Local List: Best Restaurants of 2011

PotomacLocal.com ranked the area’s top local restaurants and compiled a easy-to-read list so you can see what’s good, what to try, and know what to tell your friends when they ask “is there any place good around here to eat?” Because no matter what the economy is doing, people, no matter what, still go out to eat!

These eateries were chosen for a number of factors like quality, service, location, uniqueness to the community, as well as being a darn good place to feast.

Once you’ve read our list, at the bottom of this post you’ll be able to vote for your overall favorite restaurant in the Potomac Communities. Voting ends New Year’s Day.

Best Fine Dining – Bistro L’Hermitage, Occoquan

In addition to being opentable.com’s top 100 restaurants of 2011, Bistro L’Hermitage French Bistro in Occoquan ranks as the top fine dining establishments on PotomacLocal.com’s Local List. Nestled on Occoquan Road near the town’s Mill Street, the bistro offers a wide selection of savory foods like Rainbow Trout Champagne Risotto and tomato balsamic drizzle, and New York strip steak in Shallot Cabernet sauce.

On the sweet side, Bistro L’Hermitage offers a an excellent crème brulee as well as a decadent chocolate mouse cake with berries.

The restaurant’s décor resembles that of a french county home, with a large bar and cozy fire place that make the place even more welcoming. Entrees are priced $30 and under, and because the bistro’s founder used to own Marcel’s Watergate restaurant in Washington, Bistro L’Hermatige a welcome change when compared to many other restaurants here in the Potomac Communities.

Best American Food – Micks Restaurant and Sports Lounge, North Stafford

We chose Micks Restaurant and Sports Lounge as the best place to grab American fare in the Potomac Communities not only because the comfort food here is good, like their fire cracker shrimp or their Virginia Club with layers of sliced Virginia ham, bacon and red onions on a Bavarian pretzel roll, but it’s also a great place to be when the sun goes down.

Micks always offers daily happy hour specials like $3 pizza day Tuesdays and $4 boneless wings on Wednesdays, and it’s also known for its live music and dancing on Saturday nights, like awesome 80s and 90s-themed dance parties.

Formerly King Street Blues, Micks sits near U.S. 1, Interstate 95 and the intersection of Va. 610 in North Stafford.

Best Italian Food – Vinny’s Italian Grill and Pizzeria, North Stafford

You know that great little Italian place around the corner? We do, and it’s called Vinny’s Italian Grill. This locally-owned Italian restaurant has locations in Lorton, Fredericksburg and King George, but our favorite is off Va. 610 in North Stafford.

It’s warm and cozy atmosphere speaks to the appetite, and so does the golden brown fried calamari for only $6.50. For the main course, try the four cheese ravioli bursting with Mozzarella, Ricotta, Provelone, and Parmigiano cheses. They also have great New York Style Pizza.

They keep it simple but delicious for dessert, with a chocolate Cannoli or Tiramisu cake.

Vinnys’s sits in Garrisonville Village on Va. 610, past Doc Stone shopping plaza.

Best Mexican Food – El Paso Mexican Restaurant, Woodbridge

Sure, the phrase “it is what it is” is well overused, but at El Paso Mexican Restaurant the phrase couldn’t be more accurate. Where this small restaurant sits used to be a fast food joint, but for more than 10 years has offered authentic, delicious and tasty Mexican food in generous portions.

The choices here are what you would expect from any great Mexican restaurant, and there are so many choices and combinations on the menu diners can order by number with nearly 30 combinations to choose from. Burritos, fajitas, chile rellenos, not to mention some of the freshest-tasting salsa around. Come thirsty as there are always cheap Margarita specials happening too.

The décor showcases a mural that has hand painted in 1999, and shows a drunken man being picked-pocketed by a beautiful senorita, which adds to the bright and lighthearted atmosphere.

El Paso is on Golansky Boulevard, off Smoketown Road in Woodbridge.

Best Asian Food – East Moon Asian Bistro, Woodbridge

Still a newcomer to the restaurant scene in the Potomac Communities, East Moon Asian Bistro has quickly become a favorite among locals who crave crispy duck, Shrimp Tempura, or Mongolian beef. And because they know who they’re cooking for, East Moon even created the Woodbridge Bomb Roll – a Shrimp Tempura and crabmeat wrap with cucumber.

East Moon offers a full sushi bar, and most entrees are about $12 and under.

The restaurant sits in a small shopping center on Minnieville Road, across from WaWa and near the Virginia DMV. Parking here is limited, so come early for lunch or dinner or ride with friends.

Best Seafood – Tim’s Rivershore, Dumfries

Accessible by land and sea, Tim’s Rivershore is the year-round place to go for the best seafood in the Potomac Communities – served on the Potomac River. The crab shack has grown to become a destination spot for boaters on the Potomac who can dock at the restaurant, and by locals who drive and can park their cars alongside the train tracks.

One of the most favorites dishes at Tim’s are the crabcakes. Maybe that’s why they’re listed at the top of the dinner menu, and are served dusted in lemon butter, with two golden brown hush puppies and comes with two sides.

Among the popular events that take place here all year long are the “Not on the 4th Fireworks” in July and the annual polar plunge in February.

Tim’s is at the end of Cherry Hill Road on the Cherry Hill Peninsula near Dumfries.

Best Kept Secret – Bella Cafe, North Stafford

If you didn’t know it was a restaurant that served amazing sandwiches, wraps, or barista drinks, you would probably pass by this place that sits on U.S. 1 in North Stafford.

Bella Cafe at Boswell’s Corner in North Stafford serves one of our favorites: a sundried tomato basil melt which has chicken, tomatoes, and basil cream cheese. Whether you order that, the PortoBella Melt sandwich, regular or frozen coffee, or a 21-ounce Brainfreeze shake, once you eat here you’ll think twice before passing up this place again.

More than just great food around $7 a plate, Bella Cafe also offers a fun-filled open mic Thursday through Saturday nights from 7:30 to 10:30.

Bella Cafe used to be located at Aquia Town Center but moved after construction there saw many of the shops closed. It now sits at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Telegraph Road.

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