Falls Church/Fairfax County Boys’ Dining Club

  A Note: Hello constant reader, Tim here, providing a rare peek behind the curtain of FCB DC. Figured we owed you an explanation for our lengthy hiatus. Andrew and I typically have very little input or interaction with this blog or our instagram. We rely on our our team of writers and editors to make our reviews the stellar final products you see here, free from any slurs and filled to the brim with meticulously placed oxford commas.  That being said, we felt we owed it to you, our beloved fans, to step out of the background and address the situation directly.  To be honest, after The Casual Pint, our faith in the dining experience was drained, and we could not bring ourselves to eat at a restaurant ever again. We continued to live our lives, cooking delicious meals at home. Satisfied but lacking a certain zest. Until. Both Andrew and I were in car accidents. At first this seemed like just bad luck, but we soon realized, this was GOD (Good Old-fashioned Dining) reaching ...

  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 ...

 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...

 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

 Andrew’s only request for my pick this week was for it to be off the beaten path. We ended up going with Inca Social, the exact opposite. Their Instagram is loaded with content, and the restaurant is prominently featured in a congested Arlington wannabe area in Dunn Loring right next to a metro station. It was also the first time we had to book a reservation days in advance. However, we could not just ignore their claim of being the #1 Peruvian restaurant in all of Virginia.  Our reservations were for 630 on a Friday night. We both arrived around the same time, but struggled to find parking, ultimately giving up and parking in the metro garage. After the couple mile walk from my car, I finally arrived at Inca Social, which boasted an underwhelming facade, resting awkwardly on the corner of two very busy streets. Based on the need for a reservation and their instagram posts boasting of a lively and busy environment, I expected to be strutting into good vibes. Instead, I walked...

Atmosphere - 4/5  Service - 5/5   Price - 5/5 Food - 5/5  Drink - 5/5  Bathroom - not sure Overall - 4.5/5 Who is the Choong man? And what of his chicken? It's these questions that drew us to this little eatery, which I've passed dozens of times on route 29. It was bound to be my first pick off the FCBDC list.  To be honest I didn't know what kind of place Choong Man was when I picked it. Peruvian? Maybe. Thai? Perhaps. Southern? Could be. The Choong Man is Korean. And his chicken is tasty as hell. I ordered some fries and the garlic chicken wings, the first thing on the menu. First, though, came something we learned was pickled radish; not bad. The fries popped out quickly. Crispy, curly, and in a heap so large I thought it was two orders. Really nicely done and served with some spicy and sweet mayo. Then the wings came. A beautiful, glowing orange pile of fried wings. They were really quite spicy and there are no options to scale up or down that spice lev...

 "Choong Man Chicken" I awaken suddenly, drenched in sweat. I see the familiar shadowy figure standing at the foot of my bed. Originally frightened by this unnerving situation when it began three weeks ago, this time I find myself nonplussed. Although just a silhouette, the toned outline of the thighs give the identity away. I rub my eyes and the demonic vision of Andrew's spirit dissipates. I grab my phone from the nightstand to check the time. I see I have a text from Andrew. All it says is... "Choong Man Chicken" It's time.  From the moment we decided on this project, Andrew has consistently mentioned Choong Man Chicken, a Korean chicken joint close to his house. It only took two outings until we gave in and decided to try it out. I knew nothing about this restaurant, but a quick glance at the reviews alerted me to the apparent 5 star quality chicken wings. So after all this buildup, how did it hold up? Godamn this is some good chicken. Not only that, but...

(Ratings for Panjshir only) Overall: 2.5/5 Food: 2.5/5 Wine (a cheap bottle from Oregon): 1/5 Ambience: 4/5 Bathrooms: untested Service: 4/5 It's Wednesday. 5:30PM. I get in my 2017 Honda Civic and drive east on route 29, French metalcore loud on the stereo. The weather: the rare, perfect Spring day. The main thing that Panjshir has going for it is its proximity to the quite popular (deservedly so) Audacious Aleworks, which opened in Falls Church a few years ago. It wasn't around when I first lived in FC circa 2013-2016, and it's too bad because their beer is solid and they tend to do a lot of great stouts.  We stop in there first before dinner and grab a couple flights. For me, it's a--very--light lager, a hefeweizen, a nut brown ale, and the mexican stout. The last of these is the real hit for me, lots of cinnamon and a hint of pepper. Lots of little kids run around our table and play with a dog. Tim and I suck down our beers and the free popcorn quickly and stick our...

 Background: Andrew and I compiled a Google Doc of restaurants for this project from just looking around on google maps as well as marking interesting looking places that we have seen but never checked out. Right now that list sits at 42 restaurants. However, instead of using that list for this week's outing, we settled on Panjshir, an Afghan restaurant in Falls Church. While meeting with a friend from out of town earlier in the week at Audacious Aleworks Brewery, I couldn't help but be intrigued by the restaurant next door with a haphazardly thrown together outside dining area and absolutely zero customers. I also really liked the vibe of the manager who repeatedly would come outside, arms folded, and glare disapprovingly at some unruly drunk customers of the brewery that were causing a scene. I mentioned the spot to Andrew, and after two minutes of him looking at the list and being overwhelmed by options, we settled on Panjshir for this week.  Audacious Aleworks : Andrew and...

 When Andrew and I decided to do our version of The Trip, but limited to restaurants within a 5 mile radius of our houses, Settle Down Easy Brewery was an obvious first choice. I moved to Falls Church in 2019, 4 minutes from this brewery, and I only realized it existed when Andrew mentioned visiting it on a house hunting trip in the area. He has since moved to Fairfax, a couple minutes down 50 from me.  I first tasted some of the offerings from Settle Down when Andrew visited me after such a house hunting trip. He brought me a growler from a brewery nearby that he said perfectly aligned with my All-American values, noting that FoxNews was on every screen in the brewery. This of course piqued my interest. The beer was forgettable, but I was still intrigued by a brewery so close by but so unseen.  To preface our actual inaugural outing, both Andrew and I are lucky enough to be fully vaccinated. However, I still wanted to ease in to things with an outdoor setting. In terms o...