Northern Virginia Restaurant Blog: 2019

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Fava Pot - Egyptian, Middle Eastern Food - Falls Church, VA

7393 D Lee Highway

Falls Church, VA 22042
Telephone: (703) 204-0609

To sum it up: Run, don't walk, to Fava Pot.

We won't mince words here. We loved everything about Fava Pot. There are at least NINE, yes, 9, great things about Fava Pot just off the tops of our heads that we wanted to share with you. We could probably think of at least one more to make it a 10, but by the time you finish reading this review, you could have been already in the car on your way to the restaurant. Besides, we wanted to give you a chance to think of what possibly we missed and to suggest a Number 10.

Here they are, not necessarily in ranked order:

1) Great food. A wide menu selection with an extensive variety of sides and appetizers that are sure to please everyone's taste buds. ALL FOOD IS MADE FROM SCRATCH in the kitchen, according to the owner, Dina Daniel. Vegetarians and vegans, as well as carnivores, can find delicious plentiful options. The portions are healthy, ample and filling. Fava Pot serves all three meals of the day - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. We came here on a sunny June Sunday for a late lunch.

OH, by the way, ONE IMPORTANT NOTE ON BAKLAVA. While there are five great desserts available at Fava Pot to choose from, we noticed the traditional Baklava is not an option. This is because everything at Fava Pot is made in its very own kitchen and since Baklava isn't made there, it isn't sold there. That's A-OK with us, since there are more than enough other delicious desserts.

Appetizer / Starter of three side dishes selected by you. There are 15 options to choose from! We selected the Baba Ghanoush, which was a little on the sweet side, the Spicy Feta Cheese, which had a slight kick, not very spicy, and the tangy mild Tzatziki, all sprinkled with olive oil and adorned with pomegranate seeds and all delicious. Served with a basket of freshly-baked pita bread.

This drink is not to be missed, especially on a hot summer day - Iced Mint Lemonade, the owner's creation. Its minty sweet freshly-prepared taste leaves you quenched and refreshed.

We both got the Chicken Kabob Platter. The chunky kebob pieces came accompanied by a Spring mix salad with marinated red onions, roasted potatoes (options are either Egyptian Rice or Roasted Potatoes), half of a hearty pita bread and a dollop of a fabulously strong garlic sauce on the side. Those who are salt-conscious may find the Chicken Kabob a bit on the salty side, but when coupled with the Tzaziki or the Pita, the combination is perfect.

The pita deserves its own mention. It is a hearty thick bread made from a mixture of wheat and white flour with a healthy layer of baked-on grains. Use it to scoop, to dip, or to open up and use as a pocket to stuff a bit of everything into one bite. It is definitely not flimsy and will not fall apart. Wow.

Since Fava Pot is famous for its roasted potatoes, per Dina, we chose this side with our Chicken Kabob, and were certainly not disappointed. Perfectly seasoned and roasted, these are excellent.

2) Great location. The Shops at West Falls Church is a great location: Easy to navigate, easy to park and can get some errands done while there, such as grocery shopping at Safeway or pick up some treats for your pooch at Petco.

The Shops at West Falls Church at the intersection of Lee Highway and South West Street.

Fava Pot is a stand-alone single-story restaurant.

3) Dina the owner. Is wonderful. Period. Some of our neighbors raved about the restaurant on our neighborhood's Nextdoor.com page, as well as about Dina's welcoming friendly personality, but meeting her in-person is truly a treat. Not only does her down-to-earth spirit form the foundation for her solidly appealing culinary creations, it also permeates throughout the restaurant's atmosphere in its cheerful staff and the satisfied returning clientele. You cannot help but catch her positive dynamic energy and carry it with you for the rest of the day. Brava, Dina.

4) Falafel ... THE BEAGLE! Those eyes! Those ears! Other than our very own most beloved beagle, this is probably the cutest beagle ever. Falafel is 4 years old and tries to be on his best behavior. Best behavior is not always easy with so many delicious smells and adoring fans around, but make no bones about it, Falafel is an intrinsic delight in this establishment. He is Dina's envoy to the patio, may be one way of looking at it. We loved him as much as the food, or maybe even more. Hands down... we will only sit on the patio so we can hang out with Falafel.

