la côte d'or cafe

comfortable and classy and darngoodfood. tempted by the falls church restaurant week offer my wife and i visited la cote on friday evening. we were greeted at the door by raymond who owns the restaurant with his wife lynne. the staff members were all in a pleasant mood, which then sets you in agoodmood to relax and enjoy your meal, and we were whisked to our seating. i wandered to the bathroom and along the way i found some other seating outside dining area in the sun off the main dining room and asked to be reseated and we were graciously moved. the whole evening went like that. the food was fabulous even though the restaurant signature dishes (ask your server what they are) were not part of the 3 course meal. it seemed that this restaurant has a real local following and reminded me of café’s that i have visited in when i was in the army and visiting france. how do i say this: clients were mostly upper crust folks who seem to appreciate and agoodmeal and to expect (demand) professional service? i have taken pictures of our dishes which i hope you enjoy viewing as much as joan and i enjoyed eating them. when i get a little more change in my pocket i will be back here to enjoy this warm and special place. i like being treated like royalty in a very casual way.

la côte d'or cafe was right next to our hotel when we were in arlington, va recently, and was a delightful find for a late evening meal. we'd spent a long day walking all over washington, dc, so when we found a restaurant so close by that had a great rating on urbanspoon.com , we just had to try it. it was agoodchoice. once we ordered, we were treated to a complimentary treat--a shot of consomme. it was awesome, so much flavor in such a small portion. it certainly left us expecting a verygoodmeal, and that's just what we got.  first off, the pictures do not do this food justice--my regular camera was back in the hotel and all i had was my iphone. but the food was indeed very good. i had the marguez (spicy lamb sausages) served with spicy lentils. now, the lamb sausages were just a tad on the dry side, but very flavorful and with a nice kick. the lentils were also very rich and full of a hearty meat flavor, and also spicy. i liked this dish a lot and ate up every last drop. tommy ha