The Royal

The Royal

By Andrew Kahn

Breakfast is widely considered the most important meal of the day. According to WebMD, skipping breakfast can lead to going as much as 18 hours without food, which can lead to physical, intellectual and behavioral problems. Eating a good meal in the morning is essential and no one in Old Town takes it more seriously than Charles Euripides.

Euripides is owner and manager of The Royal, a restaurant that specializes in its breakfast. While it serves all meals throughout the day, all residents of Old Town know that it is the place to be for a hearty breakfast. After a morning meal at The Royal, you aren’t going to be suffering from any of the ailments listed above.

The restaurant is located in the north end of Old Town on St. Asaph Street. Eight blocks from the congestion of King Street, The Royal is tucked in between residential buildings in a quieter part of town. The large neon sign on the corner of the building reading “RESTAURANT” is thus justified.

On a Saturday morning, a small group of my friends from Old Town decided to get an early breakfast after a late night the night before. The Royal was the obvious choice and we all met at the restaurant around 9 A.M.. There is no hostess at The Royal; the restaurant is a very welcoming atmosphere where the patrons are welcomed to seat themselves wherever they please.

Almost immediately after sitting down, a waitress brings menus and takes our drink orders. One of my favorite parts of The Royal’s breakfast is the coffee. I come from a family of passionate coffee drinkers and have grown up drinking only the finest fresh roasted coffee. Unfortunately, I cannot stomach the majority of restaurants’ cheap quality coffee. The Royal is one of the few places where while it may not be the quality of the coffee I receive at home, it still tastes delicious.

While sipping on our coffees, my friends and I engage in conversation, skipping the process of scanning the menu. We all already know what we are going to order: the Royal Breakfast. This wholesome meal comes with a combination of two pancakes, two eggs of any style, home fries, and either bacon, scrapple or sausage. At just seven dollars, it’s hard to find a better deal for that size breakfast.

In the short waiting time between ordering and receiving our food, I manage to have an extensive conversation about the history of the restaurant with our very hospitable waitress.

The Royal was originally located on Royal Street right next to city hall. Back then it was very much in the center of importance in Old Town. However, due to an urban renovation project it was forced to relocate to its current location in a more residential part of Old Town. The Royal has remained under control of the same family for the entirety of its one hundred year history. The Kyriacos family has owned and operated the restaurant since it’s opening and has been passed down to father and son. The Royal is currently run by Charles Euripides, the nephew of Richard Kyriacos, and continues to uphold the same traditions it did one hundred years ago.

When the food arrives, the talking ceases and the feasting begins. Eggs, home fries, and bacon fill one large oval plate while another smaller plate holds my short stack. The eggs come sunny side up and the bacon is neither undercooked nor burnt. It is commonly thought that it is impossible to mess up traditional breakfast foods. While this may be so, it is very difficult to make it as well as The Royal does.

The pancakes are cooked perfectly and the homemade batter has just enough sugar to make them sweet without being overwhelming. With a gentle touch, the yolk from the two eggs runs easily and brings flavor to the otherwise bland home fries. The eggs and home fries also have the perfect ratio of salt and pepper. The bacon is high quality with little fat and a lot of flavorful apple wood smoked meat.

I would definitely recommend The Royal to anyone looking for a delicious and hearty breakfast to start the day.

Belle Haven Country Club

Belle Haven Country Club

By Andrew Kahn

Belle Haven Dining Room

At the start of my senior year, my friends and I decided that we wanted to start a weekly tradition of a group Sunday dinner. However, a conflict arose over where we would dine each Sunday. After much deliberation, we concurred on choosing Belle Haven Country Club.

Belle Haven is located on Fort Hunt Road, just outside of Old Town. For my five friends whom I dine with, the drive from the neighborhood of Belle Haven to the country club takes less than a minute.

As one approaches the large gates of the country club, the “Members only” sign sticks out. Since my family does not belong to the club, I only pass through the brass gates when I come with a friend who is a member. Roughly five years ago my family considered becoming a member but the initial membership fee of close to fifty thousand dollars was too expensive.

