Ciba Bistro

As you walk towards Gate 16 you will pass this restaurant. The staff are friendly, but not so enthusiastic. The kitchen makes up for that. I ordered a modestly priced chicken parmesan served with pasta. A crispy, chicken escalope arrived coated in melted cheese and plenty of tomato sauce pasta. I think it was about $ 16.
I scraped off most of the cheese, but otherwise enjoyed everything else. The pasta was chewy, the sauce was flavorful. There was no fresh black pepper, but service was pretty good. I sat on the bench seating at the entrance with my luggage which was the best spot compared to squeezing down the aisles to sit in the back. For airport sit-​down food, this is pretty decent.

Seeing a new wine bar in DCA + 3 hours to kill before my long flight to Denver = JACKPOT! The wait staff seem a little clueless about the wines (they couldn’t tell me whether something was dry or sweet, oaky or crisp), but they were very generous in letting me taste-​test to find one i liked. I ordered the caprese salad and was blown away by how good it was, probably the best i’ve ever tasted. The tomatoes were incredibly ripe and flavorful (not grocery-​store mush), the mozzarella was fresh, the balsamic was sweet (not sour), and they added roasted red peppers for some interesting zing. I also ordered the HUGE spinach and beet salad. Again, it was fantastic! A nice mix of healthy (but not mushy or crunchy) beets atop fresh spinach, with some feta cheese for zing and some sweet cranberries. A good mix of flavors. So filling that i couldn’t finish it all. When i complimented the server on how awesome the salads were, she said i really need to come back to try the pastas, she said they’re even more amazing. So, when i’m next in DC, i know where to tell my friends to meet me for dinner …

While at Reagan International today waiting for a flight to Dallas, I wandered over to a restaurant that I hadn’t been to before in the main concourse — Ciba Bistro. The place looks pretty nice from the outside which automatically made me think «probably a total ripoff» but was pleasantly surprised to notice that omelettes and other breakfast items were priced around $ 7.00. Sure, this is expensive when compared to the average mom-​and-​pop diner, but for an Airport restaurant, this was pretty darned good.
I sat down at the bar and ordered 3-​egg omelette with a choice of 3 fillings, which then came with potatoes and toast, all of which were hearty portions and fresh tasting. I ordered a coffee and was surprised to find that I had been served the swanky Illy coffee — a welcome departure from the swill I would have expected at an airport restaurant.
My meal came with wheat bread that contained nuts, which I am allergic to, and they happily switched it out for some white toast. I was impressed with the fact that when I ordered, they immediately put down a place setting, along with salt, pepper, ketchup AND tobasco!!! I ALWAYS have to ask for tobasco. Not here.
From what I gather, Ciba has a relatively extensive wine menu, as well as a good selection of beers and a fully stocked bar — the gent next to me was drinking an italian beer… at 10am… lol…takes all kinds I guess…
Anyways, next time you’re at Reagan for an early morning flight, before you settle for a McDonalds breakfast sandwich or a potbelly egg sandwich, think about sitting down to a gourmet breakfast at Ciba instead.