Beautiful wooden wall panels and tables, earth-toned paint colors, concrete floors, black and white photography on the walls, and exposed concrete beams.  It’s quite a different look and feel from the other Clarendon restaurants.

When we were first seated, the waiter took our drink order (I had the Riesling - my summer drink of choice), and then brought out a basket of warm pita bread and a trio of olive oil, black olives, and a tomato-based dip.  I don’t have a lot of tolerance for spicy food, and the tomato dip was teetering on my comfort boundary, although I did enjoy the flavor of it.  It’s like a Greek herbed tomato paste.

Had I gone to Cava with just hubby, I probably would have stuck to traditional “home style” Greek dishes for my first time, such as dolmades, spanikopita, meatballs, and gyros. We were in a group, though, so everyone threw in some suggestions for our meal and we ended up with an amazing spread.

First items that made it to the table - tzaziki and the green beans.  The tzaziki was truly some of the best I’ve had in this city.  It was creamy, delicious, and laced with olive oil.  It became the best complement to all the other dish throughout the meal.  The green beans tasted like they came directly from the farmer’s market.  They weren’t as “soggy” or overcooked as other Greek stewed green beans I’ve had - Cava’s green beans were thick and had a nice snap to them.

Next up: the chickpeas 3 ways and the grilled octopus.  The chickpeas dish was not on my list of “must-haves”, but it ended up as one of my favorites. The grilled octopus came recommended by many, and it might have just been an off day in the kitchen, but nobody in our party was particularly blown away by it.  It was cooked well, but it seemed like the flavor was lacking.

The next plate to come out was my favorite part of the meal - the lamb sliders (which come two per order).  The buns were nicely toasted, lamb was fire-grilled and juicy, and the tzaziki was a perfect topping.  The sliders were a huge hit with our entire party.  Next up was the lamb shoulder - quite a hunk of meat, let me tell you.  Sitting on a bed of broth-soaked fries (awesome touch), the lamb was tender and juicy, and fell apart with the fork.  A big ole’ hunk of meat isn’t necessarily my personal preference for ideal mezze, but as far as roasted lamb shoulder goes - it was perfect.

We weren’t quite satisfied, so we quickly looked over the menu one last time, and decided on 2 more plates to finish off our meal: the zucchini fritters and the scallop risotto.  What a homerun - both were excellent. The zucchini fritters might look dark and crunchy from the outside, but as soon as you bite into them, the flavors just melt in your mouth.  I loved them.  Most zucchini fritters I’ve had elsewhere are bland and too pancake-ey.  These were a nice reinvention.  The scallops and risotto were also incredible.  It was a perfect marriage of textures and flavors, and an excellent way to polish off our meal.

There was a slightly awkward ending to the meal, but nothing that affected the overall experience.  Early on in our meal, the manager came to introduce himself and told us that dessert was on the house.  When it came time to look over the dessert menu, the waiter didn’t seem to bring it up, and we didn’t want to “ask” if dessert was free, so we just moved on and paid the check.  All of this food plus 2 glasses of wine was a little over $100.  Not bad at all.  We were stuffed and happy.

Cava completely lived up to my already high hopes, and I’m so glad they now call Clarendon home.  Next time I go in, I’ll try out more of the traditional, home-style Greek dishes, and I’ll continue to blog my Cava meals as they happen (which I’m guessing will be pretty often).

Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza

We finally got back to @Petes_NewHaven for the first time since their grand opening.  I’m almost embarrassed about how long it took us to get back there, but it was well worth the wait.

We came to Pete’s with our Groupon on hand. We ordered 2 generously-poured glasses of wine, 2 slices of pizza, the small antipasti platter, and the small platter of arancini rice balls.  The total cost of our meal was $36, of which we were only charged $16 after redeeming our $20 Groupon.

At the grand opening last March, I had found the crust to be too chewy.  Pete’s assured me later that day that their new oven needed a bit more time to ‘get into its groove.’  Well - the oven has found its groove.  I chose the pepperoni (my ‘litmus test’ of pizza shops), and hubby opted for the sausage & mushroom.  Both were excellent.  Piping hot, thin, crispy crust, and tangy sauce.  The end crusts were a bit chewier than I like, so I may have used it as a point against them if there wasn’t so much other food on the table.

The arancini ($4.95) were filled with warm mushroom risotto.  I’m not quite in the mushroom camp when it comes to foods I enjoy, but I loved these.  I loved them even more served on a bed of marinara and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

The antipasti platter ($4.95) was quite possibly my favorite part of the meal.  This was the lineup, clockwise from the top:

• Beet salad with goat cheese
• New potato salad with chives and toasted pine nuts
• Breaded zucchini and green olive (that’s right - fried green olive!)
• Grilled artichoke hearts (with what I’m guessing to be a cilantro/corn garnish, but I could be wrong.)

