Award-winning proprietor/chef Marc Fusilier passed away last June, but the cooking here is as good as ever. Chef Natael Martinez, who in recent years did most of the cooking while Fusilier tended to the diners, remains behind the range. The preparations are well suited to the traditional decor. Main courses are $20 to $36. Entertainment consists of recordings of Edith Piaf and other stars of the era when the decor and dishes were new.
Good starters on the regular menu are the scallops in a garlic-butter-and-tomato sauce, scallops with a feathery puff pastry and finely minced vegetables, and an unusual preparation of scallops of alligator in a red-wine-laced brown sauce. Appealing main courses include a half duck with blueberry sauce, medallions of venison with a wild-mushroom sauce, pheasant with cream sauce, pepper steak, filet mignon, and trout stuffed with crabmeat.
A prix fixe dinner, served Monday through Wednesday evenings for $27, offers a choice of lobster bisque or a fine romaine salad; a choice of trout amandine, tenderloin of pork, steak, or grilled salmon; a dessert soufflé; and a glass of wine.
Chez Marc Restaurant Francais, 7607 Centreville Rd. (Rt. 28), Manassas; 703-369-6526. Open Thursday and Friday for lunch, Monday through Saturday for dinner.
