FOOD:
The End of the Road

By JIMMY SCARANO
Falls Church Times Staff

April 16, 2010

This will be the last installment of my weekly food column for the Falls Church Times.  No more obsessive Farmers Market taste tests.  No more waxing poetic about the Eden Center.  No more bashing Pie-Tanza and Elevation Burger.  It’s all over.  I’m off to graduate school to begin the next chapter in my life.

To say that I’ll miss the Times is a gross understatement.  Food and writing are two passions of mine that I was able to indulge simultaneously with this gig, which also allowed me to work with some of the nicest, most down-to-earth people I’ve met—the Falls Church Times Staff.

Stan Fendley has backed me up no matter what I’ve written.  I’ve gotten words of encouragement and advice from Dave Witzel, Scott Taylor, Annette Hennessey, George Bromley, Gina Caceci, and Stephen Siegel on numerous occasions.  And Man About Town Columnist George Southern, well, he’s been about the best editor a writer could ever have—helping me along every step of the way with uncommon thoughtfulness.  I can’t imagine a more supportive group of people.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my columns as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.  For the most part, I’ve avoided writing about the City’s most popular places, which I don’t see the point in reviewing.  Instead I’ve focused on lesser known ethnic places and foods available here that aren’t available elsewhere.   There are many places I didn’t get a chance to profile and many dishes I didn’t get a chance to try, but I had a blast exploring new restaurants, shopping at ethnic grocers, and expanding my horizons at the Farmers Market.

I’ll leave you with one last labor of love—a list of the “Top 10 Food-Related Things I’ll Miss the Most in and Around the City of Falls Church.”  It’s a long title for a list but I can’t think of a better name.  I’ve tried to cover all the bases, from markets to restaurants to places in the City and outside of it but not too far away.  At best I think it’s a useful tool for any City resident interested in getting the most of the unique food offerings around the Little City.  I call it a list of things I’ll miss, but from your perspective it’s really just my list of the “Top 10 Food-Related Things to Take Advantage of in and Around the City of Falls Church.”

If I mention a place that I’ve written a story about in the past then I’ve included a link to that story to give you some more information about it. If I mention a place that I didn’t get a chance to write a story about I’ve included the address in parentheses.  And if I don’t mention a place you think I should’ve mentioned, well, I’m sorry about that.  So here’s the list, beginning with the place I’ll miss the very most…

Top 10 Food-Related Things I’ll Miss the Most in and Around the City of Falls Church

1. The Eden Center- I’ve probably written more about this City gem than anything else.  The Eden Center is a food paradise with over 30 Vietnamese restaurants and bakeries that I’ve only scratched the surface of even though I’ve been there dozens of times.  I’ll miss Huong Viet—Eden’s oldest and most often crowded restaurant– the most.  Its spring rolls, smoky grilled meats, and gutsy lemongrass-centric stir fries are a terrific introduction to a great cuisine.  If you haven’t been to Eden you simply must go.  If you only go occasionally then you should go more often.  And if you just don’t feel like dealing with the notoriously bad parking at least head down to Present Restaurant in Falls Church to enjoy some just-as-good Vietnamese cooking– its the cuisine this area specializes in better than any other.
2. The Farmers Market- There are Farmers Markets everywhere.  But it’s going to be hard for me to find one better than the one the City is so blessed to have.  I’ll miss the tomatoes at Tree and Leaf and Potomac Vegetable Farms.  I’ll miss the glorious fruit at Toigo and Black Rock Orchard.  I’ll miss Mike Musachio’s sweet corn and spring peas.  Most of all, though, I’ll miss the market experience as a whole.  The hustle and bustle of a Saturday morning at the Farmers Market is invigorating. Read more

FOOD: Asian Imports — That Other Asian Supermarket

By JIMMY SCARANO
Falls Church Times Staff

March 19, 2010

There are so many incredible Asian food markets within a 10 mile radius of the City of Falls Church.

