Who go to a restaurant when The Italian Store does the trick??

This is the way

Limited parking, little to no foot traffic. There are plenty of great places to eat in Arlington, but they’re in the R-B corridor and in Crystal City for a reason. Westover is probably the one exception to this.

Imma give you a life pro tip. The best restaurants are hole in the wall. Not flashy spots where you pay for the ambiance.

You’ve got some good options over that way off Langston Blvd. arguably some of the best diversity of cuisines in the dmv

Bostan Uyghur (best Uyghur in the dmv)

Cafe Colline (just on Washingtonian best 100)

Philippine market (solid Filipino food at a good price)

Charga grill (just featured in WashPo - Pakistani and Peruvian combo)

Minerva express - cheap and tasty Indian food

Peter Chang - some of the best Chinese lunch special around

Lebanese Taverna - duh

Italian Store - also duh

This is really on scratching the surface (my gf just moved to the area.) but you actually have better bang for your buck here than in dc or in the ballston / Clarendon area.

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That’s fair. I guess I don’t really want fancy. DC is a bunch of “fancy” where the food isn’t that good anyway and you pay double (read: triple) for a cute ambiance.

If I want that, somewhat rarely, I’ll hit up 14th street, DuPont, or Capitol Hill.

Just go to DC if you want something that fancy tbh

My theory is that it’s because the retail locations aren’t large enough or new enough to bring in those types of restaurants. Much of them are old looking kind of strip malls.

That area has never had any nice higher-end spots. The strip has always been somewhat run-down and sad.

Cafe Colline is probably the best restaurant there. And you have Pastries by Randolph there too for desserts.

Ballston / Clarendon are like a 5 minute drive away, and I’m guessing that’s where most of those folks go to.

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Maya Bistro is a nice sit-down place, a few blocks past Lee-Harrison shopping center.

Not exactly on point, but I was also really surprised when the new Bob and Edith's went from 24 hour to just 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. I guess we are really mostly a bedroom community of families with kids who go to sleep early, and don't need such a diner like the neighborhoods with young folks looking for a late night french fry after the club or concert or bar before going home.

I'm kinda confused by how you drew the line. I mean, Langston is just a few minutes from Ballston / Clarendon. So yes, people go out to eat there. Where, by the way, there's a much higher proportion of high rises and people

Seriously, I live in Clarendon and while there are a lot of restaurants, there aren't a whole lot of hidden gems that I've managed to find.

There’s not a decent Italian restaurant in Arlington.

Pines of Florence

No, that place is nasty.

Thompson Italian is technically in Falls Church but it's excellent

Thanks for the suggestion.

+1 for Pines of Florence. Great family run business with fantastic Italian pasta --and they have a gypsy jazz guitarist on Saturdays! (Would call ahead to make sure depending on the night)

I'll check it out thanks!

Ravi Kabob is pretty good

I know it's slated for demo, but does anyone know if Il Radicchio is any good?

Mele is also pretty good in Rosslyn

I am saving this for later. thanks for the suggestions.