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Red's Table, The Tracy Brothers Take the Place of Lakeside Inn - South Lake Village Center in Reston


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Don, if you look at your own "Help Wanted" thread, advertising for a bread/pastry genius, you will see that they are hoping for a March opening at this point.  There are apparently a couple of structural issues with the building that need to be addressed.

You might get a good insight as to what the restaurant will be offering from the classified ad that they posted on the website.  I am all in for the bread program at this point, as well as the food, possibly, but definitely for the beer, which is promised to emulate and maybe expand on that offered at The Light Horse in Old Town.

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Don, if you look at your own "Help Wanted" thread, advertising for a bread/pastry genius, you will see that they are hoping for a March opening at this point.  There are apparently a couple of structural issues with the building that need to be addressed.

You might get a good insight as to what the restaurant will be offering from the classified ad that they posted on the website.  I am all in for the bread program at this point, as well as the food, possibly, but definitely for the beer, which is promised to emulate and maybe expand on that offered at The Light Horse in Old Town.

JBag57, yes, I was the one who encouraged Adam to join and post about his need for sous chefs (just yesterday afternoon, we were joking about me editing his thread to say he wasted money on Craigslist); yet, six hours ago, I somehow completely failed to go back through and read the link inside his post when updating the opening date here - needless to say, I've since corrected it to March-April, not February.

Hoo boy, I need a vacation!

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 There are apparently a couple of structural issues with the building that need to be addressed.

I was at the South Lakes Shopping Center a week or two ago in the morning and a huge tractor trailer was blocking part of the parking lot. It seemed like things were getting dropped off for Red's as I saw three or four gentlemen outside discussing the difficulty in unloading.

If it's a half way decent place, it should be a hit. People in the area do just want to walk there especially because the parking lot is kinda of crazy.

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I live literally 1.1 miles from you next to South Lakes.  I walked by your restaurant yesterday afternoon.  There is nothing like you are describing in western Fairfax County.  There is a huge need for a privately owned and passionately guided restaurant here.  I've long thought that Reston Town Center's rent precludes this-if one were to come it would probably be in Old Town Herndon or somewhere on Eldon street.  

I never thought that the site of the old Lakeside Inn (which is a gorgeous setting overlooking the lake) might be a possibility.  Reading that you've gutted it and made it over in your own image is all the more exciting.  In fact it will be a special location.

I also noted your comment about "local wine."  

Tonight I'll open a bottle of Linden's '10 Boisseau and toast you, wishing you the absolute best.

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Activity is ramping up on their Facebook page, including a rough draft of the menu, and some promo shots of a couple of dishes..  Comments running mostly in favor of the menu price points.  It seems that some were hoping that it would be a place they could go to a couple of nights a week, and possibly bring the family along, but the restaurant is shooting a little higher.  Does Chef Adam Stein have a good track record in this region? 
 
I will take whatever we can get, particularly in view of the anticipated "beer program" (oh, how I hate the use of "program" in describing any of this new stuff).

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Activity is ramping up on their Facebook page, including a rough draft of the menu, and some promo shots of a couple of dishes..  Comments running mostly in favor of the menu price points.  It seems that some were hoping that it would be a place they could go to a couple of nights a week, and possibly bring the family along, but the restaurant is shooting a little higher.  Does Chef Adam Stein have a good track record in this region? 

I hadn't seen the website with the sample dinner menu. Those individual item prices are probably $3-4 each more than I would have anticipated, actually its very similar, if not more than Clarity in Vienna. JBag57 your question about Chef Adam Stein's track record in this area is relevant.

My thinking was they would develop a more broader (more than pizza/Italian) menu than Pizzeria Orso which was just recently mentioned in another thread as having a kid's friendly draw would be the more smarter route to take. The entire neighborhood has changed to a more family oriented one over the past five years.

:(

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I am confused. There is not a decent privately owned restaurant anywhere near Town Center and now we have Red's Table which has Clarity like ambitions and people are disappointed with the price point.  I don't think it's suppose to be for a family that wants to eat out twice a week.  That's next door at CafeSano.  Rather I believe this is an alternative to Town Center where every dish would be 10-20% more expensive.  Yet this is a beautiful lakeside setting and has character  And the restaurant wants to be special for Fairfax County.

There are not a lot of independently owned restaurants that want to be special in Fairfax county.

