Whatever Your Taste, You Can Find It in Arlington
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Whatever Your Taste, You Can Find It in Arlington

Ethnic choices around every corner.

By Shirley Ruhe

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

You can find everything from the Salvadoran grocery store carry-out with outside tables at La Union Grocery to the sophisticated Balkan Cuisine with a modern twist at Ambar. Arlington neighborhoods offer authentic cuisines often prepared by natives from the countries. This is a small selection of the many choices available.

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Photo by Shirley Ruhe

Elba Pozo grills chicken for the New Zealand sandwich with apricots, brie, and mango chutney. Cassatt’s features a different New Zealand specialty every night Monday-Thursday. Tonight it is New England Leg of Lamb roasted with thyme and mint jelly. Every Saturday night you can find live jazz, blues or bebop from 7-9 p.m. Local art is displayed on the walls.

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Photo by Shirley Ruhe

At La Union Grocery, Walter Bamaca wedges a sharp knife into the beef flank to custom cut flap strips for the customer’s grill. Among other choices in the meat case are costilla de res (short ribs), large whole chickens and mild Salvadoran sausages.

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Photo by Shirley Ruhe

Step up and grab a number while you decide whether to order The Capri,The Genoa, The Roma, or a meatball Italian sub on a soft or hard roll. Manager Kim Gotcher says the customer favorite is The Milano which she has layered here with two hams, provolone and salami. Add lettuce, onion, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, oregano and oil if you choose. The Italian Store is located at 3123 Lee Hwy. In addition to handmade subs, it offers a large selection of dry and frozen pastas and sauces as well as homemade cannolis and sweet sausages made with the Tremonte family recipe.

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Photo by Shirley Ruhe

Queen Amannisa at 320 23rd Street S in Crystal City was the first Uyghur restaurant to open in the metropolitan area. It specializes in several different versions of Lagman, with chopped, braised or minced lamb or chicken and combinations of peppers and other vegetables. Lagman is served with fresh hand-pulled noodles. The skill of the chef is measured in the length of the noodle that is created as the base of the dish. Owner Yimamu Maimaiti says Uyghur food represents a crossroads of Central Asia.

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Photo by Shirley Ruhe

Ambar, a new Balkan restaurant at 2901 Wilson Blvd., primarily features small plates such as suvi svinjski vrat (smoked pork neck), urnebes (aged cow cheese), jagnjeća pašteta (lamb paté). In addition, they offer an unlimited tasting menu for $35 where the dishes just keep coming. The restaurant was opened by Ivan Iricanin and the space designed by his wife, Nya Gill, to recreate a sophisticated European experience.

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Photo by Shirley Ruhe

Two-year-old Mason Tiwari practices his chopsticks skills at Peter Chang on Harrison Street. Peter Chang features an extensive menu including the chef’s Szechuan specialties such as soup steam pork buns, dry fried eggplant, cilantro lime fish, crisp pork belly and customer favorites such as scallion bubble pancake, cilantro flounder fish rolls and New Zealand lamb chops with cumin.

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Photo by Shirley Ruhe

Chef Julio Deleon stirs a large pot of chickpeas that will be used to make hummus at the Lebanese Taverna Market at 4400 Old Dominion Drive. Lebanese Taverna Market is a family-run business with another Arlington-based restaurant in Westover on Washington Blvd. as well as a number of other restaurants and cafes in the metropolitan area.

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Photo by Shirley Ruhe

A customer at Delhi Club helps himself to chicken tandoori at the Indian buffet available every day from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Delhi Club is located just across from the metro on the corner of Clarendon and Highland Streets.