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Page last updated 08/28/05
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Some good, inexpensive local restaurants
(and what we like to eat there):
Middle Eastern
- Madina Afghan Kabob, at the Food Lion shopping center at
the corner of McLearen and Centreville Roads, in Oak Hill:
closed, alas. Some local jerks basically ran them out of town when things got hot between the U.S. and the Taliban - even though the folks at Madina always told us they hated the Taliban! Too bad :-< We really miss going there.
~~~ BUT! ~~~ Some good news...
Madina has been replaced by a wonderful Pakistani place, Chanab Kabob.
My husband and I went there for the first time late one recent Friday night, got takeout, and ate it while watching Battlestar Galactica. We were still reveling in the food as we finished our leftovers at lunch on Saturday. Here's what we had: Samosa (one to-die-for potato-and-onion pillow, with a yummy dip), Chat Papri (potatoes, chickpeas, onions, and yogurt - came with little crunchy "pillows" to scoop it all up with), Dal Makhani (lentils w/ spices), and an incredibly moist, savory Chicken Karahi for 2 (comes with excellent naan).
And they deliver! We anticipate eating a lot more of their food soon :->
Vietnamese and Thai
- Chao Phra Ya, in the huge Tudor shopping center on Centreville Road just south of Herndon proper:
Friendly, good family service; great decorations; excellent food.
Our daughter's favorite Thai place.
- New-ish Thai place at the right end of the strip mall by the Sterling IHOP (on Route 7):
Service is pretty good and very friendly; decor is minimal. Very small - a dozen or so tables. Single restrooms. Food is pretty good.
They are *very* nice to our kids.
- Thai place at the left end of the Milwaukee Custard strip on Elden Street in Herndon:
Good service, food; very interesting decor w/ plenty for kids to look at.
Has gone through at least three different owners/incarnations over the years. We loved the first one; hated the second one (there were people eating burgers one time when we went - the last time we went!); this is the third or maybe the fourth re-do. This one's good again. Can't remember what we've had, but we've eaten there a few times.
- Le Grille, opposite Chuck E. Cheese (& around back from Chao Phra Ya) used to be a place where we ate somewhat often. They had great food and a very grownup atmosphere, and rough-edged marble tables, and weren't crazy about us bringing the kids. They weren't nasty; they were just nervous and were trying to keep more of a grown-up atmosphere. So we didn't go much after the kids were born. Now they're closed...
~~~ Replaced by ~~~
Another Vietnamese place. We ate there recently this summer, once, with the kids and some of our parents. The food was pretty good, but the people who came in after us (when the restaurant was empty!) got their food first. We hadn't ordered anything too odd, so we weren't happy with that. They were pretty nice to the kids, but their TVs were showing "The Mummy" with Brendan Fraser. I love him to death, but it was disconcerting - and not really what we wanted (or wanted the kids to watch) during dinner.
- Taste of Thai, Fairfax Circle, next to Nick's:
Fantastic food and service every time we've been there (many times
over two years or so). Huge menu, too. Gra tiem
prig thai, lava chicken, curries, soups, pad thai, ice cream, ...
It's way out of our way now. Don't know if they're still open.
- Star Thai, at Fair Lakes (near Best Buy and the yogurt
place):
Service is good; funky decor; panang gai is fantastic.
Well, the service *was* good before we had kids. After that, when we came with one or more babies, they were pretty unfriendly. So we don't go there any more.
- Viet Thai, near 50 & 236 in Fairfax:
calamari lunch special
and noodle dishes are great; calamari with green mustard entree is good
but gets a little sweet toward the end. Pho is pretty good. Service
is pretty good.
~~~ They closed!!! :-< ~~~
- The pho place on 29 in Centreville just east of 29/28 is extremely good.
Sushi/other Japanese
- Mikaku, right near us in the McLearen Square shopping center by the Food Lion and CVS:
Polite, friendly service, beautiful wood decor, very nice artwork; generally excellent food. Pork loin-type appetizer was big enough to be a meal (alas! I didn't have enough room left for my chirashi).
We haven't brought the kids here yet - want to keep it special for ourselves until we're sure they'll appreciate it. It's our "special occasion" restaurant for most of our date nights. The kids are almost ready - #1 finally likes unagi!
