New Arlington Eateries: Eventide & Le Pain Quotidien
One of my favorite things to do is try new restaurants. In this area, there are a ton of them – and I feel like I’ve experienced a lot of what Arlington has to offer. It’s a sign of the economic times that many of the mixed use space at the bottom of buildings have been vacant for a while, but I’ve seen a few things start to buck that trend.
I’m most excited for the new restaurant Eventide right in Clarendon. The space looks awesome, complete with one of the few rooftop decks in the area, which I hope will be the host of some awesome HH’s this summer. Not all new restaurants can hit the spot (see Restaurant 3); I just hope it provides another good choice to beef up the selection in the area.
Also opening across the street is Le Pain Quotidien, a bakery, cafe, restaurant of sorts. It’s going into the space under the Gold’s Gym. That spot has been boarded up and unoccupied for years, which is confusing because it’s such a great location.
Please try these items and report back:
Crispy Veal Sweetbreads
Ravioli of Duck Confit
Roasted Duck Breast
Malbec Braised Lamb Shank
Foie Gras Stuffed Dates
Bison Sausage Cassoulet
Chris
February 15, 2009 at 10:46 pm
I definitely plan on eating here for dinner sometime soon. I just ate at Eventide for brunch today, and it was pretty good although their brunch menu is much less adventurous.
jeff
February 15, 2009 at 11:41 pm
The wife brought this restaurant to my attention last night. I told her she couldn’t keep up with the blogging world.
Chris
February 19, 2009 at 10:04 am
You’re ahead of the curve!
I’ve been meaning to write a post about my favorite places to eat in Arlington…should give you some more firepower.
jeff
February 19, 2009 at 10:28 am
jeff,
You’re right about the brunch menu being a bit less adventurous. In my experiences in restaurants, people tend to want to the same ‘ol things for brunch as a majority. You have to offer a French toasty type of item and you have to offer an “eggs any way” dish along with your creative dishes. The eggs and FT always win in the daily menu item sales report. People just wake up on Sunday and have a taste for something that’s generally familiar to them…which we’ll happily provide and cook to the best of our ability. We also know that our other dishes can’t stray too far from the norm or people will simply go somewhere else for brunch that has more subdued, simple dishes.
I wish we could offer funkier menu items in general for brunch, but we just wouldn’t keep busy that way.
(Gosh, I hope that makes sense. I hate trying to explain my logic. I’m not sure it translates well.)
Anyway, I highly recommend the Bison Sausage “Toad in a Hole”, the Lobster and Parmesan Grits and the Braseaola Biscuits and Gravy. They’re absolute winners!
-Dave Pressley, GM/Partner, Eventide Restaurant
Dave
March 3, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Hi Dave, thanks for commenting!
Totally makes sense about the brunch menu. I tried to order the Corned Pork Belly & Potato Hash the first day you were offering brunch, but unfortunately it was not available. I went for the biscuits and gravy, and they were great. I look forward to trying to dinner and bar menus as well.
jeff
March 4, 2009 at 9:13 am