Have you ever seen a Matryoshka doll? They’re the wooden nesting dolls, with a doll inside of another doll inside of another doll. Sound familiar yet?

That’s exactly what comes to mind for me when I think of the “restaurant inside a restaurant” theme. In similar ingenuity, a restauranteur can open a smaller, specialized restaurant inside one of their existing spaces without necessitating the need to find an appropriate retail space. Such is the story of Farrah Olivia, the higher end Italian themed mini-restaurant inside of Kora. Both are named after the daughters of Chef Morou, having appearances on both Iron Chef America and The Next Iron Chef under his belt. It would be natural then, to have at least somewhat higher expectations of this restaurant than Kora.

On a weekend night, it’s surprisingly easy to obtain reservations for a table here, but the Crystal City area in Arlington isn’t exactly known for being a hotspot for yuppies and yupsters looking to hang out on a night off. Jen and I ended up being one of two tables dining there during our entire meal, served by a lone waiter who was unavailable often enough for me to believe that he was servicing tables at Kora as well.

Aside from a basket of warm housemade bread and a quartet of spreads, the chef further extends a warm invitation with an amuse bouche of a deep fried dumpling sliced in half and served atop a small pool of sauce, a touch that I greatly appreciated, almost doubly so as I thought about eating Jen’s as well while she was on an excursion to wash her hands in the ladies’ room. No fancy molecular gastronomy or bleeding edge cooking techniques, but just a simple, well prepared start of a meal. The dough is fried crispy to the point of adding texture without being excessively crisp.

The Painted Gazpacho is a beautiful dish (ever so slightly tipped over by our server), a yin and yang combination of chilled eggplant and tomato basil soup.  It sings notes on your palette as beautifully as the presentation of the dish itself.

The Goat Cheese Gnudi here is the exact same served at Kora, and to this day remains one of my favorites. Jen and I both ordered it- Jen as her entree, and for me, as my appetizer. Served with tomatoes, artichokes, onions, and arugula, this is a hearty and enjoyable dish. That is, if it’s prepared correctly. My dish was served with just a bit of dressing, enough to give the dish an adequate amount of moisture, whereas Jen’s dish was devoid of the same sauce altogether and being a much less enjoyable affair to eat.

As an entree, I ordered the Fillet of Beef, served with foie gras butter, fried shiitake mushrooms, date wine, and a spinach gratin cake, served on a painter’s palette as you dabble and mix flavors. A literal encouragement to play with your food. Everything on my order was served perfectly, from the fillet being cooked to a medium rare, to the complementing tastes of the sauces, butters, and condiments on my plate. All this to my relief, as I had previously overheard one of the patrons at the other table sending back her fillet several minutes prior for being way too undercooked.

All of this is to say that while Farrah Olivia aims to be of the highest caliber, it seems miss the mark on several points for being what could be conceivably considered “the fancy Kora”. Lacking consistency in its dishes and what appeared to be a server shared between two restaurants, I’m glad to to know that Chef Morou is able to keep Farrah Olivia afloat on the shoulders of a much more successful Kora- I doubt this restaurant would be able to continue purely on its own.

See Farrah Olivia on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Wandering Wayfarers
• Business Jerks
• Special Occasions
• Gnudist Camp

Not Recommended For:

• Hotspot Hunters
• Starvin’ Marvins
• Paleoheads
• Frugalistas

Rosslyn is almost a complete dead zone for high quality, satisfying food, save for a few restaurants that tend to get a majority of the patronage. Michael Landrum, owner of the various Ray’s restaurants include Ray’s the Steaks, Ray’s Hellburger, Ray’s the third, closed the popular Ray’s Hellburger Two a few weeks ago without announcement. Not that it was a huge loss, with Ray’s Hellburger just a few doors down, still slinging out the best burgers in the area.

