Best of Arlington 2016

Food & Drink

Best Couples Night Out

Green Pig Bistro

Scot Harlan introduced his Clarendon bistro in 2012 and the chef’s head-to-tail cooking keeps getting better and better. The restaurant, with its open kitchen and rustic appointments, is warm and inviting. A cozy window table is just the spot for sipping Moscow Mules made with house-made ginger beer; snacking on fried shrimp dipped in spicy aioli; and spooning luscious bone marrow onto grilled country bread. For a main course, the pork shank with peach barbecue sauce, Swiss chard and cheese-spiked grits is fall-apart tender and made for sharing. (Be sure to order a skillet of crusty, golden brown cornbread with maple butter on the side.) And the Friday night plat du jour—spaghetti and meatballs—provides the perfect foil to initiate some “Lady and the Tramp”-style canoodling. For dessert? Try a gooey caramel apple sundae. With two spoons, of course.
–David Hagedorn

1025 N. Fillmore St., Arlington, 703-888-1920, www.greenpigbistro.com

Other top vote-getters:

Cava Mezze
The Liberty Tavern
Lyon Hall
Screwtop Wine Bar
Water & Wall