Inexpensive, non-chain, tasty places to eat in Chantilly/Fairfax/Herndon/Reston ? (neighborhood, buy)

[HarborEastGuy]

I eat out all the time so whenever I move to a new area I post here to find out about
all the tasty places to eat at that are inexpensive and non-chain. For instance lunches
for about $8 and dinners for $10-$15.

Anita's in Herndon off Eldon was really good for Mexican.

What are some other good value restaurants in the Chantilly/Fairfax/Herndon/Reston area?
I like restaurants of all flavors including Italian, Chinese, Buffets, etc.

Thanks..

[Flamingo13]

I don't care for Anita's but for Mexican I love the Tortilla Factory in Herndon.

[choff5]

Tony's in Fair Lakes (far west end, near Michaels), great Italian. Willards in Chantilly, near the Expo Center for great Bar-B-que. Dogfish Head (yes, there are several in the area) in the Greenbriar Shopping center off Rt. 50, good neighborhood pub. Red Pepper, same place as Tonys for Chinese in Fair Lakes. That's a start I can think of around Chantilly.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Tom55116

Anita's in Herndon off Eldon was really good for Mexican.

Anita's is Northern New Mexico cuisine, not Mexican. There is no great Mexican food in NoVA.

[sullyguy]

Just about any "Peruvian" chicken place (nee the one in Metrotech).

There's a cafe place in Reston by some lake (great description, huh?) that I've always liked - nice atmosphere as well. Unfortuantely, I'm using the wrong (read "really slow") computer right now so can't link to the overhead view.

[patriot201]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Anita's is Northern New Mexico cuisine, not Mexican. There is no great Mexican food in NoVA.

I disagree! I think Picante: The Real Taco (in Chantilly) is awesome. Delicious!!

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Anita's is Northern New Mexico cuisine, not Mexican. There is no great Mexican food in NoVA.

Actually, not true at all there are various Mexican/ South American joints (some are trucks) off of Rt. 50 in the Chantilly (South Riding) area that are great.

[hilsmom]

FWIW, my husband who grew up on Tex-Mex food in San Antonio likes most of the food at Uncle Julio's/Rio Grande cafe. Not 100% Mexican, but they have come the closest to the foods he liked back home. I wouldn't call them "cheap" and it is a chain (one that got its start in TX), but just a suggestion. There is a Rio in Reston Town Center and in Fairfax Corner.

He'd love to find alternatives to Rio and Anita's, though.

We eat mostly at chains when we eat out, so we can't really help on other local restaurants. We need to explore more in the Chantilly area since we spent 8 years in Reston and know what we liked there.

One local chain we like for subs and pizza is Santini's. There are 5 locations total, I think? We used to frequent the one in Reston, but have gone to the one in Chantilly a couple times. They are fairly reasonably priced.

[Caladium]

Thai Basil has excellent food.

This is a little out of your way, but we love Delias in Countryside. The have a variety of food, but the Greek and Italian dishes are the best (also the burgers). The price is extremely reasonable. When my husband goes out of town I buy a Calzone for $8-9 and then I don't need to cook for the next two days. It's so huge I can split it into at least 2 meals, and sometimes 3.

[sportsterjohn]

For Pizza and lower cost Italian food, I would go with Uptowns Pizza (k-mart shopping center) or Mangianos or Rubino's (both are in the shopping center with Red Hot and Blue). For Subs, The Deli in the Kmart shopping center. For breakfast or Lunch, check out the Bagel Cafe (Herndon Parkway and Eldon). The Greek diner, Amphoria on Eldon near Alabama is pretty good. There is also an Irish place on Eldon right across the street from Jimmy's bar which has good Irish food. It kind of a small sports bar atmosphere. Jimmys has pretty decent bar food. Fosters Grill on Herndon Parkway (next to Pot Bellies has good burgers as done 5 guys on Eldon st.