5) The story. Truly inspirational success story. Well-loved Food Truck transitions to a Brick and Mortar neighborhood restaurant. We love stories like this, and there are many. American Dream. Immigrant Dream. Female entrepreneur starts a tiny food business and transforms it into a popular neighborhood restaurant gathering spot, creating jobs and offering a taste of her previous home to her new community. Culinary Diplomacy at its best.

Fava Pot - Culinary Diplomacy

6) The setting. Fava Pot serves typical Egyptian / Middle Eastern food, but it is not what we would call an ethnic dive, a term that may well be on its way out, anyway. It stands as a stand-alone single-story eatery with large windows, a nice-size L-shaped dining hall and a sizable outdoor open canopied patio that faces the parking lot and the other stores in the shopping center. The setting is bright and clean. Murals with faces of famous Egyptians, some we know, some we don't, grace the walls.

7) The customers. For privacy reasons we are not posting photos of the families, friends, couples, etc. who were dining in the restaurant and on the patio, or the constant stream of carry-outs in large paper bags. We will also not post photos of customers standing in the fast-moving line to order food, which is brought out to the table quickly by friendly and efficient staff, or sometimes even Dina herself, with a bright smile. We just wanted to note the relaxed, pleasant, casual atmosphere that permeates to and through the patrons.

8) Prices. Prices are a bargain, especially considering the generous portions of delicious food in a friendly vibrant clean setting. It's no wonder that the Washingtonian magazine has listed Fava Pot both in the "Cheap Eats" category and also in the category of Washington D.C.'s 100 Very Best Restaurants of 2019.

9) Values. Being successful is admirable in its own right. Translating success into improving the lives of marginalized young children is transformational. Fava Pot donates a portion of its profits to improving the lives of Coptic orphaned children back in Egypt and toward helping improve literacy among girls and women in areas of the world were women are regarded as second-class-citizens. This is a new program launched by Dina as a result of her passion for helping these marginalized groups after having worked with them in the past. In this way, Fava Pot does not stop at good food. Its values reach back into the corners of the owner's former community, connecting Fava Pot customers to great causes on the other side of the world.

Can you come up with a 10th reason to love Fava Pot? Or is nine enough? ;) Please feel free to post in comments on this website or in social media.

Saturday, February 2, 2019

Rango's Tex-Mex Bar & Grill in Vienna, Virginia (Tysons Corner...errrr Tysons area)

1934 Old Gallows Rd, Vienna, VA 22182
Tel: (571) 282-3054

Newcomer to the Tysons area, Rango's opened this week to some growing pains. Its website is finally up, though without prices -- a restaurant trend that does not sit well with us. Rango's replaced the short-lived mediocre Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar in the Nordstrom Rack / BJ's Brewhouse Plaza. We were glad to see a new Tex-Mex restaurant in Tysons fill the temporary Tex-Mex void left by the abrupt uprooting of Chili's and On The Border

Right off the bat we'll be upfront and say that the welcoming atmosphere and accommodating staff more than compensated for the bland, uninspiring dishes.

We believe in Rango's potential to step-up their kitchen creations, as the experienced owners are known in our area for running the long-time well-loved local chain Guapo's with roots in Fairfax County dating back to the 1970s. This new endeavor in the quickly urbanizing Tysons (known to most of us as Tysons Corner) has a large physical footprint, ready to seat hundreds of hungry eaters. There is a tortilla-making station inside the dining hall and a large outdoor patio seating area, which is likely to be in high demand as soon as the snow melts.

We came here for dinner on a Saturday night the day after they opened in the first week of February. The staff was numerous, smiling, and friendly. The restaurant's orange walls, low mood lighting, soft Mexican music and dark wood furniture gave it a warm feel, balanced by the large windows that let in ample light. It seemed open and clean, even though one of the black cloth napkins on our table had some dried food stains when unrolled, it did look like it had been through a wash. The silverware was shiny. The large tray-like plastic plates were quite overbearing and the average food portions were spread thin on these large serving dishes.

