Location Index
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Uncle Orson's Restaurant Guide
American Cafe
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his DC area chain is dependably good, if you know what to order — and I'm about to tell you! For an appetizer, you simply have to order the baja rolls. I've seen them under other names here and there, especially in California, but these are the best, period. They consist of a tortilla, layered with thin-sliced turkey, sprouts, fresh ripe avocado, and pico de gallo, which is then rolled up and sliced like sushi. It's served with salsa and guacamole, and while you're eating them you won't care whether you save room for your meal.
But you should. Because the American cafe has good sandwiches, including some salad sandwiches that go beyond good (though I haven't seen their wonderful tarragon chicken salad on the menu in quite a while — see my rant about that in the review of Rio Grande Cafe). Their meat loaf is very good, and their chicken pot pie is at least as good as the one at Mick's in Atlanta (though not as good as the chicken friand at La Madeleine — but what else is?). The turkey-and-wild-rice soup is the best thing on a cold day, and their vegetarian chili is better than most restaurants' meaty versions, though I wish they'd chop the mushrooms just a little finer. Don't be misled by the 15 rating of the food in Zagat's. Usually I agree with the Zagat's guide, but the American Cafe is only disappointing if you have your heart set on haute cuisine. For plain American flair with a lovely touch of creativity, this chain is absolutely dependable.
I frequent two locations, mostly — the American Cafe in Tyson's Corner, on Route 7 just off the Dulles toll road, and the American Cafe just up Mass. Ave. from Union Station in DC. The Tyson's Corner location has a spacious, almost extravagantly open feeling to it (and I'm dying to see somebody use the huge air duct up near the ceiling in a movie — Nicolas Cage needs to kick his way out of one of the heating vents); the Mass. Ave location is much more cramped, but you can get a feel for the real Washington DC by eavesdropping on the conversations at other tables. No, you won't see any senators or cabinet members here, and congressmen who want this food would probably send an aide for takeout. But what you do see are midlevel bureaucrats and what they're talking about are the burning issues in official Washington — like the parking problem, the working hours, and the idiots above and below them in the system. America at work!
I miss the old location at Union Station itself. It used to be the bright finish on a lovely hour spent wandering through the best of America's refurbished train stations. Alas, it's gone, leaving Pizzeria Uno as the only solace....
202-547-8500
227 Mass. Ave. NE (at Second Street) DC
703-848-9476
8601 Westwood Ctr. (just off Route 7) Vienna (Tyson's Corner) VA