With all the news surrounding the Occupy movements and the protests of the 99%, it is easy to see that only the wealthiest of the 1% can afford to eat at Belle Haven. Once you step through the gates, you are immersed in a world of wealth. Last Sunday, we make our way to the dining room, and attempt to find a spot amidst the expensive foreign and sport cars that fill the parking lot. My black 2003 Honda Accord sticks out like a sore thumb. A few spots away is a 1950’s Rolls Royce Phantom with a driver waiting in the front seat.

My friends and I wait in a short line when we enter the clubhouse. Sundays and Fridays are always the busiest because of the all you can eat pasta bar. After a five-minute wait, the hostess seats us in the Adult Grille and takes our drink orders.

The atmosphere of the Adult Grille has the undeniable aura of affluence. The tall leather chairs are extraordinarily comfortable and slightly resemble thrones. The fireplace is constantly attended to and the warmth fills the room on the cold winter night. Outside, the sun is setting on the well-known, 72-par golf course.

Next to the Adult Grille is the Family Grille, which is filled with children of all ages. All of the other groups in our dining room were older people. The conversations of these groups are very similar: two staples of conversation are the stock market and the republican party.

After we get situated and order a crab dip for the table, we make our way to the pasta bar. The amount of options is quite extensive. There are three different types of pasta: spaghetti, penne and bowtie. After you have chosen the pasta you can chose from twenty toppings of various meats and vegetables. Finally, you choose your sauce: alfredo, tomato or butter.

The same chef has been working at the pasta bar for as long as I can remember. After I tell him my order of spaghetti with chicken, bacon, peppers and alfredo sauce, we talk about the country club. He told me that the club was founded around 1925 and he started working here just before the huge renovation to the clubhouse in 2005. My pasta is ready after a few minutes and I join my friends back at our table.

I have come to expect a delicious meal every time I come to Belle Haven. This dinner was no exception. The pasta was creamy, delicious and filling. The bacon and the chicken tasted freshly cooked rather than refrigerated. The portion size is also huge and I rarely finish my plate. My only complaint is that the pasta tends to be a little too oily and makes me feel unhealthy. However, my guilt is balanced out by the all you can eat Caesar salad.

When its time to pay the check, one of my friends always pays for my meal using his family’s member number. Members have a monthly minimum of five hundred dollars that they must spend on food per quarter and my friend’s parents encourage them to eat at Belle Haven frequently so they can meet the minimum. You do not have to ask me twice to eat there!

The dining room at Belle Haven Country Club is a luxurious and enjoyable experience. The food from the pasta bar, along with from the menu, is great. I would definitely recommend Belle Haven to all that have the opportunity to go.

Virtue Feed & Grain

Virtue- Feed and Grain

By Andrew Kahn

Before I went to Virtue Feed & Grain, I asked my friends who live around Old Town if they had heard of the brand new restaurant. The vast majority of responses I received were something similar to, “Isn’t that the restaurant that took the place of Olsson’s?”

Virtue is located on 106 South Union Street, the previous location of Old Town’s oldest books and records store. Like many residents of Old Town, I have many memories of going to Olsson’s and looking through the plethora of books. Towards the end of 2008, Olsson’s bookstore closed after thirty-six years. Its website pays homage to both the recently deceased owner and the bookstore. Over four hundred and seventy four testimonials reminisce over experiences shared at the bookstore. Olsson’s sudden closing had a noticeable impact on the community.

It did not take long for restaurateurs Meshelle and Cathal Armstrong, owners of Restaurant Eve and The Majestic, to snatch up the location for their next venture. The name “Virtue Feed & Grain” came from the history of the two-story warehouse, which used to be a feed house for animals back in the 1800’s. The remodeling of the building was extremely extensive; it took nearly a year and required a large number of local artisans and craftsman.

Armstrong’s goal was to maintain the history of the feed house and the bookstore while giving it a modern feel. They only used wood from the time period of the building’s origin. They also reused wood from the bookcases and staircases of Olsson’s in order to create the dining room tables. Bricks were removed from the walls and moved in the middle of the first floor in order to create a boundary between the bar and the dining room.

