Tuscany Grapes Cafe

For more pictures of our Tuscany Grapes experience click here

Also check out the Tuscany Grapes website - it's the next best thing to actually being there!

Curb Appeal & Location: Brian R.

This particular phrase can be heard in many scenes and settings. You could probably find it somewhere at a wedding or maybe it comes out in a long overdue conversation with an old friend. Whoever it may be is probably going on about their husband or wife and finally gets to the part where they affirm that he/she is “their better half”. We have all heard the saying and sometimes it’s heartfelt, but other times it’s more than apparent that the claim is false and the speaker clearly believes they are actually the better half by a long shot. Well, Tuscany Grapes, our most recent dinner venture, was definitely the better half... of 7-11. Other businesses attached to 7-11’s? Laundromats, Check Cashing establishments, Bail Bonds and crime scenes.

If your going to eat here you should probably just look for the 7-11, but to be a bit more specific Tuscany Grapes was off of Lee Highway on Rogers Road. The less than classy low-lit lot was garnished with a pulsing “OPEN” sign that left us all second-guessing whether or not the sign was actually telling the truth, but the door opened and we found that the establishment was open. Other outside décor included a white board held by steel cables and bolted into the building that advertised the name of the establishment. Really nothing else worth mentioning as far as curb appeal goes.

Rating: 2 Thurbs

Food & Beverage: Brian P.

I first noticed Tuscany Grapes Café as I traveled down Lee Highway in Tommy’s car last week. Perpendicularly attached to a 7 Eleven, it may not be the first place one looks for fine Mediterranean cuisine. Intrigued by the name and online menu, the Thurber party ventured inside this restaurant/hookah bar Monday night with somewhat high hopes. In all honesty, our group was eager to forget the disappointment of Victor’s Grill weeks before. Prior to our trip, we had the luxury of perusing a rather extensive menu on the Tuscany Grapes website. Boasting such dishes as Baba Ghanouge, Kibbi, Fatoush, and Khyar B’Laban, Tuscany Grapes certainly appeared to be an establishment steeped in authenticity. To our amazement and delight, Tuscany Grapes Café delivered!

Our rather eccentric and talkative waiter took our order and delivered a variety of well-prepared Mediterranean foods. I had the chicken kabob and hummus (to compare to Lahori Kabob,) Matt ordered falafel, Tommy enjoyed a massive ricotta/pepperoni calzone, and Brobinson had a chicken parmesan sub. Three waters and a Diet Coke were the beverages for the evening. Unfortunately, these drinks were delivered in bottle or can only preventing free refills. We sipped conservatively. To cap off the evening, Tommy, Matt and Brobinson enjoyed Strawberry Al Fakher served in one of the tallest hookah’s I’ve ever seen. Yet another crowd pleaser. I’m trying to quit.

Although we didn’t try some of the more exotic choices mentioned above, I can confidently say everyone enjoyed their meals and we will return. I also believe we Thurberites did a fine job of sampling a diverse array of what Tuscany Grapes Café has to offer. Hopefully, dear readers, you can carve out some time to make a trip right off Lee Highway on Rogers Road and visit this restaurant. It is sure to please.

Rating: 3.25 Thurbs

Service & Cost: Tommy

The entrance to Tuscany Grapes is where I would’ve designed it, had I the unfortunate luck of opening my business on “opposite day.” Although there is no sign welcoming you through the door of my preference, there were also no tables blocking entry. When I got about 10 feet away, I could see the other guys already inside, watching to see if I made the same blunder I assume they already had. As I walked inside, a very cordial man greeted me (turns out he owns the restaurant). Both the manager (who doubled as a waiter) and the owner were very friendly and made small talk with us about sports, current events, and the occasional borderline-inappropriate joke. Although I can’t give TG an excellent rating for cost since they had no soda fountain, gave only cans of soda and bottles of water (with no refills, obviously), it was a very fair price for the food itself. All in all, if you’re looking for a place that has no qualms about being the place you grab a pizza and eat it in the restaurant at 3am, Tuscany Grapes is worth a try. Completely unassuming, and I don’t think anything would’ve rattled these guys. I wanted to test my theory by laying down on a table and eating my calzone with my hands, but I didn’t want to push the limits of their generosity.

