Centreville
5127
For: Better Bar Food
5127 Westfields Blvd., Centreville
Inventive touches like the addition of frying cheese on the outside of a grilled cheese sandwich and infusing the accompanying tomato soup with Thai basil had me paying attention to the menu at 5127. There was a rich gumbo with heat and silkiness and stood out as more than bar food. But only a few months after opening, David Conn, who cooked in trendy food cities (Brooklyn, Nashville) and brought a slew of Creole dishes to Centreville, left the restaurant.
Wesleigh Lin started as a regular at 5127’s bar and with his culinary credentials (sous chef at Washington’s Charlie Palmer Steak) became a consultant.
Some of the original items remain, but without a lead, it’s now bar food with a slight up-tick. A jambalaya pizza lets a solid crust hold up spicy Andouille sausage and crunchy bell peppers. With the addition of creamy brie and heat from chilies, the mac and cheese veers from out-of-the-box territory.
But the chicken and bean quesadilla is a bore and the sausage-stuffed chicken wings are too sweet. Bring back the full-time chef.
(October 2014)