- Japanese place facing the 28/29 intersection in Centreville:
Take 28 to 29W; almost immediate left into huge shopping strip area; left into section with Kid-to-Kid and the bookstore; left again to go *between* that strip and the big food store you're looping around. Bottom of the hill on your immediate right. Park in front.
Dinner buffet. Good-sized assortment of sushi/maki and some other dishes on the buffet. Good miso. They usually have melon and/or orange slices. Very good noodles.
Medium-sized place w/ small bathrooms. Not overtly kid-friendly, but extremely kid-tolerant. Mostly tables; a few booths.
We've been there many times, always for the buffet, but I can never remember what it's called. We always look forward to going back, though.
- Arigato, on 29 in Fairfax, west of the intersection with
Shirley Gate Road:
Sushi, chirashi, unagi, miso, sour-cream-ravioli
intro snacks (not sure what they're called), teriyaki, tempura,
donburi, yaki soba are excellent. Yaki soba often is too much to eat
in one sitting.
We ate here all the time when we worked across the street from the Ted Britt on 50. Haven't been much the past few years, but it's been good the times we've made it.
Can't remember if we ever brought the kids - we mostly ate there before they were born.
- Edoya, on 606 (Elden Street) in Herndon (near Outback),
just over the border from Reston:
Sushi, chirashi are good, though I tend to prefer the chirashi at
Arigato.
They have the "flashing knives" if you're in the mood, but the performances make the rest of the restaurant way too loud.
This place started out as a wonderful restaurant. They've gone downhill over our past several visits. Now we rarely go any more. The service was lousy the past few times.
- supermarket sushi:
Safeway and Giant both have similar offerings of pre-made sushi in to-go containers. The Safeway at Hunters Woods has theirs up front, in a refrigerated display by the doors between the registers and the deli counter that's on the far left as you walk in. The Giants in our area tend to have the sushi by or in the deli counter in back.
Trader Joe's (behind the Silver Diner in Reston) has a slightly different assortment.
All are decent, not fantastic, but fine for a quick sushi fix (and I have these often). Mostly maki. TJ's is the only one I've seen - anywhere, ever - with halibut rolls.
Definitely recommend these for lunchtime or early afternoon snacking rather than evening - you don't know how long the sushi has been sitting on display.
Korean
- Songbird, on Old Gallows Road in Tysons/Vienna, just west
of the 123 intersection:
Small but yummy lunch buffet. Bulgogi, veggies,
noodle dishes. Good soup. Never been there for dinner.
Ate there very often back when I worked on Old Gallows Road. Only get there every few months to a year now.
Chinese
- The takeout/delivery Chinese place at Circle Towers (on 29 just west
of Fairfax Circle) had great roast pork and other dishes; can't remember
what it's called at the moment, but it might be China Garden or China Gourmet.
It's on the plaza:
you have to park and walk up the steps to get to it.
We went there all the time when we lived in the townhouses across the street; haven't been there in several years.
American/European, including pizza
- Nick's Pizza, at Fairfax Circle:
pizzas, calzones, and pastas
are good; didn't like the wedding soup. Service varies - tends to be
slow at lunch and pretty good at dinner/later in the evening.
- Elie's Deli, at University Mall in Fairfax and (or at least
it was last I checked) just off of Old Gallows Road as you first get to
Tysons from Merrifield:
turkey and roast beef sandwiches, asparagus melt, gyros are our favorites
We ate there all the time while working at GMU; I ate at the new Old Gallows branch when I was working there; we haven't been near either in a long time :-<
Hi, Elie!
- Silver Diner,
on 606 in Reston across from Access, on Old Gallows Road between 29 and
50 in Merrifield, and at Fair Lakes:
Burgers, simple pasta, veggie stir-fry, milkshakes. Not fabulous fancy food, but generally very tasty and homey. I like their meatloaf and their pot roast, though the latter can be a bit salty/spicy. The quesadilla was *spicy* each time we had it - not good for kids like most quesadillas are.
Desserts tend to be huge. Some are very tasty; some are OK. A milkshake is always a good bet...
Very kid-friendly. Bring a few quarters so the kids can each pick a song from the jukebox.
We like the Reston branch best (and not just because it's the closest). Just something about it. They occasionally have a vintage car club meeting in the parking lot, and the owners are happy to show off their cars and answer questions - as long as you don't touch! The kids love this.