Chips and salsa arrived at our table immediately. Disappointingly, chips were thin and broke easily when dipped in the salsa. The salsa was watery and humdrum at best, akin to red water with some diced floating tomatoes and onions. We asked for some hot sauce, which arrived quickly in a small ramekin with a warning from the waiter that it was very spicy. It was not. It was the only thing on the table that actually offered some flavor.

The Ceviche ($13.95) on the menu was a full appetizer portion, but since only one of us wanted it, we asked if they could give us a half order. Our request was cheerfully accommodated, which we appreciated, and we were charged for a half-order ($7.00). The shrimp, flounder, calamari, scallop mixture was disappointingly under-marinated. Despite squeezing over the fish the entire half of the juicy lemon almost down to the pulp, it was equivalent to chewing on rubber balls both in flavor and texture. Sadly, the thinly sliced red onions lacked any punch whatsoever. This was unfortunate, because a good ceviche with tang and personality would be sure to set an exciting tone for the rest of the meal. However, this is where our disappointments continued.

We also ordered the Cheese Nacho appetizer platter ($9.95) that arrived on one of their overbearingly large tray-like plates with a mere eight paper thin flat chips topped by a thin layer of cheese, laying on a thin layer of re-fried bean puree. It was accompanied by a small bowl of guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, pico de gallo, and 4 fresh jalapenos. At $1.25 per chip, this was barely a bargain. Moreover, the jalapenos were not only chalk bland, they were also ice-cold, while the lettuce was warm and limp, leaving us to question whether the chef pays any attention to the plates before they exit the kitchen.

Shortly, our entrees arrived, and they were not any more inspiring. Served on the same huge plates where the food is spread wide and thin, in our opinion, the portions seemed rather average in size, if not smaller than average.

Prior to placing our entree plates on the table, the server moved the salsa bowls and seeing some salsa spilled on the table, rather than wiping it, placed the dishes right on top of the tomato pieces. Not the most palatable thing to see. It wasn't until after we were done eating that the bus boy came over and wipe the table before bringing us the check. Attentiveness to details like wiping food remnants off the table in-between courses would have been reassuring, but was missing.

Now where were we... back to the entrees.

The Chicken Enchiladas ($11.95) were dry and bland. Both the very dark pulled chicken meat and the tortillas were so dry that not even a full helping of the green "spicy" (not spicy at all) sauce and the salsa were able to salvage it. Lettuce was warm and limp, and the pico.... oh the tragic pico that usually adds a savory delicious blast of flavor, well.... at Rango's it was lukewarm, bland and barely noticeable.....

The Beef Chimichanga ($11.95) did hit slightly above the (low) bar with its smoky flavor and relatively tasty meat. The ground beef was better seasoned than the Chicken Enchiladas and the tortilla was crispy, not dry. The shell kept its shape when cut into, as opposed to being too mushy or too crunchy that it would splinter into pieces.

While in our opinion the food is bland and unpalatable, we heard a lady, who was obviously a friend of the staff and the owner, at a nearby table, comment that the salsa was too spicy for her. Along the same lines, our neighbors on Nextdoor.com raved about the size of the portions, which we found to be quite average, or smaller in size than average. Neighbors also commented about the "succulent" food, which we found to be quite under-flavored. Goes to confirm that everyone has different taste buds and different strokes for different folks.

The positive side of Rango's is its wonderfully welcoming, pleasant, friendly and upbeat staff. The owner also came around checking on the patrons and asking about the food. After all, restaurants are about much more than just food - they're also about the people and the whole dining experience. At Rango's, the people really compensated for the lackluster food.

We are so lucky in Northern Virginia to live in an area with an abundance of terrific restaurants. We will give Rango's Tex-Mex Bar & Grill some time time to acclimate to Tysons until we ponder returning. In the meantime, we wish them well!