There are many Arlington restaurants that feature happy hour or daily specials, so it is time for the next article in this series. The prices I mention are after discounts (but before tax and tip).
Mexicali Blues in Clarendon offers half price original burros ($3.50 plus add-ons) all day and night on Tuesdays.
Mister Days in Clarendon features a $9.95 t-bone steak special on Mondays (while supplies last). Wednesdays – while supplies last- the restaurant features a $2 food menu, including a choice of grilled cheese and fries, cheeseburger and fries, cup of chili, hot dog and fries, Buffalo wings, nachos, cheese sticks, cup of soup, or house salad. On Thursdays from 5 to 7 pm, the restaurant offers a free buffet dinner. On Fridays form 4 to 7 pm, the restaurant offers half price wings (10 wings for $3.48), with a choice of BBQ, buffalo, boneless, or regular options. All of Mister Days’ specials require the purchase of a drink, even if it is a soda. The restaurant also has happy hour drink specials.
Eleventh Street Lounge in Clarendon offers the following dinner specials: Monday half price salmon (at $8.25); Tuesday $11.00 for a 10 ounce ribeye steak; Wednesday and Saturday half price burgers ($4.75); and Thursday half price small plates ($3.50-$5). There are also happy hour drink specials. The food specials are from 5 to 9 pm, the drink specials are from 5 to 8 pm, and a DJ spins Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings from 9pm until 2am.
The Front Page in Ballston has half price burgers ($4.00) on Wednesdays between 4 pm and 11 pm, and features dollar drafts that evening.

Mexicali Blues
2933 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, Virginia 22201
(703) 812-9352
Mister Days
3100 Clarendon Blvd.
Arlington, VA
(703) 527-1600
Eleventh Street Lounge
1041 N. Highland St.
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 351-1311
The Front Page
4201 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia
(703) 248-9990
Where To Eat In Arlington When You Are Nearly Broke I
Where To Eat In Arlington When You Are Nearly Broke II
Where To Eat In Arlington When You Are Nearly Broke III

I have eaten at most of these places, but have not actually tried all of the specials listed in this article. Some of these specials are a little more expensive than the ones about which I have previously written.

RiRa Irish Pub in Clarendon has half price burgers ($3.50-$4.50) all day Wednesday until 11pm, when their kitchen closes. They have live bands at 10pm, and the next few Wednesdays feature DC Motors (tonight), Paul Zunno (7/19), and Ted Garber 7/26).

Kitty O’Shea’s in Clarendon has half price wings ($3.65 for 10 wings) Monday 4pm-closing. They have half price chicken pot pie ($5.50) shepherd’s pie Tuesday ($5.50) 4pm-closing. They also have ladies night drink specials on Tuesdays. Wednesday evenings feature half price fish and chips ($5.25) 4pm-closing, and quiz night, starting at 9pm. Thursdays feature half price burgers ($5.25) all day.

Ireland’s Four Courts in Courthouse has a choice of Shepherds pie, chicken pot pie, or seafood pie Sunday evenings for $7.95. They have $5.95 burgers Monday evenings, $7.95 Fish & Chips Tuesday evenings, and $45 cent wings Wednesday evenings.

Clare and Don’s Beach Shack in Clarendon has $6 Fish and Chips Monday evenings. They have a pasta special Tuesdays where 2 people get (shrimp chicken, or tofu) pasta, and a domestic draft for $22. Wednesdays is a blackened grouper or blackened tofu sandwich and a scoop of Lazy Sundae’s Ice cream for $11. Thursdays feature tequila marinated charcoal broiled chicken with a margarita for $12. Saturdays feature a coconut chicken or tofu sandwich with a piña colada for $11. Sundays feature a pulled pork sandwich with a domestic draft for $10.

RiRa Irish Pub
2915 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201
703.248.9888

Kitty O’Shea’s
2403 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22201
703-522-5295

Ireland’s Four Courts
2051 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, Virginia 22201
703-525-3600

Clare and Don’s Beach Shack
3014 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201
703-465-SURF
Where To Eat In Arlington When You Are Nearly Broke I
Where To Eat In Arlington When You Are Nearly Broke II

Editor’s Note (7.8.2013): Kitty O’Shea’s is now a different pub, one that has recently expanded. Clare and Don’s Beach Shack has moved to Falls Church.

