Argia’s Restaurant. If you haven’t yet been, it’s a must visit.
Before a celiac diagnosis sent my gnocchi days packing, the small Italian restaurant on the same block as The State Theater in Falls Church was my favorite. My husband and I visited at least once a month, where I dined on gluttonous (and glutenous) lasagna, traditional spaghetti and meatballs, and the occasional steak with a side of angel hair pasta. Hands down, the only joint to rival Argia’s for its rustic Italian cuisine was Coppi’s Organic on U St.
For the past three years, my visits to Argia’s have been drastically reduced because it was just too hard to resist their pasta dishes. The wait and kitchen staff were always amenable to a GF diet, though, and when I did visit I’d go for one of their signature salads and mussels or their phenomenal eggplant dish – a tower of eggplant, goat cheese and marinara. It really can’t be beat.
When we visited last month on a whim, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they’d added two gluten free pasta dishes to their menu. I’ll admit, it was more than a pleasant surprise. My reaction bordered on euphoric. The server informed us that the chef had decided to introduce gluten free pasta as part of its spring menu and I immediately jumped at the chance to revel in my old food faves. I enjoyed the Fusilli Aromatico – a dish featuring summer’s finest veggies, kalamata olives and gluten free fusilli. While the serving was smaller than my husband’s traditional pasta dish, the experience was well worth it. I think I see more frequent visits to Argia’s in my future.
I recommend visiting them on a warm Monday evening. You can dine outside on their patio and enjoy 1/2 price bottles of wine. After you’ve gone, let the gluties know what you think – either comment below or Tweet us @dcgluties.
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Tags:
Argia's Restaurant · Coppi's Organic · Falls Church · Gluten Free Pasta · Italian · U St. · Washingtonian5 Comments
5 responses so far ↓
While you’re over there be sure to stop in at Clare and Don’s. Not so much for their GF offerings, but for their boat drinks and live music. It’s almost like going on a mini beach vacation.
Hello – I’m new to the group. A mom w/ a son who needs to be GFCF. I’m looking to see if there is a local bakery that makes GOOD GF bread…. I’ve tried so many, and even tried making it myself, but it’s not working….
I’d like to offer my son PB & J again!!
jazykat2 – Thanks for the question.
I haven’t yet found a local bakery with fresh bread, but I do have a few recommendations. The Giant on Route 7 outside of Bailey’s Crossroads in Arlington has a wonderful freezer case. They feature Glutino breads, which are excellent. I toast them and use them as a base for every sandwich, including PB&J. The flax seed version is great for an adult palate, but I expect the younger gluties would prefer the corn loaf. Wegman’s in Fairfax also features the Glutino brand in its bread case.
If you have a bread maker, I also recommend trying some recipes out of the Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread. There is a recipe in the book for a standard white loaf that is delicious. You can set it up to bake in the bread maker and forget it. The result is often so good, my husband who still enjoys regular bread will eat it with dinner.
I hope this helps! Good luck!
Brandi
The gluties are aware of a strange commenting situation on this post. It seems every comment overrides the previous comments and is repeated multiple times on the post. We’re looking into it and should have it corrected soon.
Comments on this post may be fixed, we’ll see with this comment. Still having issue with other posts.