mcbriden

My kids are big fans of El Paso in Springfield. When we go, I order the El Diablo. It's no longer on the menu, but they will still make it for you. It's a steak burrito stuffed with grilled jalapenos, rice, and beans and topped with a habenero sauce finished with two grilled jalapenos sticking out of it like horns. It's huge and muy caliente! I usually eat about 1/3 and take the rest home. I've also had their carnitas, which are very good. My kids and husband go for the tacos or the enchilada and are always pleased with their entrees. They have a special for taco tuesday - 20 street tacos, rice, and beans for $20. Think we might try this tonight.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Taco Bamba actually comes later this year. I've heard they will be in the old Best Deli location next to Halal Guys.

Saw that they are planning on opening up one near George Mason University.

One just opened in the Twinbrook shopping center on Braddock Road in Fairfax. I'm a huge hot chili pepper fan, so my husband stopped and picked up the ghost pepper wings. They have a little kick, but not quite what I was expecting.

I've been to Chima and Texas in Fairfax and prefer Chima. The Texas in Fairfax is in a mall, and the dining room and the salad bar are both smaller than Chima. When I visited, the service seemed more casual at Texas.

Our first time at Osteria Marzano was dinner last night. It was a little difficult to find the restaurant once we got to the address, but the parking made up for it. Garage parking with a covered entrance to the back of the building. The restaurant was located in the front, just a short stroll through the center of the building. I was underwhelmed with the bread basket. The focaccia was too dense, dry, and crumbly and the other type tasted like a homemade, thick sliced white bread. Calamari appetizer was very rubbery and unevenly cooked. Some pieces were very dark and hard and others were light. The highlight of the meal was the Angolotti de Magro - angolotti pasta filled with spinach and ricotta in a walnut cream sauce. This was outstanding. The Lasagna Alla Bolognese was good - bolognese sauce, besciamella, ricotta, and Parmesan. Finally entree was the special of ricotta gnocchi with pancetta and pistachios in a Gorgonzola sauce. I love Gorgonzola so I enjoyed this dish, but it was too rich and strong tasting for my younger daughter. We also ordered a side of broccolini, which was very good. My younger daughter ordered dessert. She chose the chocolate layered cake with raspberry sauce and felt it was very dry and extremely cold, almost like it came from the freezer. Service was standard, and we were seated in the flexible bench seating side of the room. If you are seated there, be careful with the low hanging lights. One of our party banged their head hard on those lights are we were leaving. Overall, I thought was a mixed bag. Perhaps that was due to eating on a Sunday night? We will definitely return to give it another chance, and will explore the homemade pastas a little more.

Stopped in last week and noticed a sign that said they were opening in Centerville in June. I asked about the location and was told it was near the Centerville Library. I guess that means somewhere around all those shopping centers near the 29/28 intersection?

21 Great American Bistro in Fairfax City.

I had my first Taylor Gourmet sandwich this past September at National while waiting for a flight. I ordered the Patterson and really enjoyed it. Last weekend, I ordered another Patterson at the H Street location. This time was very different. It was extremely greasy and overly spicy, sort of smokey/salty tasting. Is this normal? Do the sandwiches vary this much from store to store?

