Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm
42920 Broadlands Boulevard, Broadlands, VA 20148571.209.1200www.clydes.comI met up with a friend, Amy, at the newest of the Clyde’s chain in Ashburn this evening. The weather was gorgeous so we decided to sit outside on their expansive patio. The restaurant itself is absolutely huge, constructed of something like three different very old buildings meshed together. The result is beautiful, and very very Virginia.This wasn’t my first trip to this particular Clyde’s, and the first few experiences were just OK from the standpoint of food quality, even to the point of being highly inconsistent. This time, I am happy to say, was completely different. I ordered the ribs, and they were honestly some of the best ribs I’ve ever had. I like them when they are so tender the meat literally just falls off the bone with little assistance, and the sauce is a bit tangy and a bit sweet. I think most places call that “Texas style” barbeque. These were exactly the way I like them. And they came with a side of baked beans in a cute little pot, with chunks of bacon mixed in – delicious! I was drinking a glass of Estancia Red Zinfandel, it seemed to pair well with the ribs.Overall, I would give this visit to this Clyde’s a rating of 2 1/2 stars (out of 4). The service was attentive but not annoying, and the atmosphere was certainly wonderful.
Blue Ridge Grill
955 Edwards Ferry Rd, Leesburg, VA 20176
703.669.5505
www.brgrill.com
I have mixed feelings about Blue Ridge Grill. I don’t like the location, and it’s rather awkward to get to it. The atmosphere is bland and suburban, and people flock to it as if there is no other option in Leesburg. There are other options, there just don’t happen to be a lot of good ones. However, the food here is fairly consistent and good quality. What they are trying to do is certainly a good cut above the TGI Friday’s just down the street.
On this visit I opted for the Luau Steak, which is a nicely marbled ribeye marinated, grilled, and topped with a pineapple-teriyaki glaze. The steak quality was good, and it was cooked rare exactly as I asked for it. This is sometimes very hard to get, grill cooks more often than not want to overcook red meat, regardless of how you order it. The baked potato was fluffy on the inside just like it should be. The food here is not overly creative, but it is fresh and not overpriced. It’s a good casual place to go with your family as it’s very kid-friendly, and much better than most of the options in the area.
Pastino’s Neighborhood Restaurant
1750 Clearwater Largo Rd, Clearwater, FL 33756
727.559.0506
Back in the Tampa area after our overnight outing to Siesta Key. This restaurant is actually in Clearwater, hiding behind some trees on Clearwater Largo Road. It’s very cute on the outside, and it’s exactly what it says on the inside – a friendly neighborhood restaurant. There are so many of us we seem to take up the entire mid-section of the restaurant, but they aren’t very busy at 2:30pm on a Sunday. We order a couple of Toasted Raviolis and some Antipasto prior to our pizzas. The ravioli is incredibly good, very crispy on the outside, and served with a side of marinara sauce. SQ, Syd and I decide to split Syd’s most favorite pizza – sausage and pineapple. It’s a bit weird, but actually pretty good. This pizza is great – the dough is hand-tossed, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The toppings are very fresh, and I think the pineapple is actually not from a can. Pastino’s does have several other Italian dishes on their menu, but how could you pass up the pizza? I really liked this place, very casual and comfortable with reasonably priced, really tasty pizza.
Tommy Bahama Tropical Cafe
300 John Ringling Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34236
941.388.2888
http://www.tommybahama.com/TBG/StoresAndCafes/TropicalCafes.jsp
Still in Tampa…Stacey wanted to take a drive down the coast until we found somplace charming and cute to stay the night. No specific plans, no specific destination, no reservations. Not the way I usually travel, and it unnerved my normally very ‘do advance research and plan’ self, at first, but I went with it. We drove through Old St. Pete and I was ready to move to Florida at this point.
After driving down through Bradenton, we cut over to Anna Maria Island and continued south to Longboat Key. We eventually drove into this completely charming and adorable area called St. Armand’s Circle. Stacey and I were yelling to park the car so we could get out and walk around. From the look of it, not many chain stores…it was full of unique, one-of-a-kind places to browse, my kind of places. We were starving as it was now about 2pm so we contemplated a couple of choices, then settled on the Tommy Bahama Tropical Cafe. I knew it would be expensive because of the name, but that was OK. It is a chain, but not a large one, and this one sits, guess…right above the Tommy Bahama store. It’s very cute and looks somewhat like a Disney version of Old Havana. I got a Mango Iced Tea, and SQ and I decided to split the Tommy’s Great Big Crispy Fish Sandwich. I’m not sure what kind of fish it was, the menu described it as a beer-battered local island fish. After taking a bite I didn’t care, it was just really incredibly good. I guess for almost $14 it should be. And it was also very big and very crispy, and topped with these incredible sweet honey-roasted onions. Final thoughts – I would give this 2 1/2 stars out of 4. A bit expensive, but you get your money’s worth.
