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The Union

This McLean restaurant opened a new branch in Arlington and I went to check it out.  The best news is the food, which is truly impressive.  There are lots of areas for improvement, however.  First, the good stuff:  I got the red lentil soup -- which was actually a yellow lentil soup.  It was creamy and had a delightfully fresh, lemony taste.  I also got the Mumbai Panini, with a side salad instead of fries.  I was a bit surprised at this -- it was on two regular slices of bread, not a panini roll, and not as large as I imagined for a $14 sandwich.  It was also a bit greasy, which is not typical in Paninis.  Nonetheless, there are a plethora of unexpected ingredients in the dish, and they all seemed to be there.  And it was truly delightful.  Every bite was slightly different and the many items "danced" well together, creating something original and bursting with flavor.  The side salad was fresh, and replete with a nice mix of greens, as well as carrot spirals, cubed cucumber and sliced cherry tomatoes.  The dressing was light and provided just enough tang.  I did takeout, and, with the exception of the plastic bag, everything else was placed in a recyclable container.  Portions were large for the soup and salad.  Those were the high points.  As mentioned, I thought the Panini could have been bigger, and served on a proper panini roll.  It didn't need to be layered in butter or whatever before being cooked.  There was no way to order online and a call to the restaurant led me to a voicemail box.  The place itself is blah.  Grey walls, no visual features.  Despite a nod to Indian food (their head chef/owner is Indian) there are few vegetarian options.  So this one is a maybe.  The Mumbai Panini made an impression, but I'm not sure it's enough of one to go back.

The Union -- a soup, salad, sandwich place
McLean and Arlington locations
http://theunionrestaurant.us/

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