My father and I decide to give the new restaurant a try on a Sunday at noon. After we step through the large, old wooden doors, its clear that we should have called for a reservation. The 350-seat dining room is completely full and there’s a thirty to forty-five minute wait for a table. However, in order to maintain an Irish pub feel, Armstrong made the bar area first come first serve, and my father and I were able to get the very last table.

We sit down at a small, handcrafted table for two. In front of us is a long bar with approximately thirty stools and an extensive selection of alcohol. Three large flat screen TVs are mounted on the wall behind the bar and each of them show a different NFL game. Fans of each team crowd around the TV showing their team’s game and cheer without getting too rowdy.

Since it is noon on a Sunday, our option is to either order the fixed price brunch (twenty-three dollars) or order from the bar menu. After a glance at the bar menu, we unanimously decide to order from it. The short menu includes many classic bar items while giving each a slight Irish twist. We order Spiced Buffalo Wings to share and we each get a Cuban sandwich. I was interested to see how head chef Ryan Wheeler would give these two very non-Irish dishes the Irish twist that Armstrong aims for.

While we are waiting for our meal, I ask our waitress, Melissa, if she had been here before it switched from bookstore to restaurant. She replies that she had just recently moved to the D.C. area from Buffalo but she adds that almost every customer asks her about Olsson’s. Before departing to get our food she also says that the Buffalo wings are amazing and coming from a native Buffalonian, I knew they had to be good.

The wings and the sandwich arrive at the same time on handmade wooden plates. The wings are both deep-fried and broiled, which gives them a crunchy yet juicy texture. They are also drenched in a chili-based hot sauce. The wings are neither too hot nor too mild; they had just the right amount of kick. I can honestly say the wings from Virtue are the best I have ever had.

The Cuban sandwich is also delicious. It is a simple sandwich of ham, cheese, pickles and mustard yet the ingredients are anything but basic. The meat and cheese taste fresh and not refrigerated. The bread also is made locally, which adds to the fresh flavors. It comes with a salad and homemade potato chips. The salad is a spinach salad with classic Irish mustard dressing. The dressing was different but it complimented the potato chips well.

After we finish our meal, we quickly walk upstairs to look at the renovations of the second floor. In the back there is a lounge with complimentary arcade games, pool tables, and leather chairs. In the back corner hang two signs: one red “Olsson’s Books and Records” and another black “Walter Roberts Hay, Grain, Flour and Feed.” If any restaurant were to take the place of these Old Town landmarks, I am glad it was Virtue Feed & Grain.

Faccia Luna

Faccia Luna

By Andrew Kahn

At the south end of old town, down the block from Southside 815, is the relatively small American trattoria, Faccia Luna. While the name (“Face on the Moon”) has no real significance to the actual restaurant, it successfully creates the aura of an Italian pizzeria.

Immediately upon stepping through the large wooden door of Faccia Luna, patrons are greeted by a hostess. In the front of the restaurant is a medium sized bar with roughly ten seats. Older men in suits, who seem to be treating themselves to a drink after a long day of work, occupy most of the barstools. A couple plasma TVs are mounted on the wall behind the bartender. One displays a college football game on ESPN while the other shows Herman Cain’s latest speech on Fox News.

The hostess leads us to the side of the bar to the dining room, which consists of fifteen wooden booths. The booths are almost completely occupied; my party got the last one available. Framed pictures of Italy are spaced out around the room. The pictures along with the earthy Tuscan colors of the walls and the tables create a well-decorated Italian setting. In the three booths around us, couples are having a romantic dinner date. This is exactly what I expected because the website states that “Faccia Luna is the perfect first date destination and a sentimental favorite.” While about half of the customers are couples on dates, the other half are families with children of all ages. Faccia Luna appeals to everyone from young children to the elderly.

While the menu has plenty of options, the choice for most people is the same: pizza. My mother, father, and I decide to share the special pizza for the night, which comes with applewood smoked bacon and brocolli. In addition, I order an appetizer from the specials for the night as well: scallops with tomato sauce and bruschetta. The waiter takes all of the drink and food orders without writing it down. He remembers all of the tables’ orders solely by memory.