Soussi opened just before I moved to the neighborhood back in 2002, at the corner of 18th and Kalorama. I walked past it for more than three years, vaguely wondering if it was worth a try, but never bothering to find out. I’d not heard anyone say anything about it, other than my semi-delinquent street musician of a housemate, whose judgment on anything but music is suspect.
I ignored Soussi for too long; when I ended up there for the first time – just a few short weeks before moving out of the neighborhood – I wished I’d gone sooner. My first visit was on one of those warm early spring days, and we sat out on the lovely and comfortable patio, set to watch the WAKA kids stumble from bar to field (or is it the other way around?) amongst the commuters walking home, and the other happy hour crowds gearing up for a night of 18th Street’s charming(?) tackiness. On two subsequent trips, gorgeous summer evenings inspired the same effect.
Service was slow the first two visits, despite the place not being at all packed, but very polite and friendly. On the second visit, unfortunately, our server was really kinda pushy. Once ordered, the drinks and food took their time appearing as well. On my third visit, service was prompt and very accommodating, even of NBC 4’s Scott and cameraman Jim! My server kindly obliged bringing out my meal twice so that the best shot could be had.
Soussi’s enticing list of ‘martinis’ (some of which even contain gin, vodka and/or vermouth), most costing seven to eight dollars, promises much more than it delivers. Tasty, to be sure, but they’re fairly light on the booze. Two dirty martinis and a Tres Français (which was a bit too much like drinking straight Campari for my tastes), should have left me more than vaguely relaxed.
The beer service, on the other hand, is excellent. Though a small list (basically Hogaarten, Leffe and Stella, plus undrinkablesstandards like Miller Light, etc.), Soussi employs a “French-style draft,” of which I had never before heard. The system looks unfortunately like a bidet – the glass is inverted over an upwards stream of cold water – but bartender Will says that it “just pours a better beer.” I like Leffe and Hogaarten, and they did taste pretty good, so I was happy.
And then there’s the food. Nothing I or my companions had was anything less than good, and some was excellent. This is why you go to Soussi; good North African food at reasonable prices is a rare find in DC, and this is that.
We tried lots of dishes, both from the smaller plate and main menus – the lovely-but-not-really-unique bruschetta, a very tasty merguez sandwich with harissa, and a few real stand-outs.
Of the small plates, two really spring to the fore: the shrimp tagine and the merguez sausage. The tagine consists of a few shrimp, prettily arranged in a delicious, thick, earthy-tangy sauce that, after the shrimp are too quickly gone, makes a wonderful dip for bread. The merguez plate is a number of the small, spicy lamb sausages cut in half and arranged atop a bed of mixed greens. I really like merguez, and the salad underneath set it off quite well.
On the entrée menu, the two steak dishes we tried – the tagine and pomme frites – were excellent. The meat was tender, flavorful, and juicy. The tagine is of course the more remarkable dish, as it’s not something you find that often in DC. Cooked with peppers and onions and a thick, earthy, somewhat spicy sauce (and, I believe, dry rubbed with spices), it is delicious. The steak pomme frites was similarly tender and flavorful, and adorned with frites which, while not remarkable on their own, made good dipping fodder for the assorted sauces left on our plates.
The lamb couscous with a sweet+sour plum sauce was also excellent. The meat was very tender and juicy, with a sweetness that was noticeable but not at all overpowering, the flavors subtly developing with each bite. this was one of my favorites, and definitely worth another go.
At only $15.50, I was dubious of the mahi mahi with couscous and mango salsa, but since I love both mango and mahi mahi, I went ahead and got it. Twice. It turned out to be, hands down, my favorite dish on the menu. The fish was beautifully prepared, dry rubbed I think with a tangy, slightly spicy compound (dried harissa?), with a mango salsa that was chunky and delicious, but didn’t overrun the fish’s flavor. The lump of couscous was a lovely, subtle addition to the plate, which was completed by a few lightly (perfectly, in fact) steamed veggies. Yum!
Another thing for which I must commend Soussi is their portions. Nothing is overwhelmingly huge, but nobody felt unsatisfied at all. This is an apparently lost art at many area restaurants, which either overload the plate in the name of ‘value’ or serve miniscule portions in the name of fashion. For all their drinks menu leaves to be desired, Soussi’s food speaks for itself. I don’t think I’d go every week, but I expect that I’ll be seen there with some regularity in the future.