Rating: 3.0 Thurbs

Ambiance & Entertainment: Matt

How can I possibly explain what it feels like to spend a Monday evening at Tuscany Grapes? Have you ever had a weekend night where you’ve gone with someone you know over to a random dude’s apartment that you don’t really know and found yourself in the company of a bunch of other random dudes that all seem slightly sketchy but also very friendly and everyone is just lounging around, watching TV, making a few jokes, being slightly inappropriate, acting like you’re all good friends and then leaving at the end of that night never to see any of those people ever again. Maybe that’s not a scenario everyone can relate to, but I had a sense of déjà vu the whole night at Tuscany Grapes about that very type of thing. I think that says something about their friendliness and hospitality of the restaurant staff and patrons. It also says something about the disheveled Mediterranean living room décor at Tuscany Grapes, complete with flat screen TV on the wall, hookahs and ashtrays on the tables and several people hunched over laptops while checking up on their Myspace pages in the middle of the dining room. It also says something about that fact that the whole social situation that developed there was all just a little bizarre. Thirty minutes into our meal we were watching Monday Night Football with the owner, manager and cook as well as three other random customers stopping in for who knows what. Somewhere along the way it switched from eating dinner at a restaurant to hanging out with all these random dudes watching football. All of that makes for a fun time but also a bit of a surreal dining experience.

Rating: 2.5 Thurbs

Tuscany Grapes

Overall Rating: 2.7 Thurbs

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Papa Joe's Pizza

View the entire Papa Joe's photo set with comments here.

Also, to see a map of Papa Joe's location, click here.

Location & Curb Appeal: Brian P.

You may recognize Papa Joe’s location from our previous visit to Bubba’s BBQ earlier in the summer. Located right next door to Bubba’s in a strip of stores and shops off Route 7, Papa Joe’s contains no more uniqueness than the rest of its peers. A plain, red fluorescent sign illuminates the storefront with a somewhat festive logo adorning the entranceway. Neon/LED “open” signs also fill the large windows. Two nice flat screens on opposite walls may serve to draw customers, and the bright red and yellow décor visible from the street would please any Redskins fan.

Externally, there is not much at Papa Joe’s to catch the potential patron’s eye, which is a shame. However, if you do happen to get a glimpse of this small establishment, you will notice a relatively steady stream of customers popping in to pick up a pizza or calzone. I feel no guilt in giving Papa Joe’s a low rating on curb appeal due to the fact it compensates by offering quality, reasonably priced fare. (It’s a bargain if you use the coupon we received in the mail!) Papa Joe spends his money on what counts: Food! The Thurber Party enjoyed our shared pizza that evening and we plan to return!

Rating: 1.5 Thurbs

Food & Beverage: Matt

Having spent the last several years in youth ministry, I have eaten more than my fair share of pizza. In particular, there is one brand of pizza that I have specialized in during this period of time - Papa John’s. I would venture to guess that I have consumed more than 300 pieces of Papa John’s pizza in the last four years. The sight, the smell and the taste of John’s mass-produced pizza creations will be forever engrained in my sense memory, for better and for worse.

