Where to Call And Carry - Arlington and Alexandria Counties

The Italian Store has been the king of takeout in the area for more than 25 years. For some people, the Italian Store is all about the pizzas, although the subs are the winning items for me. No matter when I visit, there are always lines. But they move quickly, and the food is worth the wait. It offers much more than pizza and sandwiches. It has a great selection of well-priced wines, cheeses from Italy, various shapes of dried pasta and an amazing assortment of fresh pasta, sauces, salads, deli meats and main dishes, from lasagna to veal parmigiana. And don't forget the sfogliatelle, Southern Italian clam-shaped pastries that are filled with ricotta. One way to navigate the line more quickly is to pick up a form the next time you visit and fax in your order. 3123 Lee Hwy. (in the Lyon Village Center), Arlington, 703-528-6266, http://www.italianstore.com.

Café Parisien Express is a small restaurant in the middle of the Lee Heights shopping strip. It's filled with things Parisian: posters, photographs and small versions of the Eiffel Tower. The menu includes most French standards plus daily specials and a Sunday brunch. An order of escargot, tucked into slices of sourdough bread rather than shells, filled our kitchen with a garlicky aroma when quickly reheated in the oven. An order of boeuf bourguignon with carrots and rice, warmed in the microwave, was rich and moist. A cup of chocolate mousse was light and creamy. It was almost like having a good bistro at home. 4520 Lee Hwy., Arlington, 703-525-3332.

The central focus of Pie-tanza in North Arlington is the wood-fired pizza oven, and although everything on the mostly Italian menu is available for takeout, I think the thin-crust pizzas are the best bet. Stick with classic Italian combinations that don't involve a lot of heavy ingredients to weigh down the thin crust. The salads and appetizers -- including the flat bread, the bruschetta and the soups -- are also good choices. The baked dishes are less successful. 2503-B N. Harrison St., Arlington, 703-237-0200, http://www.pie-tanza.com.

Members of the Zelaya family -- husband Jose, wife Ana and son Jose -- operated mobile vending carts for 14 years before opening Taqueria El Charrito Caminante in Lyon Park. Next to a 7-Eleven not far from the popular Clarendon restaurant area, the taqueria has attracted nearby office workers, cabdrivers, construction workers and food aficionados from across the region, primarily for the tacos and burritos. There are a few stools in the small waiting area, and counter service is quick. The tacos -- beef, beef tongue, sausage, goat, pork, chicken or a combination -- are just $2 each. The shredded meat is heaped into steaming-hot corn tortillas. A topping of onions and cilantro is added, and the tacos are wrapped individually in aluminum foil. There are other Mexican and Latin American favorites, including chicken tamales, Mexican steak sandwiches and Salvadoran pupusas. The pork and cheese pupusas I sampled were rather bland, but the tacos are among the best in the region. 2710-A N. Washington Blvd., Arlington, 703-351-1177.

Arax Coffee is a small Armenian coffeehouse and cafe in Arlington's Westover Village. The menu includes spinach pie, stuffed grape leaves, fattoush (a Lebanese salad), tabbouleh, falafel, hummus, Armenian kash kash kebob (ground meat similar to kofta) and baba ghanouj -- all that plus the usual assortment of gourmet coffees. Arax is also one of the few places in the area to find Armenian meat pie. The base of the dish is a flat bread, similar to but not quite the same as a pita, topped with a thin layer of a mildly spicy ground meat, tomato, onion and green pepper combination, then baked. Fold it in half and eat it like a taco. There are a few tables at Arax, but mostly the food is for takeout. 5852 N. Washington Blvd., Arlington, 703-532-3320.

ALEXANDRIA

Fairlington Pizza is a small, family-run neighborhood place that has been turning out good pizza and Greek specialties for 25 years. It can be jammed at lunch and just after nearby T.C. Williams High School lets out. It's clean and bright, and the welcome is always warm. The menu is extensive, and most items (other than pizza) are less than $6. I have tried other offerings, but the souvlaki is what keeps me coming back. Chunks of marinated pork tenderloin are served atop pita bread and garnished with lettuce, tomatoes, feta cheese and a vinegary dressing that turns the dish into a delight. 1715 Centre Plaza, Alexandria, 703-998-6711.

The Alexandria Pastry Shop & Catering Co. in the Bradlee Shopping Center has earned a well-deserved reputation for its cakes and pastries, but it also has prepared foods available for takeout daily. There are soups and salads, along with several main courses. But you must go early; on two visits in late afternoon, the selections were mostly sold out. The ravioli with meat sauce were tasty and reheated well, and the cold pasta salad was flavorful. The shop has special-occasion menus, such as for Valentine's Day. 3690-H King St., Alexandria, 703-578-4144, http://www.alexandriapastry.com.

Caboose Cafe & Bakery in Del Ray has one of the most interesting menus I have encountered. Along with the standard American sandwiches, soups and salads are Ethiopian specialties, served only during dinner hours. I don't think Ethiopian food travels especially well, but it might be worth picking up a couple of items. Sometimes the innovations here don't work. The Cuban sandwich transformed into a panino lacked the hard roll that is part and parcel of this dish. But the salads are good, as are the pastries. 2419 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria, 703-566-1283, http://www.caboose-cafe.com.

Just down the street, Cheesetique is the kind of shop you might find in Paris. Jill Erber assembles a wonderful selection of cheeses and keeps them under proper conditions. Pick up a loaf of bread from the nearby Caboose bakery, a couple of cheeses and perhaps some slices of prosciutto or Serrano ham and you'll have a perfect dinner. Cheesetique has many cheeses you won't easily find elsewhere. Try the buttery Vacherin for the ultimate cheese experience, or perhaps some burrata, the creamiest of fresh mozzarellas. 2403 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria, 703-706-5300, http://www.cheesetique.com.

