Restaurants in West Springfield

The cooks at Virginia BBQ opt to use only high-quality meats, slinging bone-in boston pork seasoned with the eatery’s signature dry drub, a tradition that helped the establishment elicit plaudits from Richmond magazine as one of the region's best barbecue destinations. A rotisserie hickory-wood smoker permeates meat with flavor over the course of 12 hours, the same time it takes to cook meat by sending it to the sun and back. Barbecue gourmands then hand-pull the meat and fill plates or stack catering trays with the lean, flavorful bites. After the cuisine emerges from the wood smoker, it takes on an appetizing quality that the Free Lance-Star called "meltingly tender, astonishingly lean." Down-home side dishes such as baked beans, mac 'n' cheese, or red-potato salad round out entrees of pork ribs, brisket, and chicken. Virginia BBQ outstrips its name by having expanded to Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Mars, the planet whose color most indicated its proclivity for barbecue.

Drawing on more than 25 years of deli experience, the family of owners of Epic Market & Grill expertly hand-pick items to fill their menu of sandwiches and burgers. Cooks whip up house-made tzatziki sauce for gyros and make each day’s special from scratch. Take-home domestic brews complement Epic burgers piled with mushrooms, onions, bacon, and fried eggs. In addition, breakfast, lunch, and dinner fare fills the catering menu, which in turn fills office workers and their filing cabinets’ refrigerator drawers.

Taste of Morocco’s vibrant character spans from the flavorful cuisine that tops the dining room's linen-covered tables to the belly dancers who swivel and sashay around guests seated in turquoise chairs. In the kitchen of the cozy neighborhood eatery, chefs dress morsels of chicken, lamb, and veggies in tagines and couscous dishes. Multicourse feasts are also available, conveniently portioned for two. The belly dancers add extra spice to the dining experience on weekends, displaying feats of abdominal coordination while diners' stomachs contentedly perform the digestion fox trot.

Hidden away about a mile from the White House in Blagden Alley, Back Alley Waffles is more than just a waffle house—it's also a gallery where proprietors Sherman Davis and Craig Nelsen showcase their original mosaics and oil paintings. As visitors admire the work on the walls, they fill up on orders from a simple menu with one selection—waffles glistening with melted butter and real maple syrup. Fruit smoothies, coffee, and chai tea balance out the solid sustenance.

Springing from the mindparts of CEO and founder John Kunkel, Lime Fresh Mexican Grill combines the tasty flavor of Mexican fare with a dedication to healthy eating and responsible food sourcing. After cutting its teeth in the mean streets of Miami's South Beach, Lime Fresh spread its delicious message across the country, stuffing organic beans, colorful veggies, homemade salsas, and humanely raised meats into tortillas made from non-genetically-modified corn and flour. Chefs grill quesadillas, roll burritos, and sizzle fajitas before customers' eyes, and they can easily convert each item on the menu into a vegetarian-friendly feast or a makeshift futon. As guests content themselves with mouthfuls of flavorful tacos, fresh salads, and cheesy scoops of nachos, Lime Fresh Mexican Grill's dedicated staff works hard behind the scenes to build strong community relationships through contributions to local charities and nonprofits.

Ethiopian owner Meaza Zemedu's Meaza Ethiopian Restaurant, which has been featured in such press outlets as the Washingtonian and the Washington Post, was born of humble roots. Zemedu started her business by supplying local Ethiopian stores with her home-baked injera bread, a crepelike staple of Ethiopian cuisine. Demand for the tangy bread grew, allowing her to open her majestic restaurant, which welcomes guests to dine on traditional Ethiopian fare. Northern Virginia Magazine heaped praise upon the menu, including the doro wat stew—the national dish of Ethiopia—which includes chicken, red pepper, garlic, and hard-boiled eggs. Many of Meaza’s dishes are flavored with purified, spiced Ethiopian butter, from the ye beg kikil—lamb stew in spicy sauce—to the kifto—ground beef traditionally served raw or rare and mixed with cardamom and a mitmita spice blend. The chefs still bake Zemedu's injera from teff grain as an ubiquitous side and utensil alongside the fare.

The complex Ethiopian spice blends enchant guests throughout the 7,000-square-foot space—which comprises a dining room, grocery store, and banquet hall—as they admire portraits of Ethiopian emperors painted on lambskins along one wall. Throughout three elevated tiers, white and red cloths coat each table and patrons recline into patterned cushioned chairs. Sweeping bands of color swirl and draw eyes toward the ceiling, enhancing the dining room’s air of spaciousness.