FOOD: Summertime: When ‘Eating Out’ Lives up to Its Name
Clare and Don’s Beach Shack on Washington Street — one of 14 alfresco dining spots in or near the City featured below. (Photos by Ilene Smith)
By ILENE SMITH
Falls Church Times Staff
May 21, 2010
After a seemingly endless winter, it’s finally that time of year again. The harbingers of summer abound, and outdoor seating is beginning to pop up at restaurants all over Falls Church City.
Alfresco, or “open air” dining, has recently taken an upscale turn worldwide. Europeans revel in their chic sidewalk cafes, garden terrace balconies, and lacy plant verandas. No wonder romance and ambiance come to mind when one thinks of dining in France.
Fortunately, we don’t need to travel to Paris to dine alfresco, as eating outdoors is becoming quite the phenomenon in America. A whole new culinary experience awaits the Falls Church City resident who opts for outdoor dining.
City landmark restaurants
Looking for classic American comfort food outdoors in a spacious and private enclave? Dogwood Tavern is the ticket, especially if you’re a seafood lover. Tuesday seafood night boasts a great lineup, including shrimp, clams, mussels and snow crab clusters — and oyster lovers, listen up: After recently traveling to some of the purest oyster beds in the country (Quilcene, Washington), and eating freshly harvested oysters, I can report that the Tavern’s oysters do not disappoint.
An oyster lover understands there are few pleasures in life more sublime than slurping down fresh, ice-cold oysters on the half shell. A t $3.49 a half dozen, Dogwood’s oysters are indulgent and almost too good to be true.
Ok, my secret is out . . . hope to see some new faces dining alfresco on Tuesday nights at the Dogwood Tavern.
In the mood for exquisite pastas with a creative flair? Argia’s, the Italian mainstay, will satisfy your cravings with a fine dining experience on an intimate patio adorned with flowers and plants.
Want to spend a balmy, summer evening eating beach food around a tropical bar, taking in the sun, surf, and sand décor yet only a stone’s throw from home? Clare and Don’s Beach Shack is the answer – a quintessential summer treat serving fresh seafood, beachcomber burgers, and an inventive array of appetizers, sandwiches and creative vegetarian selections.
Looking for something a bit “stouter”? There’s Ireland’s Four Provinces, the corner pub that serves consistently great authentic Irish cuisine (with brews!) on a large outdoor courtyard patio.
A few of the newer additions:
In the summer, Open Kitchen is REALLY open.
On the West side of town just across the border is Open Kitchen, a bistro whose passionate chef focuses on locally farmed ingredients that are healthy and tasty, with a creative flare that is globally inspired. Fresh, complex and irresistible are words that come to mind when describing the food at Open Kitchen. The outdoor dining area, a tranquil oasis, complements the philosophy that the culinary space should be relaxing yet fun. To transition into evening dining, the patio begins glowing with light as night descends on the dinner patrons.
La Caraqueña in bloom at the Stratford Motor Lodge.
Located in the Stratford Motor Lodge on West Broad Street, La Caraqueña serves up sumptuous Latin American cuisine (Bolivian and Venezuelan). Try one of the arepas. Popular in Venezuela, these flat, unleavened corn cakes are filled with meats or cheeses, then grilled or fried. Or go for the salteñas, which are synonymous with Bolivian cuisine. Similar to a hand held meat pie, these unique, savory pastries are filled with beef, chicken or pork, potatoes, peas and other ingredients, and complemented with a sweet, spicy or very spicy sauce. Consider yourself forewarned: they are addictively delicious.
Fortunately for the salteñas lover, they are no longer a scarcity in Northern Virginia. Better yet, word on the street is that you can find the best salteñas right here in Falls Church City at La Caraqueña. You won’t be disappointed with the delicious food while dining alfresco on their charming brick patio with a festive atmosphere.
La Côte d'Or, across from the fire station.
Only a few footsteps outside the City are La Côte D’Or Café and Le Bistro des Célestins. La Côte D’Or Café offers French cuisine from several regions in a menu of fine dining. Next door, Le Bistro des Célestins offers a less expensive menu in a more casual setting.
Le Bistro is open for breakfast and serves fresh baked croissants along with coffees and espresso. Lunch is also served with a wide variety of lighter fares. The outdoor dining area resembles a quaint terrace balcony, but on street level. The multiple flower boxes with brightly colored pansies insulate one from the hustle and bustle of traffic and make for an intimate alfresco dining experience.
Nestled between boutiques on West Broad Street is a little taste of Europe: Natalia’s Elegant Creations is a trendy little café that prepares exquisite European pastries with the freshest ingredients to complement your breakfast or lunch. Pamper yourself with the chef’s decadent “made to order” desserts in a garden patio setting while sipping on freshly brewed coffee. Morning is a great time to be outside; the air is fresh, and it’s an invigorating way to start your day.