Bittersweet Catering-Cafe-Bakery has been providing breakfast and lunch to Old Town Alexandria workers and residents since 1983. Although there are a few tables in the storefront, most of the meals are takeout. The day begins with breakfast burritos and quesadillas, bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches, bagels and muffins. For lunch, there are hot and cold sandwiches, panini, soups and salads, plus an extensive selection of cold and hot foods on the food bar. Some readers who suggested Bittersweet said they eat there every day. The selection is broad, so you wouldn't have to repeat yourself often. If you want to take something home for dinner, get there before 4 p.m. 823 King St., Alexandria, 703-549-2708, http://www.bittersweetcatering.com.

Louis Nickell and Susan Scheffler met and fell in love at the Culinary Institute of America. Their love child is Nickell's & Scheffler, a small cafe and takeout at King and Henry (Route 1 South) streets in Old Town. The front of the business is dominated by a case filled with main courses and side dishes and by the kitchen, where sandwiches are assembled from the meats roasted in-house, including beef, ham and turkey. There are also soups (at least one vegetarian daily), panini and salads. This is the place to put together a gourmet dinner that needs just a few minutes of reheating. Mini crab cakes are mostly pure lump crab (and no shell) and served with a slightly piquant red pepper sauce. Nickell advises adding a tablespoon of water to rice so it will steam while reheating. Shrimp etouffee takes just a few minutes in the microwave to rival any New Orleans version, and the grilled vegetables and asparagus are ready in just seconds. Bread pudding for dessert, also reheated in the microwave, is hot enough to melt the hard sauce that accompanies it. You wouldn't have to tell anyone you didn't cook everything yourself. 1028 King St., Alexandria, 703-549-5545, http://www.nsfinefood.com/ .

ALEXANDRIA

Fairlington Pizza is a small, family-run neighborhood place that has been turning out good pizza and Greek specialties for 25 years. It can be jammed at lunch and just after nearby T.C. Williams High School lets out. It's clean and bright, and the welcome is always warm. The menu is extensive, and most items (other than pizza) are less than $6. I have tried other offerings, but the souvlaki is what keeps me coming back. Chunks of marinated pork tenderloin are served atop pita bread and garnished with lettuce, tomatoes, feta cheese and a vinegary dressing that turns the dish into a delight. 1715 Centre Plaza, Alexandria, 703-998-6711.

The Alexandria Pastry Shop & Catering Co. in the Bradlee Shopping Center has earned a well-deserved reputation for its cakes and pastries, but it also has prepared foods available for takeout daily. There are soups and salads, along with several main courses. But you must go early; on two visits in late afternoon, the selections were mostly sold out. The ravioli with meat sauce were tasty and reheated well, and the cold pasta salad was flavorful. The shop has special-occasion menus, such as for Valentine's Day. 3690-H King St., Alexandria, 703-578-4144, http://www.alexandriapastry.com.

Caboose Cafe & Bakery in Del Ray has one of the most interesting menus I have encountered. Along with the standard American sandwiches, soups and salads are Ethiopian specialties, served only during dinner hours. I don't think Ethiopian food travels especially well, but it might be worth picking up a couple of items. Sometimes the innovations here don't work. The Cuban sandwich transformed into a panino lacked the hard roll that is part and parcel of this dish. But the salads are good, as are the pastries. 2419 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria, 703-566-1283, http://www.caboose-cafe.com.

Just down the street, Cheesetique is the kind of shop you might find in Paris. Jill Erber assembles a wonderful selection of cheeses and keeps them under proper conditions. Pick up a loaf of bread from the nearby Caboose bakery, a couple of cheeses and perhaps some slices of prosciutto or Serrano ham and you'll have a perfect dinner. Cheesetique has many cheeses you won't easily find elsewhere. Try the buttery Vacherin for the ultimate cheese experience, or perhaps some burrata, the creamiest of fresh mozzarellas. 2403 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria, 703-706-5300, http://www.cheesetique.com.

Bittersweet Catering-Cafe-Bakery has been providing breakfast and lunch to Old Town Alexandria workers and residents since 1983. Although there are a few tables in the storefront, most of the meals are takeout. The day begins with breakfast burritos and quesadillas, bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches, bagels and muffins. For lunch, there are hot and cold sandwiches, panini, soups and salads, plus an extensive selection of cold and hot foods on the food bar. Some readers who suggested Bittersweet said they eat there every day. The selection is broad, so you wouldn't have to repeat yourself often. If you want to take something home for dinner, get there before 4 p.m. 823 King St., Alexandria, 703-549-2708, http://www.bittersweetcatering.com.

Louis Nickell and Susan Scheffler met and fell in love at the Culinary Institute of America. Their love child is Nickell's & Scheffler , a small cafe and takeout at King and Henry (Route 1 South) streets in Old Town. The front of the business is dominated by a case filled with main courses and side dishes and by the kitchen, where sandwiches are assembled from the meats roasted in-house, including beef, ham and turkey. There are also soups (at least one vegetarian daily), panini and salads. This is the place to put together a gourmet dinner that needs just a few minutes of reheating. Mini crab cakes are mostly pure lump crab (and no shell) and served with a slightly piquant red pepper sauce. Nickell advises adding a tablespoon of water to rice so it will steam while reheating. Shrimp etouffee takes just a few minutes in the microwave to rival any New Orleans version, and the grilled vegetables and asparagus are ready in just seconds. Bread pudding for dessert, also reheated in the microwave, is hot enough to melt the hard sauce that accompanies it. You wouldn't have to tell anyone you didn't cook everything yourself. 1028 King St., Alexandria, 703-549-5545, http://www.nsfinefood.com/ .