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Reviews & Awards Washingtonian Magazine “Fun for a Date or Night Out” Del Merei Grille Cozy booths and an everyone-knows-everyone vibe makes this a popular spot. The food is updated Southern, and there’s lots of mix-and-match for diners who want to have it their way. Go for the signature “frickles”—fried pickle slices to swipe in remoulade—or try the deviled eggs with bacon. Shrimp with garlicky grits is nicely done, as is flank steak with “DMG” (Del Merei Grille) steak sauce. Get an order of sautéed spinach and goat-cheese mashed potatoes on the side. .......................................... The Washington Post In the Southern school of culinary thought, if something’s tasty as is, it’s even better fried. That principle was what led chef Eric Reid to dish up “frickles”, the crispy fried pickle chips that are the the top seller at Del Merei Grille, his restaurant in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood (3106 Mount Vernon Ave., 703-739-4335). .......................................... Northern Virginia Magazine “Best Bargain Dining” Del Merei Grille .......................................... 2006 Fall Dining Guide ** (out of four) The perky, blond mistress of ceremonies? That's Mary Abraham. The guy behind the fried pickles and spicy beef kabobs? That's Eric Reid, Abraham's childhood chum. Together they make sure you feel at home and dine quite nicely in their red-and-gold dining room, which packs in soccer moms, seniors and twentysomethings on dates. One of the most heart-stopping appetizers around – "The Plate" – brings together those crisp fried pickles, bacon-topped deviled eggs and beer-battered mozzarella. Fear not, for there are salads to balance the equation. Entrees consider a host of appetites, too, which means one of you can explore the Low Country with very good shrimp and cheesy grits, and the other can go the meat route with a lean buffalo hanger steak. The common denominator: generous portions (the grilled items come with a choice of two sides, including terrific potato salad and baked beans). At Del Merei, the drinks are strong, the desserts are decadent – grilled doughnuts, anyone? – and the vibe is – "Howdy, neighbor." No wonder the revolving door gets such a workout. .......................................... Washington Post Like many such neighborhoods where food plays a central part, Del Ray has drawn not only restaurants but also a growing number of gourmet shops hawking a variety of delicacies. For those who hanker for triple creme fromage or strawberry balsamico sorbet, Mount Vernon Avenue delivers.
One of Del Ray's newer arrivals is the Del Merei Grille, owned and run by Mary Abraham, 26, and Eric Reid, 28, friends since they were students at what is now George Washington Middle School, just down the avenue from their establishment. A few years ago, after Abraham had finished college and was pursuing a sports marketing career, she and Reid found themselves sipping cocktails and having a heart-to-heart about the food business. Reid, then a line cook at the Evening Star Cafe, another popular Del Ray spot, longed for his own place where he could serve petit filets and slow-cooked collard greens and other Southern dishes he favors. Abraham, whose parents own Monroe's, another neighborhood fixture, grew up working in the business. The idea germinated. Things began to click in 2004, when a restaurant vacated years earlier by Mary's aunt and uncle came available. The space, in a small strip mall next to a hulking apartment building on Mount Vernon Avenue, hadn't been occupied in more than a year. It was strewed with debris, padlocked shut and needed major renovations. But Abraham felt that the neighborhood and the previous family connection to the space made it right. "I ran to my father and said, 'It's a sign! We're meant to be there!' " Abraham recalled. "He looked at me and said, 'Mary, it's a hellhole .' " Last year, after investing more than $100,000 to retool the kitchen with Vulcan appliances and all new plumbing, Abraham and Reid opened Del Merei (a play on both their names). The stylish restaurant, with its red-and-yellow lacquered walls, tables dressed in white linen and granite-topped bar, regularly draws locals, a few city politicians, even a Washington Redskin or two. Del Merei's signature appetizer -- salty batter-fried pickles, or "frickles" -- has helped put the place on the map. "If we didn't get this spot, we weren't sure we'd even