After getting some dinner advice from the waiter, we left to shop around the area a bit. And we still needed to find a place to stay for the night.
Turtle Beach Resort / Ophelia’s On the Bay
Turtle Beach Resort
9049 Midnight Pass Road, Siesta Key, FL 34242
941.349.4554
www.turtlebeachresort.com
Ophelia’s On the Bay
9105 Midnight Pass Road, Sarasota, FL 34242
www.opheliasonthebay.net
After heading out from St. Armand’s Circle, we passed through Sarasota and on to Siesta Key. We were getting a bit desperate for someplace to stay for the night. Most of the places we had passed either didn’t fit what we wanted (ie, tall hotels with no charm) or only rented by the week. We finally found a place that seemed to fit our requirements – nightly rentals and lots of charm – but they had no availability. They pointed us down the road a bit further to a place called Turtle Beach Resort. I fell in love instantly when we pulled into the parking lot. It just looked like Old Florida and it was oozing charm. Stacey wasn’t so sure. She had really wanted something on the beach, and this was on the bay side of the island. No one was in the rental office, so we called the number posted on the door. They had availability for a 2-Bedroom cottage, very reasonable price, and it included a deal with Ophelia’s, the restaurant next door. For $40 per person you could get a 3-course meal there. This was also the restaurant that the waiter at Tommy Bahama’s had pointed us to. We decided to go with it, and the rental agent showed up about 15 minutes later to check us in. The cottage was really cute on the inside too. AND we had our own private hot tub on the patio out back, complete with a hammock and patio furniture. I kind of wished we were staying longer.
We called Ophelia’s and they were able to get us in for 7pm. It was too dark for any views of the bay by then, and it was still, in my opinion, too hot and clammy outside to want to sit out there. This IS August in Florida. It was also raining off and on. The inside of the restaurant needed a bit of updating. It reminded me of a remnant from the 1980’s, a lot of glass and mirrors. The waitress was a bit rough around the edges, and seemed a bit annoyed that we wanted to do the $40 special. And of course, the options are much more limited for that. I started out with a French Martini – not the best I’ve ever had, but still very good. I then opted for the Baby Arugula Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette for my first course. The salad was fresh, but overall the taste was on the flat side. I was hoping for something a bit more zippy for the salad dressing. My main course was the Yellowtail Snapper with Apple Compote. I was hoping to repeat a similar meal experience I’d had in Key West last summer, but this fell hopelessly short. Maybe I was just still full from our incredibly late lunch, but it just didn’t make a huge impression on me. I followed up with the Creme Brulee for dessert. It was very good, but I think it’s hard to screw up that particular dessert. This is the place everyone thinks is the best restaurant on the island. I then wondered where we would eat if would have stayed longer. Overall, I would give Ophelia’s 1 1/2 stars out of 4.
Back at Turtle Beach Resort, we decided to take a dip in the hot tub. SQ had, unfortunately, turned the heat up so high we couldn’t stand to be in it. We turned the temp. down, then Stacey and I decided to go walking out on the resort-owned docks. This place was incredibly quiet, mostly small families and couples staying here. It would be a really, really romantic place to stay. Each cottage has it’s own hot tub, and there is a swimming pool. They also have lots of water equipment – kayaks, fishing poles, etc. There are covered swings all over the place too, several on the docks – VERY relaxing. Well, it wasn’t on the beach, but this was really nice. I’m still not sure if Stacey was crazy about the place, but SQ and I really enjoyed it. Back to reality tomorrow.
Michael’s 717 South
717 South Howard Avenue, Tampa, FL 33606
813.250.1661
www.seven17south.com
We were in the Tampa area visiting our very good friends who have recently moved there from Virginia. This was our second evening down there, we were without all the kids so had our free run of going wherever we wanted.