I am not interested in another nondescript "family friendly" restaurant in Reston.  There are far too many of them now.  Almost all without character. Red's Table is ambitious.  it's a mile from me.  With Clarity having recently opened now there's a second restaurant "of character" that has ambition and it's literally in walking distance.  Can I remind anyone reading this how many really good non steak houses there are in all of western Fairfax County?

Not many.

A restaurant is being opened that wants to have another dimension of appeal that is sadly lacking for the million + people who live within fifteen or so miles of South Lakes.  A restaurant "for families" is next door, next to a family Chinese, family pizza, Subway, Chipotle and more family restaurants nearby.  There is a desperate need for something truly "decent" here.  With a bit or more of ambition.

Red's Table is trying to be this.

As Clarity has 175 covers on Tuesday nights I believe that Red's Table will, too.  I welcome the taste, creativity and courage of the chef and owners to open in an area that truly needs what they can share with and introduce us to.

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This is my take on why you are confused.

I would say we actually want the exact same thing for Red's Table which is for it to succeed as an independent and new creative restaurant in the South Lakes Shopping center. However philosophically I would say we see different routes for a restaurant in the suburbs to reach a sustainable success. I tend to favor the slow buildout period with cheaper prices and more accessible cuisine so a restaurant can establish a regular clientele and slowly evolve over the years. That kind of foundation in my opinion is more likely to have long term success. I would not try and speak for you, but would just try and paraphrase some of your argument to contrast and indicate you seem to favor the high end approach for the initial opening.

Life in the suburbs for high end restaurants seems to be very challenging. How many restaurants have opened and closed after a year or two in NOVA that were high end? If Red's Table works how the Tracy Brothers and Chef Stein envision that would be great. Having a destination restaurant in the South Lakes shopping center would be impressive.

But with the Wiehle Avenue Metro stop having another hotel and restaurants, Reston International Center getting renovated, and the two block addition to the Reston Town Center with another hotel and various shops and restaurants there is going to be a lot of competition in the area within the next two years.

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High End?  High End?  You're serious?  With virtually every steak house in Tyson's at $35-60 a la carte for a steak + $8-9 for each vegetable and 250% markups on wine.  Clarity is $12.50 for crab gazpacho and it's a small pour.  It's also the best gazpacho I've ever had and I order two bowls at a time and then order my entree which is usually 19-22.  Clarity is not high end, nor is Red's Table.

Excepting the steaks Red's Table is no more expensive than half of the restaurans at Town Center.   But it's not Cafesano.  It's not the Lakeside Inn, it's not the Greek restaurant which preceded Cafesano.  It's a sincere attempt to do a better farm to table chef driven restaurant in western Fairfax County on a beauitful lake.  Coincidentally this happens to be in a shopping center.  A shopping center surrounded by millions of square feet of office space and a socio economic class to support it.  If it were at Town Center it would be even more expensive.  It's also a helluva closer than driving into downtown D. C., ostensibly attempting to provide us with a very real alternative to the new and excellent Clarity in Vienna.

I sincerely applaud's Red's for coming here.  I just don't understand why you feel robbed, that it's not another medicore family restaurant

I am deeply grateful they are opening here.  I also, as noted, expect it is going to be appreciated by hundreds of others, every night they are open  I am also arguing that the physical space in the South Lakes shopping center, backing to the lake, is more appealing and LESS EXPENSIVE then at Weihle avenue or by the Reston International Center.  It is a special location properly presented-having walked by it yesterday afternoon I am excited at what they have built.  There is very real character.

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It's a sincere attempt to do a better farm to table chef driven restaurant in western Fairfax County on a beauitful lake.  Coincidentally this happens to be in a shopping center.  A shopping center surrounded by millions of square feet of office space and a socio economic class to support it.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that this isn't coincidental

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The presence of all that office space will be why this place succeeds (if the food is good). Out in Southern Loudoun County (South Riding, Stone Ridge, Brambleton, Avonlea, Willowsford), despite all that "afflluence," we can't get decent restaurants. The reason: lack of office space. There's no lunch crowd to keep nicer places afloat until the weekends when they'd be mobbed. Check out the tenants at our new shopping center, Dulles Landing, which is anchored by a prototype Wal-Mart and a Dick's Sporting Goods. The retail will do great but not a decent restaurant to be found. Maybe in a couple years when the new movie theater opens at Avonlea on Rt. 50, we'll at least get something like Blue Ridge Grill next to the movies in Brambleton.