Other alfresco dining opportunities:
Flippin’ Pizza opened its doors last summer at 800 W. Broad Street and serves up New York style pizzas.
Hoang’s Grill and Sushi Bar, offering authentic Vietnamese, Thai and Japanese cuisine, has been in the restaurant business over 25 years pleasing patrons with its extensive menu and tantalizing dishes and now is located in the Broadway building on West Broad.
Victor’s Grill, 436 S. Washington St., serves Bolivian cuisine to its many loyal patrons.
Viet Bistro in Eden Center offers consistently tasty Vietnamese cuisine, international beers, full bar and lots of interesting cocktails.
Meat in a Box at 312 S. Washington St. offers fabulous Persian kabobs wrapped in the freshest, softest bread I have ever tasted.
Red, Hot & Blue at 169 Hillwood Avenue serves up traditional Southern style BBQ in a fun and casual atmosphere adorned with blues memorabilia and music.
Finally, the pleasure of eating outside doesn’t have to be restricted to restaurant patios. Anywhere “out in the fresh air” is a perfect way to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner, whether it’s a pavilion under the trees, a park bench, or even a blanket on the grass. Try this: go to Mike’s Deli at Lazy Sunday (112 North West Street), grab a sandwich from the Specialty Sandwich menu , a blanket, and head over to Cherry Hill Park. Suddenly an ordinary bagged lunch is transformed into an extraordinary alfresco dining memory.
So, while the weather is balmy and the pace has slowed as the days get longer, catch some sun or stars and get outside while dining in Falls Church City.
By (see byline)
May 21, 2010
Thanks for the great review. It reminds me of walking down a street in Florence, Italy where most places also serve Alfesco. Pick the first one with a table outside and you can’t go wrong. I’m ready to wander the streets. However we have an indoor dinner to go to tonight.
Please check with Lynne, Raymond or Vanessa at La Cote D’Or. I believe they are calling the lovely spot in the back, Le Marche. A great alternative to breakfast at a drive through too.
Natalia’s is also a choice spot. The other morning I stopped in as my usual coffee spot had a line out the door. The coffee / latte was the best I have had in ages and the pastry was a delight..
Ilene,
Another great food story that highlights some of the great restaurants we have in “The Little City”. I wanted to remind everyone that the EDA has published a great new restaurant guide that covers all the restaurants in the city and is available at the Library and City Hall (the City Manager’s Office or the Economic Development Office).
And of course no summer is complete without eating your meal while listening to good live music at the upcoming Concerts in the Park series Thursdays at 7PM starting June 17 in Cherry Hill Park (schedule at http://www.vpis.org). Concerts are free – come join the community and bring your friends!
Right on, Ilene. We had a pleasant dinner at the Beach Shack the night before your informative piece appeared. Very pleasant — the outdoor area was “buffered” from the sounds and smells of vehicular traiffoc. Not so at some of the other places.
And thank you for the recommendation for sea food. Dogwood is now on our list.
La Caraqueña was closed parts of several days a couple of weeks ago for a Food Channel taping. Any information about what may have come out of that?
Seems like the directory of restaurants the “Little City’s” EDA compiled (mentioned in Gary’s comment above) ought to be very readily available, beginning with on-line. (I doubt that more than a few Little City residents will seek the directory out at the library or at city hall, and the number of non-residents who do so will very likely be zero. )
I heard that Red White & Bleu has interesting cheese and wine tastings. We would be interested in a report.
Are our 4-legged family members (AKA as dog) welcomed anywhere?
Thanks Jim.
I did forget to mention that the dining guide is on-line:
“Little City Restaurant Guide.”
I heard La Caraquena was closed for a taping of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, the popular Guy Fieri Food Network show. I’m a little shocked that the restaurant was featured on that show, but good for them.
And great article, Ilene.
Jim, I’ve seen people eating at Dogwood outside (in the front, on Broad Street) with dogs in tow.
Gordon, any chance Flippin’ Pizza could set up a table at the concerts and sell slices? Maybe split the take with VPIS or something?
Jim, I’ve taken our dog to the Beach Shack, La Caraqueña, Red, Hot, and Blue, and one of her favorite places, Argia’s. (She likes to eat out). All have been very welcoming.
Andy, something like that had been done before my time at the CITP and there were problems, although I don’t know the specific history. I would have to clear this with the VPIS board. Still, my family has been know to bring in a Flippin’ Pizza pie to the park. There are lots of other take out options too – Mike’s Deli, Jerry’s, Anthony’s, Quizno’s, Z-pizza, Cosi, Panera, etc. I wonder what others feel is their favorite CITP meal?