I will start by saying that this is the most interesting concept I’ve ever come across in a restaurant. It sits in the Soho District area, and it is surrounded by several other restaurants. It is part Italian and part Asian, and the decor is very mod, Art-deco Italian. And ultra-hip, a very young and beautiful crowd. After trying to get into Sidebern’s on a last minute whim, this is where the valet there pointed us. The menu is split between the cuisines, so you can definitively go to the section you are in the mood for. What I liked about it is that they are taking dishes traditional to one part of the world and putting an Italian or Asian spin on it.
SQ and I split the Asian Pot Roast…it was late and I wasn’t extremely hungry at this point. After we started eating it I wished I had ordered one all to myself. It was that good. The pot roast was so tender you could cut it with a fork, and it had a wonderful Asian flavor of teriyaki and pineapple, but not overdone. We finished with some sort of Chocolate Lava Cake that was out of this world.
I would give it 2 1/2 stars (out of 4) – the service was attentive, the prices very good for the quality of food. The only downside is that there didn’t seem to be anyone there over the age of 29. Except us.
Not Your Average Joe’s
19307 Promenade Drive (Lansdowne Town Center), Leesburg, VA 20176
571.333.5637 www.notyouraveragejoes.com
I had attempted to eat here before, but the power went out all over Lansdowne, all the way to Leesburg. All I had at that point was some of their foccacia bread and dipping oil. I should have quit while I was ahead and taken the power outage as a bad omen.
The restaurant itself has good atmosphere, and lots of outdoor seating for warm weather. It’s right on the main street in the new Town Center area of Lansdowne, where there is plenty of competition already. NYAJ is a small-ish chain that is primarily up in New England; this is their first, and only restaurant right now, outside that area. I took my daughter, Syd, and my mother-in-law here for dinner while SQ was out of town. The MIL and I split a pitcher of Sangria, after eyeballing another table of ladies sharing some. It was good, not great, but we were enjoying it. Syd and I also split a Mozzarella Tomato salad for a starter. The mozzarella was a bit tasteless, and the beefsteak tomatoes were not fully ripe yet. Also, the first batch of foccacia we were served was so hard I thought I was going to pull a tooth out trying to bite into it. Too bad…the dipping oil with grated cheese and red pepper flakes is really yummy. Syd and I then split the Chicken Carbonara for dinner. This too was rather bland and tasteless. MIL seemed to like her dinner, the Tuscan Shrimp. I didn’t have any of hers so I can’t comment on that dish. I do always like to give someplace new at least two chances, so I’ll come back another time to give it another try.
Details
Cuisine: American
Price range: $8 – $17
Locally-based? No
Reservations? Yes
Kids menu? Yes
Vegetarian dishes? Yes
WiFi? Yes
Smoking? No
Hours: Su – Noon to 9pm, M-Th – 11am to 10pm, F-Sa – 11am to 10:30pm
M-Ones Cut-to-the-chase Summary
Did we enjoy it? No
Would we go back? Probably not if it wasn’t nearby, but we’ll give it another shot
Worth the money? Perhaps at the price it competes
Rating: 1/2 an M out of 5 MMMMM
Eamonn’s Dublin Chipper
728 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
703.299.8384
www.eamonnsdublinchipper.com
The BEST fish and chips in the US!! (I’ve not been to Dublin yet…) This tiny little place on a corner of King Street in Alexandria is owned by Cathal Armstrong, of Restaurant Eve fame, and named after his son. They don’t have many tables as it’s primarily a takeaway, or many items on their menu other than the battered cod and hand cut chips (fries). I think they have a burger and a sausage, but why bother when the fish is really THAT good. You order at the counter (a pint of Guinness is also a must), and they call your name when the food is ready. It all comes in takeaway bags, even if you’re eating there at the semi-communal tables. And it is so piping hot you have to wait a few minutes or you’ll burn your tongue off. But it’s absolutely worth the wait. And I love the motto on the door – ‘Thanks Be to Cod.’
We happened to be here on the Friday evening of the last Harry Potter book release, and all of Alexandria had been transformed into places from the books. Several of the stores were doing themed activities, and there were tiny wizards and witches running up and down the streets. The weather was beautiful and the kids looked absolutely adorable.
Overall, 3 stars out of 4 for Eamonn’s.
