Pistone's Italian Inn

View the entire photostream with comments here.

Obscurity/Location/Curb Appeal: Tommy
Depending on the direction you take when coming to Seven Corners on the southeastern side of Falls Church, you may think that this smallish, one-story building is either a) a piano bar, b) Pistone’s (pih-stone-ayz) Italian Inn (neon), c) Pistone’s Italian Inn with non-neon sign but added dumpster, or d) None of the above but white brick wall suitable for graffiti. If you chose any of these options, you’d be correct.

At the intersection of Hillwood Ave. and Frontage Rd. sits Pistone’s Italian Inn and Piano Bar, and while it sits in what one would think to be prime real estate at the tip of one of the seven corners, it actually seems to be anything but. Although Hillwood Ave. is a main street in the FC community, it is far less trafficked than its neighbor, Broad St. (Hwy 7). Entrance from Hillwood Ave. greets visitors with views of the dumpsters, discarded chairs, and Hwy 50. The curb appeal of Pistone’s is only appreciated with proper prior expectations. A four star establishment this is not, and the gravel parking lot will let you and your Lexus know it, Mr. (or Mrs.) Fancypants. Let the soft glow of the neon guide you here, but make sure you have a map to find the front door.
Rating: 3 Thurbs

Food/Beverage: Matt
As much as I wish our inaugural blog post could include a review of some laughably bad food, it just was not meant to be. Pistone's is actually pretty good...a little pricey (more on that in a different section) but good nonetheless. All the food seems pretty straightforward Italian and probably a little more authentic than your average meal at Olive Garden. Good bread to start us off, probably homemade or at least giving the illusion of being homemade. Matt ordered gnocchi. Mark ordered some kind of pasta with seafood all in it. Tommy and Brian ordered something with chicken. It all tasted good, and there was plenty of it. The only slight snag came from a few of the not-entirely-cleaned mussels in Mark's meal that seemed to still have substantial amounts of "mussel poop" on them. Mark seemed relatively unfazed, rationalizing the fact that mussels are "filter feeders" and just scraping them off with his knife and pressing forward.

Also we bought a bottle of wine that cost $38, which, in my limited understanding of wine, seems ridiculous for what we got. When I go to the grocery store to buy wine, I'm looking in the $8-$10 range - $15 if I'm feeling impulsive. So this seemed like a stretch to me. But, hey, it's not everyday we get to dine at Pistone's, so we might as well splurge a little.

One last food/bev related note. Probably my favorite moment of the night was overhearing what I assumed to be the owner or manager of Pistone's (Mr. Pistone? wearing warm-up pants and a sweater) speaking with a loud voice to a table of suited gentlemen near us, saying, "Do you want some salami? Ok we'll bring you some salami." For some reason, in the context of that empty old dining room, that was hilarious to me.

Rating: 3 Thurbs

Service/Cost: Mark
After circumventing the establishment aimlessly in search of a door, we happened upon the entrance where excited conversation could be heard from the bar in anticipation of the nights entertainment. Perhaps unprepared for the first dining guests of the evening, there was no one to greet the gang upon our grand entrance. Adjusting our coats to wick the remaining drops of rain, our eyes fell upon the large stack of menus and empty tables. After being seated by the suprised host, the waitress quickly welcomed us to the grand Pistone. The waitress was not the anticipated 43 year old caucasion but rather-well,if I were a betting man, I would say somewhere south of Russia and east of Iran. She was helpful when needed but didn't trek across the great expanse of tables any more than needed. While she did strike up a conversation with a fellow Pistone party of two, her conversation with the table was limited to water refills and checking IDs. I would give the overall customer service a "nothing to write home about".

Due to limited supply, our wine seleciton was not available and we were given the upgrade. On the one hand thanks, but at the end of the $29 a head bill, no thanks. The $13-18 entree price was reasonable, considering both the quantity and quality. I'd rank fair. All this being said, I dipped out before the bill came around. The value was unbeatable.

Items currently for sale on craigslist for $29:
LOVELY By Sarah Jessica Parker - $29
1996 olympic Hanes Beefy T Shirt Signed by U S Baseball team - $29
2001-2005 Cadillac Deville Key - $29

Rating: 2.5 Thurbs

Ambience/Entertainment: Brian
We rolled into Pistone’s parking lot around 7:30 greeted warmly by the hum of its neon sign and the remains of a ceiling fan that had seen better days. Obviously this wasn’t the front of the establishment. After finding the appropriate entrance, I was struck by the stark contrast between exterior and interior. Subtle track lighting, brick walls, and nightly specials written in neon marker beckoned us towards the hostess station. Our party was seated at a spacious, elevated booth, comfortably padded with room for accoutrements. The dining room was reminiscent of a converted Pizza Hut, but classier due to place settings and prints of impressionist paintings dotting the landscape. Some clichés adorned the walls of Pistone’s. Honorable mention: a cardboard standup of Humphrey Bogart in one corner and a sign designating “Parking for Italians Only.”

Pistone’s offers nightly entertainment including: singer/songwriter/cover artist, open mike night, and piano lounge with audience participation (think Mr. Smith’s with no audience). At first we only listened to the slightly loud, “unique” variety of XM soft rock. (Matt enjoyed identifying questionable songs with the Shazam application on his iphone). However, the Thurber boys were in for a treat Monday night. Shortly after being seated, our ears perked to the mellow tones of Mr. Tom Saputo wafting from the bar area. What’s that I hear Tom? You’re a Chris De Burgh fan? “Lady In Red” kicked off the setlist. Consistently flat notes and questionable song choices ignited the music critic in me, but the locals seemed to be enjoying themselves. Tom himself noted, “There appear to be people taking pictures tonight.” I’d be interested to return on an open mike evening to survey the local talent.
Rating: Ambience beats entertainment quality. Worth seeing in person for sure. 3 Thurbs.

Overall Rating: 2.875 Thurbs