Yeah, more times than not last summer we stopped by Flippin’ Pizza to bring a pie to the concerts. It was a great combo (followed up by some ice cream of course).
Ilene,
Great review of alfresco dinning locations. I thought the pictures added a lot. I’ve eaten at almost all of the places, both inside (in winter) and outside during the warm months. I’ll make certain to visit a couple I’ve missed.
It was also helpful to be able to click onto the various websites of the places you reviewed, or at least a map, if the location had no specific website of their own. None of the locations use Falls Church CITY in their addresses, and only Dogwood Tavern and the folks who own both Clare and Don’s Beach Shack and Mike’s Deli at Lazy Sundae acknowledged being in the CITY in the “About Us” section of their websites.
The U.S. Post Office, FedEx and UPS are all fine with people using CITY in the address, when referring to locations in the CITY of Falls Church. I’ve been doing it for 20 years. Just as long as the ZIP code is correct, it is not a problem. So, perhaps some day soon, eating establishments, and the more than 1,000 businesses in the CITY, will realize that using CITY, at the very least, narrows down the location of their business. Using CITY in the address is “free advertising” for the CITY and helps to establish the CITY of Falls Church as a special place to live, work, shop, dine, take care of business and start a business.
The CITY of Falls Church has a serious name recognition problem. Name confusion with the area of Fairfax County called Falls Church has been a continuing problem since the creation of the CITY of Falls Church in 1948. The CITY is surrounded by the Falls Church postal ZIP code areas of Fairfax County, which is seven (7) times the size and ten (10) times the population of the CITY of Falls Church. Many people living in Fairfax and Arlington, and most people living beyond those areas, do not know the difference between the huge, 14 square mile area of Fairfax County called Falls Church and the unique 2.2 square mile CITY of Falls Church, with it’s wonderful places to live, work, shop, dine and take care of business.
Thanks again for your terrific article.
Gary,
Thanks for the reminder about the restaurant guide. Unfortunately, the library had run out of guides when I went there to get one. It left me with the alternative of going to City Hall, parking the car and taking the elevator, all that to get a restaurant guide.
There were not enough printed (1,500), and like every guide and directory that’s been done in the CITY of Falls Church in the past 20 years that I’ve lived here, not nearly enough were printed. The printing should have been 5,000 at a minimum, and better yet, 10,000. The guide should be available at every restaurant and retail business in the CITY. They should have been mailed to as many Falls Church (Fairfax) ZIP codes as possible. If more money was needed to accomplish this, I’m certain some dollars could have been obtained from the many, many CITY restaurants that were highlighted in the directory. Actually, based on the assumption that most folks in the CITY know most of these wonderful restaurants and given a choice, it would be better to distribute them outside the CITY than inside.
For those dog lovers who insist on bringing their pets to outdoor eating establishments, it might come as a surprise that a number of us would just as soon not have to spend an evening out eating with your dogs.
The cost of printing a variety of our brochures was discussed, at length, at the budget hearings. The Communications Dept had their budget changed quite a bit. They will be deciding how best to utilize the dollars they have been given. Maybe a private group in the city would take up the cause? Chamber, Rotary, someone like that???
Awe, most dogs are quite good sitting by their persons – and they don’t smoke .
Thanks Cathy for your note.
Please help me understand why it’s important to take your dog(s) with you when you go to a restaurant to eat outdoors??
Many times the dogs bark (for food or at other dogs), many jump up to get food from their owners (not your dog(s). And what does not smoking have to do with it…many outdoor eating establishments have made that off-limits.
The only reason a restaurant would allow dogs at their outdoor tables is because they need the business, and don’t want to offend potential customers. Yes, customers like you, that think it’s wonderful to bring your dog(s) along even it makes others uncomfortable.
I appreciate the review on outdoor dining, but I wish you could be a bit more candid about these outdoor locations and their LACK of ambiance. I love and eat out at each of the locations you describe in our wonderful city, but it does your readers no good if you’re not clear on the ups and downs of some of these less than ideal outdoor seating locations. For example, you describe the outdoor seating at Open Kitchen as a “tranquil oasis” but in fact…the view is of McDonalds, at a busy intersection, in a gray office building. In addition, the Cote D’or patio is beautiful, but why not mention that its currently, temporarily looking at a LARGE, noisy construction site. I have always appreciated Jimmy’s column in the FC Times for his candidness, that other City newspapers’ Food sections lack. Please be candid in your Food column, so as not to give the impression that we are just promoting our City.