Great Wall off Gallows Rd. in Falls Church may be the craziest of the bunch.  On Saturday mornings the check-out lines are often ten people deep, comprised mostly of Chinese grandmothers stocking up on loads of fresh vegetables and fish straight out of the live tanks that line the back of the store.  The Korean-centric H Mart across the street is similarly chaotic, teeming with people at all hours of the day.

At Duangrats in Falls Church and Bangkok 54 Market in nearby Arlington homesick Thais shuffle in throughout the week for curry pastes, fresh rice noodles, kaffir lime leaves, and other hard-to-find items.  Every time I go to one of them I leave with a new treasure I’ve never tasted in my life.

And there are countless other places that get plenty of well-deserved business—the Grand Mart just outside the city; the Cho Saigon Supermarket at the Eden Center; the Happy Go Supermarket in Annandale.

But there is an overlooked gem amongst these popular Asian grocers — a place that sees far fewer people walk through its doors.  It’s called Asian Imports and it’s right here in the Little City.

Asian Imports (formerly known as Vietnam Imports) isn’t nearly as big or well-stocked as much of its brethren, and some of the products seem to have been untouched for years.  It doesn’t really carry any fresh produce, meats, or fish worth noting either.  Truthfully, the place doesn’t look like much at all on the surface.

Start perusing the shelves, though, and you’ll quickly realize this is no generic Asian market.  Even though you’ll find some of the same Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, and Korean items that other stores carry, Asian Imports specializes in Indonesian and Filipino imported foods, both of which are hard to come by around here.  There are dozens of products and brands at this cramped storefront that you simply can’t find elsewhere.  For that reason alone, this place is worth a trip. Read more

FOOD: A Little of Everything at Halalco Supermarket

By JIMMY SCARANO
Falls Church Times Staff

January 22, 2010

If you are a City of Falls Church resident there’s a good chance you’ve seen the black and white BUFFET yard signs for Halalco Restaurant scattered throughout town.  They are simply unavoidable.

I first saw one on Lee Highway a few months back, and I got a chance to look at it long and hard because I was sitting at a red light.  I had never heard of Halalco, so I was intrigued on some level.  But buffets are rarely rewarding and frequently horrid to the point where you regret eating at them, so I filed the name in the back of my mind as a possible destination for some food column far, far away.

Far, far away turned out to be last week.  After some internet sleuthing I learned that Halalco Restaurant was actually inside of Halalco Supermarket, a fully stocked grocer with loads of imported goods, a butcher, produce, and tons of Islamic items, ranging from clothes to books to DVDs.  The buffet was but a small part of a huge operation.  What was once an afterthought for a story jumped to the top of my list (yes, I have a list).

My anticipation only grew as I pulled into the strip mall housing Halalco.  The place is absolutely massive.  I went through the doors and didn’t walk out for another hour, as I was intent on checking out every nook and cranny of the chaotically organized store.

I began in the produce department.  Unfortunately there wasn’t much to like there.  A dozen or so bunches of cilantro covered with ice were on life support, as bruised and battered as I’ve ever seen the pungent herb.  Japanese eggplants—wrinkly, pliable, and soft—weren’t much better off.  Clearly there wasn’t much turnover in the fruit and veggies department.  I moved on.

The bread aisle was much more promising, jam-packed with lavash bread (both white and whole wheat) from Falls Church’s Mama Lavash Bakery, several types of soft and chewy Afghan bread, and more than a few bags of pita.   I immediately recognized the red-lettered “World Famous” variety of Afghan bread made in Lorton, Virginia, which I’ve bought elsewhere and is a particular favorite of mine.  The dough is made with milk and is especially tender as a result.  It’s about as good as bread out of a package can get.

The rest of the aisles were a mish-mash of imported goods from all over the Middle East, India, and the Eastern Mediterranean.  It was as if a Middle Eastern grocer and an Indian grocer met up and decided to join forces.  One aisle was full of tahini and pomegranate molasses, the next overflowing with whole spices and Indian pre-packaged meals.  And there were pickles, dozens and dozens of cans and jars of pickles.  Pickled beets, pickled okra, pickled peppers, pickled eggplant, pickled cucumbers—everything was pickled.

