Lunch with a Child near University Mall in Fairfax (Braddock Road and Route 123)

[beachgirl54]

Rainy days and Mondays - well, now just rainy days.  Going to take some kids to see Shaun the Sheep at University Mall Theater in Fairfax tomorrow, as every single kid activity is now cancelled. Totally unfamiliar with that area - is there a place to grab lunch nearby before the movie?  He'll eat Middle Eastern so props for that, or even a diner.  Thanks, Nancy

[weezy]

there's a Thai place (or was a couple of years ago)  upstairs in the strip mall that's okay, a McD's or Wendy's (don't remember which), and a sports bar (Brion's Grill) with typical pub grub 

[DonRocks]

Can you cram everyone in a single car? You could be safe and go to First Watch.

Angie's is just down the street, in the same shopping center as Outback Steak House.

I'm sure weezy will agree Brion's is pretty bad, but so are these other places, and hey - it's *there*. I know of the Thai restaurant (Tong Thai, not related to the Bangkok Golden we all know) she's talking about, but have never eaten there. Here is a directory of merchants in University Square, and this reminds me of a new concept I'm going to start here (check the Dining Guides).

Not much on 123 heading towards Burke - there's a Los Toltecos that's just awful; towards the courthouse, there's a Red, Hot, & Blue and some more "grown-up places" like Le Mediterranean Bistro, as well as impossibly grungy dives like The Auld Shebeen.

Sisters? Meh, University Mall is just not a great dining area for the situation you're in, but hopefully this little list helps a little bit. I know the area very well, so I'm not missing anything.

Matt told me that the hamburgers at Outback Steakhouse were surprisingly good, and I trust his palate.

Let us know how things work out.

Oh! Bernie's Deli! They have really good sandwiches (corned beef, pastrami, etc.). I have this and Le Mediterranean Bistro ranked in Italic.

Can you tell I like helping people?

[beachgirl54]

This is great - when I read the info on Bernie's website, I knew this was the place for us - haven't been to Deli City in a while and I"m due for some corned beef.  Thanks!

[ScotteeM]

I know this is too late to help you today, but Choices by Shawn, on 123 at North Street, has a kids menu, does really great burgers and fries, and can accommodate food allergies & sensitivities, which can often be an issue in groups of kids.

[beachgirl54]

Thanks for all the recs - we ended up at Bernie's Delicatessen.  I had the corned beef which they say is cooked in-house.  I like Deli City's better - this was missing the crisp edges and intense flavor.  My son had the chili - he finished it and i tasted it - pretty good.  It was painfully convenient to the theater.

I do highly recommend the movie - Shaun the Sheep.  Really well done and enough humor for the kids and the adults.  Really - a Silence of the Lambs reference that the adults all keyed in on, and the kids all missed.  Genius.