Arlington Restaurants

This tiny restaurant is reservations only, and make them three weeks in advance. After you get through the pain of making the reservation (they have kind of a weird system), be prepared for the best steak in DC, hands down. Amazing service, personal attention, not too expensive - my boyfriend and I go for all special occasions, and we're now known by name, and tend to walk out having spent about $70 for dinner for two.

Especially fantastic is the seafood bisque, and any special the chef might propose.

Favorite Dish: Probably my favorite is the filet with horseradish sauce... a perfect cut, cooked exactly the way I like it.

Memphis Bar-B-Q is a small local chain of barbecue restaurants primarily in the D.C. suburbs.

Favorite Dish: I always like the Memphis sampler which consists of ribs, "drummies" (jumbo wing [chicken] drumsticks) and hush puppies (fried balls of cornbread). Memphis Barbecue is fair to middling, but I grew up on better barbecue. Don't get their so-called Brunswick stew.

Capitol City Brewing Company is located in the Shirlington district in Arlington, Virginia. Many brew pubs are only noted for their beer, not for their food. One nearby brew pub to which Richie considered going was one that served mainly chili. I like chili, but it doesn't like me. Richie found Capitol City on the internet and they had their menu online as well as the types of brew they offer. I knew what I wanted a week before I went. The restaurant is a typical brew pub in terms of atmosphere. Among the songs playing over the loudspeaker was a classic by "The Doors" called "Light my Fire". While my meal cost less than $10, if you order some beer to wash it down with, that will bump it up.

Favorite Dish: I had the bratwurst sandwich (without the melted Swiss cheese) served together with sauerkraut, fries, and garnished with a dill pickle spear. I never miss the chance for good bratwurst! The food was better than I expected from a brew pub.

Chevy's Fresh Mex is a Mexican restaurant in Ballston Common Mall in Arlington. As you can see in the photo, it is decorated to the hilt with bright neon lights and Mexican themes on the walls. As to the quality of the food, I've had better but I've also had worse. They were a little too heavy on the cilantro in their salsa for the tortilla chips and a little light in the cumin for their taco meat seasoning, leaving it tasting a bit flat. On this occasion, I took my friend Tim Enright here to celebrate his 26th birthday.

Favorite Dish: I prefer the part of the menu where you can choose from two favourites. I had the beef taco and chicken enchilada garnished with Mexican rice, black beans, and a corn tamalito (rather like a corn muffin in the consistency of grits or polenta).

Rudy's is the in-house restaurant for the Days Inn motel. The wait staff was friendly enough even when they messed up my boss' order. The service was okay, the food was good, and Rudy's gets extra credit for convenience.

Favorite Dish: We all took breakfast here before we set out for the day's business. I had fried eggs (over well), bacon, and toast.

If you are looking for a nice place to meet with your friends and have a few beers as well as good grub, then this is the place to go. We were in the area and met up with local VT'er Kentbein for an afternoon lunch (who by the way took this fantastic picture). We had a great time talking about things and having lunch outside.

Favorite Dish: We had the Washington Wings (a pound of chicken wings tossed in atomic sauce served with house made blue cheese dressing with carrots and celery on the side) as well as the Senate Caesar Salad (romaine lettuce tossed in caesar dressing, topped with parmesan cheese, sliced plum tomatoes and garlic croutons with grilled chicken breast).

Since this is a brew pub of course, we had to try them...but we couldn't make a decision so we asked for the sampler...an excellent choice of Amber Waves Ale, Prohibition Porter, Capitol Kolsch, Pale Rider Ale and Blackout Stout.

A traditional Italian restuarant that has been around for ages. Great food with waiters who actually do this for a living as opposed to those who do it for a year to get by.

Favorite Dish: Anything. Great wine selections.

You have cuisines from all over Asia - China, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, etc. A very cool place to allow everyone to have something that they like without being disappointed.

Favorite Dish: The calimari appetizer is great. Try everything!