I also stumbled upon some excellent cooking implements, including real-deal kabob swords for grilling, ma’moul cookie molds, and mortar and pestles.  And there was an entire section devoted to rice, most of which came in mulch-sized bags.

Most of the aisles I walked down were deserted, though.  Everyone who walked in the store went straight to the butcher in the back.  Clearly, the vast selection of halal meats is the draw for most customers.  In addition to the typical lamb and chicken offerings, there were halal hot dogs, sausages, and even jerky, none of which I’d ever seen before.

In general terms, halal refers to anything that is permitted under Islamic law, whether it be the clothes you wear, the things you say, or the food you eat.  In the United States the term usually shows up only in the context of food.  In order to be considered halal, an animal must be slaughtered at the neck (to drain the blood away) and the name of Allah must be spoken as it is killed.  The halal butcher industry has blossomed in these parts due to the area’s large Muslim population, which I am thankful for because halal meat is usually fresh and affordable.

I hovered around the butcher for a few minutes, transfixed by the huge saw ten feet in front of me grinding through lamb bones.  It was thrilling to have such a wide-open view of the men handling the meat—an opportunity you never get at places like Giant or Safeway.

I forged on to the non-food area of the store, mostly because I saw a sign for cookbooks.  Mere footsteps away from the lamb carcasses I found the mother lode–unquestionably the best selection of cookbooks for sale in the City of Falls Church.  An entire shelf spilled over with some of the best-known titles for Indian and Middle Eastern cooking, including works from legends like Claudia Roden, Paula Wolfert, and Madhur Jaffrey.  Even better than the well-known books were the dozens of funky little paperbacks I flipped through that are definitely not available at Barnes & Noble or Borders.

I got so caught up in the cookbooks that I ran out of time to eat at the buffet, which looked a little dreary anyways.  Nevertheless, I felt compelled to give it a try and went back this week.  Nothing was horrible but I would never go out of my way to eat there.  Most of the food was either Indian or Pakistani in nature, the bulk of it vegetable curries.  There were also some meat dishes, all with similar home-style, tomato-based curry preparations.

The only way I’d eat there again would be if I was already shopping and had a hankering for spicy, oily Indian food.  In that case I’d load up on the squash curry, chickpeas, and chicken karahi, which were the best of what I sampled.  And if you do brave the buffet be sure to wait for the piping hot disc of naan that comes with the meal—every dish tastes better sopped up with the Indian flatbread.  There are order-off-the-menu options as well, but frankly it doesn’t seem like anybody is there to eat at the restaurant, so I’d steer clear.

Taken as a whole package, Halalco Supermarket is undoubtedly a worthy place to visit for adventurous food shoppers.  Once you sift through the sub-par produce and haphazardly organized shelves (good luck finding the price on some of the products), you’ll find a gem of a grocer the City is lucky to have.

Halalco Supermarket- 155 Hillwood Avenue, Falls Church, VA, 22046.  (703) 532-3202.  For more information on the halal meat industry in the Washington D.C. area, click here for a great article from the Washington Post.

FOOD: The Gift That Comes Closest to the Heart

By JIMMY SCARANO
Falls Church Times Staff

If you’re scurrying around town looking for last minute gifts, I feel your pain.  The pressure to find the right present has been weighing me down since Thanksgiving.  But there is hope.

When my back is against the wall I always turn to food, and Christmas shopping is no exception.  A food gift is personal, memorable, and a conversation-starter.  I’ve spent the last week compiling a list of 10 places in the City limits to get a great gift for the food lovers on your list. Here are my picks of the litter, in no particular order.

