If you crave an evening of excellent food, delicious cocktails and live piano music, head over to Maplewood Grill in Vienna. Formerly known as French restaurant Le Canard, Maplewood Grill now offers classic and creative American fare at low prices.
The decor is comfortable and inviting; the service top-notch. And you can’t go wrong with sitting in the piano bar to listen to Reinhardt Liebig play his repertoire of popular, blues, jazz and classical standards.There also is an open mic, singing and dancing, which makes Maplewood an overall great spot for cocktails and a little jazz.
The dinner menu is diverse. Starters include a classic French onion soup, a lobster duet that features a bisque and miniroll, meatball sliders, escargot and my favorite, a lump crab “martini” with avocado and corn.
For an appetizer to share, order one of their flatbreads. There are three to choose from: Fire and Spice, with chipotle tomato sauce, chorizo and bacon; Four Cheese Pesto with goat cheese, Gruyere, mozzarella and parmesan; and Feeling Blue, made with garlic butter, blue cheese, mushrooms, onions and truffle oil. The Maplewood salad with smoked trout, roasted apples, dates, goat cheese and almonds is perfect for warm summer nights.
Meat eaters would be foolish to skip the braised lamb shank with natural jus. It’s so tender the meat just falls apart on your fork. Beware, though — this is a big, filling dish so don’t go crazy with starters if you plan to order it. Other meat dishes worth trying are the wiener schnitzel (made with capers and a lemon citrus sauce), pan roasted calf’s liver and their amazing drunken flank steak. Seafood lovers will enjoy the seared scallops with mushrooms, bacon and herb cream. The black pepper fettuccine with lobster, shrimp and mussels also is a winner.
The dessert menu is terrific, so make room for some key lime tart, gelato three ways or their amazing pineapple upside-down cake. Maplewood also offers after-dinner cocktails good enough to keep you at the piano bar for hours.
