When Connie and I first moved to Vienna we had a favorite restaurant we liked to go to. It was a warm place, with cheap food, and always filled with families and lots of kids. In the corner was a piano and people would get up and sing whenever the mood struck them. I think it was actually called The Family Restaurant, but it's long gone. We never go to the expensive over-blown steak houses or any of those restaurants near malls which are now mostly owned by some faceless food conglomerate. They always seem so tacky and uninspired and now there's usually a micro brewery connected to them that pumps out fruit-flavored beers for the upwardly mobile set. I guess I've really gotten old and out of touch. I miss the big plates of meat loaf and mashed potatoes, the broasted chicken. I miss the green salads that actually looked like a salad. I miss seeing old people have a good time on a precious night out in a place that's cozy and welcoming, and they're being waited on by Jake, Millie, or Agnes, who live right around the corner and have been serving the same customers since the 60's.
On a hot tip I went to Anthony's Restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia to hear some music. I had been there before, so nothing new to that. What was new was the crowd that had come out to hear Andrew Acosta in the back room. That there is a back room is a tip-off to rediscovery. It's a party room of sorts, and a spill-over area for Anthony's regular customers. Anthony's is a Falls Church institution and a throw-back to those days I'm talking about. The Anthony's-style restaurants are fast fading from the scene and being replaced by restaurants that try to change their theme every time a new owner takes control. You'll get the same menu of food at Anthony's that you ordered 20 years ago.
In the back room I saw some friends from CABOMA (the Capitol Area Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association.) There were 'Howdies' all around and couples, oldsters, and lots of kids drifted in and out and everyone enjoyed the simple fare. When's the last time you had a real Meatball Sub smothered in grease and cheese and it didn't come out of a bag at Subway? I couldn't finish it. I didn't want the music to stop either. The crowd stayed for Andrew Acosta and his two friends who entertained the neighborhood local crowd. Old time country and western in flavor with lots of ancient bluegrass chestnuts, Acosta took his time, didn't seem to work off any kind of play list. If you wanted to hear something just shout it. We're in no hurry to go find our cars as you would in a mall parking lot or have to worry about the eternal traffic back-up on 66. It's that kind of atmosphere - almost luxurious in today's frenetic Washington, D.C. Suburbia. Acosta played the TennesseeWaltz, and yep, a couple in the back got up and started waltzing. Why not? Who cares?
The next time you think about your entertainment dollar, think about spending it on your local Mom-and-Pop operation and local musicians like Andrew Acosta. Good entertainment like this still exists in out-of-the-way places. You have to get out of your chair and away from the TV set to go look for them.
Andrew Acosta and Friends play most Thursday evenings at Anthony's Restaurant in Falls Church, Va. Check with the management for available nights.
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