Pete’s is one of those places that’s great for everyone.  If you have kids, it’s quick and painless.  You pay the bill when you walk in, food is brought out swiftly, and you leave as soon as your baby tells you it’s time to leave.  If you’re young and single - enjoy a few beers and great food on the patio while people-watching on a prime Clarendon corner.  If you’re on a budget - just look back up at that $4.95 antipasti platter.  If you’re looking for gluten-free options, look no further.  Something for everyone.

Also, I can’t end this post without listing some of the specials I found on their website:

Lunch special (M-F): Two slices of pizza or a slice of cheese pizza with a side salad and a fountain drink for $5.99.  (toppings are $0.25 each)

July special: In the month of July, email subscribers get $1 gelato and sorbetto all day on Mondays and Tuesdays.  Become an email subscriber here. 

(Oh - and did I mention their soda machine is Boylan’s all natural, made with real cane sugar?)

Pete’s is a great neighbor to have.

Lost Dog Cafe

Even though Lost Dog Cafe isn’t physically located in Clarendon, they do deliver to us, which is why I think it’s ok to post this.

Lost Dog is a restaurant with a conscience.  Not only is Lost Dog a great restaurant, but it’s also a non-profit dedicated to finding “forever homes” for homeless or abandoned dogs and cats.  

Walking in to Lost Dog, you realize pretty quickly who the restaurant’s first priority is: dogs.  There’s a large stuffed dog at the door waiting to greet you, dogs painted on the walls, prints of dogs hung up, a dog logo, dog-themed beer, dog-themed menu items, including onion ring “dog collars”, Pitbull Pie pizza, and the K-9 croissant sandwich.  

Their selection of sandwiches, pizzas, and salads is extensive, and we’ve never ordered something that we didn’t love.  On our last trip there, we started out with the guacamole, which was freshly made with hand-chopped ingredients.

For my sandwich, I ordered The Phoenix, which happens to be my current favorite item on their menu.  It consists of seasoned chicken breast baked with melted mozzarella cheese, lettuce and garlic mayo, and served flat-faced on pita (flat) bread.

Hubby ordered the Seadog Salad sandwich, which is crabmeat, scallops and shrimp tossed in a cilantro mayonnaise, served on a butter croissant with lettuce and tomato.  

We love Lost Dog from every respect - heart, soul, and stomach!  For delivery, call Lost Dog’s Washington Blvd. location at 703-237-1552.  

Locations:

North Arlington - 5876 Washington Blvd, Arlington, VA 22205

South Arlington - 2920 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA 22204

McLean - 1690A Anderson Rd, McLean, VA, 22102

Santa Fe Cafe

I recently walked over to Santa Fe Cafe for lunch on a beautiful spring day. I had seen it and heard about it, but after one of my readers mentioned that they have great Mexican food, I decided to finally check it out in person.

Santa Fe Cafe is located in Rosslyn - about a 20-25 minute walk from Clarendon.  It’s at the ground level of a larger building, so this sign is one of the only markers.  It’s easy to miss if you’re not on the lookout.

The decor consists of lots and lots of chili peppers in every form - pictures on the walls, christmas lights, dried bunches, handkerchiefs on howling wolves.  

The menu is displayed on a large chalkboard above the registers where you order.  (I should point out.. at lunch, you order at the registers, pick up your food when your name is called, and your lunch is served on disposable plates.  At dinner, on the other hand, you are served at your table, on normal porcelain china, and it is a much more relaxed setting.)

I ordered 3 of my favorite items: queso, guacamole, and a taco salad.  Queso and guac are my “litmus test” for any Tex-mex or Mexican restaurant. Both were excellent.  The queso was particularly a favorite, and it could be due to the fact that good queso is hard to find around here.  I can’t say it’s as good as any of my favorite queso in Texas, but it’s creamy and delicious, and probably some of the best I’ve had in the area.  The guacamole was house-made, with freshly chopped onions, tomatoes, and avocado.  Both paired well with the light, crispy chips.

The taco salad was served in a flaky flour shell.  The ground beef was well-seasoned (not over-seasoned), and none of the toppings tasted like they came out of a bag, which seems to be a rarity in restaurants these days.  All the veggies were freshly chopped in house. - the lettuce was crisp, and the tomatoes were juicy.  

Santa Fe Cafe also has a fully stocked beer fridge for your brewski pleasure.  Just grab and go.

All in all, Santa Fe cafe is a great place to get your Tex-Mex fix.  It’s better quality food than many of the area Tex-Mex or Mexican restaurants (or Mexican’t, as Colbert would say), prices are affordable, service is quick & friendly, decor is unique, and the food is made with love.  I spoke briefly with the owner, who seemed like the kindest man.  I’ll definitely be back (enchiladas, next time!)