Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide

Sea Side Crab House, 6799 Wilson Blvd., #5, Falls Church, VA, 703-241-CRAB (2722) (where Saigon Garden used to be) (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Don Rockwell]

An excellent seafood house in Eden Center. The soft shell crab is some of the best around. The crawfish are served Cajun style, although not as spicy as you would get in southwest Louisiana. It’s small and not a great place to sit and chat inside, but absolutely worth having in the repertoire. Outdoor seating is available. Right now it is my go-to choice for crabs. Make sure you use lots of the lime, salt and pepper sauce they give you.

Kim Ngan, web site, 6755 Wilson Blvd., #24, Falls Church, VA, Eden Center, inside the row of stores to the right of the mall, a small place, 703-538-2474, closed Wednesdays. (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [City Paper | Yelp]

Excellent pho but more notably has some of the area’s best “crushed rice” dishes. They have numerous good noodle and small dishes and pork chop dishes here, a fun restaurant, good for when you’re not in the mood for the Eden Center standbys.

Tay Do Restaurant, web site, 6793-C Wilson Blvd., Falls Church, VA, the old spot held by Dragon Star in Eden Center, 703-536-5728

This place keeps closing and then opening again. Each time it gets smaller and it takes on a new relationship with sappy evening music. At times it has been excellent and I've never know it to be bad. I'm not sure what to say. If you're already in the Eden Center, it's hard to try a place that can't keep its act together. But there's plenty of upside with the organ meats, the clay pots, the congees, and other dishes, including Vietnamese pancakes. That is if the menu stays the same. Who knows?

Nhu Lan, web site, 6763 Wilson Blvd., # 14, Falls Church, VA, on the interior of Eden Center, a very small place, 703-532-9009 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [WaPo]

Vietnamese subs, banh mi they are called. Some involve mayonnaise, carrots, pickled carrots, radishes, and fresh cilantro. Not my cup of tea -- especially the mayo -- but some swear by it. If you are like me, perhaps try the pork meatballs.

Mai Restaurant, 6763 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church, VA, Eden Center, # 9 inside the mall, 703-237-2020, Tgfriday14@yahoo.com (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Small Picture]

They don’t have crabs “out of season,” so call ahead. You might call this place Vietnamese. They also do good things with packaged crab meat.

Update September 2006: The best crab place in the immediate area. Fresh. The proprietor likes to talk. Only crabs. Crabs, with ginger and scallions, tamarind sauce, plain, or salt and pepper. I like salt and pepper best. Recommended.

Cho Cu Saigon, 6763-6D Wilson Blvd., Falls Church, VA, 703-538-2168, inside Eden Center - use the entrance under the clock tower, next to the grocery store (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | City Paper | Yelp]

Get the roast pork there. You might call this Cantonese but it is a Vietnamese vision of Cantonese food. Duck and seafood as well, recommended.

Update September, 2006: An unknown and much underrated Cantonese restaurant. Good congee. Also get the salted and baked chicken. Fully authentic, try the noodles with ginger and scallion, I think this place is quite good and I haven’t even yet discovered their best dishes.

Update March 9, 2006: Today I had a great meal at the Cantonese place inside Eden Center... the casserole with minced chicken and salted fish was superb.

Huong Viet, 6785 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church, VA, 703-538-7110, in the Eden Center (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | openlist | Yelp | Gayot]

Opens at 10 a.m. and is full by noon in the Eden Center. Get the picture? All the Vietnamese staples, definitely recommended.

Song Hau, 6763 #6A Wilson Boulevard, Falls Church, VA, this is an inside resturant at Eden Center and not visible from the parking lot, 703-241-1880 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [City Paper]

I’ve yet to try it but it must be excellent to survive in this mall.