Before I came to the restaurant, I looked online for information about the owner. I found little to no information. While we are waiting for our meals, I ask the waiter about this mystery man. He tells me that two frat guys from Penn decided to open a pizza place together in Old Town. They have had so much success that they have three different Faccia Lunas, and three other restaurants named Luna 2, Boulevard Woodgrill, and Overwood. The other two Faccia Lunas are located in Arlington, Virginia and College Park, Maryland. All three of the other restaurants are located in Old Town and are all very successful.

After about ten minutes, my scallop dish arrives. The presentation of the appetizer is very well done. Five scallops sit on a dish of tomato sauce with smaller pieces of bruschetta intermixed in the sauce. On the side sit two very large pieces of Italian bread. The first taste of the scallops does not impress. There is a subtle grilled flavor but the by itself, the scallops are rather bland. It needs the robust flavor of the tomato sauce to lend taste to the otherwise flavorless shellfish. The bread also improved the dish. The thick slices of Italian bread went well with the scallops and served as a sponge to soak up excess tomato sauce.

Right after I finish my appetizer, the pizza arrives. I can smell the bacon before the waiter sets it on the table and the smell alone was enough to get my mouth watering. The pizza lived up to the expectation of its smell. The bacon was delicious and perfectly cooked. Often when I order bacon on a pizza, it is way overcooked and tastes like it was refrigerated after being cook for the first time. Faccia Luna knows how to cook a bacon pizza the right way. Also, the fresh broccoli helps to ease the guilt of scarfing down a few slices of the bacon covered masterpiece. My only complaint is that the pizza crust is a little too thick. Besides that, the pizza is arguably the best you can get in Old Town.

For all who are looking for a great pizzeria with good atmosphere, Faccia Luna is the place.

 

Dishes of India

Dishes of India

By Andrew Kahn

Dishes of India has one of the most unique entrances of any restaurant I have ever seen. It is located in Belle View shopping center, just outside of Old Town. The front door opens to a staircase leading down and walls covered with mirrors. At the bottom of the stairs is a table covered in a colorful silk cloth with several statues of the Hindu deity Ganesha, the Lord of New Beginnings. Also on top of the table is a bowl filled with peppermint to cleanse the pallet prior to the meal. As you turn right past the table and into the main dining room of Dishes of India, the restaurant hopes you are leaving behind preconceived notions of Americanized Indian food and starting a new beginning.

The owners have done an excellent job of producing an Indian aura in the dining room without going overboard. Indian pictures and tapestries cover the pink walls. Diana Vreeland, a noted columnist stated, “Pink is the navy blue of India.” The dark red carpets match the luxurious red chairs.

My parents and I are seated at one of the fifteen white tablecloth covered tables. Almost immediately, an enthusiastic Indian waiter takes our drink orders and delivers our menu. The menu contains a wide assortment of Indian food appealing to both vegetarians and meat-lovers. All meals are reasonably priced and while all the items are written in their original Indian name, they are described well enough so that the customer knows what they are ordering. We decided to order family style in order to taste as many dishes as we could.

The waiter gave us several recommendations of the chef’s best dishes. The head chef is Ramanand Bhatt who has over forty-five years of Indian cooking experience. Our waiter described him as a decorated chef with several awards including recognition for the Chefs in America Association as one of America’s outstanding chefs. After listening to an overwhelming list of recommendations, we picked out a few dishes and sides.

The common motif in several reviews by publications like Washingtonian and the Washington Post is that Dishes of India is a hidden gem. While it is well known around Old Town, it is very rarely crowded. Of the fifteen tables, four were in use during my visit. There is also a bar in the corner of the dining room, which I have never seen occupied. Since it is not overly busy, the waiting staff is extremely attentive and the atmosphere is very relaxed and quiet.

Without many other orders to fill, the chef sent out our food within fifteen minutes of ordering. We could hear the sizzling dishes before the waiter had left the kitchen. After our meal had arrived, we passed the dishes around and put a small portion on our own plate as is common in Indian restaurants.