Upon receiving the Papa Joe’s coupon at our doorstep, my initial impression was that this place was just trying to ride the coattails of a national pizza chain and hopefully garner a handful of accidental, confused customers who got mixed up in the Yellow Pages. Whether they’re rivals, relatives or just two pizza makers that happen to have very similar nicknames, I can say with certainty that Joe’s pizza is way better than John’s. This may not be saying much, but let me re-emphasize by saying that Papa Joe’s pizza is really, really good. All of our food was fresh, flavorful and plentiful. Our party shared an extra-large pizza with loads of vegetables and a tasty white sauce. They seem to make their own dough, and it pays off because it’s awesome. Three of us had salads that were also fresh and good. Really, the only knock against the food that I can even come up with is that their salad dressings are served in commercial-brand pouches – including the “house” dressing. Although we all drank water, they do have a decent selection of beverages at a great price, with discounts running all the way until 8pm. Joe’s is no joke. If you’re looking for a good pizza, go see the real Big Papa.

Rating: 3.5 Thurbs

Service & Cost: Brian R. (the new guy)

Being a new Thurb, new to the Falls Church area, the Thurber traditions and Papa Joe’s Pizza, I came with wide eyes and soaring expectations of what to expect. And what I found was none of what I had anticipated. I felt as if Papa Joe mistook me for the Prodigal Son. It seemed that his pigment differed quite a bit from my true father and he gave me no signet ring, but his warmness made me feel as if he actually had slain his prize goat to prepare our dinner.

Some may have said he was a little slow to leave his laptop in order to welcome us, but tending to Facebook friend requests carries a high importance also, so we were quick to forgive him. As he walked toward us, he boldly sported an oversized Tony Romo jersey and a warm smile that asked where had we been? After ordering and upon receiving our salads Brynnan confirmed that he was the actual Papa Joe. Not only was he Papa Joe, but he confidently added that he went by “Big Papa”. This must have been his street name, but he should not be confused with Biggie Smalls who similarly has been dubbed Big Papa in his popular song “I love it when You Call Me Big Papa”.

The service was constant and consistent, which may have been slightly correlated to us being his only dine-in guests. Regardless, the service was impeccable for the price we paid, which was only 12.99 for an XL pizza via a coupon. The rest of the menu was rather cheap and included everything from salads to submarines to pizzas for under $10. Beers started at 2.50 and stayed there until 8 when they went up to 3.50. Also notable was that not only did we receive our 10 slice XL pizza for 12.99 this time, but Big Papa extended the mercy of letting us keep our coupon and use it next time. And a next time there will definitely be.

Rating: 3.5 Thurbs

Ambiance & Entertainment: Brynnan Cox, Guest of Honor

I have to begin by saying how exciting it was to be this week's Chosen One. I seriously felt like I hit the actual jackpot--and Papa Joe's (and the Thurber Party of 4 company, of course) didn't disappoint. When you first walk in to Papa Joe's, it's hard to tell whether you've just walked into an old Mexican restaurant (bright and vibrant colors--a corona beer flag banner around the wall, etc.), or Redskin's Central. The particular shade of yellow and burgundy accents would suggest the latter. Interestingly enough, despite the fact that there were framed memorial images of Sean Taylor and other tributes to the much-loved DC team, Papa Joe was very adamant about the fact that he was a Cowboys fan (he was sporting his Tony Romo jersey).

While the service was great, the food was delicious, and Papa Joe was really quite a gem, strictly speaking of the topic at hand, I have to say that the ambiance wasn't exactly the greatest if you're looking for a nice quiet evening out or a romantic dinner for two. There was little sitting room for dining in and there were two televisions with quite the extreme levels of volume. It was hard to hear myself think at times, and definitely difficult to hear what my dinner company was saying. One nice aspect, though, is the light reading provided while you wait for your pizza to cook. On the counter were plenty of issues of Pizza Magazine Quarterly and a magazine all about German Shepherds...you could really pick up some random trivia and helpful tips from those two. In conclusion, if you're looking for a place to sit down and enjoy a quiet evening over pizza and beer, Papa Joe's may not be your best bet. But, if you're looking for some delicious pizza to take home or to a gathering (or you're a HUGE Redskins fan and want to be surrounded by your team colors), then it's just the place for you.

Rating: 2.5 Thurbs

Papa Joe's Pizza

Overall Rating: 2.75 Thurbs

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