As of now, our "best" restaurant is Ford's Fish Shack, which is good but overpraised due to the lack of competition. Other Loudoun areas are getting better chow thanks to more mature commercial development in those areas.

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High End?  High End?  You're serious?  With virtually every steak house in Tyson's at $35-60 a la carte for a steak + $8-9 for each vegetable and 250% markups on wine.  Clarity is $12.50 for crab gazpacho and it's a small pour.  It's also the best gazpacho I've ever had and I order two bowls at a time and then order my entree which is usually 19-22.  Clarity is not high end, nor is Red's Table.

Excepting the steaks Red's Table is no more expensive than half of the restaurans at Town Center.   But it's not Cafesano.  It's not the Lakeside Inn, it's not the Greek restaurant which preceded Cafesano.  It's a sincere attempt to do a better farm to table chef driven restaurant in western Fairfax County on a beauitful lake.  Coincidentally this happens to be in a shopping center.  A shopping center surrounded by millions of square feet of office space and a socio economic class to support it.  If it were at Town Center it would be even more expensive.  It's also a helluva closer than driving into downtown D. C., ostensibly attempting to provide us with a very real alternative to the new and excellent Clarity in Vienna.

I sincerely applaud's Red's for coming here.  I just don't understand why you feel robbed, that it's not another medicore family restaurant

I am deeply grateful they are opening here.  I also, as noted, expect it is going to be appreciated by hundreds of others, every night they are open  I am also arguing that the physical space in the South Lakes shopping center, backing to the lake, is more appealing and LESS EXPENSIVE then at Weihle avenue or by the Reston International Center.  It is a special location properly presented-having walked by it yesterday afternoon I am excited at what they have built.  There is very real character.

My use of Clarity is as an example of a known quality team with a great local reputation whose prices were being exceeded by Red's table sample menu. That is a concern in my opinion.

Do I feel robbed? Not at all since I do not have anything personally invested in their enterprise.

Still, my analysis is the same based on the historical evidence of 'high end' restaurants in NOVA failing. Perhaps the time has come for this kind of concept to succeed in NOVA and still be open after two years. That remains to be seen regardless of how the food will taste and how much traffic it initially receives. Personally I look forward to visiting Red's table and wish them well.

It is clear we both have a different meaning for what is 'high end'. Personally, I would define that in relation with two factors: other nearby restaurants and is it a destination restaurant.

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The steakhouses at Tysons and here in downtown DC are beyond high end. They are expense account.

$12.50 crab gazpacho -- something that totally appeals to me, btw, but I got the mussels at Clarity and they were outstanding too -- would strike most people as "high end," even in the affluent NOVA suburbs. Let's not forget this is just an appetizer (or whatever trendy names appetizers are going by these days). :)

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With all due respect, Joe, family-friendly doesn't necessarily mean casual dining.  I think what everyone was hoping for was a menu with a few more entrees south of $20.  It also means a place where I can call my parents and in-laws and say "hey, meet us at xyz at 6 on Monday night" and we can have dinner and not necessarily pay $20 an entree (for us, that's Montmartre, but the menu hasn't changed in probably 15 years).  Reston is a dichotomous dining wasteland, unfortunately -- split between fast casual places like Chipotle, Cafesano, and the Silver Diner, and Passionfish, Il Fornaio, and Morton's.  And most long-time Reston residents don't spend much time at RTC, on top of it all.

A lot of families I know here in Reston go out in Lake Anne a lot -- not because the food is particularly outstanding, but the price point (which is just a hair below Red's Table's), is attractive and the Lake is a nice place for families -- who doesn't love a good brutalist playground?  I know opening a restaurant is a huge challenge in general and Reston has gotten very expensive (RIP Footsteps and a number of other local businesses), so it's understandable, but it's also hard for those of us with younger families who are busy.  All of that said, this looks like a great date night location.  The Lakeside space was always grossly underutilized and I'm pleased to see what's being done.  I think a lot of us just had a different set of expectations -- after all, that shopping center is where I buy cat food, fill my prescriptions, and buy groceries, so it's a little incongruous.

I think we can all, however, agree on the depressing lack of quality delivery food in Reston.  Fortunately, there's still a lot of decent take out, even with the departure of Reston Kabob.

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Tonight was a soft opening that I was invited to, but could not make.  I am not sure if that means that they will be open this weekend or not, which was the last target I had heard.  I will likely be going by either Friday or Saturday night to reconnoiter.