With a similar unceremonious gesture, the old Ray’s Hellburger Two was suddenly reopened and christened Ray’s Steak and Cheese. Clearly delineating the difference between his sammich from a ‘cheesesteak’, or even a ‘Philly cheesesteak’, the restaurant has a very limited menu of an 8 oz. sirloin and ribeye steak and cheese sammich served on a toasted roll, with your choice of lettuce (gratis), tomato (gratis), peppers, charred jalapenos, and sauteed mushrooms, cooked to a medium rare unless asked otherwise.

The problem is…well, there is no problem. The sammich is incredibly delicious. The tender cuts of ribeye and sirloin are heightened with a generous coat of cheddar, nestled in a soft sub roll and only further heightened with the addition of peppers and sauteed mushrooms. Do yourself a favor, however, and just skip the lettuce and tomato. There’s no need for any of that to defile this work of beauty. Each bite is as good as the last, and I was only dissuaded from going to order a second were it not for the line that had appeared in front of the register.

You do have the option to order a side of tater tots, extra crispy and piping hot pillows of potatoes and salted for just the right amount of flavor. Beer, root beer, and wine are all also available to help you wash down a meal that has enough staying power to keep with you for the rest of your day.

The restaurant is cash only, so be prepared to pay with paper, your plastic card won’t do you much good here. That is, unless you’re willing to brave the world of ATM fees, with a machine situated conveniently next to the registers in the back of the establishment.

The sammiches, which run $10.99, seemed a bit on the expensive side to me. But given the fact that they’re made with such high quality cuts of steak, I’d say in retrospect that’s it’s a pretty reasonable price for the meal.

Service is overwhelmingly accommodating and easy, as long as you know the process. Go towards the registers in the back, order your meal, take your receipt, and hang out while you wait for your meal to be delivered to your table. Easy, right? Try and get there before noon and you’ll have a better chance of beating the crowds.

See Ray’s Steak & Cheese on a map here (there’s no sign anywhere near the restaurant itself).

Recommended For:

• Moo
• Burgered-out Bonvivants
• Cheesesteak Cherubs

Not Recommended For:

• Vegetarians
• Paleoheads
• Zone Dieters
• Lipitor Lovers

Guajillo Grill, more commonly referred to as just Guajillo, is a little neighborhood Mexican restaurant tucked away in the same strip mall as the now infamous Ray’s Hell Burger on Wilson Boulevard. Well, famous if you live in the DC Metro area, anyways. In fact, Guajillo is right next door, and if you can resist the urge to follow the legions of people flowing into Ray’s Hell Burger, you might be a little surprised to find out what you’re missing.

Guajillo doesn’t have the big time restaurant feel to it, which is fine with the people who work there as well as the owners. It comes across more as a neighborhood spot to eat, which completely perplexes me as to why everybody there (well, except one new hostess) seemed to know Jen. Eyes lit up when they saw her, and I heard an endless barrage of greetings, welcoming her back. One guy asked Jen to sign a napkin. One guy brought over a baby for Jen to kiss. People everywhere were in hysterics. One person was crying. It might have been me. I kept peeking out the window through blurry eyes to make sure the paparazzi didn’t see us coming into the restaurant. What the hell?

It's a chip and dip.

Little did I know that it’s really one of Jen’s favorite Mexican restaurants, and the food quality shows it. Jen immediately opted for a large cauldron of Sangria, and I opted for the l’eau de dc, only the freshest in local drinking liquids. A basket of freshly made corn tortilla chips suddenly appeared on our table, accompanied by a smoky, medium-hot bowl of house-made salsa and house-made sour cream’n'onion dip. Ridiculously good. So good I nearly licked the dip bowl clean on my own. Various employees came to stop by and chat, catching up with Jen since her last visit several months prior. Her status there is legendary as one of their most beloved patrons, and a photo of her sits near the cash register under the neon light hues at the bar. To say that we got exemplary service would be an understatement, as we were constantly being checked upon or served by at least three people. Whether or not that was because with Jen or if it’s pretty much standard operating procedure might require a visit of your own.