open a restaurant," Abraham said. "That's how badly we wanted to be in Del Ray." Part comfort zone, part stomping ground, the neighborhood provided Reid and Abraham with a connection to their patrons who are not tourists but neighbors and other Alexandrians. "I wouldn't want to work six days a week if it weren't for the neighborhood people with smiling faces who e-mail Eric for his cheese grits recipe," Abraham said. "Really, why would we want to be anyplace else?" added Reid. Sitting at Del Merei's bar last week, Jack Taylor, who owns a car dealership nearby, said he used to eat mostly in Old Town until Del Merei's atmosphere and Reid's grilled salmon won him over. "Del Ray is starting to become the Sausalito of Virginia," Taylor said. "We don't have the beautiful views but have the street action." Mark Abraham knew that the restaurant business was in his blood. As a teenager, he spent summers working at the Vienna Inn, which his parents made famous for its chili dogs and beer. But Abraham wanted a different life, one not ruled by managerial headaches and daily specials. So he became a lawyer, specializing in banking and commercial real estate. It was an opportunity a decade ago to lease space in Del Ray, at Commonwealth and Monroe avenues, that drew him back into the family web, convincing him that it was time to take the entrepreneurial plunge and see what he could do with his own restaurant. Like the epiphany his daughter Mary would have a decade later, he felt the signs were right. "When I was 5 years old, I would literally ride my bike to that corner" where the restaurant is, recalled Abraham, 53. "It was a drugstore then, and I would go in and buy comic books and Orange Nehi. This was my back yard growing up." Today Monroe's attracts customers from elsewhere, but Mark Abraham is clear when he says, "It's the neighborhood that sustains us." In fact, neighbors pack the oak bar on Friday nights, ordering thin-crust margherita pizzas and the crab pasta, many placing orders to go to feed their families waiting at home. Although the clientele has changed over the years, patrons often know one another, sharing tidbits on the latest marriage and ugliest divorce. Some customers say they have eaten more meals inside Monroe's mural-painted walls -- doodling with crayons on the paper that overlays the tablecloths -- than they have in their own homes. "It's a family atmosphere," said legal assistant Tara Day, 30, who lives down the block and eats at Monroe's several nights a week. "I'd never thought I'd be a person who'd eat alone at a bar before I came to Monroe's, but it's the kind of place where I know I can always go in and know at least one other person." .......................................... Washington Post The petite blonde greeting guests at the door of Del Merei Grille seems to know every other arrival by name, while the stocky young chef feels comfortable enough to leave the kitchen after a dinner rush to slide into a booth and chat up what appear to be friends. Without knowing any of the players at this four-month-old restaurant in Alexandria, even strangers get the sense that it isn't just another place to grab a bite to eat in the neighborhood. "We like to keep it real family around here," says the chef, Eric Reid. No kidding. He and his main business partner – that would be Mary Abraham, the general manager – have known each other since elementary school and have long wanted to open a restaurant together. Two of the hostesses are Abraham's twin cousins, one of the busboys is her brother, and Reid's sister doubles as a server and manager. The site itself was once known as the Calvert Grille, which Abraham's aunt and uncle ran for a decade, until 1998 – and where Abraham worked as a hostess. Reid, who was a sous-chef at the Evening Star Cafe nearby in Del Ray, pays tribute to still more relatives with "Zadie's" hot dogs and other items on his menu. And the restaurant's name is a rough hybrid of the two principals' names, with Merei pronounced like Mary. The menu is a little bit country and a little bit rock-and-roll, at once old-fashioned and up to date. If I need some cheering up, a heaping plate of lightly battered butter pickles, or "frickles," served with cool remoulade is where I might head. They're hot, crunchy, salty and "best with beer," as a waiter pointed out to me. In the same vein are a pinkish scoop of horseradish-spiked beer cheese dip dusted with cayenne and circled in crackers, and another thick dip, slightly