1. Anything from the Farmers Market (300 Park Avenue, 703-248-5001): Winter at the Farmers Market may sound a little lame, but the sting of no summer produce is lessened by the vast array of artisan products and homey treats.  You could go the traditional route and pick up a few jars of jam, apple butter, or some gourmet coffee, all of which can be had at several vendors.  But I’m more intrigued by the less typical foods.  On my last visit I enjoyed the lip-smacking pickles at Oh! Pickles, a new vendor offering a variety of New Jersey-imported cukes (and even pickled tomatoes).  There are pickle freaks out there, and if you’ve got one in your family a mix-up of horseradish, red hot, and bread and butter pickles would make a great funky gift.  Just remember that Saturday is the last chance to get anything at the Farmers Market before Christmas.



2. Fancy stuff from Red White & Bleu (127 South Washington Street, 703- 533-9463): The obvious choices at this gourmet shop are the carefully selected wines and beers, sourced locally and from around the world.  My interest, as always, is the food.  Chief among the great finds here are the locally made sausages and other charcuterie from Jamie Stachowski.  Pick up a few links of smoky kielbasa or linguica, throw in a chunk or two of any of the innumerable high-end cheeses that catch your fancy, and hide it all in the back of the fridge.  There’s no rule that a gift has to be under the tree.  If you can’t wrap your head around the idea of a refrigerator present, check out the chocolates, olive oils, and other gourmet goodies. Read more

FOOD: Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth at Arax Café

By JIMMY SCARANO
Falls Church Times Staff

Even though I haven’t trick or treated in ages, the Halloween season still enlivens my sweet tooth like no other time of year. Come late October I start craving sugary candies and cookies morning, noon, and night, and I can’t help but indulge myself every once in a while.

I could survive on the run-of-the-mill confections of my youth just fine, but lately I’ve been seeking out more off the beaten path places to satisfy my sugar rush. At the moment I’m especially fond of the date ma’amouls at tiny Arax Café, a Lebanese-Armenian coffee shop in Arlington just outside of the City. The dome-shaped cookies—made by owner Rose Hovsepian along with a host of other Middle Eastern pastries—are superbly decadent and tasty.

Ma’amouls mean different things to different cultures across the Levant, but most incarnations involve a buttery outer cookie filled with dates, walnuts, or pistachios. Because of their labor-intensive preparation the revered treats are often reserved for holidays and special occasions. Thankfully, Hovsepian bakes her little beauties year round.

I’ve singled out her date version because both the walnut and pistachio variations pale in comparison. To my taste they are a bit overrun with rosewater. The date ma’amoul, meanwhile, is buttery, sandy, nutty, and luxuriously rich, with a generous portion of sticky date innards. The pastry is quite small, so you might be tempted to scarf it down in a few quick bites. Don’t. A cookie this good is best enjoyed with slow, contemplative nibbles and perhaps a cup of hot tea or Arax’s signature cardamom-scented Armenian coffee.

It’s rare that I’m able to get past the date ma’amouls, but when I recently asked Hovsepian about some of her favorites she steered me towards the apricot jam-filled sables. She bragged that even the jam was homemade. And after a bite it was easy to tell. The jam had a tartness and texture that was so obviously not from a jar. The cookie itself was pure buttery shortbread goodness. Clearly I will have to make my way through the entire pastry case at Arax.

Beyond the sweet stuff there’s plenty more to like at the charmingly cramped café. A chalk board menu of savory snacks includes Middle Eastern stand-bys like hummus and grape leaves as well as lesser known Armenian specialties. One recent hit was the baked-to-order Armenian meat pie, a four or five bite disc of crispy pizza-esque dough slathered with a paste of tomatoes, spices, and beef. Also tasty is the chicken sandwich, which is a shawarma type concoction with a potent garlic sauce. Everything on the menu is homey and a refreshing change of pace from normal coffee shop fare.

Be careful, though. If you get a little excited and order a few little dishes and a few pastries you’ll find the tab creeping up into the high teens or twenties. This food is made from scratch on a small scale and isn’t cheap. But as long as the quality stays the same and the ma’amouls are flowing, that’s fine by me. The economy has stretched mom and pop operations paper thin, and this is the sort of place I’d hate to lose.