Due to popular interest, I will follow up my recent article, “Where To Eat In Arlington When You Are Nearly Broke” with a series of articles on the same theme. I can probably keep this up for quite a while. It must be easy to ascertain that I am nearly broke.
Matuba has a $1 a piece nigiri sushi night on Mondays. I like Matuba, but have not been there in quite a while because I tend to visit metro accessible restaurants more often than not.
Cafe Asia has a Happy Hour Monday Through Friday, 4:30-7:30pm, during which nigiri sushi is $1 a piece, and select beers are $2. I was there a couple of nights ago and felt that the sushi was a good value.
Whitlow’s on Wilson has 1/2 price burgers all day on Mondays. I like their burgers, fries, and onion rings. Monday evenings can be quite busy there. They also have a Tuesday-Friday 1/2 price sandwich lunch special, but I haven’t had their sandwiches.
I generally go to La Tasca for dessert, since their desserts are excellent, but the restaurant does have some specials worth mentioning. The restaurant offers a free paella station at the bar Friday evenings 4:00-7:00pm. They also have Monday-Friday Happy Hour specials of $2.45 fried eggplant (berejenas fritas), and $2.45 fried potatoes (patatas panaderas) appetizers, $3 draft beer, $3 per glass and $13 pitcher sangria. Happy Hour specials are only offered at the bar. Desserts are 1/2 price on Sundays.
Matuba
2915 Columbia Pike
Arlington VA 22204
703 521-2811
Cafe Asia
1550 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA
703 741-0870
Whitlow’s on Wilson
2554 Wilson Blvd,
Arlington, VA 22201
703 276-WOWE (9693)
La Tasca
2900 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201
703 812-9120

There are some foods that shouldn’t exist in nature, like deep fried Oreos, foot-long corn dogs, fried cheesecake, candy apples, and and chicken-on-a-stick. As such, nature has banished them to the land of play and fun, the state fair, and kept them away from our everyday life. And it’s for the best. Just imagine the cosmic imbalance that would occur if deep fried Oreos start appearing on every street corner, or if candy apples started appearing as dessert at, say, Citronelle.
Even so, those foods have begun to creep into everyday life. You can buy Candy Apples at some candy stores, and you can get deep fat fried Mars Bars at every takeaway in Scotland. But there’s one food that’s been protected throughout the years. It is the ultimate fair food: The Funnel Cake.
The Funnel Cake is so perfect because it is so simple. You take some dough, take boiling oil in a giantic drum, and twirl the dough in. You cover it in powdered sugar, and you eat. And you dump the powdered sugar all over your shirt. Luckily, you’re at the fair, where calories don’t count and no one notices the faint mist of powedered sugar covering your t-shirt.
Now, another bastion of American life, has brought these two worlds onto a collision course. The International House of Pancakes, that “American family tradition” (as the posters adorning the wall proudly proclaim) is in the midst of its IHOP Funnel Cake Carnival. That’s right, the ultimate fair food, Funnel Cake, is now available at your neighborhood IHOP. In fact, you get “two warm, delicious funnel cakes with creamy whipped topping, powdered sugar and your choice of fruit topping: strawberry, blueberry, cinnamon-apple or red, white & blueberry (strawberries, whipped topping and blueberries).”
It’s a travesty, I tell you. How can you eat a Funnel Cake when you’re not trying to balance it on one hand, afraid of dropping it on the ground, while ripping off pieces with the other? How can you serve fried dough, with approximately 40 grams of fat, in the real world — where calories count? And how can IHOP tempt us with those glorious mounds of fried dough available any time want them?
I have to admit that I passed on the Funnel Cake during our last IHOP trip, choosing to believe that fair food should remain at the fair (and because I love my arteries). Still, I believe I can hear that sound off in the distance of the two worlds – the far-off, fantastical world of fair food and the natural, everyday world of diner cuisine – colliding. And I are very afraid.
So we beseech our readers. Should you live in the vicinity of an IHOP, don’t try the Funnel Cake. Make a statement: fair food belongs at the fair. But should you slip-up, and decide it’s just too long to wait for the next State Fair for that fried doughy goodness, perhaps you could save us a little piece?