The first meal I tasted was murg karahi, which is chicken, tomatoes, green peppers and onion in a thick curry sauce. The small metal bowl holding the entrée sat in a holder that was above a small candle flame. While adding to the ambience, the candle warms the meal so it does not get cold during the dinner. The chicken is marinated overnight in a mixture of yogurt, coriander, cumin, garlic, and ginger. All of these ingredients are evident in the first bite of the murg karahi. I’m usually not a fan of curry-based dishes but the other spices complimented the curry beautifully. The chicken also tasted fresh and was extremely easy to cut with a knife.

My mother, an unofficial vegetarian, ordered began bhartha, an eggplant dish roasted with tomatoes, onions and spices. On first glance, the dish of what seemed like brown mush did not look appetizing. The word “bhartha” refers to the mashing of the ingredients prior to the cooking. However, having agreed to try everything, I placed a small portion on my plate. I ended up getting thirds of the dish by the end of the meal. Similar to the first dish, the coriander, cumin, garam masala, and ginger are in perfect proportions.

Lastly, my father ordered tandoor murg, a chicken dish cooked in the traditional tandoor oven. The tandoor oven is a clay oven, which gives meat a unique flavor of Northwestern India. The chicken arrived sizzling on an iron skillet. Like the murg karahi, the dish served a practical purpose in addition to adding to the atmosphere. The pink tandoori chicken was amazing. The meat nearly fell off the bone and the garam masala, cumin, and garlic added to the flavor of the clay oven perfectly. I have had tandoori chiekcn numerous times, including in India, and Dishes of India remains my favorite.

I would recommend Dishes of India to all who are looking for amazing, inexpensive Indian cuisine.

 

AguaViva

AguaViva

By Andrew Kahn

The blue lights emanating from the two-floor restaurant and bar on King Street make passersby stop and stare. They provide a change of pace from the average, dimly lit restaurants that line the heart of Old Town.

Upon stepping through the doorway, I am transported from suburbia to South Beach, Miami. Blue is everywhere: the walls, the lights, the seats and the tables. Upbeat Latino music is constantly playing in the background. The atmosphere provides a relaxing Latin American experience unrivaled in Old Town.
Our waiter, a short Hispanic man by the name of Jose, allows us to choose where we would like to sit. The restaurant is empty besides the two young couples dining in separate corners. At the table is a basket of tortilla strips and a small dish of salsa. The salsa is just hot enough without being overbearing. After informing my parents of the Tuesday night special on half-price bottles of wine, Jose leaves us to look through the menu.

Staying with the Latin American island theme, the background of the menu is an aesthetically pleasing sunset on a beach. The first page is dominated by a wide variety of ceviche. Entrées ranging from fifteen to twenty dollars fill the second page.

José strongly recommends the ceviche commenting that it’s the owner’s specialty. Mike Cordero, owner and head chef, opened this fairly new restaurant in July 2011. He has owned multiple restaurants around the area. Cordero comments, “I get to really flex my cooking muscles at AguaViva. My focus is the fresh seafood I’ve enjoyed through the years in Puerto Rico but with a modern American touch.” Cordero takes command of the food served at AguaViva and incorporates the flavors of his heritage.

Following José’s recommendation, I order a classic ceviche and a Cuban ropa vieja. While we wait for our meals, several parties make their way through the restaurant and up the stairs at the back. Curious, I ask José what is upstairs. He responds in broken English, “The bar is upstairs. There are more people on weekends.” The bar attracts a small crowd on weeknights but can pull large numbers on Fridays and Saturdays as evident in the pictures on the restaurants website.

The ceviche arrives in an oversized martini glass.Ceviche is essentially raw fish marinated in a citrus (lime or lemon) and red peppers. Layered with spinach, onions, corn, and sweet potatoes, the ceviche is placed right in the middle. After taking the first bite of AquaViva’s ceviche I can honestly say, it is the best I have ever eaten. There is an enormous amount of flavor in each bite. The rich lime and cayenne pepper marinade overwhelms the senses. The serving size is just right: providing enough fish while still leaving the customer desiring more.

