Don't let a simple and easy crossing of a river detract you, as it will set the tone when eating at S.E.R., for the Spanish restaurant in Ballston has made a real mark as a seafood destination for the DC area. From culinary duoChef Josu Zubikarai and Javier Candon, with Christiana Campos-Candon, they will not just introduce you to new flavors from the ocean but its whimsical decor will have you forgetting your closest body of water is the Potomac. 

I grew up not far from the sea and on breezy days you could smell the salty air throughout the town, but as a youngster I was never a fan of seafood - perhaps it was because our towns finest harvest were cockles, too salty and slimy for my liking. I've come along way since then, apparently now I can happily clean a plate of gooseneck barnacles (or percebes), a prehistoric looking crustacean that offers up a briny salt-like meat from it's black and incredibly ugly looking shell. I can picture myself on the beach sipping on a sangria with a plate of these without a care in the world. Or in Arlington. When in Basque, right?