Amazing. We loved it! If anyone is looking for a new palce to try for a nice dinner in a beautiful restaurant with great service — in Clarendon. Try Green Pig Bistro! I moved here 2 years ago and have had trouble finding a place that I love, that I look forward to going back to, that I didn't hate. I had the trout and the mixed salad and it was delicious. What a nice surprise!
I went the other night too. It was really good. Great beer selection and they even had a vodka from Virginia…who knew?? The food was excellent. The waiters use their iphones to take your order…very cutting edge for Arlington! It looks small when you first walk in but they have a large dining room in the back.
This is the place that said the quality or freshness of their ingredients didn't matter, right?
We were there is weekend. They make their own ginger beer (ale) in-house. Their Dark & Stormy is amazing.
Didn't try the food. The place was packed. And warm.
Man, I hate it when people resurrect threads that are a week old – you with me Swag?
Swag said:
This is the place that said the quality or freshness of their ingredients didn't matter, right?
It is, but I wouldn't hold it against them. I think the owner (or whoever that was) was just suffering from a few bouts of foot-in-mouth disease prior to opening. I don't think PR's really their thing.
Only ate there once (several weeks after opening), but the food and service were both really good. But it was expensive, even by Clarendon standards. ~$100 for a family of four. The cost has kept me away since, but it seems to be doing very well esp. given its somewhat secluded location. There seems to be ample people in there every time I walk by, and the bar area often seems to be genuinely crowded.
I'd recommend people try it out.
$100 for 4? First off, idk how you even managed that – I spent $90 for two with one drink each and me ordering the house special. Secondly, that's not expensive by Clarendon sit-down standards – Circa, Cava, Eventide, the former Harry's, even Whitlow's if you order something more than a burger, can all easily run you that.
I'm not saying that the DC food scene is properly valued (personally, I think 90% of restaurants price simply to inflate the egos of expense-accounters), but that is not expensive for around here.
Well, 2 of them are small children, and I honestly can't remember if they split an entree or not. But your examples (Circa, Cava, Eventide) are also among the most expensive in Clarendon. So what I'm saying is that pricing is more similar to those vs. a Whiltows or Faccia Luna type place. The later are more common for our family, and we rarely spend more than $50-60. Just trying to tell people what to expect.
R. Griffon said:
Well, 2 of them are small children, and I honestly can't remember if they split an entree or not. But your examples (Circa, Cava, Eventide) are also among the most expensive in Clarendon. So what I'm saying is that pricing is more similar to those vs. a Whiltows or Faccia Luna type place. The later are more common for our family, and we rarely spend more than $50-60. Just trying to tell people what to expect.
$50-$60 for a family of four? Man… we have drastically different ideas of “expensive”. I'm lucky if dinner for two is under $70.
I was thinking the same thing. I rarely get out of any restaurant for less than $70 for two people. But then it also made me think back to my college days when I was waiting tables and I realize that diners really should be put in two categories.
The first are people who are going out to eat and want to enjoy themselves. Not buy $200 bottles of wine and order the most expensive items on the menu mind you, but just have a good time and order what they want.
The second category is made up of the people who will go out and see if they can spend less money than the last time they went out. Order tap water only, split your entree, no appetizers allowed, can I get extra lemon for that tap water? It's amazing how little money the second category can spend at a restaurant following their strict rules.
jinushaun said:
$50-$60 for a family of four? Man… we have drastically different ideas of “expensive”.
I'm not sure why you'd think so as I never said $50-60 was expensive.
And the difference is probably alcohol. Most people who go out without kids will get drinks when they're out; we don't. And as crazy as it sounds, an entree off of a kids menu can easily be cheaper than a single drink (even a just a beer). So a couple of entrees @ $15 ea, a couple of kid's meals @ $7 ea., add a couple non-alcoholic drinks and you're around $50. Not hard to do at all.
Choogirl said:
I realize that diners really should be put in two categories
I think you missed a 3rd category: people who just want/need to get fed and move on. Which I think probably most families fit into. We’re not really there to hang out, we just want to get everyone fed and be on our way. College areas probably attract a very different demographic.
R. Griffon said:
And the difference is probably alcohol. Most people who go out without kids will get drinks when they're out; we don't. And as crazy as it sounds, an entree off of a kids menu can easily be cheaper than a single drink (even a just a beer). So a couple of entrees @ $15 ea, a couple of kid's meals @ $7 ea., add a couple non-alcoholic drinks and you're around $50. Not hard to do at all.
Yep. And at Whitlows kids eat free. So if my wife and I go and order two entrees and a beer each you're out of there easily under $50. It's not about trying to beat the bill of our previous visit, it's more that if you're sitting there with kids (and are a little older) you're not interested in throwing back 5/6 beers at dinner on a Wednesday.
R. Griffon said:
jinushaun said:
$50-$60 for a family of four? Man… we have drastically different ideas of “expensive”.
I'm not sure why you'd think so as I never said $50-60 was expensive.
And the difference is probably alcohol. Most people who go out without kids will get drinks when they're out; we don't. And as crazy as it sounds, an entree off of a kids menu can easily be cheaper than a single drink (even a just a beer). So a couple of entrees @ $15 ea, a couple of kid's meals @ $7 ea., add a couple non-alcoholic drinks and you're around $50. Not hard to do at all.
Choogirl said:
I realize that diners really should be put in two categories
I think you missed a 3rd category: people who just want/need to get fed and move on. Which I think probably most families fit into. We're not really there to hang out, we just want to get everyone fed and be on our way. College areas probably attract a very different demographic.
Clarendon doesn't cater to families. It caters to twentysomethings with disposable income, that's why the prices are inflated.