After the outstanding ceviche came the scallops in a pomegranate sauce. The pomegranate was delicious and contrasted the salty scallops very well. However, the scallops were rather heavily breaded and fried, which took away from the natural flavor of the fish.

Throughout the dinner, the service is superb. José constantly brings my sister and I refilled drinks and is always around to pour my parents more wine. While this attention may be due to the slow night at the restaurant, the good service should be praised regardless.

A short while after the scallops, my entrée arrives. On first glance, I was not sure they had given me the correct order. The ropa vieja I am expecting is much different than what looks like rice and beans in front of me. However, the tastes make up ten-fold for any points lost in presentation. The skirt steak is marinated and cooked to perfection: it separates easily and is not too chewy. The tomato-based sauce compliments the meat very nicely and brings out the indigenous flavors of Cuba. Fried plantains line the outside of the dish and provide the meal with a slight flavor of fruit. The combination of the steak, sauce, rice, and beans brings out amazing flavors yet the more subtle tastes of cumin and cilantro are still present.

The serving size is on the large side. Having already consumed ceviche and a scallop appetizer, I am unable to complete the entrée. However, I ask for it in a to-go box and am excited to eat the leftovers the next day.

AquaViva is Miami Fusion at its best. The unique, modern restaurant combines the best tastes of the Caribbean and Latin America into an amazing culinary experience. Without hesitation, I will recommend AquaViva to all in need of good eats.

Tratorria da Franco

Trattoria da Franco

By Andrew Kahn

“This menu is just a suggestion. Do not hesitate to ask for your favorite dish. We would be happy to prepare it for you.” This simple statement at the top of Trattoria da Franco’s menu attempts to promises an authentic Italian culinary experience to every single patron.

From the outside, the restaurant resembles a welcoming home. A wood cutout of the man himself, Franco Abruzzetti, ushers potential patrons to give the small restaurant in an Old Town townhouse a chance. Christmas lights wind around the front and remain there, regardless of season. Potted ferns line the stairs up to the front door, which is closed to keep in the warmth but opens easily.

Inside, the restaurant is divided into two parts. To the right is the primary dining room busy with conversation and radiating warmth. To the left, however, is the room reserved for the off chance that the right side is filled.

Unfortunately tonight, the right side was full. The waiter directs us to the left side, though his thick Eastern European accent makes him hard to understand. The room was completely empty and extremely cold. The waiter attempted to turn on the small fireplace for warmth but he was unable to since it had not been used since the year before. The restaurant’s website states that the building is around 300 years old. This explains the buildings inability to retain heat. After borrowing my father’s coat, I look through the menu.

The three-page menu has just the right amount of offerings. The authentic Italian dishes have enough variety to appeal to any cravings. Most dishes were written in their Italian name and then described in English. The menu looks like it has been around for a while and maybe even as long as the twenty-five year old restaurant.
The waiter comes over and brings a loaf of freshly cooked bread and a dish of high quality olive oil with grated basil. The high quality olive oil enhanced the already delicious bread.

Pictures on the wall depict Italian people and landscapes. Posters in Italian advertise a number of events, namely opera concerts. Trattoria da Franco has a strong connection with opera. The majority of reviews of the restaurant strongly encourage people to come on the fourth Sunday of each month for opera night. The combination of Italian cuisine with Italian opera creates the perfect culinary experience.

When the waiter comes to take our order, my dad asks if Franco is still the chef and owner. The waiter replies, “of course” but follows up that he is off tonight and his son, Max Abruzzetti, is head chef tonight. The restaurant has been in the family for twenty-five years and does not look like it will be changing owners any time soon.
When the appetizers arrive, the small portion of my Caesar salad surprises me. Compared with the appetizers at Primo’s and Southside 815, my starter looks miniature. However, after I taste the Caesar salad, I completely forget the size of the appetizer in front of me. The homemade Caesar dressing tastes fresh and the hint of anchovies brings flavor to the dish. I try to savor the few bites I have, but within a few minutes the plate in front of me is void of food.