fancier, with artichokes, crab and bacon and meant to be spread on a baguette. The appetizers don't all hark back to "Happy Days," though. There are grill-singed shrimp with a small teepee of shoestring fries and a zesty cocktail sauce, and spinach salad enhanced by creamy avocado and toasted pine nuts as well as a basil-bright dressing. The kitchen should lose that salad's Parmesan cheese, however, which tastes like a pallid version of the real deal. There's one item on the lunch menu, the hot dogs, that will bring a smile to the face of anyone who has eaten one at the Vienna Inn, one of the Washington area's most beloved pubs – and owned for years by Abraham's late grandfather, Mike "Zadie" Abraham. Draped in finely ground beef chili, whose seasoning includes (surprise!) coffee grounds, a pair of hot dogs arrives with the perfect sidekick: tater tots. And so it goes with the entrees, where a diner can opt for a messy and nostalgia-inducing sloppy joe – or a thick cut of salmon topped with tomato-onion chutney and supported on a thin raft of grilled asparagus. That salmon is worthy of a high-end restaurant, and is further dressed up with a light and lacy corn pancake. "Free range tarragon roasted" half-chicken, though, reads better on paper than it tastes. The chicken is overcooked, but it gets a nice boost from some garlicky spinach and a tomato-laced risotto cake. There's plenty to like about the chef's braised beef ribs – the meat falls easily from the bone, and it comes with a pleasantly sweet barbecue sauce – flanked by cheesy mashed potatoes and tangy collard greens. Reid is a generous cook, doling out portions as if he were feeding hungry teenagers. Ray's the Steaks blazed a trail when it opened in Arlington and began serving good cuts of meat for about half the cost of a proper steak dinner in the city. Del Merei Grille continues that happy trend, with a roster of steaks that are offered with a choice of two side dishes and an optional sauce. Of the seven meats, I'm partial to the bison strip steak, deep red in color and offering some nice chew, and the lean but flavorful flank steak. Good meat doesn't need any enhancement, but duty required me to test out "something saucy," as the menu puts it, and I can vouch for the rich bearnaise and jazzy mustard-and-horseradish cream. Most of the side dishes look to the South. Green beans are cooked so they're soft, and nicely smoky with bacon. Macaroni and cheese manages to be lightly crunchy outside and creamy in its center. The chef honors his late mother, a Virginia native, with "Martinsville" summer squash, cooked per her recipe with white wine, sauteed onions and black pepper. French fries come to the table limp, and "dirty dirty" rice turns out to be pretty tame, with little of that Cajun staple's typical spark. Otherwise, the accompaniments are nice nods to home cooking. With a few small changes, Del Merei Grille could be an even better restaurant. The young servers are likable, and they seem to know the menu, but I'd like it better if they checked in more often. As for the cooks, they need to use the salt shaker less often – and rethink the recipe for pumpkin bread pudding, which tastes like a wet loaf of plain bread. (Far superior: fruit pies baked in-house.) Red wine served too warm continues to be a problem at too many restaurants, including this one, which otherwise offers good value, better-than-average labels and fine stemware. Squeezed into a modest shopping strip, Del Merei Grille doesn't look like much from the street. And the small dining room, which adjoins a more handsome bar, relies mostly on red and gold paint for flair. If given the choice, however, most of us would probably forgo style for steak, fashion for frickles .......................................... Chronicle Newspapers Del Merei Grille is sandwiched inside a miniature shopping strip along Mount Vernon Avenue in Alexandria and one could easily pass it in the blink of an eye. Merei is pronounced like "Mary" and is a combination of two names: Mary Abraham, the general manager, and chef Eric Reid, previously sous-chef at the Evening Star. Most of the staff are family members and some of the menu items recognize other relatives. "Zadie's dogs," two Vienna Inn chili dogs, are a tribute to Abraham's late grandfather, Mike "Zadie" Abraham, owner of the Vienna Inn for years. We started off with the garlic lime marinated grilled shrimp which was served with an excellent tequila cocktail sauce and shoestring fries, a definite