Didn't Rocks mention some place in Falls Church in his Lettres de mon Moulin post today?

Argia (or Argia's).

Argia's is a great option. When you go, stop at the bar and say hello to Ed the bartender, tell him Tallula sent ya'.

This is one loud restaurant, after having to suffer through a shopping trip to Tyson's I was really in the mood for a little wholesome food. Unfortunately, I only got a little. The menu says that the Calamari has a cornmeal crust and is dusted with parmesan, well it does have a cornmeal crust, it was hard to tell that the squid were nice and tender under a very tough crust, and while the meat was tender it did not have much flavor, the only parmesan evident was the small bowl on our table. The accompanying sauce was flavorful, but it was wasted on this squid.

The pasta dishes were hit and miss. I ordered the "Penne E Salsicca" which was a bowl of penne with pleasantly spicy sausage, broccoli rabe, red peppers, and Riccota Salata. The first bite was a bit deceiving, I found that it was rather bland, but after my second bite I was sold. The flavors melded very nicely together. The one thing that I would have changed was to cook the rabe a little longer; the stalks were close to raw. On the other hand my wife ordered the "FETTUCCINI DI SPINACI CON GAMBERO" which was advertised as being spinach fettuccini with shrimp, artichokes, fresh tomatoes, and lemon zest. The pasta tasted like it came from a box, not a bad thing except the state that all of their pasta is homemade, and I just expect that it tastes like it, the shrimp were lovely specimens from Asia, lacking any shrimp flavor, but thankfully not overcooked, and the artichokes were frozen artichoke hearts with all of the flavor of the shrimp. The one thing that I never tasted was the lemon zest.

For the price the food was decent, and I enjoyed the wine by the glass list, it was better than most. If this restaurant were in my neighborhood I would be quite happy, and if I find myself in need of dinner on my way home from another shopping hell at Tyson’s I will give it another try, I just now know what two dishes I will not be ordering in the future.

Argia's recently (and temporarily) lost an important line cook, Elio Martinez, so they can be cut some slack for any miscues coming from the kitchen.

But there was no miscue with the cup of special Zuppa di Giorno ($4.50), a dish I always hesitate to order in restaurants because it inexplicably seems to be different each time. Tonight it was a cream of tomato with lots of basil, and after the first obligatory spoonful, it became an elevated dunking sauce for the housemade foccacia, and was dabbed-and-absorbed (as opposed to dazed-and-confused) all the way down to the bottom of the cup.

A Caprese Salad ($6.95) was mistimed, served at the last minute, and consisted of dry cheese layered with mediocre tomatoes, drowning in too much balsamico. Interestingly, chefs tell me that we're at the height of tomato season right now, but as a diner, I haven't seen it, as my caprese salads have really dropped off in quality in the past couple of weeks.

"This soup would make a really good pasta sauce," my young dining companion told me, and sure enough, a variant of it was used in the housemade Lasagna Verdure ($16.95), a spinach lasagna layered with vegetables and cheese. This lasagna is more vegetable than noodle, and is expensive at the price, albeit a perfectly honorable and respectable version.

But I didn't love the Pizza Quattro Formaggi ($9.99) despite it's gentle price, the crust seemingly done on a griddle rather than an oven, and the cheese kind-of glopped on, especially the ricotta. It wasn't bad, but it's also not calling me back.

Stray from housemade pasta at Argia, and you're likely to be disappointed. But stick with the homemade noodles, and take your cues from the very good, descriptive list of wines by the glass, and you'll have a good meal here. The atmosphere in the room on the left side (the one oppposite the bar) is really pleasant, almost in a Bistro du Coin way albeit much less cavern-like. Service is unfailingly friendly, and Argia's remains a fine neighborhood restaurant, and most certainly one that cares about its employees and staff.

You're in our thoughts and prayers, Elio.

Cheers,
Rocks.

I recently became employed by a company up the street just past the State Theater, and I've had the pleasure of eating at Argia's about a half dozen times. I have been impressed. The Asian woman who runs the kitchen obviously understands Italian fare. Each pasta dish I've had -- usually the daily special -- tasted fresh and perfect. Salads here are ample and tasty. And the soups are a real treat, especially the daily special. There are way too many choices in the Falls Church area to eat, and my moniker usually draws me to Lebanese Butcher. But Argia's might be in my top ten list for Falls Church.

Although I haven't been in months, I have enjoyed the mussels at Argia's, many times.

"A small is plenty for two," our server said about the Caesar Classico ($7.95), and he was right. A properly dressed Caesar with hearts of romaine and shaved parmesan comes with house-made, do-it-yourself croutons that demand to be broken into the salad.

Gnocchi con Pesto ($17.95) is made with ricotta and comes in a cream-based sauce, coincidentally the second creamy pesto I had yesterday (the first being on a pizza at Pupatella). While not a pasty cannonball-type gnocchi like you find at Pulcinella, there was a medium-heavy gumminess to this that was fine at first, but came across as monolithic two-thirds of the way into the dish. A decent gnocchi, I'd probably pass on it the next time and stick with the straight pasta.

In retrospect, I'm surprised I hadn't tried the Parpardelle con Ragu di Agnello ($18.95) in the past. It's expensive, but so are all of Argia's pastas. Regardless, it was an excellent bowl of parpardelle, arriving precisely at al dente, the hearty ragu having chunks of lamb meat and undertones of fennel.

Having dined at Argia's numerous times, I can say with confidence that it continues to be one of the very best casual restaurants in Northern Virginia for pasta, although it does fall on the pricier end of the spectrum.

Cheers,
Rocks.