Even though Villa Mozart has been open for about 9 years, and we live right down the street from them, we made our first visit last week. It was an evening during the week and we showed up at 7:30 without reservations. Fortunately for us it was not crowded at all, with only two occupied tables. We parked behind the building, which is accessed via a very narrow ally next to the restaurant. It shares the parking lot with a hair salon, and only has 3 parking spots allocated to the restaurant. While we were parking in one of the spots, people from the hair salon kept watching us out of the back window. Parking wars? Who knows? We started with two glasses of wine. As mentioned above, the pours were very generous. On a school night, one glass was plenty for me! They brought out grissini, which are thin, house made breadsticks, and they were very good. We placed our orders and then they brought out foccacia, placing two pieces on each persons bread plate. Our appetizers arrived shortly after: Potato Soup, calamari, and a special of house made mozzarella wrapped in a pastry crust served over a bed of sauteed eggplant. I had the calamari, which was seared calamari, green peas, white beans, Kalamata olives in a lightly spiced tomato sauce served with garlic crostino on the side. This was the best calamari I've ever had! The rings were tender - perfectly cooked. The combination was fantastic. The garlic crostino was sliver thin and looked like lace. It melted in your mouth. I'm not sure exactly what was in the soup, but it was reported to be very rich and was enjoyed. The special wrapped mozzarella was not the favorite. The mozzarella was excellent, and the sauteed eggplant was good, but the pastry was dry and added nothing to the dish. Entrees were Chef Andrea's Hometown ravioli, penne martelli, and tagliata. I had the ravioli which was rye ravioli, mountain cheese, spinach in a buttery sauce. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but be aware that the sauce makes it very rich. The penne martelli was penne with lobster. It looked wonderful, but I was unable to get a bite. The tagliata was for my little carnivore. It was sirloin steak, celery root puree, porcini mushrooms, and a chive potato cake with a red wine sauce. She devoured it and declared the potato cake was much better than the one she had the week before at 21 Great American Bistro around the corner. Once again, I was unable to get a bite. Although we all ordered the three course dinner, only three of us got desserts. The special dessert was apple strudel, which requires 12 - 15 minutes to cook. The waiter told us about it when he brought the entrees and two of us ordered it. I ordered the sorbet, which came with three scoops - cinnamon/cardamon, blueberry, and raspberry. I wasn't a fan of the cinnamon/cardamon, but enjoyed the blueberry and raspberry. When we left, two more groups had arrived, including a large group seated by the front window. There seemed to be only one waiter and he was kept moving. Unfortunately, it made our meal take over two hours. I'd happily return, but would definitely leave the under aged at home.

After the home show at the Dulles Expo Center this past weekend, my husband and I stopped by Dumpling Queen for a late lunch. Here's what we ordered: Lili's steamed dumplings - very good. I've read that the skins were thick, but I felt they were thinner than other dumplings we've had from places in Fairfax. I really enjoyed them. Generously filled with pork, shrimp, napa, and chives. Snow Pea Tips - excellent. It was on the specials board at the door. Similar to sauteed spinach and garlic, but with a milder flavor. Crispy and Spicy Chicken (from the Authentic Chinese section, or something like that) - okay. We were looking for something spicy and the waitress recommended this item. This reminded me of the Szechuan Chili Chicken that Peter Chang made in his China Star/TemptAsian/China Boy days. Chunks of fried chicken with lots of chili peppers. It was salty and spicy at the same time. We'll be back for the ribs next time.

My daughter and I stopped by ABC Canteen for dinner last week after a not-as-bad-as-I-thought-it-would-be orientation session at college. It was during one of the many recent downpours we've been experiencing, so I expected the place to be slow. We found it completely empty at 6:30PM! With some trepidation, we decided to go in and order anyway. It was a great decision. We over ordered and brought home stuff to reheat the next day. The owner (I think) talked to us a bit and told us he had been opened for about three months. He also told us that the tortilla are hand made with every taco order, which meant I had to order them. The salsa bar was right next to the register and had a nice selection. In addition to great salsa fresca, they had several different heat level salsas as well as cilantro, lime and some other toppings. Here's what we got: Fish and Chips. As mentioned above, the fish is outstanding, but the fries are nothing special. You can just order fish by the piece, which I might do next time we go. Fish Taco. Wonderful fish and a good tortilla.. I moved here from SoCal, so I'm used to getting cabbage and a white sauce on the taco. This one comes completely plain and there is a salsa bar to dress it yourself. Still would have liked some cabbage though. Carnitas Taco. Very moist and tasty pork with a good tortilla. Once again it was served plain and you dress it at the salsa bar. Tamale - Pork with green sauce. This was my least favorite item, but it was still one of the better tamales I've had in this area. The pork was good but the masa was a little dry and I couldn't find any evidence of a green sauce. I grabbed hot salsa from the salsa bar to doctor it up, but it was actually too hot for me! I'm a ghost pepper kinda gal, so that is saying a lot. Hushpuppies. They were good, about 10 large ones in the order. As mentioned above, they were fluffy and not greasy at all, but some type of a honey butter would have been a welcomed addition. Flautas. This one I didn't get to try. We got them to go and they came in a large container covered with lettuce, sour cream, and salsa. My daughter heated them up the next day and said they were good. Not as good as the rolled tacos we got almost every day in Cali the beginning of July, but she said she would order them again. Overall, my daughter and I really like this place and are planning a return visit. I hope business starts to pick up for them soon and they stay around. We can really use more places like this in this part of Fairfax County.

