Inauguration Dining: Four Sisters

By JULIETTE ROSSANT It is a very good idea to feed the stomach with what feeds the soul – as long as it is tasty and nourishing. This inauguration is about change, hope, diversity – as well as quite a number of other adjectives. If you are coming to the Washington DC area, you will need to seek out restaurants to nourish all – or at least some - of those adjectives. There are plenty of good fine dining restaurants in Washington DC, but some of the best meals are outside the city in the ethnic enclaves and satellite towns of Maryland and Virginia. Super Chef recently tried Four Sisters, a Vietnamese restaurant in Falls Church, VA, that serves outstanding Vietnamese food. Le Lai (Sister No. 2) guided Super Chef through the menu and making sure that the meal moved at a pleasant pace. After all, this is not standard Vietnamese. Not to worry: you will find heart warming Pho and other noodle soups. Four Sisters serves Crispy Pork Spring Rolls--and they are crispy. Clearly, this restaurant believes that standards must hit the table with high standards. Once satisfied with the common fare, you should wander from the beaten path into new territories: Bo Nuong La Nho: Grilled Ground Beef Wrapper in Grape Leaves Served with Rice Vermicelli and Rice Paper. You will find grape leaves around skewered, moist beef spiced to leave you pleasantly surprised: mint and daikon Roasted Quails: Tender, smokey, with a peppery Lime Dip Caramelized Pork with Black Pepper (Clay Pot): Served with rice to soak up all the great sauce Chicken Sauteed with Lemongrass and a Touch of Curry Chili: A good balance of lemongrass and curry in a light sauce Leave room for the creamy Vietnamese flan, flavored with caramel and coconut, and banana with sticky rice that somehow combines saltiness and sweetness to bring out banana's more exotic notes. The sisters moved their restaurant to this location this fall. With a dozen fewer seats, it is more spacious and comfortable, yet still very lively. Flowers abound, even in the fragrant bathrooms. Make a reservation, rent a car, and get out to Falls Church. (Don't forget to make a reservation.) Previous articles: Anthos: All In Let Gilt Lead Your New Year's Pleasure Wolfgang Puck's Spago: Where Ever You Are The Rise of Restaurant Michael Mina Mother's Day: Perry's New Year's Resolution: Eat Well, Help Others [Chefs & Politics - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef