The House of Marinara

- by Northern VA correspondent, Dogburt

Greetings, fair readers. I am your humble guest-blogger while Mr. Marinara gallivants around Greece, eating taste morsels and screaming, “Μολὼν λαβέ!” while plunging through the Hot Gates. I have had the privilege of knowing your host for about 15 years now, and he has seasoned and seared my culinary tastes over that time. There are two things you should know – Mr. Sadler once absolutely wrecked me with an experimental serving of venison chili; and if I have a choice between dining out at a five star restaurant and dining at casa de Sadler, I take the latter.

I currently reside in Northern Virginia, so hopefully I can offer some perspective on the local cuisine here, as well as offer information on my personal obsession, espresso. But for today, I want to do a quick review on a new restaurant that just opened in Ashburn, Bluz Brothers BBQ and Grill. I took the family there on Sunday for lunch, and we learned that they had been open but a few short weeks. The exterior is still being decorated, and I soon learned from the manager that they were rolling it out slowly so as not to get slammed with heavy traffic too quickly.

I cannot boast of any standard qualification for recognizing good BBQ. My soul basis for comparison is one particular reptilian biker bar in upstate NY. But like Justice Potter Stewart once said (I think), I shall not attempt to define what good BBQ is, but I know it when I taste it.

The meal began with a complimentary appetizer of home made potato chips served with some sort of ranch dip. If you like your chips nice and thick with a little bit of chewiness, then this was spot on.

We ordered several platters that contained:

Open faced pulled pork sandwich
Open faced brisket sandwich
corn bread
hush puppies
fried okra
collard greens
mac & cheese

The sides were hit or miss. The corn bread and hush puppies were dry, which was troubling since we got there as soon as the place opened. You would think that they would have just come out of the oven. However, the okra and greens were very good. The fried okra had a light batter on it that made it extra crunchy, and in the greens you could really taste the ham with which it had been prepared. The mac & cheese was surprisingly good. I don’t know about you, but I personally think good mac & cheese is one of those things that seems easy in theory, but difficult in application. Too often the explosion of a good cheese is simply not there. However, this one was solid and my young daughter gobbled it up.

As for the entrees, I would give a thumbs up on the pork, thumbs in the middle for the brisket. The brisket was somewhat dry and chewy, regardless of what you added to it. Also there was a bit too much fat on it for it to be a winner. The pork, however, was very solid. Tender, juicy and flavorful, it mixed well either just by itself, or with the various assortment of sauces that they make in-house. Home made sauces get bonus points from me, as it is easy to simply purchase them and nobody would be the wiser. Taking the time to make it requires commitment to the end product. I would probably classify the overall style as most similar to either Memphis or East Texas.

Good BBQ is simply hard to find, especially when you live in a metropolitan area where the focus is often on speed and stature. Good BBQ does not lend itself well to either. Good BBQ takes time and patience, and you can’t be afraid to get messy. Bluz Brothers is on the right trail, because they want to do the BBQ the right way. As long as they can maintain their focus on doing the basics well, this should be a spot that has staying power. I will definitely be visiting again.

Bluz Brothers BBQ and Grill
43150 Broadlands Center Plaza, Suite 194
Broadlands, Virginia
(703) 858-9499

Believe it or not, my sister and brother-in-law are the real foodies in the family. So when they make it a priority to check a place out, it is usually worth my while to follow them up. They were traveling between Richmond and their home in Brooklyn, and they made a stop at Rays the Steaks in Arlington, VA near the Courthouse Metro stop, and after hearing about it, I knew I had to check it out. So when I happened to be in the area on Saturday, and felt like I should take advantage of the opportunity.

The place is snuggled in a small strip mall and it was packed. I was fortunate to find seating but that was probably based on the fact that there were only two of us. The space was very minimal: white walls, little decor, soft lighting, and tight seating. The menus were paper. This to me was a good sign. Packed house with no atmosphere means good food.

My suspicions were correct. I started the evening with an appetizer of blackened scallops. The dish was two large scallops perfectly cooked on each side. There was enough spice on each side to give it very tasty crust. I then followed it up with an iceberg salad with applewood smoked bacon and blue cheese. Again this was wonderful, especially with the generous amounts of bacon. Dinner was a hard choice. I heard the hanger steak was the way to go, but I was finding myself forced to choose between the cowboy steak and the Brazilian pichana. My partner in crime convinced me to stick with the cowboy steak. My compromise was that I received a side of the chimchurri sauce. The steak was nice and charred on the outside and red and wonderful on the inside. The chimchurri had a perfect spice to it, and the horseradish sauce was also great with its creamy kick. We complimented the meal with an old vine zinfandel.

If I had any complaint with the evening, it was the service. I knew from other people that I would feel rushed. I just didn’t like getting my steak while I was still eating my salad. To me this was a minor concession for such good food. And trust me, I hope to be back again in the near future.