So have local high rollers in for a cigar and single malt at a small bar way in the back. Head to the right after stepping through the door and the tableau's different. A low table with blue votives and magnums of wine gives off low-key shimmer. Polished-wood booths line both sides of a dining room. Yes, you can hear the buzz from the bar, but there's a more intimate feel.
Foursomes laugh at something one of the waiters has said.
A snazzily dressed fellow stops at a couple of tables to say hello. For the most part they succeed. Except for the occasional glitch in service, the roar from the bar as it gets later, and prime tables that appear to be reserved just in case a VIP shows up, eCiti is one of the best things to happen to Northern Virginia's dining scene in a while. The whiz in the kitchen is Jamie Stachowski, most recently of Pesce, but with credits running from Ma Maison in Los Angeles and Le Perigord in New York to Jean-Louis and Madeo locally. Stachowski's conceptions make sense.