Jackie and Philippe Loustaunau’s passion for wine and food informs Pirouette — their airy, engaging Ballston café, wine bar, and market. Its soaring, light-filled, industrial-modern setting is visually stunning. A custom-designed mobile dominates the space, reflecting wine-inspired colors onto a handsome tasting table that is perfect for group dining. Textured off-white walls, chocolate-brown banquettes backed by wooden planters, and well-spaced tables welcome guests. A compact market area, with window counter seats, displays the wine selection. There’s also a case filled with sandwiches and take-home fare. A charming street-side patio invites impulsive visits.
Dynamic chef Adam Hoffa delves into his Southern roots and his time in top Italian and Modern American restaurant kitchens to “find things that pair with wine.” Some surprisingly delicious results are the bite-sized mac-and-cheese croquettes, crispy pork belly, and housemade sausage, as well as seasonally sauced pastas and desserts.
Frequently changing lunch and dinner menus feature farm-fresh salads, one of which notably contains satisfying chunks of smoked trout and potato. Hush puppies topped with crabmeat and a subtly spicy remoulade are a must-order for the table, along with the creamy, crunchy mac-and-cheese bites.
Hoffa credits an overnight brine in a red wine-and-mustard sauce for the melt-in-the-mouth texture of the crispy pork belly — a frequent offering. Locally grown vegetables also star in his flavor-packed entrées, and there is usually a fish or seafood choice as well. A killer chocolate budino, a rich pudding decadence accented by a hazelnut crunch, is a frequent dessert option. On Sundays, Pirouette has a focused menu of one or two dishes, like chili with freshly baked corn bread, or crispy crepes filled with housemade ricotta, vegetables, and cheese.
The wine racks in Pirouette’s market area are stocked with a very personal collection of the bottles Jackie and Phillipe like to drink and share with friends and family. Often these are discoveries they have made on their travels both locally and to wine-growing destinations. While Phillipe confesses to a “bias towards French wines,” their international collection simply embodies their core winemaking values: “no intervention, small production, and made with a sustainable process.”
Diners are encouraged to “walk the shelves” before or during their meals. “We don’t have [tasting] notes,” Philippe says. Instead, he or another staffer will engage browsers in a conversation about their likes and dislikes and the wines they might like to try. As encouragement, diners may bring any bottle they buy to the table and enjoy it with their meal at no extra cost. There is also a thoughtful list of wines by the glass or bottle on the ever-changing menu. Weekend wine tastings — free for walk-ins — showcase “interesting bottles” that Jackie explains “are not well-known.” 4000 Fairfax Dr., Ste. C, Arlington
Feature image by Joseph D. Tran
For more local reviews, subscribe to our Food newsletter.