Arax Café is located at 5852 Washington Blvd., Arlington, VA, 22216. Phone: 703-532-3320. Cash Only.

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FOOD: Baguette Republic Has Great Bread, Few Customers

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FOOD: Jimmy Finally “Meats Up” with German Gourmet

A good lesson in the world of food — and in life, for that matter — is never to assume.

That’s the mistake I made with the German Gourmet. I figured it was a rundown market that catered to an older generation of Midwestern transplants with a few bratwursts and maybe some German mustards and breads. So, even though it’s been an institution since 1965, I never stopped by.

But at a recent Falls Church Times staff meeting I heard some good things about the small storefront. I decided it was my obligation as a food critic to at least give the place a chance. When I finally moseyed over there I found a fully stocked ethnic market with imported snacks and goodies that would make any food lover giddy. It’s without a doubt one of the most exciting food shops in the Falls Church area.

Perusing the narrow aisles on a mid-afternoon weekday, I lingered for almost an hour reading labels and inspecting strange-sounding German soup mixes. During that time a slew of people came through the store, all of whom seemed overjoyed to be there. An elderly German couple grabbed dense German bread and lemony wafer cookies. A chipper young woman talked the cashier’s ear off about her 13 years living in Germany and professed her love for the German Gourmet multiple times.

Aside from doing some serious eavesdropping, I eventually made my way to the primary draw for many people who come to the store: the meat case.

Fans of pork and beef and all of their tasty derivations will admire the impressive array of sausages, cold cuts and salamis on display (all of which are shipped in from Baltimore, Wisconsin, New York, and elsewhere). It’s so overwhelming that I’d recommend grabbing the brochure at the check-out counter that describes the flavor profile and ingredients of many of the items. Or you could enlist the help of the friendly employees behind the counter, who were more than patient with me while I took forever to make up my mind.

I finally settled on the fresh, smoked, and bauern varieties of bratwurst for my first foray into the world of German links. I spent half the night researching the proper way to cook them and decided on simmering them for 15 minutes and then finishing them on the grill for a nice char. Served with the German Gourmet’s chewy Brotchen rolls, each was juicy and well-seasoned. The fresh variety was a dead ringer for sweet breakfast sausage — not at all what I expected, but still tasty. The other two were more like distant, steroid-pumped cousins of the hot dog, with a little more smoke and spice. I’d have no reservations about taking any of the three to a cookout.

That being said, what I like best about the German Gourmet is the depth and variety of the rest of the products. The German chocolate selection is especially noteworthy. Milka, Ritter, and Hachez, three of the most revered brands in the fatherland, are all available. Imported mustards, jams, spaetzle, cookies, and breads line the shelves as well. And homesick Germans will be happy to see the Knorr, Maggi, and Dr. Oetker product lines very well represented.

The dairy case is home to some of the more exotic items — pickled herring, stinky cheeses, and pâte, to name a few — but it also has Lurpak butter, a delicious Danish import that is creamier and richer than anything made in the U.S. Not far away is a dizzying selection of German wines and beers that will satisfy even the pickiest of wine connoisseurs and brewmeisters.

There are even German pastries — strategically placed right next to the cash register for the impulse sugar purchase. Resist the urge. Most of them are brought in frozen from New York and then baked off. The hamantaschen and rugelach that I sampled tasted stale and were too sweet. You’re better off with a bar of chocolate.

Nevertheless, this place is more than worth seeking out for anyone interested in broadening their culinary horizons. I just wish I had been going there all my life so that I could tell you all the wonderful treasures that I’ve unearthed amongst the crammed shelves.

I guess I’ll just have to keep going back to find out. And next time I may go to the other location, which, if all you regulars didn’t already know, opened in 2007 on Columbia Pike and is nearly twice the size of the original.

German Gourmet: 7185 Lee Highway, Falls Church, VA, 803-534-1908 — click for map

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