Eamonn’s Dublin Chipper
There are three or maybe four guilty food pleasures everyone needs to have at their disposal. These are the staples that you can hit on a whim, with no research and no navigation system to get you there. The list for me includes a great burger joint, pizza place, pub, chipper, and diner. In the DC area we pretty much have all these covered well several times over, but of all these the clearest choice for fish, chips (and a Guinness out of a clean tap) is Eamonn’s.For DC food freaks this’ll probably come as no surprise. Cathal Armstrong’s already made quite a name with his first DC enterprise, the deservedly high-rated Restaurant Eve, also in Alexandria.The menu is geared to quick fare and has been recently been updated to include quite a few additional items – a scary thought to consider having too many options to entice more business with the lack of seating in the restaurant’s tight corner spot on King Street – but you’ve gotta get over to Eamonn’s for the fresh battered cod and all the sauce options offered, which all happen to be made in-house daily. There are some old standbys on the list and some others (you need to try them all), including: Tartar, Marie Rose, Chesapeake, Hot Chili, Kitty O’ Shea, Fronch, and Curry. Just know that when your fish comes out, it’ll be hot but at a busy time this might not be so bad, since it’s possible you’ll still be waiting for one of the few open seats (and it’s most likely you’ll be sharing a table with some new friends).Willy gets tired of me whining about beer taps. Seems like it’s about a 50/50 on whether you’re going to get a draft beer that’s part beer taste and part foul, old tap taste or, with luck, a nice draft pour. No worries here. An Eamonn’s Guinness is all good: just what one expects to get when ordering the nectar of the gods.Perhaps the only downside to Eamonn’s is that you’ll definitely spend a little more than you might expect from a quick grab chipper. Just remind yourself that you’re getting a great tasting, fresh, high quality product that won’t disappoint.For me, Eamonn’s is the first place to go for fish and chips in the DC area. 3 out of 4 stars (great food in a fast serve environment, authentic but sometimes challenging to get a seat so you might wind up doing take out if you can resist a fresh Guinness on draft).
Belga Cafe – Washington, DC
In DC, when things change it’s generally for the better – unless, of course, you’re talking about the political scene. Among the greatest benefits of the ever-expanding political human capital infrastructure – which now easily stretches well beyond our quasi-rural home and into West Virginia and Pennsylvania – is the continued infusion of urban consumer spending brought on by gentrification. Though there are certainly loads of law-abiding natives who have been forced out to suburbs by inner city redevelopment, this movement has also pushed some of the criminal elements out of neighborhoods and replaced them with hordes of eager, highly motivated and educated professionals who come from all over the country and the world, eager to serve our government and take advantage of American capitalism.
For me, stopping in the Barracks Row neighborhood of Capital Heights Southeast for the first time in 20 years (and actually staying and walking around) was the personification of this continued ‘reblooming’ of several high potential, low result areas of the 1980s. Alongside the popular Eastern Market, lately this strip has been unashamedly introducing itself to local residents who migrated here with the telecom, government, and IT booms, also with many who lived here all along but may have been entirely uninterested in coming anywhere near it.
The 2004 addition of Belga Cafe to the Eighth St / Barracks Row scene has been an important part of this area’s growth and recent adoption. The story I’ve read in a few places is that Chef Bart Vandaele was enamored with the friendly attitude and community feel of the area and went right after the space he chose at 514 Eighth St SE without pursuing any others. Though he’d been raised by two chefs (yes, his parents) and ran successful kitchens at the Dutch Embassy and his own catering business, this would be his maiden restaurant foray. I couldn’t tell you how the first three years went, but Belga’s definitely alive and well in 2007.
Our visit was a Father’s Day brunch stop with my parents. As usual, Willy picked the venue. I mean, why would you consider messing with such a good thing? The only glaring mistake on her long, successful record of picking just about anything would be locking me in a theater years ago to see the horrific Flatliners - ugh.
Having an 11:30AM reservation was fortunate: Belga was packed, inside and out, so walk-ins were welcome but obviously left with standby seating outside and at the bar. The hostess, however, was very affable and never made anyone feel less important or oblivious despite the constant need to slide out of the way to avoid exiting customers and the outside servers using the entryway servette to more quickly accommodate sidewalk patrons.We didn’t have to stand long, though, and were seated and greeted right away. Before even considering the potential pairings, three of us went straight to the Leffe Blonde, a fantastic beer that Willy and I fell in love with when we were in St Martin. Luckily the dealbreaker for a great Leffe (and many other great beers) – a very clean tap – was in play and we very likely held in our hands the best tasting draft Leffe Blonde I’ve ever had.
