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 us at Luzmary, confirmed that we made the right choice as Luzmila's did not have outside dining.
We gathered at Luzmary around 530 on a Wednesday. As mentioned above, this section of 29 is not the most appealing, and Luzmary itself is tucked right next to a seemingly abandoned motel. This, along with Luzmary's lack of windows, at least at the front of the restaurant, really gave off some delightfully eery vibes.
While the outside is nondescript, the inside of Luzmary is cozy and well decorated. We asked to sit outside and were the only ones out on the almost 90 degree day. In the shade of their patio tent though, it was perfectly pleasant.
Luzmary advertises proudly that it is "Home of the Authentic Saltena," so we all decided to try them as an appetizer. I opted for beef. We all also got some Bolivian beer, Pacena, that while unremarkable, was inoffensive and refreshing.
I struggled with choosing my entree, as Andrew once again had quickly decided on a meal that I wanted. I was intrigued by the Pecante De Lengua, which was the same meal as Andrew's but with cow tongue instead of chicken. I have never had cow tongue before, and the thought of it totally grossed me out. But I wanted to be a bold boi for the sake of FCB DC. However, when it came time for me to pick my meal, I got scared, and asked the server for his recommendation instead. When one of his recommendations was the Pecante De Lengua, I knew that God was with us at Luzmary and his delicate but not unmasculine hands were guiding me to make the right choice, the honorable choice. I proudly ordered the cow tongue, beaming and confident. Andrew and Shaun could not disguise their respect and admiration. The server smiled to himself as he strolled back inside to put God's work into motion. I had never felt so alive.
The saltenas arrived in their appetizing bulbous form, much larger than expected. We cracked through the crusty armor, unleashing the floodgates of juicy unknown goodness onto our plates. Immediately after our first bites, the coveted FCB grunts of satisfaction began, easily discernible even over the Route 29 traffic. With absolutely no point of comparison, we all agreed that Luzmary was not lying when they claimed to have the best saltenas around. All of us were still unclear what exactly made up the insides, as we found bits of eggs, olives, and maybe beans? It seem like maybe they just scrape all the scraps from their other meals into one giant cauldron of leftover goodness that gets piped into a flaky shell. Even if so, these puffs are absolutely delicious, and I cannot recommend them enough.
The entrees arrived, and mine looked quite appealing, even despite knowing that it was cow tongue. I hesitantly took my first bite and was surprised to find that it was actually a quite tasty thin meat. I ended up glad that I got it over the chicken, as Andrew messily picked at his bone-in chicken. The meal came with rice and I believe two types of potatoes. A very starchy, hearty meal. At first, I was enjoying it, but did not think it necessarily stood out over other FCB entrees, however as I went along the spicy kick seeped in and ended up making it quite a memorable meal.
The other boys enjoyed their meals as well, and they both placed a to-go order for their partners at home. As they were placing their orders, I spoke up and ordered two saltenas to go as well. The other boys made sure it was noted to the server that their orders were for their partners, whereas mine was for myself. Jokes on them though. I devoured those puppies for lunch the next day, while they probably ate some egg salad sandwiches or like maybe some noodles and butter. Something worse for sure.
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at Luzmary. The food was excellent, the beer was refreshing, the outside dining was pleasant and interesting, and the service was great with solid recommendations. I can't speak for Luzmila's, yet, but I will definitely be going back to Luzmary for, so far, the best saltenas in Falls Church.
Atmosphere: 4/5 (Objectively unappealing location, but I liked it for that fact)
Food: 4.5/5
Drinks: 2.5/5
Service: 4/5
Bathrooms: N/A
Overall: 4/5
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