Promising Rustico Needs to Be Refined

The ambience is great; the service is mostly attentive and welcoming. Now the kitchen just needs to catch up.

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There are many reasons to try the Pan American Bakery on Columbia Pike near George Mason Drive: its sweet and savory pastries, its cakes and fruit tarts, but most of all its salteñas , Bolivian meat pies. An almost-sweet egg dough crust encases some of the best beef stew you can imagine: fall-apart cubes of meat, chunks of potato, English peas and a healthy slice of boiled egg, all in a rich sauce.

Pan American also has chicken salteñas, with shredded chicken, potatoes, mild chilies and a few raisins, but they pale in comparison with the beef version. For the more adventurous, smear on some of the green llujua sauce, which is simply ground jalapeños. Those little footballs of flavor are good morning, noon or night.

Rustico Restaurant 827 Slaters Lane, Alexandria, 703-224-5051,http://www.rusticorestaurant.com. Hours: 5:30-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 5:30-11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Beginning Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Appetizers, $4-$10; main courses, $11-$19. Most tables are reserved for drop-in traffic; limited reservations available. Accessible to people with disabilities.

Pan American Bakery 4113 Columbia Pike, Arlington, 703-271-1113. Hours: 7 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, 7 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sundays. Beef and chicken salteñas, about $2.50 each.

If you have a food-related event or favorite restaurant that you think deserves attention, please contact Nancy Lewis atlewisn@washpost.com.