Falls Church/Fairfax County Boys’ Dining Club

  Disclaimer: Andrew had to bail last minute for this outing, but FCB must go on.  This week, our special guest, Chef Donald Link-in-Bio, chose Wild Tacoz, but as the day drew near, it was clear the weather would not be optimal for uncovered outside dining. I quickly scrambled to find a restaurant with adequate coverage that was also new to us, leading me to The Casual Pint Falls Church. I had never heard of it before, but it seemed chill, and I was hopeful that I had maybe discovered a new go-to spot. Spoiler alert: I absolutely had not.  Now to be fair, I will note that we visited during a transition time as Virginia was lifting Covid restrictions, meaning a sudden influx of customers with limited staffing still. There was one bartender/server working at the time. But also to be fair, that does not excuse everything.  I arrived about 5 minutes before Donald, and spent the time looking at the typical chalk drawn board of beer options. There were many, and I thought I was doing a norma

 While driving down 29 on my way to Clare and Don's last week, I took note of Luzmary, a Bolivian restaurant on our list. It had a nice outside eating area and looked pleasant enough, despite the less than idyllic surrounding environment. When I asked our guest this week, Shaun the Shef, where he would like to eat, his first thought was Luzmila's in Falls Church, as recommended by a contractor who recently worked on his house.  At first, I thought he had mistyped Luzmary, but upon some research I found that the two restaurants have a troubled history, with I believe the owner of Luzmila's (the original) leaving to create Luzmary only a couple minutes down the road. Perusal of reviews did not indicate a clear winner, but we decided on Luzmary as it had a nice outside area. Luzmila's claimed to have an outside dining option, but a quick look at google maps casted serious doubt on that claim. Shaun, coming from DC, accidentally went to Luzmila's first, and when he met

Atmosphere: 3/5 Food: 4/5 Drinks: 3/5 Service: 4.5/5  Bathrooms: N/A Overall: 4/5 ---- This place hit the mark for me in a lot of ways, but I'd say most importantly it is a place I probably never would have gone save for FCBDC, despite it being 5 minutes from my house. It's a shining example of how spoiled we are with small, independent restaurants stuffed in every shopping center (and there's a lot of shopping centers here). Shaun joined us for this outing. None of us had ever had Bolivian food and had no clue what to expect. We walked in and flagged down the lone waiter and asked to sit outside, under a tent which managed to make an otherwise hot day quite pleasant. We pondered a menu that offered few clues on what to expect. One thing we knew going in--thanks to some intel from a friend of Tim's--was to try the saltenas, which in turns out are a baked pastry filled with a stew-like combination of potatoes and meat that is oddly sweet. Tim's friend was right. They

Service: 2.5/5 Atmosphere: 4/5 Price: 2/5 Food: 2/5 Drinks: 3/5  Bathrooms: 3/5 Overall: 2.85/5 --- Ramsey picked a Falls Church classic, the beach-themed Clara and Donnie's. I'd been there once before but barely remembered the place. It's a stone's throw from Dogwood Tavern, so I assume I stumbled over to Clair's because Dogwood was booked. Probably with Ramsey. I have no idea how long the place has been around, but it feels like the kind of place that has been in Falls Church forever. Probably a loyal following of older folks. A place for the 40-somethings to sneak a few drinks when FC was much more of a sleepy suburb. I will say, they are built for COVID. A huge, covered outdoor space in addition to their regular outdoor sectioned--adorned with aged, generic nautical and beach-themed items with a small bar. We grabbed a seat right by the band, a reggae group that got significantly better the more I drank.  And we did drink a lot. But first, the food: I won't

This week, we let Chef Ramsey, our first ever guest, pick the restaurant from our list.  Ramsey responded by picking Clare and Don’s Beach Shack, which both and Andrew had been to before. I had never even heard of it, but it seemed neat. When I arrived at C&D's,  I assumed Andrew and Ramsey must have arrived before me based on the ETAs they texted, but still I awkwardly strut up to the hostess. I told her that I was meeting two people but was unsure if they have already arrived. Another hostess approached, enthusiastically asking if I was meeting two girls. Before I could answer, even with a mask, her face betrayed her realization of how dumb that question had been upon seeing me up close.  I was shown to an empty table tucked away in the rear of a side area right next to a tiny stage. I texted the boys for a status update. Ramsey said he was already there. Andrew asked if we meant to meet at Don and Clare’s. I started to rethink our group's intelligence as Ramsey and I att

 Celebrity Delly holds a special place in my heart. It already was my favorite food spot in the area before starting this project. I cannot recommend it enough, so when it came time for us to do a bonus brunch outing, it was my immediate choice.  The Delly has done an incredible job adapting to covid since the beginning of the pandemic, but I will admit that I found it laughable early on when they blocked off three parking spots in front and threw a tent over them, calling it "the patio". For context, Celebrity Delly sits in an unassuming and not exactly vibing strip mall right on Route 50. Its immediate neighbors are an ABC store and a 711. At the time, I remember wondering who in their right mind would choose to eat in their "patio". If I could go back in time and give past Tim a spanking, I would do it in an instant. I would do it eagerly.  Andrew and I staked our claim to a spot in "the patio," immediately taking note of the astroturf and the view of p

Service: 4/5 Food: 4.5/5 Coffee: 4/5  Atmosphere: 3/5 Bathrooms: N/A  Overall: 4.25/5 I'm glad I waited to publish this one, because it means I have two trips to this little gem of a diner on which to reflect. It sits of route 50 in Falls Church in a pleasantly seedy shopping center. I imagine it's been around a long time. It feels like a diner, which to me is half the battle. Our first trip here was for a little post-tennis breakfast. We sat outside under one of those white tents most restaurants seem to have purchased since the pandemic to expand outdoor seating. The tent, and some astro turf, could only do so much to obfuscate the fact that one is sitting in a parking lot outside of a 7/11, a liquor store, a Giant, etc. Still it's nice to be outside on a Spring morning and it's not like we were forced out there. I ordered a coffee and a water after receiving the unfortunate news that they had no champagne--so no mimosas. The coffee was not burnt, which is the gold s

Look--I waited too long to write this. Inca was fine. It was a bad choice for this blog, though. It sits in that little part of Dunn Loring next to the Metro that is every inch a poor-man's Clarendon. If you squint you could be in Clarendon. It's just too...fine. Read Tim's blog. The food was alright; the drinks were quite tasty. I wouldn't come here again by choice, but I don't regret eating there. Service: 2.5/5 Food: 2.5/5 Drinks: 4.5/5  Atmosphere: 1/5 Bathrooms: N/A Overall: 2.75/5