My daughter is a huge lasagna fan, so picking an Italian restaurant for her birthday celebration was a no-brainer. After perusing the dining guide for someplace close to us, we decided on Ciao. We had a group of 8 and tried to make a reservation on OpenTable, only to be told that we exceeds the number of diners allowed to reserve online. I called the restaurant directly and had no problem making a reservation. We arrived and realized why they don't allow large parties to reserve via OpenTable. The restaurant has about 12 booths total lining the two side walls and about 12 tables of 4 in the center. When we arrived, one table of 4 was empty and the table next to it was finished but hadn't vacated the table yet. We waited around 15 minutes for them to leave. No big deal. Later in the night, the owner came by and told us they can sometimes squeeze a 10 top in, but that is the absolute limit for them. He also told us they had acquired the Baskin Robbins next store and planned to expand into that area. He said he was going to have a bigger bar in the back, more tables, and a gelato bar in the front. We started with the bruschetta and the calamari appetizers. As buzzy mentioned, the bruschetta was good, but the bread was very large and heavy, which made it difficult to eat w/o using a knife and fork. The calamari was very good - tender and well-cooked and served with a lemon pesto sauce and a marinara sauce. They also brought rolls out, with an olive oil/balsamic vinegar/parmesan cheese mix to dip the bread. My F-I-L ordered the wine special because he wasn't familiar with anything on the wine list. He worked in South America for most of his career, so he usually sticks with South American wines. I did not see the wine list, but I would assume it was mostly Italian wines. It was our only mistake the whole meal. The wine was not very good and I would recommend avoiding it. For entrees, four of us had veal. I had the La Milanese, which came out with a heaping serving of arugula over a thin piece of breaded veal with two roasted tomato quarters and topped with lemon rosemary dressing and shaved parmigiana reggiano. I enjoyed this dish, but had to search a bit to find the veal underneath the arugula. It was a light but satisfying meal. The other three got Fiorentina, which was sautéed and topped with fresh sliced tomato, eggplant, prosciutto and mozzarella with a cream sauce and side of pasta. My sister was kind enough to share some with me, and I thought it was a much richer dish than what I ordered. It was delicious. My husband got the chicken special, which I believe was rolled with prosciutto, mushrooms, and mozzarella with a cream sauce served with a side of pasta. He enjoyed it, but I wasn't able to get a taste of it. My mother got the Linguini Vongole, which was linguini pasta served with clams in a garlic or tomato sauce. She went with the garlic sauce. We are half Italian and she used to make spaghetti and clams for us growing up. She loved this dish and claimed she would order it again in a heartbeat. She wouldn't say if it rivaled what she used to make, but she was very happy with this version. Finally, the birthday girl got the Lasagna Di Carne, which were lasagna noodles with meat sauce, ricotta cheese and mozzarella served in a round dish. Normally, she eats about half of any lasagna and takes the other half home. Not this one. Every bite was consumed! I was at the other end of the table, so I didn't get any, but she really enjoyed it. They offered a birthday dessert for the birthday girl, but we passed. Don't judge, but she loves ice cream cake, so we went home to sing and eat Carvel ice cream cake. For her, it was a perfect ending to a wonderful 18th birthday.

Thanks! I saw that thread but this was lunch so I thought I'd ask a similar question. I was thinking of a place like Trummers, but they are only open for lunch on Friday and Saturday, so I was hoping for some suggestions. Outback...nice one. Although several in our party think that is the ultimate place, I was going for a something different. Besides, I don't think they are open for lunch on a Tuesday. Villa Mozart is a great suggestion. I've never been there, but have always meant to go and this is the perfect opportunity. I think we'll head there. Thanks for the El Fresco tip. My last experience at Picante in Chantilly wasn't one I ever want to repeat, so I've been looking for a new Mexican/tex mex restaurant. Thank you for all your work on the dining guide. I have used the dining guide before, and it always helps me out, but am blocked now because I haven't made 10 posts yet. This post puts me at 10, so I'll be able to use it again!

My daughter is graduating from the Patriot Center on a Tuesday morning in June. We'd like to take about 12 people to a nice lunch after the ceremony, preferably in Virginia. We've done the GAR's to death, so I'd rather skip those restaurants. Does anyone have any suggestions for a very nice lunch restaurant?