MIchelleW, I hear you, and feel your pain.  I am largely (so to speak) a burger guy, and will gladly pay $15 for the one at Red's Table (assuming it delivers on grass-fed, dry aging) than what might be less expensive ones at most of the places around.  Even at Counter Burger (The Counter?--have never been able to figure out the real name), which I would consider to be pretty casual, I was at $12 or $13 when I included fries with the burger.  If Red's Table can match the quality of the burger at Counter Burger, I will be eating there at least once a week.

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Soft opening was tonight, also tomorrow (Sunday) night.  Perhaps the analogy with Clarity or downtown is inappropriate.  Having now walked inside after dark I would suggest this is an Annapolis or Old Town (on the water) kind of experience. In some ways it reminded me of the Narrows on Kent Island.

Red's Table will pull people from Town Center and from Tyson's.  It is going to be a destination in Western Fairfax County.

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Joe H., were you able to just walk in?  I was planning to just go on Monday, when they officially open, but if they are accepting walk-ins, I may go tonight (Sunday).  I could not make it the night that I received the invitation for.

They're open, you can go over and walk in.

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They are open as I type this-I just left.  @10:20 there were 15 or more at the bar and a half dozen in the dining room and outside on the deck that backs to the lake.  That deck is going to become a destination-awesome, softly lit romantic ambience.  Again, this restaurant is a major statement for Western Fairfax County.  Still have not had the food but the setting has character and is special. My analogy above to an upscale restaurant on the water in, say, Kent Narrows or Baltimore East is appropriate.  As Clarity is serious so do I believe this is a serious room.

I love this place.

The menu has changed, especially the pricing.  I am holding it as I type this.  All of the appetizers range from 5 (cup of "eleven ingredient clam chowder") to 15 with most in the 9 to 12 range.  Several look interesting:  "Artic char crudo:  lime, fish sauce, cilantro, fried garlic sesame seeds" 12, "Point Judith calamari (raw bar is a specialty): cherry peppers, linguica, lemon, with smoked tomato sauce" 11, "Baked Mornay:  with coddled egg cracker, shards, green onion, red pepper flakes" 9, "corn and clam hushpuppies sith smoked paprika butter" 9.

Pasta includes "clam & Castelvetrano Buccatini:  white anchovy, garlic, crushed red pepper, evoo" 16, "ricotta-black pepper Gnudi":  smoked corn puree, grana, roasted corn, squash" 14

Main courses include "Sea scallops a la Plancha":  house speck, summer vegetable ragout, plum sauce" 24, "buttermilk fried chicken (house specialty) :braised kale, black garlic miso aioli, b & b pickles, 17.

Much is local farm to table.  But again, the ambience is that of a serious waterside restaurant with an open kitchen that I counted 8 in tonight.

We will return in a couple of days to begin working our way through the menu.  Bravo to the family, chef and GM (who moved here from San Diego specifically for Red's Table) who have brought us this.  This will be a destination.

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They are open as I type this-I just left.  @10:20 there were 15 or more at the bar and a half dozen in the dining room and outside on the deck that backs to the lake.  That deck is going to become a destination-awesome, softly lit romantic ambience.  Again, this restaurant is a major statement for Western Fairfax County.  Still have not had the food but the setting has character and is special. My analogy above to an upscale restaurant on the water in, say, Kent Narrows or Baltimore East is appropriate.  As Clarity is serious so do I believe this is a serious room.

I love this place.

The menu has changed, especially the pricing.  I am holding it as I type this.  All of the appetizers range from 5 (cup of "eleven ingredient clam chowder") to 15 with most in the 9 to 12 range.  Several look interesting:  "Artic char crudo:  lime, fish sauce, cilantro, fried garlic sesame seeds" 12, "Point Judith calamari (raw bar is a specialty): cherry peppers, linguica, lemon, with smoked tomato sauce" 11, "Baked Mornay:  with coddled egg cracker, shards, green onion, red pepper flakes" 9, "corn and clam hushpuppies sith smoked paprika butter" 9.

Pasta includes "clam & Castelvetrano Buccatini:  white anchovy, garlic, crushed red pepper, evoo" 16, "ricotta-black pepper Gnudi":  smoked corn puree, grana, roasted corn, squash" 14

Main courses include "Sea scallops a la Plancha":  house speck, summer vegetable ragout, plum sauce" 24, "buttermilk fried chicken (house specialty) :braised kale, black garlic miso aioli, b & b pickles, 17.

Much is local farm to table.  But again, the ambience is that of a serious waterside restaurant with an open kitchen that I counted 8 in tonight.

