| Address | 4301 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 |
|---|---|
| Phone | (703) 465-8800 |
A unique and delicious take on crab cakes at Willow. I was treated to lunch by my office. We arrived shortly before noon, seated immediately. The waiter was not very attentive and was unaware of one of the sides my co-worker inquired about. I ordered the crab cakes and they were wonderful. Batter fried filled with crab and a creamy (aioli?) sauce. The subtle flavor blended well with the thyme flavored grilled blue fingerling potatoes. If you love crab cakes but tire of the same old fried or broiled version that so many restaurants in this area serve I would highly recommend Willow.
Tuesday morning found me deep in the stacks for hours at Arlington's Central LIbrary. When lunchtime came, I was more than ready for a change of pace. On an earlier visit to the Ballston Arts + Crafts Market I had received a coupon for a 1/2 priced burger from a nearby restaurant called, Willow. The artful website, http://www.willowva.com, describes the fare as modern continental cuisine of the freshest ingredients prepared with classic French and Italian influences.
Willow, with its wrought iron gated patio, pleasingly commands its space in the first floor of the left wing of a towering office building. Recalibrate your sensibilities as mellow tones of classic jazz beckon you into an art deco open floor plan with diaphanous white sheers lining the floor to ceiling windowed-walls. It's the kind of place where the plants are live orchids in flower, and suggests that you may be safe in assuming that your highest expectations will be comfortably met.
The Willow Bar is the right choice for lunch. My arrival was commemorated with a cheerful greeting, a woven placemat, a meticulously clean bread plate, and utensils tightly wrapped in a very white cloth napkin. I immediately presented my coupon and was told to hold on to it--the half-priced priced burgers are a special at the bar every weekday. Cheers and gladness! There are no fountain beverages at the Willow Bar--half-sized bottles of the soda of your choice and a well-rounded array of bottled beers. I did not conduct a thorough read of book of wines. I was there for the very generously portioned burger: the Hickory Smoked Double Willow Burger with caramelized onions, red wine mushrooms and Havarti cheese on a potato bun served with a generous portion of hand-cut, steak-style French fries. Uber Yummy! The meat was exquisitely fresh and cooked to absolute perfection. It is a thrill to rave about the bread--handmade, daily-baked, perfectly-sized, and gorgeously baked to a tantalizing toasty glaze.
Life may present you with many burgers. At the regular price of $12, Willow's burger is fantastic. At 1/2 for lunch every weekday it is a marvelous miracle that nearly brings tears of joy to my meat-craving eyes. I love it! Five cheers to chef Tracy O'Grady. I eagerly look forward to a return visit to taste the delights of pastry chef Kate Jansen. I could not by any power succumb to dessert on my first trip--I had to fit into my bikini at a friends's swimming pool party the next day.
The Willow--go for the decor, go for the ambiance, go for the burger--just go. And enjoy!
The two of us went on a weekend. Instead of telling us about a wait time, the host told us "there's no table for you." Then another host quickly apologized and said there in fact was. There were 3-4 free tables. Nobody took our order for about 15 minutes, bread did not come for another 15 minutes. This was not a hip restaurant, in fact everybody seemed old. People kept turning around and staring at us, even though we were well dressed and behaved. We think it was either because we were younger, or because we were minorities. The host expressed some displeasure we shared our entrees. The waiter also said he was surprised we ordered so much (2 appetizers, 2 entrees, not that much). Food was slightly on the greasy side, and most of all, we felt VERY unwelcome.
Let me first write this, the latest warning: "The FDA advises consumers to not eat fresh spinach or fresh spinach-containing products until further notice." And let me then say how astonished I was to be served my entree of artichoke barley risotto with a beggar's purse of goat cheese risotto (the only vegetarian entree on the menu)...over a fairly large bed of fresh steamed spinach! I had almost forgotten about the national warnings, hundreds of illnesses, and a death or two until I was presented with this bold plate of greens. Within a minute of inquiring about the dreaded food, the waiter returned with the chef's explanation that this spinach, like most of the vegetables served, are from local or regional farmers and was not from a bag of the California-grown stuff. A big relief, but I still couldn't enjoy my meal with the "don't eat spinach," "don't eat spinach" theme song playing through my head. It was a poor judgement call, in my opinion, on the part of the menu planners. Aside from some stress while eating, however, the dinner was delicious.
Moving on, the "heirloom tomato salad," while tasty, was composed mostly of cherry tomatoes, with maybe a slab of an heirloom buried beneath, and did not come close to the very similar heirloom tomato salad recently consumed at Tallula, which was divine. Willow is a little stingy on its uneventful white rolls, placing only one on a plate and not asking if we wanted more, but the elegant environment; excellent waiter; and perfectly sweet, crunchy, and tart apple crisp at the end made it an evening to remember.
I was excited to try this restaurant, as it's a unique experience for the Ballston area. I'm not sure how it'll fair in the end, the dining room was sparsely filled at best. But we enjoyed our meals. I had the scallops and thought they were the perfect firmness and texture and in an interesting sauce with brussel sprouts which had a unique and very complimentary flavor. The server was a little weird and over-the-top fake in her smiles and offerings, which was a little disconcerting, but otherwise an enjoyable evening. The chocolate tiramisu was also very good, but beware this is not for sharing, the portion is extremely small but oh-so-good.