What’s great about this beer is its ability to play extremely well with others, in my opinion. Most guys will tell you that beer is ‘the breakfast of champions’, but that’s because to most of us beer is right up there with breathing on our list of likes and dislikes. Truth is, after today I’m entirely convinced that a Leffe Blonde and a Belga Cafe Ham and Cheese Omelette were made for each other.Sorry – got distracted… about the food: most of us grabbed breakfast food items, which are often hard to judge for review in my opinion, but it was easy to tell based on both quality and originality that Belga was doing a lot and doing it right. We were happy to see portions a little more in line with reality than typical American restaurants. It always amazes me when I get a dozen egg omelette that’s swelling with two pounds of meat, cheese, and veggies. At Belga I had a nicely proportioned omelette that was light in color and texture – seemingly getting a big dose of the ‘heavy whipping cream’ treatment, fluffy and at the same time reasonably thin – perfectly complimented but not overstuffed with the ingredients inside. Playing wingman were tiny diced potatoes which would generally be considered hash browns to those not expecting that to mean ‘crispy and browned’.
Willy had a French Toast which was lightly cinnamoned (I don’t think that’s a verb but nowadays anything can be used as one, so let’s go with it) and Sydney selected a chicken dish resembling a gyro (I wish I would have gotten the name). Fresh cut fries were also served with her meal and the server mistakenly placed these on the side closest to me. Having left St Martin with the emptiness that comes with my last meal actually including frozen fries (why would any French restaurant do this?) I quickly quenched my fresh fry deficit, even threatening to call the server over to order the largest vat of fresh cut portatoes ever ordered on the east coast. I backed off this urge, though I am certain I left Syd wanting for a few more hits of these phenomenal taters.Our conversation long outlasted our food, but that’s pretty normal for us. At Belga, after the food’s all gone you’ve still got a great DC establishment with all the Euro-mod minimalist charm and nothing that even remotely implies some packaged, copied, and transported experience you’d get from one of the megachains sliding a Sysco truck up to their back door on a daily basis. I look forward to a dinner visit and taking the Belgian theme beyond the beer.
- Atmosphere: Charming, row house feel that creates some tight moments getting in, but seating hasn’t been crammed so close that you’re always hitting a neighbor’s chair. The brick wall has been preserved and married with Euro-minimalist chic. Can’t confirm if that sax on the brick wall works, but it’s very cool without function. Artwork and lighting is consistent with the look, and outdoor seating is typical of the better DC sidewalk establishments.
- Food: Fresh, rightsized, with hints of intelligent originality even with the breakfast items. The best omelette I might have ever eaten, though I’ll admit a weakness for the fluffy greasemonsters Waffle House throws my way. Fresh cut fries are a good indicator of attention, and light accents of other fresh ingredients, not overplayed make every item at our table distinct in a sea of standards.- Service: A Belgian server at a Belgian restaurant is about as right as it gets. All aspects of interaction with Belga staff were polite and nowhere close to pretentious from start to finish.
- Overall: If our visit is any indicator, Belga is a great performer that I’m very eager to more deeply explore. Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
- Address and getting there: 514 Eighth St SE, Washington, DC. Take Metro to Eastern Market stop or navigate there using the link here.
Father’s Day at Belga Cafe
514 8th Street, SE, Washington, DC
202.544.0100
www.belgacafe.com
OK, I admit I picked this place because my father-in-law is WAY into beer. The fact that they also happen to serve one of my top 2 favorite beers, Leffe Blond, was absolutely inconsequential. Belga actually happens to have a very long list of Belgian beers, I need to come back at least to try some of the others. The restaurant sits in a very charming and revitalized area of Washington, DC, and it was a very sunny day today for walking around.
Our reservation, glad I made one as they were packed, was for 11am. Is it OK to have a beer with brunch? I didn’t care…I’d been waiting since we got back from St. Martin to have a Leffe Blond. I ordered the Wentelteefjes, which was Belgian “French” toast, with homemade syrup, and a side of sausage. It was delicious, very egg-y and the bread was nice and fluffy. The portions are large, the service was very attentive and friendly, and the atmosphere feels very much like a European cafe (ie, if you like a lot of elbow room, this is not the place for you). Overall, 2 1/2 stars out of 4, and we will definitely come back.