must try. All the appetizers were tempting, especially the "Frickles" which were fried pickle chips with spiced remoulade. The Del Merei beer cheese and soda crackers as well as the bacon, crab and artichoke dip seemed enticing, but would have to wait until our next visit. As for the salads, he loved the spinach salad with feta cheese, avocado, and pine nuts tossed with basil vinaigrette. She didn't care for the lolla rossa with blue cheese, raspberries, and spiced pecans because it was drenched with dressing. All the salads have the option of becoming entrée salads with the addition of chicken, steak, shrimp, scallops, or portabella mushrooms. Del Merei Grille's dinner signature is a "put it together your way" type menu. You choose the grilled entrée, the sauce, and two side items. The more unique standouts include a porterhouse pork chop, buffalo strip steak, flat iron steak as well as a portabella mushroom entrée for those who prefer an alternative to steaks. Next comes the "Something Saucy?" as stated on their menu which include a delicious mustard horseradish cream, traditional béarnaise, a tangy house steak sauce, a very unique blueberry compote, and for blue cheese lovers, a blue cheese reduction, as well as a few others. The "sides" portion of the menu just screams, "Try me!" and we had to make sure we got as many options as possible. The smashed potatoes come six different ways: roasted garlic, chive cream cheese, horseradish, goat cheese, caramelized onion, and chorizo. He suggests the horseradish, while she says the goat cheese is the way to go. Other unique, creative sides are the baked mac-n-cheese, Southern-style green beans, creamy garlic cheese grits, camp fire beans, "dirty dirty" rice, and Reid's original home recipe of "Martinsville" summer squash. The chef also suggests on the menu his "already put together" entrees, of which she loved the grilled halibut and he thought the braised beef ribs were good, but not the best he's had. We think it's a lot more fun pairing the menu items up yourself. It makes you feel like an amateur chef. There are a lot of great combinations to mull over, and it does take some time and a little help from the servers to get it right. Don't hesitate to ask your server for advice. Our server was very knowledgeable of the menu, as well as the history of the establishment. This made us believe that training doesn't go overlooked and the servers spend a good amount of time learning the information. Dessert was deliciously described to us by our server, no menu to look over, as chef Reid changes his desserts frequently. We had a triple chocolate terrine, a dark chocolate layer in between a light cake and espresso cake-gone in seconds. Our only thought was that it might be a good idea to have a few desserts listed consistently on the menu for those guests who play favorites. Del Merei sports a unique mix of Southern cuisine with "New York-inspired" modern décor and colors. It is very comfortable and casual and it most definitely is family friendly. Take some advice from its menu: "Eat and be Merei." Del Merei Grille is located at 3106 Mount Vernon Ave. in Del Ray Alexandria, 703-739-4335. Weekdays lunch is served 11:30-2:30. Dinner hours are 5-10 Sunday-Thursday and 5-11 Friday and Saturday. Weekend brunch is served 11-3. Prices range $4-$10 for appetizers, $8-$19 for lunch and $12-$24 for dinner. Reservations are not necessary, and a separate smoking area is available. .......................................... Old Town Crier by Tamar Alexia Fleishman, Esq. I would describe the brunch menu as Southern-influenced, without being gimmicky. Owners Mary Abraham (whose relatives owned the restaurant previously) and Eric Reid are childhood friends who grew up in this neighborhood. Then, they both discovered the Southern cuisine of Virginia and the Carolinas. The restaurant has two distinct rooms, one to accommodate smokers. I visited during the "Grand Opening" period; the atmosphere was open and airy. Dress is casual and while some tables made reservations, they have plenty of room. There seemed to be people of all ages there, enjoying themselves, from young guys having brunch to seniors. Dining Companion and I love Southern food, so we started out with creamy garlic cheese grits. Those $3 are extremely well spent on this tasty side. I don't care if you eat grits, you don't eat grits, or you think you don't eat grits -- think of a rich, thick, cheesy polenta in a white crock. I only wished that there