Jen and I both ordered the enchiladas, hers, the cheese filled ones, and mine, the chicken filled ones. Both were great, covered in savory enchilada sauce, topped with fresh queso, and served with sides of Mexican rice and refried beans.

Guajillo's Enchiladas

I clearly did not care for my meal.

The aftermath.

While the chicken enchiladas here are pretty damn good, the cheese enchiladas are even better. After helping Jen take out the rest of her meal, I somehow managed to coerce her into sharing a dessert with me. The sopapillas were enticing, and as I found out, enormous.

Sopapillas

These things are each about the size of a slice from a medium pizza, soaked in cinnamon, honey, and caramel, optionally served with a giant dish of vanilla ice cream. It tastes a good bit like a plate of churros, just with a different shape.

A definite winner. I’d come back again for sure, but like I said, it’s hard to walk past Ray’s Hell Burger like everyone else and get sucked into their burgers. If you’re in the mood for Mexican food, and good Mexican food at that, Guajillo is a place you shouldn’t pass up.

Good for:

• The Three Amigos
• Nobel Peace Prize Winners
• Casual Diners
• Sour Cream and Onion Dip Fantatics
• Things That Go Bump in the Night

Not good for:

• Sigfried
• Roy
• Supernintendo Chalmers
• People Who Hate Knees
• Sabretooth Tigers

View Guajillo on a map here.

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Image Credit: Flickr user jagosaurus

Metro 29 Diner is a free standing diner on route 29 in Arlington, and has the great distinction of not only being one of the best diners in the area, but also a locally owned one as well. It’s hard to miss this place as it maintains the traditional diner exterior, with just barely enough chrome and neon lighting to outshine a Japanese Decotora truck.

It's like a slot machine, only it spits out blinding death. And delicious noodles.

The interior of the diner has been renovated and has a very contemporary and clean feel to it, unlike the traditional leather booths and mini jukeboxes of chains like Silver Diner. Think of Metro 29 Diner as a fancier IHOP. Less screaming, more pie.

Speaking of pie, the desserts at Metro 29 are outstanding. The display case that greets you at the front door warrants a viewing, with enormous slices of cake, pie, and canolis. ENORMOUS. Their slices of Boston Creme Pie puts Rhode Island into complete darkness. And who wouldn’t want to die by way of pie? Much better than seppuku.

The dish portions are also nothing to scoff at here. I ordered the challah bread French Toast, because, clearly, I still can’t get enough of the Frenchies. The jumbo slices of French toast are amazing. Thick cut, soaked in egg and butter, and good enough to be eaten on their own without accouterments. I had it with two eggs sunny side up and a side of bacon. Eggs cooked sunny side up is an art, because you run the fine line of either overcooking the yolks or not cooking them enough. Fortunately, the cooks here are the Van Goghs of egg prep, because these eggs came out perfectly. The ‘side’ of bacon actually was about 10 strips of pig, no snout, little grease and perfectly crisp.

Service is friendly and fast, just the way a diner should be. Our waitress was quick to take down orders, and the food came out in less than 15 minutes.

If there were to be one complain I have about this place, it’s the fact that they don’t serve real maple syrup here. I do my best to avoid my intake of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) at all times. It’s easy enough to do during my normal diet during the week, because I avoid refined sugars altogether, but during cheat meals, I’ll have to pay extra care to check the ingredients on things like preserves and syrup. Metro 29 Diner serves up Maple Flavored Syrup, which is why I went with the nude French Bread, but I wasn’t disappointed in the least.

Metro 29 is a great place greasy spoon along I-66 and Highway 29. The wait time varies depending on when you go, but Saturday mornings are generally relaxed and you can usually get a seat without much of a wait. Definitely plan an off the rails meal here, and be smart enough to save room for dessert at the end. Highly recommended, and I’ll be back here again.

View a map of Metro 29 Diner here.

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