Four Sisters, Huong Que, 6769 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church, VA, 703-538-6717, right next to Viet Royale in the Eden Center (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | WaPo | The Hill | City Paper | openlist | Yelp | Gayot]

A bit fancier than Viet Royale, this was once the best or at least the best known of the Vietnamese places. I like the caramel fish, the Vietnamese pancake, anything with lemon grass, the soups, anything that doesn’t sound Chinese. Fancier decor and less crowded than most other Vietnamese places. But it's gone increasingly mainstream and I no longer see reason to go here. It's still good, but the most specialized places in Eden Center are serving up more interesting meals. Word is that it is reopening in Falls Church City.

The same folks own Song Que, a few doors away. [Hobnob Blog | Washingtonian]

The other places in Eden Center are great, too. If you go on a Saturday, you must arrive before noon to get a parking spot in this mall. All the restaurants are open by 11, so this is not a problem.

Viet Royale, 6795 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church, VA, 703-533-8388, in Eden Center, Arlington, off Wilson Boulevard, near Rt. 50 and Rt. 7. This center is the center of Vietnamese and Asian life in northern Virginia. Excellent stores as well. I suspect no one goes to the Eden Center just once. (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | City Paper | openlist | Yelp | Gayot]

Avoid anything that sounds like Chinese food, the standard advice in a Vietnamese restaurant. The lobster is excellent, for one thing. On weekdays, order the Bo 7 Mon - Seven Courses of Beef. Not as intimidating as it sounds. In any case, this restaurant is much better than the overrated Queen Bee. Fish in caramel sauce is one idea. Vietnamese pancake. Sweet and sour soup. You get the idea.

Eden Center, web site, directions, use this address for locating on online maps: 6795 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church, VA.

Eden Center is on Wilson Boulevard, in Seven Corners, near Rt. 50 and Rt. 7.

To see the restaurants at Eden Center listed in this Guide, click the Eden Center category.

This center is the center of Vietnamese and Asian life in northern Virginia. Excellent stores as well. I suspect no one goes to the Eden Center just once. Not really a strip mall. It is a mall for Vietnamese and Asian businesses, including many restaurants and food stores. If you go on a Saturday, you must arrive before noon to get a parking spot in this mall. All the restaurants are open by 11, so this is not a problem.

Falls Church has held on to the reputation it established in the 1990s for Asian and especially Vietnamese food. Indeed, the Eden Center on Wilson Boulevard -- the bustling economic reflection of a county where one in every four residents is now foreign-born -- attracts Asian visitors from the entire East Coast. I used to go to this huge mall whenever I wanted; now I worry about whether I can find a parking space.

"Ethnic Goes Exurban: Washington's Sprawl, As Told Through Its Migrating Restaurants," by Tyler Cowen, The Washington Post, September 3, 2006

Restaurants, Food Shops, Grocery Stores

• See the Eden Center category
• Eden Supermarket, 703-532-4950

More

• Eden Center and Seven Corners - from Wikipedia
• "Vietnamese Travel Agent Helps Washington-Area Compatriots with Family Reunification," by Oksana Dragan, VOA, May 1, 2005
• "Fare of the Country: Vietnamese Cuisine, Virginia Settings," by Olwen Woodier, The New York Times, January 27, 1991

Thanh Son Tofu, 6793/A Wilson Blvd., Eden Center, Falls Church, VA, 703-534-1202 (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [eGullet]

They serve one main dish, tofu. That’s right, just slabs of tofu, done three main ways. Five for a dollar. The best tofu around, period. Tofu to die for. Tofu. Wonderful tofu. The Vietnamese love this place. By the way, you’d better be in the mood for tofu.

Viet Bistro, in Eden Center, Arlington, off Wilson Boulevard, near Rt. 7 (approximately 6801 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA), 703-538-7575, in the corner of the mall closest to Wilson Blvd. (Metro Trip Planner - opens in new window) [Washingtonian | City Paper]

Right now this is the best place in the Eden Center and indeed the best Vietnamese place around. Finer and fresher than Four Sisters. Get the baby clams, the caramel fish, the frogs’ legs, the eel, anything with lemon grass, and the shaking beef. Consistently tasty and refined. Good for vegans and vegetarians also, first-rate tofu. Don’t miss it.

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