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.

5876 Washington Blvd
Arlington, VA  22205
703.237.1552
www.lostdogcafe.com


Having just spent 6 years living in New York City where I have to say my appreciation for good food grew exponentially, I wanted to test out just how much my tastes had changed.  So, upon moving back to Arlington (just outside of Washington, DC), I was still unpacking and decided to order a pizza from a neighborhood pizza joint that I remembered fondly from back in 1999-2000.  My pizza habits have changed considerably from back then when I favored a more deep dish approach to now when I crave the perfect thin slice with crispy dough that's slightly burned on the bottom.

568 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10024
212.799.7400
www.themermaidnyc.com/uws/


The Mermaid Inn in the East Village has always had a solid reputation for a restaurant that knows how to prepare seafood and while I had never visited, I had it on my radar for quite some time.  When a location opened up on the Upper West Side, I immediately enlisted a friend to go and try it.

74 7th Avenue
New York, NY 10014
212.367.7470
www.centrovinoteca.com

If you watch the Food Network, you'll probably recognize the executive chef right away when you walk into Centro Vinoteca and look into the open kitchen. It's both surprising and impressive that she's been there every time I've ate at Centro Vinoteca since a lot of famous chefs these days seem to be absentee (Anne Burrell has since left to pursue more of a TV career but she was there). I've always just wandered in for a late night dinner or a good start to the evening and it has quickly become one of my favorite meals and settings.

33 West 8th Street

New York, NY 10011

212.677.3833

www.elettarianyc.com

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Elettaria is a hidden gem on an unfortunate street caught in-between everything and located at nothing.  The stretch that the restaurant is located on is through way connecting the West Village to Greenwich Village and you'd never expect to find an intimate, eclectic and hip place beside all the discount shoe stores and fro-yo kiosks.  The rich red door is your first indication that this place is different from its surroundings and the low ceilings, dark interior and long, inviting bar top confirms this.

38 8th Avenue
New York, NY 10014
212.366.6633
www.dellanima.com

We first discovered this place when we were craving a late night snack and while we thought we wanted burgers from Corner Bistro, we changed our minds once we got there.  Dell'Anima is located just across the street and while they only offered their pasta dishes that late at night, they were enough to have me come back again and again.

10040 Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21042
410.203.0755

www.sakurasteakhouse.com

For my mom's birthday, she wanted to go to a place that my two young nieces really enjoy.  Sakura is one of those typical Japanese steakhouses where the chef puts on a show tables side while he cooks.  My nieces really enjoy watching him create food volcanoes, complete with fire and chopping up ingredients at blurring speeds.  The quality of the food is little sub par at Sakura and everything is doused with so much soy sauce and oyster sauce that the natural flavors of the food have a hard time coming through.  The vegetables are generally over cooked and overall the meal isn't something that will light up your taste buds.