The entrees were another story entirely. The portion sizes were perfect, the tastes were amazing and the freshness was superb. By recommendation of my father and the waiter, I order the fettuccine carbonara. Immediately, the taste of the pasta itself amazes me. The restaurant’s website states that they make their own fresh pasta everyday. I honestly have not had pasta as delicious as Trattoria da Franco’s since my time spent in Italy a few summers ago. In addition to the pasta, the smokey, grilled bacon adds great flavor to the dish. Arguably the most important part of the fettuccine carbonara, the consistency is perfect. Instead of a creamy glob of pasta, the dish is not excessively creamy and instead is held together by the egg and Parmesan cheese.

My mother cannot stop raving about her dish either. Her sautéed Portobello mushrooms with spinach is excellent. The dish is not too oily; it does not overwhelm the natural tastes of the fresh Portobello or spinach. The mushrooms cut like meat; the tender Portobello are cooked to perfection and taste rich and flavorful.

While the atmosphere leaves something to be desired, the food more than makes up for it. Trattoria da Franco is an authentic Italian restaurant, which successfully immerses one’s taste buds in Italian cuisine.

Southside 815

Southside 815

By Andrew Kahn

As I open the second door to the entrance of Southside 815, I am taken aback by the intense noise. Sixteen TVs are squeezed into a bar the size of a narrow hallway. Dedicated fans, donning their favorite team’s jersey, huddle around the TV that is showing their favorite sports game and cheer loudly. Being that it is Sunday, NFL games take up the majority of the screens and rowdy fans clog the narrow hallway. Barely able to hear myself think, I make my way through the crowd and over to the hostess, who looks to my mother and asks her if she would like to sit inside or outside.

“WHAT?”
“INSIDE OR OUTSIDE?”
“OUTSIDE PLEASE!”

The hostess seats us at an unmade table for two in front of the restaurant. She places two napkins, silverware, and menus on the table. As I look through the menu, I notice the ever-present hum from the traffic on the street in front of us. The crescendo of a motorcycle engine temporarily stalls conversation while we wait for the inevitable decrescendo.

Choosing our meal is not difficult. The menu is filled with southern dishes like Po’ Boys and chicken fried steak. The entrees range from $5 to $20 dollars. Comfort food is readily available at Southside 815, yet the nutritional value is worrisome if one were to eat there regularly.

We both order one of the two specials: I order a steak Montreal seasoning and my mother orders a pasta dish. Before leaving, the waiter asks if we would like a breadbasket. What he did not tell us, but is written in small font on the bottom of the menu, is that the breadbasket, which is complimentary in most restaurants, is an added charge. We declined, not interested in filling up on expensive bread before our main dish arrived.

While we waited for our entrees, I could not help but notice the diversity of patrons Southside 815 attracts. At the table across the aisle, two elderly couples are on a double date. On the other side is a very large family with toddlers. In front of us, a group of young men eat burgers, one without an arm and a leg and wearing a shirt with ‘War-Wounded Marine’ on the front.

When our dishes arrive, I was pleasantly surprised about the presentation of my entrée. The asparagus leaned meticulously on the filet which was sat upon a throne of mashed potatoes. The meal looked so nice that on first glance, my fifteen-dollar entrée seemed as though it should have been thirty dollars.

Ever since I was a little child I have incorporated the idea of delayed gratification into my eating endeavors. I always eat the least appetizing things first followed quickly by the item I cannot wait to eat. The subsequent item tastes much better by juxtaposing it to the first item. My experience at Southside 815 is one of the exceptions to this rule.

The first bite of the asparagus breaks off cleanly: the telltale sign that it has been roasted to perfection. There is just the right amount of salt seasoning, which provides the asparagus not only with flavor but texture as well. Starting off the meal so well, I quickly transition to the steak, anticipating the best.

After I stab my fork into the middle of the filet for leverage I begin to saw away a small piece. The plate shifts and the table shakes as I struggle to cut through the tough meat. The medium-rare steak I had asked for is practically well-done. The Montreal seasoning is overwhelming. Not only is the salt and garlic too strong, the peppercorn and red pepper flakes make the steak too spicy. The meat did not have flavor and it is apparent that the chef attempted to force flavor into the meal using spices.

