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Very Best Restaurants: Union Street Public House

Very Best Listing | Very Best by Cuisine | Very Best by Location

Union Street Public House *
Alexandria , $

Don't let the crowd in the front corner bar deter you from this very good Old Town restaurant. Walk right throughor enter a little farther down Union Streetand ask for a table in the back or upstairs dining rooms. This place calls itself a pub, but it also serves American food, Cajun and Italian inspired, of high quality.

Good appetizers include a low-country quesadilla, filled with crawfish, andouille, and jack cheese; a first-rate version of clams casino; and a fine, middle-of-the-road chili, topped with sour cream, onions, and cheddar. Sandwiches are good, particularly the US Burger and the "My Bar, My Rules" steak sandwich on an English muffin, but the stars of the menu are the stews and the daily specials. There's a smoky gumbo of shrimp, chicken, and tasso ham; and a generous seafood stew of lobster, oysters, scallops, fish, and shrimp in a creamy fish stock. On Mondays, go for the cioppino, a spicy San Franciscostyle fish stew, and on Wednesdays, don't miss the sausage platter with garlic mashed potatoes and a sweet-potato puree.

Whatever day you pick, save room at the end for the deep-dish chocolate-chip pie, a shoot-the-works combination of cookie dough and pecans served warm with frozen vanilla custard.

Union Street Public House , 121 S. Union St., Alexandria ; 703-548-1785. Open daily for lunch and dinner. MapIt!

QUALITY: ****Excellent; *** Superior; **Very Good; * Good
PRICE RANGE: $$$= Very Expensive; $$ Expensive; $=Moderate; ¢=Inexpensive

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