These past couple weeks have been loaded with the stress that comes from moving into a new place, and all the organization work that comes with it. Lately I’ve been feeling more broken than an escalator in any given Metro station. As a way to let off some steam, eat copious amounts of one of my favourite foods, and to generally learn about local eateries, I decided to do some research and review the area’s phở (pronounced “fuh”) restaurants.
Phở is the national dish of Vietnam, and is traditionally eaten for breakfast. It is a noodle soup that consists of what has to be the most flavourful and well-scented broth, with Vietnamese cinnamon, star anise, and added ingredients that suit an individual order. Traditionally, phở is made with beef (usually a brisket that is cut into paper-thin slices that are cooked in the soup), although today, there are many varieties including chicken phở (phở gà), vegetarian phở, and seafood phở (which is not considered real phở, but it’s still awfully tasty).
The noodle soup itself is brought out to you at the table, along with a plate of condiments including bean sprouts, jalapeno peppers, Thai basil, and Vietnamese coriander (fresh coriander is otherwise known as cilantro, but this variety is a distinctly southeast Asian herb). These condiments pair with the omnipresent Sriracha, Hoisin, and fish sauces, which ultimately provide for a good, solid, meal in a bowl. Phở warms on a cold day, and refreshes on a hot one, and if you’re feeling run down, it is a great way to reenergize yourself. If they could bottle this stuff, we’d be ready for the bird flu pandemic.
It’s worth noting that phở restaurants are not known for their stunning décor, or their superb service. Most phở restaurants have the atmosphere of a school cafeteria, and the service to match it. The food is the main attraction here. I’ve visited the restaurants profiled below several times, and each time I’ve had a traditional phở with brisket and eye of round steak, or a chicken phở (phở gà). Given that there are a ton of phở restaurants in the area, I’ve picked a few of the review-worthy places, and summarized them below. Prices usually hovered around the $5 – $6 range for a large bowl of phở , and the $4 – $5 range for a small bowl (which makes it a great bargain for a full meal in either size bowl), and even those times when it wasn’t as good, it was still good.
Phở 75
This venerable restaurant (they’re nationwide now), has four locations in the D.C. area. The service varies, depending on the day, and so does the food. Generally, I find that the phở served at any of these (especially the ones in Arlington and Rockville) is some of the most flavourful around, and generally does not require much in the line of condiments. However, the meat can vary dramatically, depending on the day, and the mood of the chef. One one visit, the meat was exceptionally fatty, and practically all grizzle. Not that it matters because you’ll be so busy eating, you won’t care. Grade: A-
Nam Viet
A full Vietnamese restaurant (that serves things other than phở as well), Nam Viet started out in Cleveland Park, and has since branched out to two locations in Arlington and Alexandria, respectively. The phở was not as flavourful here as it was at other places, and thus required a little more in terms of the condiments. The atmosphere was nicer than a pure phở house, and the service was actually very friendly. Many of the non- phở items on the menu are quite good, and it makes for an easy and cheap night out in D.C. (just don’t try to park in the area). Grade: A-
Queen Bee
I had heard some really good things about this place, and the restaurant makes a significant point in reinforcing the fact that they are Zagat rated (the signs are everywhere). However, this was the only place that I was disappointed in. Also a full-service Vietnamese restaurant, the server seemed unable to communicate anything about the various dishes (and this was not due to a language barrier, he just didn’t do a decent job of explaining what certain things were, for those of us that don’t speak Vietnamese). The phở seemed somewhat flat, and therefore required more in the line of condiments, which led to my real issue, which was the stunning lack of condiments. My dinner companion ordered the seafood phở, and that was tasty, although I have had better in other places researching this article. Grade: B
Phở Cong Ly
This favourite of the local Vietnamese community has been in business in Springfield, Virginia for quite some time. It’s nothing special to look at, since it’s located in a strip mall on Backlick road, but hands-down, this place had the best phở of all the places I’ve been to. It’s a traditional phở restaurant, with no real other options (although there are some appetizer items on the menu), and about sixteen different ways to order your phở. Absolutely no condiments were necessary (although I did add some of the Thai basil, because I love that stuff). Very simple, and straight-forward, no complex décor, no Washington power-brokers, just phở as it was meant to be eaten. Grade: A
Phở 75 • 1711 Wilson Blvd. • Arlington, VA • (703) 525-7355
Nam Viet • 3419 Connecticut Ave. NW • Washington, D.C. • (202) 237-1015
Queen Bee • 3181 Wilson Blvd. • Arlington, VA • (703) 527-3444
Phở Cong Ly • 6671 Backlick Rd. • Springfield, VA • (703) 451-8864

