Restaurant Spotlight of the Week

Yes, there are two Victor's Grills within about a mile of each other. The original is on S. Washington St. near Foxes Music in the City of Falls Church. That opened in 2000. The second opened about a year ago down Lee Highway in Fairfax County next to Aldo's Steakhouse at 7634 Lee Highway.

Take your pick. The first is smaller and more intimate. The second, while larger, is still filled with the atmosphere of an authentic Bolivian, Argentine restaurant. It is called a "Churrasqueria." While the founder and owner of both, Victor Serrano-Vasquez, is from Cochabamba, Bolivia, the menu is dominated by the powerful charcoal grilled steak legacy of northern Argentina.

There are nine offerings of grilled steak dinners on the menu, ranging from $14.95 to $21.95 and those steaks a huge and tasty. While American-grown beef, they're the best New York strip or tenderloin marinated with special house sauce and routinely 18 to 20 ounces. A specialty is the Churrasco Argentino, a thick piece of steak marinated with house sauce and topped with onions, served with salad, rice and fries.

Others are topped with eggs and others come with fava beans and soltero salads of onions, tomatoes and Bolivian cheese.

Then there are the notorious Parrilladas. There are two variations of giant heaps of ribs, sausages, blood pudding, pork chops, chicken, flank steak, chopped beef, sweet breads with fries, salad and rice. These run from $33 to $35, but each is enough to feed four people.

There are daily luncheon specials for $6.50 that are delicious, inexpensive and fill you up. Each day is a different set of two main specials.

On the weekends, the restaurants open earlier, at 9 a.m., and offer a special weekend menu that includes famous mani, Bolivian peanut soup and cardan, Bolivian-style meat soup, and combinations of lamp, pork, sausage and tripe. Side orders and appetizers range from the famous Bolivian chicken and beef saltenas to fried plantains, cassava and blood pudding.

There is a children's menu, and there are seven subs and burgers all of which come with fries. The steak sandwich, the Churrasco, is a specialty on this list. It is huge and is a real New York strip, not easy to find in a sandwich. It goes for only $8.50.

Serrano has been working in restaurants since age 13, at first in his native Bolivia. But eventually he got tired of working for someone else and decided to go into business for himself, according to his son, also named Victor, who is one of about 10 family members, including aunts and uncles, deeply involved in the business. Victor Jr. is 20 now and a business administration student at Strayer University.

He has plans of opening more restaurants in the Victor's chain, including one in a couple years in New Jersey.

The expansion to date speaks for itself. The founder has taken a hands-on approach to the preparation of the foods and offers a unique exposure South American beef steak-based cuisine rare in this area.