were some little hot sauces on the table. I was extra hungry that morning, so I ordered a side of applewood smoked bacon ($3), which was a good go-with for the grits. We both got a nice, strong, dark coffee -- the way they do in places in New Orleans. The main thrust of Del Merei Grille's brunch is a wide selection of gourmet egg dishes. There areall kinds of eggs benedict: bacon and tomato, ham, steak, crab. They'll set you back between $9 - $13. Another option includes a salmon omelet with dill creme fraiche. I went off the beaten path, more towards a Southern route with the Delta Omelet ($9). It is a creative take on the down home ingredients of chorizo sausage, crawfish, grilled peppers and onions with Vermont cheddar cheese. Del Merei Grille doesn't skimp on the good stuff, either. The omelet was loaded with big hunks of crawfish and spicy sausage. One of the non-egg breakfast type items that I'd love to try was the Sour Cream Pancakes ($8 ), served with vanilla honey butter, real maple syrup and blueberry compote on the side. Many of you readers know by now how much Dining Companion loves a good sandwich. While I would have bet the rent that he was going to order the Braised Beef Rib BBQ Rib sandwich ($12), he tried a true brunch combo in the Momma Reid ($13). This house invention is a sandwich of scrambled eggs, Vermont Cheddar cheese and applewood smoked bacon or homestall ham between 2 slices of French toast, served with home fries. I think this would make a very gourmet to-go brunch! And, about those home fries . . .they are served with most of the brunch items and are excellent. Del Merei Grille does them with tater tots (yum!), grilled onions and peppers. In the mood for something lighter, a little more "ladies' lunch"? Del Merei Grille has several salads, including the Lolla Rossa ($8), which is served with crumbled bleu cheese, raspberries and spiced pecans tossed in vinaigrette. With all the salads, the restaurant has a variety of add-ons that you can order for just a few dollars to create an entree salad: grilled shrimp, chicken breast, chicken tenders, flank steak or chicken tenders. Del Merei Grille has a fully stocked bar with its own bar menu, too. It features traditional bar favorites, along with "Frickles" ($4), which are fried pickle chips with a spiced remoulade and also Garlic Lime Marinated Shrimp ($10), served with shoestring fries and tequila cocktail sauce. .......................................... On Tap Magazine If you haven't noticed, Del Ray (Alexandria) is one cool little neighborhood. And it keeps improving. Del Merei Grille (pronounced "dell mary") is the newest neighborhood eatery and bar on the Mt. Vernon strip, and the vibe is simultaneously laid-back comfortable ($2 PBR cans) and metropolitan chic (hand-tile mosaic walls) Opened February 15th by Mary Abraham and Eric Reid, Del Merei boasts "Southern-inspired American cuisine" in a "New-York-inspired setting." The founders were childhood friends, raised nearby. Abraham's restaurant blood includes grandparents who owned and operated the legendary Vienna Inn for some 50 years, parents who continue to run Monroe's in Del Ray, and uncle in the biz (and CIA grad) in Connecticut. Reid earned acclaim for his skills as sous chef at Evening Star, also in Del Ray. From the street, Del Merei is a bit difficult to spot, given its strip-mall-ish setting, but neighborhood residents know the location from its previous tenant and neighborhood staple, Calvert Grille, which Mary's aunt and uncle also owned. Abraham and Reid spent a year gut-renovating the space, using bright crimson, goldenrod, and earth tones; mosaics and textured paint finishes with squares of color to create a fun, modern feel. The bar is elegant and a good size, and boasts TVs and fun orange hanging lamps. In the dining room, big red banquettes and dark wood tables with inlay and votive lanterns are inviting, and nicely spread throughout the space-a reminder that you're not in the city cramming elbows with fellow diners. Food here is what Reid is used to preparing: comfort food with an edge to it. Alongside entrees like Cedar Planked Salmon and Porterhouse (or Portobello) with choice of sauce and two down-home sides are tons of salads that can be made entrees by adding your choice of protein. Says Reid, "I wish I wasn't one of the owners because I'd love to come in here" as a patron. Carpenter’s Cook-Off People’s Choice Award Winner April 25, 2010
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