1504 Mount Vernon Ave.
Alexandria, VA  22301
703.836.9443
www.alssteak.com

If you look closely at the sign on the front of Al's Steak House there's an ellipsis (or ...) right after Steak House which is ironic since it seems to infer that it's a bit more than just a steakhouse, which it isn't in the traditional sense.  In reality, you could probably call it a CHEESESteakhouse, if there was such a thing, even though they offer other fast food staples like burgers, fries, and onion rings.  I may try those other things one day but today I was craving a well-made cheesesteak sub and the word is that Al's has been making the best cheesesteak subs in the area since 1956 (or that's what the web site says).

147 Maple Avenue West
Vienna, VA  22180
703.319.2177
www.mapleaverestaurant.com


"Confit, whatever that is...." is just one of the things I overheard from a group of colorfully loud older women having lunch at Maple Ave.  That statement, to me, sums up the contradiction that is Maple Ave.  On one hand, it serves wonderfully flavorful and diverse food, which we'll get to later, that uses inspiration and technique from several different sources.  On the other hand, it looks and feels like a diner and is located pretty far from DC on a heavy trafficked street full of strip malls in Vienna, VA.  It's a commitment to get out there and I worry that the people with easy access to Maple Ave may not fully appreciate what a gem they really have (whatever that is...).

277 South Washington St.
Alexandria, VA  22314
703.683.3247


Society Fair is Cathal Armstrong's latest addition to his Old Town Alexandria empire.  On it's website, they describe it as a "a boutique emporium of epicurean delight ~ where everything we do is devoted to food."  Think of Eataly on a much smaller scale and decorated by Liberace.  Okay, the second part may be a bit of an exaggeration but there certainly were lots of reflective surfaces, chandeliers, gilding, lavenders and overall frou-frou.  I went there for lunch and I still don't quite know what to make of the place.

1320 14 St NW
Washington, DC  20005
202.290.2821
www.thepigdc.com


I had a buddy in town for a conference and we decided to grab some drinks and a late dinner at a new joint in Logan Circle called the Pig.  Luckily, my buddy was running a bit late so we were able to get a table right away with the dinner crowd just thinning out.  Unluckily, the place is pretty dark and none of the pictures I took of the food turned out well enough to post.  Hopefully, I describe it well enough for you to go and try it out yourself.

109 South St. Asaph St.
Alexandria, VA  22314
703.683.1776
www.columbiafirehouse.com


Work and some other commitments have kept me busy this past week so I haven't been able to write much less go find a good place to eat.  I had some free time today and decided to take a bit of a long lunch to try out Columbia Firehouse which is part of the Neighborhood Restaurant Group.  So, far I've been to Tallula, Rustico, The Evening Star and Vermilion.  Columbia Firehouse, I think, is a slightly more casual take than the others but still very much in the same family with its take on simple, casual comfort food.

I posted this article in my About section as an interesting read:

"Getting a good meal in D.C. requires some ruthless economics", Washington Post, May 25, 2012 - A very interesting read on the state of restaurants in Washington DC and while I don't wholly agree with everything in the article, I can relate to it just from my experiences in comparing NYC to DC.

I was going to leave it at that but I kept thinking about what it said about DC and the state of its food because while I don't agree with everything in the article, I think a lot of the points it makes are spot on.  Like I've said before, I don't consider myself an expert on food but I've eaten at a lot of places.  I started this blog about 5 years ago but never really got into it until recently.  I wish I did record some of my previous experiences because I feel like there are a ton of restaurants that helped encourage my love for food that I haven't talked about and hopefully I'll get back to them soon.  But, I digress.

2441 18th Street
Washington, DC  20009
202.656.5285
www.sakuramen.net


An interesting thing happened when I went to eat at Sakuramen.  As I was leaving, I ran into one of the owners outside (Jonathan) and he asked me how I liked the food.  I told him I enjoyed it and we ended up chatting a bit about NYC noodle shops like Ippudo and Momofuku.  He really paid homage to David Chang for paving the way for places like Sakuramen and I would have liked to talk a bit longer but we got interrupted by a woman looking to get paid back a debt by one of Jonathan's former employees.  I'm not sure that worked out well for her.  I shook his hand, excused myself and went to get a black and white milkshake down the street.