Monday, July 17, 2006

The Queen Bee, Vietnamese Restaurant, Clarendon, Virginia

Queen Bee
3181 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA

703 527 3444


For a map, click here.

Vietnamese steak is a wonderful dish. There are tender pieces of high quality steak surrounded by lettuce, onion, and coriander. I always order mine rare, and it is consistently delicious at this restaurant.




The cold summer rolls can be ordered with or without pork

The crispy Vietnamese rolls are wonderful. They come with a plate of fresh coriander, and are delicious when wrapped in the herbs and dipped in the fish sauce.

I discovered this neighborhood over twenty years ago when I had an old 1977 Volkswagen Rabbit. We had a wonderful mechanic who was honest, creative, and intelligent. But time was not his thing. As often as not, when you would show up at the appointed hour in the evening to pick up your car, he would need "just another hour," and Iran and I remember long evenings wandering around this Clarendon neighborhood discovering the restaurants. By about 1985, it became known as Little Saigon, and we began to enjoy going to the Queen Bee. The food has always been good here, and it has always been good value for money.

Five of us went out for lunch. The Spring Rolls and the Summer Rolls are memorable, and we were able to order the Summer Rolls without Pork to accommodate Mr. B, who does not eat meat. Four of us ordered the Vietnamese Steak, which consists of chunks of high quality tender beef served in a very light wine reduction. Mr. B ordered shrimps. Our total bill was slightly less than $80 for five of us. (We did not order any alcoholic drinks.)

I have tried some of the many other Vietnamese restaurants in this area, but I keep on going back to the Queen Bee. It is a very nice place with friendly service, low prices, and good food.

I no longer post to this site.  Click here to access my new web site: louisandlouisa.com.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Alas, the poor Queen Bee is no more and I mourn their yummy rolls with noodles and shrimp which I miss most of all. Now I usually have to go out to the Eden Shopping Center in Falls Church for my fresh Viet Namese goodies, although there are still two I think left in Clarendon's little Saigon. Just say this virtual office dweller is suffering from the pain of the loss.