We will return in a couple of days to begin working our way through the menu.  Bravo to the family, chef and GM (who moved here from San Diego specifically for Red's Table) who have brought us this.  This will be a destination.

As Joe mentioned the new menu changed and is slightly lower in terms of price, and the focus shifted to be a bit more diverse instead of centered on heavier meats, which is good thing. The selection and price range of the beer and alcohol menu is very good. I would say just on the bar alone they should do a lot of business as "the local" as a lot of people will just walk over or just stop by for a quick one before going home.

Perhaps it is presumptuous to say since the place hasn't officially opened and I haven't really eaten a full meal there yet, but in the winter time think they would do very well having a high quality lamb stew at the bar. Getting a good stew and beer at the bar would be incredible.

I like the atmosphere, feels like a good gastropub. Think it definitely has potential and look forward to checking out their journey.

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I think gastropub was kind of what I had in my head and I was a little disappointed to see something that looked more like America Eats. My husband is a burger guy, JBag57, and I usually order something different every time. If the kiddo is along, I try to share because she is allergic to eggs and frankly there are only so many chicken fingers she can eat.

I am excited to see what pans out, regardless of the price point or the menu. I have a wedding anniversary coming up and I don't feel like going into DC on a school night.

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Opening night with 175-200 covers, dining room was literally completely full until 10:00PM when we visited.  An enormous success.  Stand by my comments for ambience similar to Kent Island, Baltimore East or West Ocean City (Sunset Grill).  70-80 seats outside are going to be a weeks long wait for a reservation-they are romantic and special.  I will sincerely argue that the tables which are lakeside are among the most amospheric waterside settings in the mid Atlantic after dark.

An older crowd, similar to what one would see at Clarity which is the direct comparison for this.

We've just started to work our way through the menu.  Much more to come.  Red's Table will be an enduring success...and gift to many of us.

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Monday morning I made a 615pm reservation via their website and was able to snag a table on the patio. The sun is brutal for those facing the lake and sitting closer to the front entrance, but regardless it's a great spot as Joe mentions above. Until later in the fall, recommend sitting on the far end of the patio furthest from the front entrance prior to 730pm. For best ambiance/view in NOVA, perhaps its best compares to 2941, except your outside and closer to the water. We even got to see two flocks of geese reenact West Side Story.

Wife and I both enjoyed the Potters Farmhouse Dry cider, a great up and coming cidery near Charlottesville. Their cider has been available in NOVA/DC since late 2014 I believe, so maybe they're better known now.

For apps, I had the peach & watermelon salad and wife had the clam chowder. The chowder was good, but the watermelon salad was great - really hit the spot with the muggy weather. The fruit laid atop a creamy goat cheese and sprinkled with mint and bee pollen. Very refreshing and flavor combos were spot on. However, it should be noted the watermelon in the dish was the flesh, not pickled rind as stated on the menu.

I try to avoid ordering duplicate entrees, but we both got the burger. I was able to swap fries for the Side of blistered green beans, which was a great option to have. No herbed yogurt though and wife had to ask for a side of ketchup post-arrival. The burger was good, quality meat was evident. They both came out a little closer to medium well versus the requested medium. Also thought it was a little dry. Just american cheese and grilled onions and side of tasty housemade pickles. I like something saucy on my burger, ketchup, onion jam, whatever. My most recent burger (Brine's) and one of the best burgers I've had in awhile had a red onion jam spread, so my mind kept drifting to that.

Overall, great meal and look forward to returning, especially the bar for drinks or simple meal. The beer list is pretty solid, but would like to see some VA wine by the glass since they're touting local bevs. Prices currently are very reasonable and worth every cent - our tab was ~$64 before tip. Yes, its expensive for a Reston restaurant outside the Town Center, but really that's not saying much....at all. Notably, the service was great - hard to tell it was the official opening night. Our server, Monique, was spot-on with the pace and knew the menu very well.

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We go 2-4 times a year usually for lunch as it's a good place for my wife and I to have a mid day 'date'. The food quality is similar to when it opened, it's always enjoyable but lacks a certain sophistication. 

However the atmosphere is pleasant and a welcome addition to enjoying a meal in a non chain venue. Additionally, sitting outdoors on the patio can feel slightly transportive as the lake and breeze let you feel like you are someplace else.

The prices are slightly higher than the value of the food but taken as a whole, commiserate with the overall experience. 

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