Italian Store (Lee Hwy meets Spout Run -- middle of nowhere Alrington)

Extremely popular deli/Italian grocer/eatery that serves some of the BEST subs/italian hoagies in the area. Waiting to place your order seems a time-honored tradition, but think on two things when you think you should not be waiting: 1) if these subs weren't this good, would there be this type of wait EVERYDAY? and 2) if other places made subs that were remotely close to being this good, would there be this type of wait EVERYDAY? Yeah, that's right. You wait until your number comes up.

Or you could get the to-go hoagies, but that's limited to two types, so if you want, you wait. And you'll like it.

The pizzas are so-so.

One of the first places we tried. We really found some gems early on here. Thank goodness for that! And when we first came, it didn't have any signage outside or anything. Some obscure place that had good reviews. You would have never known it was there. And still hard to see from the road.

Cost
$-$$

Cleanliness
Prep area seems clean enough.

Service
That's not what you're here for.

Pluses 
Best subs in the area
Outdoor seating

Minuses
You will wait
It's kind of out of the way
Only outdoor seating so if all the tables are taken, you take it to go

Overall value
One of the best bang-for-your-buck places.

Carlyle (Shirlington)

A higher-end casual restaurant we somewhat frequent, , especially to celebrate special occasions, located on the marquee corner in Shirlington. This was the first DC-area restaurant we ate at.

Still haven't tried the brunch, but hear it's great.

Cost
$$$

Cleanliness
Clean

Service
Good service (more times than not -- this may be slipping...grrrr)

Pluses 
Filet mignon - some of the best anywhere.
Crab cakes - some of the best anywhere.
And that they occasionally offer the two above together...GOLD!
Outdoor seating
Location

Minuses
Price makes it prohibitive. But for the special nights, this is a nice place because the food is excellent.
No upstair bathroom (minor but annoying)

Overall value
Good for a nice night out. They make the food well and seem to use good ingredients. Service and seating can be tough on the busy nights. Go during non-peak hours.

Cafe La Ruche (Georgetown) [CLOSED]

Visited under the advice of a friend.  Pretty much the online reviews are on target.  A little expensive for what it is and definitely for poor service.  The greatest sin though was the thrown-together nature of the food. It's a casual cafe/bistro, so we understand that the presentation may be more...leisurely.  However, there is a line. Putting a Caesar salad on the same gravy-covered plate as the main dish is one way to cross that line.  It brazenly expresses laziness on the part of the preparer. It screams, "We don't think you care about your food. You'll eat anything on your plate, you stupid American. Now, give me your money." Or, "We've only got one waitress, and we're not buying or washing anymore plates than we have to. You'll take it and you'll like it." It's a shame, too, because supposedly the desserts are excellent (we didn't try any), and the food overall was okay (though not a value). The cordon bleu was tasty. The Caesar dressing was tasty (the pieces sans GRAVY, that is). However, the filet mignon seemed more like hanger steak...and likely was. And M would not prefer any respectable place ask how we want the filet mignon. The potatoes were fantastic, though.

Cost 

$$-$$$ (borderline, so read this be at least $45-50 w/tip for two)

Cleanliness
Clean

Service
Not good. Good luck getting refills on something as simple as water. Also, we had to wait to be seated when the place was at most half full outside and almost empty inside. The place was not that busy, but we were definitely not the only ones who had to wait. It's not that the waitress was horrible (she was pleasant enough), but there was only one of her.

Pluses 

Another patron noted the place is almost never packed, so seating is rarely a problem -- though expect a wait nonetheless.

Minuses 

Lack of contentiousness.

Poor service, despite staff.

Overall value

Poor. The theme here is "laziness". The food wasn't bad but seemingly slapped together. We could spend 25-50% less somewhere else and eaten food just as good. Or spent just as much elsewhere and received much better service and a slightly better meal.