- Skidoo's, on 50 in Fairfax:
across from the back entrance
to Fairfax High School:
has very good prime rib (and they'll give you
and end cut) and chicken. Even if you don't see it on the menu, they'll
usually be able to give you chicken or salmon with honey-mustard sauce.
Skip the fat free ranch dressing with your salad - it tastes very strange.
I think we figured out it's Kraft, but I'm not positive.
Friday and Saturday nights around 8 or 9, very loud music starts up
and it's hard to hear. I do *not* like their Sunday brunch - you can
get omelets (which I don't like), but not sunny-side up or
plain scrambled eggs or any other kind of eggs; the other stuff (mostly
different types of bread) wasn't too tasty either; and there was too
much fried stuff on the buffet.
Used to eat there a lot with my husband's family; haven't been there in a couple of years.
- Cooker, at Fair Lakes:
Used to be one of our favorites for when we were shopping down there.
Closed :-<
Desserts *only*
- Milwaukee Custard (or "Walky-Feet Custard," as our daughter calls it), on Elden Street in Herndon and near the IHOP and Babies-R-US on 50 by Centreville Road
Wonderful-tasting creamy soft-serve. Only a few flavors to choose from each day, but they rotate their menu so you can try it all. Very yummy; very generous portions; very fattening.
Pre-measured portions and pre-made ice cream cakes to go.
Train goes around overhead, and they also decorate with posters about themselves and lots of stuffed animals, so there's plenty to keep the kids amused.
They also, for whatever quirky reason, sell pickles at the register.
A little expensive compared to supermarket ice cream, but a good value for the money. Very kid-friendly.
- Baskin-Robbins, on the Worldgate end of Elden Street in Herndon (in the strip with Giant Food), at Franklin Farm Shopping Center, and at North Point in Reston, among other places:
Lots of hard-packed flavor choices including old traditional flavors, very weird new ones, and several in between. Cone choices. Topping choices. Not too expensive.
A nice assortment of ice cream cakes to go, or you can - as we have several times - have a special cake made for a special occasion.
The young Russian(?) fellow who works at North Point is very chatty.
Our traditional last-day-of-school celebration.
- Carvel is long gone as a local destination, alas, but their ice cream cakes are sold at local supermarkets. Yum!
- Cold Stone Creamery - various locations, but we've only been to the one at Fair Oaks Mall:
From my one visit very recently with our girls, I'd have to say this is the biggest ice cream ripoff I've ever seen.
It's worse than buying ice cream at an amusement park - there they give you a decent amount for the huge bucks you're paying, at least.
~~~ Let me explain... ~~~
I'd promised the kids ice cream after lunch. We saw this on the mall directory; hadn't tried it before and had seen their ads, so we went over
I ordered one kid cup for one kid and one kid cone for the other. They don't have kid-sized cones, so they used a waffle cone. Both kids got gummy bears as their mix-in. They each got about a dozen or so gummies mixed into a scoop of ice cream. The one kid had this tiny kid-sized cup with this huge cone sitting in it, and a tiny scoop of gummied ice cream at the bottom. The other kid got a similar cup, but without the cone she saw that the ice cream didn't even fill the tiny cup. I think there was maybe a half-cup of ice cream in there. It didn't come near the top. She said she wasn't all that hungry anyway, after our big lunch, but they should have filled the cup. I totally agreed with her.
I got nothing but tastes of the kids' - once I found out how much it was going to be, and I was still hungry - had had a light lunch in anticipation of the ice cream.
The damage? About $8.50, give or take a few cents, for one tiny kid cup and one tiny kid cone-in-a-cup!!! Grownup-sized portions would have been more like $4-$5+ each(!!!!!), which is why I didn't get any.
DISGUSTING. OFFENSIVE. This company should be ashamed of itself.
On the way back to the car (the wrong way, as it turned out), we went by the smoothie booth on the upper level. There they sell smoothies for about the same price as a tiny Cold Stone kid cup. The smoothie place had very generously-sized soft-serve cones for about $1.50-$3. That's a *much* better deal!!!
Let me tell you, Cold Stone is *all* hype. They've got some marketing genius behind them - tons of people were eating there, and I seemed to be the only one who thought it was a ripoff. I don't care how fresh and tasty their ice cream is, a kid cup should look like it's full and their prices should reflect the amounts.
I do not ever plan to buy their ice cream again, unless it's free.
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