Lately, I’ve been trying out bargain nights at restaurants in Arlington. Are my friends cheap? Well, yeah, that is one of the reasons I like them! Here are a few options that might be cheaper than the bargain recommendations you normally read about.

Monday nights at Rock Bottom Brewery in Ballston are Wings Nights. Their 25 cent wings and $2.50 a pint Rock Bottom draft beers is definitely a good deal. How are the wings? They are decent, but I will give a better wing recommendation later in this article. The Wings Night specials are available in the bar from 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm.

Tuesday nights at Ragtime in Courthouse are Raw Bar Night, from 4pm until closing. For $2.95 take your pick of: half a dozen Mussels sautéed in white wine/butter served with bread, a quarter pound spiced, steamed shrimp, half a dozen steamed clams served with butter, or a half dozen raw oysters. You will go through a bunch of plates, but it is still a good deal. They also have happy hour specials on beer and select rail drink

Wednesday nights are Wing Nights at Hard Times Café’s in Clarendon. Wings are 30 cents each on Wing Night (ordered by the dozen) and come in 4 varieties: original Texas, Chile Lime, Honey BBQ, and Honey Mustard (Cadillac). You can even order the wings grilled. I personally like the grilled Texas wings. They only slightly discount some of their beer during Wing Night happy hours, so Rockbottom is a better Wing Night is better for drinking ona budget.

Hard Times is best known for its chili, so feel free to order that as well if you don’t just want the bargain-priced wings. I personally like the Texas and the Terlingua varieties, but I have friends who like the Cincinnati and vegetarian versions. Hard Times Clarendon also has a chili dog stand for the summer Monday through Friday 11am-6pm across the street from the restaurant, at the metro .

And best of all, these bargain nights are on three separate nights, so you can go to them all in the same week. I can already hear my waistline expanding as I write this.

-JAY

Humanity senses intuitively that, after a great undertaking, it is wrong to just go home, run the dishwasher, and feed the cat. No less than the great Terry Pratchett gives the example of woodsmen felling a huge tree; in the moments after it crashes to the ground there’s an almost soulful pause as they stand around and think, bloody hell, that thing totally isn’t up anymore!
Which goes a long way to explain the reverential silence at our table at the end of a meal at Crème Cafe. This meal was a true work of art, staggering in size and scope, and now it was no more.
I’d read about Crème in the recent Washington Post article where they introduce it as the new Soul place for cool kids to be (but warn against the deserts). The U-street space is done up in warehouse-chic, airy and loud, and there was no line despite the online warnings. We sat down to hot bread with herb humus. I was sold.
Our server was the perfect antidote for a soul bruised by one hundred “Hi-my-name-is-Jenn-and-I’ll-be-your-server-today” ‘s. She was sweet, friendly, and fast- the type of server that makes you wish you had a brother to set up. In this order she brought: Crab cakes made of pure crab mixed with a buttery herb sauce. No I mean it, pure crab. Amg, who originally ordered it, only ended up with a bite as the whole table scrambled for a forkful. Then a buttery grits with prawns, flavored with anduille, scallions, and happiness. There was a fragrant lamb done both as a piece and ground with cumin. But the pride of the table was a brown-sugar roasted pork shank with beans overflowing the plate. It fell off the bone like a caramel string cheese.
Our plates were brought by a jovial guy in an apron who made cracks about our crab-eating habits – who turned out to be the chef. Despite the long line now forming outside the door, he stopped for a few minutes to swap his food philosophy – treat ’em like family. We asked to be adopted.
Even the deserts turned out to be trippy: coconut cake like a moist Jamaican afternoon. Either they read the critique in the Washington Post, or the reviewer was insane. If I was going to start a religion- which I may- I can think of worse inspiration.
Crème Café Lounge (Creme Cafe)
1322 U Street NW