Eric Schaeffer is cofounder and artistic director of Arlington’s Signature Theatre. He has lived in Arlington for two decades.
Willow Restaurant
4301 N. Fairfax Dr.; 703-465-8800
Willow Restaurant in Ballston is casual, and yet the service is so good. The seafood is excellent—I always find myself getting some kind of fish. It also has a nice bar area.
Bob & Edith’s Diner
2310 Columbia Pike; 703-920-6103
The great Saturday-morning hangover breakfast is at Bob & Edith’s Diner. You can get breakfast 24 hours a day. It’s very old-fashioned, with booths and neon signs.
Rocklands
3471 Washington Blvd.; 703-528-9663
Rocklands in Clarendon is a quick place to get great barbecue. You can sit outside if the weather’s nice. I love their corn salad.
Le Village Marché
2800 S. Randolph St., Suite 110-A; 703-379-4444
There’s a great store in Shirlington called Le Village Marché. It’s a paper store, but it has a little bit of everything—specialty items like books and soaps from France.
The Lost Dog Cafe
5876 Washington Blvd., 703-237-1552; 2920 Columbia Pike, 703-553-7770
The Lost Dog Cafe is a great pizza-and-sandwich place. A portion of the profits go to help find homes for lost dogs. They have more than 100 different types of beer, too.
Carlyle
4000 Campbell Ave.; 703-931-0777
Whenever we have Broadway or other famous folks visiting us at Signature, we take them to Carlyle in Shirlington. It’s American cuisine with steaks and salmon and pork chops.
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Liza Mundy is a staff writer at the Washington Post and author of “Michelle,” a biography of Michelle Obama. A 20-year resident of Arlington, she lives with her husband and two children.
Northside Social
3211 Wilson Blvd.; 703-465-0145
Northside Social, a coffee shop, is a terrific place to work. I often meet colleagues who live in Arlington for coffee or lunch there.Elevation Burger
2447 N. Harrison St.; 703-300-9467
My kids really like Elevation Burger. It’s a grass-fed-burger place, much healthier than normal fast food. Whenever we go, my kids see their friends, so it’s clearly become a big hangout for families with children.
Kettler Capitals Iceplex
627 N. Glebe Rd.; 571-224-0555
Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Ballston is an incredible resource with a really great second-floor viewing space where you can watch the ice. My son has been playing ice hockey for a couple of years. I’ve started to play as well—they have adult classes and a women’s league.
Capital Cat Clinic
923 N. Kenmore St.; 703-522-1995
Capital Cat Clinic, in an old home, is just wonderful. The feel is very homey, and they’ve got a couple of resident cats, so there are other cats around while you’re waiting.
Cherrydale Hardware
3805 Lee Hwy.; 703-527-2100
Right around the corner from us is a little store called Cherrydale Hardware. They always have four or five people standing there who are so polite and helpful. Even if all you want is a single screw, they’ll take you back to the drawers and find it for you.
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Liam LaCivita is executive chef of Liberty Tavern, Northside Social, and Lyon Hall, all in the Clarendon neighborhood.
Italian Store
3123 Lee Hwy.; 703-528-6266
Whenever I get a craving for an Italian sub or hoagie, I’ll wander down to the Italian Store. It takes me back to when I was growing up and would visit Philadelphia. All the meats are just as good—the capicola, the soppresatta. It’s a great sandwich.
Cowboy Cafe
4792 Lee Hwy.; 703-243-8010
After work, I like to go down to Cowboy Cafe with all the kitchen guys. They have the coldest Miller High Life I have ever had. It’s a really intimate space and sometimes has live music.
O’Sullivan’s
3207 Washington Blvd.; 703-812-0939
There’s always O’Sullivan’s, next door to my restaurant, which we find ourselves going to a lot for a proper pour of Guinness.
On Wednesdays, there’s a farmers market in the park surrounding the Clarendon Metro station. It’s tiny, but a perfect environment and venue.
This article appears in the November 2011 issue of The Washingtonian.
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