Where to Eat and Drink in Seven Corners
Dim sum, old-school Italian and other cheap eats make this section of Falls Church well worth an outing.
XO Taste. Photo by Jessica Strelitz.
It’s tucked into a busy shopping plaza with a Safeway and a Target, but no business gets more late-night traffic than XO Taste. Though it’s billed as a seafood restaurant, things that swim are only a portion of the hundreds of Hong Kong-Cantonese dishes on the menu. Roast duck and wonton soup, bean curd stuffed with shrimp paste and gigantic bowls of congee (rice porridge), topped with everything from chicken to jellyfish, make the rounds.
6124 Arlington Blvd., Willston Centre II. xotastefallschurch.com
It’s a great day when you can start things off with Pan Frances — bites of bread and eggs, beans and bacon — at El Catrin, which offers a wide mix of Bolivian, Peruvian, Mexican and Salvadoran dishes. Pupusas come stuffed with cheese and vegetables, beans, pork and chicken; tacos are heaped with beef tongue; and juicy Salvadorian fried chicken is served with rice and beans. Finish with a fresh banana or papaya shake. The TVs are tuned to soccer matches and the bar is stocked with Latin-American beer, drawing big crowds in the evening.
2930 Patrick Henry Drive, facebook.com/pages/El-Catrin
