1612 14th St NW
Washington, DC 20009
202.986.8778
www.pearldivedc.com


For me, having a good meal is just as much about the food as it is about the people you're eating with. The ambience is important too but I find that you can make up for a lot of things if you really enjoy the company.  This was never more evident to me as when a good friend of mine came to DC and we had lunch.  We've had a lot of really good meals together from Dell'Anima to Sushi of Gari to Dieci to Sorella to RedFarm and I wanted to make sure we headed to a good place.  So, I chose to go to Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, yet another restaurant in the Black Restaurant Group.

630 Weaver Dairy Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919.942.1133
www.thepigrestaurant.com


Do you think there's an issue with my restaurant choices when I've now written posts about Honey Pig, the Green Pig Bistro, The Pig, and The Pig again (this time in Chapel Hill, NC)? There's no problem there right? It was rhetorical.  I can't help it if I love all things pig.  I bet you do too and besides, I was in North Carolina and you can't be in North Carolina without at least trying some barbecue down there.  A placed named The Pig is always a good place to start when it comes to barbecue.

I found out about the Pig from my cousin when we were eating dinner at Lantern.  He sure doesn't share or comment about his food but he sure can give a good restaurant recommendation.  After doing some more research (namely on Lantern's website), I saw that the proprietor at the Pig was a Lantern alumnus who's opened his own whole pig, locally-sourced, and everything made from scratch BBQ place in Chapel Hill, or at least very close to it.  So, I packed the 'rents and the niece into the car for a late BBQ lunch.

2000 Mount Vernon Ave.
Alexandria, VA  22301
703.549.5051
www.eveningstarcafe.net

I had a craving for fried chicken and an urge to take my lunch hour and keep reading my book.  I'm on the last book of the Hunger Games trilogy and it's pretty addictive.  It's not Harry Potter addictive but it's pretty damn close.  Evening Star is part of the Neighborhood Restaurant group which also includes Tallulla and Rustico.  I believe that Evening Star is their flagship or their first or I may be completely wrong about that.  Regardless, when I was looking for restaurants near me, they were close, had some great reviews, and had fried chicken on their lunch menu which is ONLY on Fridays.

2761 Washington Blvd

Arlington, VA 22201

703.778.5051

www.tallularestaurant.com

For my first dining experience in Arlington, I went to Tallula with my parents on my birthday (for the first of two birthday dinners).  I drive by the place practically every day and it has always looked like the neighborhood restaurant that you always want in your back pocket in case you need to pick a place to eat in a pinch.  Tallula is run by the Neighborhood Restaurant Group (ironic! I know!) which has a collection of acclaimed restaurants in Northern Virginia.