Similar to the asparagus, the mashed potatoes are also surprisingly delicious. Unlike the steak, they have enough salt and garlic with out overpowering the taste of the potatoes. The skins of the red potatoes are left in, which provides substance to the dish.

My mother is not completely satisfied with her pasta dish either. She remarks that the sauce is decent while the shrimp and chicken taste as though they have no flavor. They seem like they were recently frozen and are tasteless imitations of meat.

Southside 815 is a decent bar and restaurant for the price, but the food definitely leaves something to be desired.

Primo Supremo: A Family Restaurant

Primo: A Family Restaurant

By Andrew Kahn
Upon stepping through the door, I made eye contact with a waiter and held up two fingers, signaling to him the size of my party. Without breaking stride, we were directed to an available booth. Primo has the unique ability to seem full, yet always have an open seat. Sitting down in the blue-green leather booths, my mother and I were immersed in a world of comfort.

Primo Greek Family Restaurant is just that: comfortable. The lights are dimmed to a reasonable setting, the temperature is neither too hot nor too cold, and the booth seats have the proper amount of cushioning. Located at the center of the Belle View and Belle Haven neighborhoods, the restaurant is home to an assortment of patrons. On any given night, the restaurant will be filled with families with toddlers and groups of seniors alike. Primo truly is a family restaurant.
Within seconds of being seated, my mother and I received two small plastic menus. For my mother, the menu was simply a formality. She pushed it aside, having her mind already set on her usual: a Greek salad. For myself, the decision was slightly harder. I asked the waitress whether I should order the special for the night, a roast beef open faced platter, or the Gyro platter.

“You get gyro platter,” She responded decisively in her thick Greek accent. Without looking to me for confirmation, she wrote down the gyro platter as my order like a mother who knows best for her child. As quickly as she arrived, she was off to the next customer.

My mother drew my attention to the framed pictures on the wall beside our table. One, a seemingly ancient Greek document, is juxtaposed to a picture of the Greek couple that founded Primo. A few years ago, the elderly couple sold the restaurant to their nephew, Jimmie. A successful restaurateur, Jimmie decided to embrace the opportunity to open a casual, family oriented restaurant in true Greek form as a change from his more upscale venue in Washington D.C. His out-going, upbeat personality has become a staple to the Primo experience. He jumps in and out of conversations and ensures that everyone is having a good time.

“Are you sure you can eat all of that?” my mother asked me once my gyro platter arrived. In front of me was a large plate divided into thirds. One third contained strips of lamb and beef, another of Greek salad, and a third of French fries. A second plate to the side held four pieces of pita bread. Arguably my favorite part of the dinner, the pita bread is how all pita should taste. Its soft and warm texture compliments any topping.

To begin my first creation, I laid a piece of pita down as the foundation. On that, I slathered creamy tzatziki sauce. The fresh yogurt and cucumber flavors added a delicious contrast to the toppings yet to come. Next came layer upon layer of lamb and beef slices. The strong garlic and salt flavors covered up the less noticeable hint of rosemary.The meat alone would have been too salty for my taste. However, with the tzatziki sauce below, and Greek salad above, the lamb seemed perfectly salted.

Not even halfway through the meal I had depleted my coke. Before I could even request a refill, our waitress had placed a full glass in front of me. The glass was free, complimentary and filled to the brim.

For the entire hour of dinner, my mom enjoyed her glass of wine, which like the soda, was filled to the brim. Both my mother and my father are rather critical wine connoisseurs. A large refrigerated cabinet in our basement is home to a wide assortment of wines, from the extremely expensive to the rather cheap. My parents are quick to point out the flaws of a poor wine and the individual flavors of a magnificent wine.

In my roughly fourteen years of eating at Primo, I have never heard a criticism of a wine served. On the contrary, my parents comment almost religiously on the fact that the glasses are practically overflowing. And $3.95 for a large glass of wine is hard to find at any restaurant, regardless of its quality.

After eating the last few scraps on my plate, my mom picked up the receipt. She could not help but smile at the bargain price. Primo Greek Family Restaurant is an ideal place for anyone looking for inexpensive, quality food.