burger

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Greene Turtle Coming to Ballston — Sports bar The Greene Turtle is coming to Ballston later this year. The restaurant has signed a lease for a 7,000 square foot space on the ground floor of the new Virginia Tech Research Center (900 N. Glebe Road). [Washington Business Journal]

New Apartment Complex Coming to Ballston — A new 150-unit apartment complex called The Crimson on Glebe is coming to Ballston. The five-story mixed-use building will be located across from Ballston Common Mall at the corner of Glebe Road and N. Carlin Springs Road. Owners are hoping to wrap up construction by mid-2013. [CoStar Group]

Buck-a-Burger Sale at Whole Foods — Get ready for your Fourth of July cookout with the Buck-a-Burger deal at Whole Foods. Today only the Clarendon Whole Foods is offering eight varieties of burger patties for $1 each. (They’re normally $2.) [Clarendon Culture]

Remy ‘Dissed’ in Video — A pair going by the names of Barack Flobama and St. Fatrick have released a music video “dissing” Arlington Rap guy Remy Munasifi. [YouTube]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Waterfall on I-395 — NBC4 captured video early Thursday morning of a burst pipe underneath the 34th Street Bridge. The rupture sent a torrent of water onto I-395 for more than an hour. The old pipe that created the “waterfall” was reportedly patched up by 2:30 a.m. Utility crews are planning to make permanent repairs. [NBC Washington]

Burger Cook-Off For a Good Cause — The newly-minted Harry’s Smokehouse in Pentagon City mall will be holding a fundraiser for D.C. Central Kitchen on Sunday. From 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., “three teams of DCCK chefs-in-training will battle to create the city’s tastiest mini-burgers.” In addition to the burgers, attendees will be able to sample ribs, brisket and other BBQ items from Harry’s. [Eventbrite]

Woman Complains About Mosquito Spray — An Arlington woman has taken to her neighborhood email listserv to complain about a chemical spray used by one of her neighbors. Kate Pemberton says she and her young daughters walked through a cloud of “neurotoxin” while returning from school, thanks to an extermination company that was applying an anti-mosquito spray to a customer’s yard. Pemberton says she reported the incident to county officials, but was told that there was nothing they could do about it. The story was reported by Press Action, a left-leaning environmental news web site. [Press Action]

Wiinky’s Enters Crowded Burger Field With A Hope, A Prayer, and Angus Beef

By ARLnow.com

If a business could survive on earnestness alone, Wiinky’s in Ballston would be around for quite a while.

As it stands now, however, Wiinky’s is a homegrown restaurant concept operating within a very crowded market space — subs, salads and burgers — in a building that has seen a succession of failed restaurants. And they don’t even have a sign yet.

The restaurant is the brainchild of a young George Mason University grad and Arlington native named Ryan, who didn’t want us to use his last name. Ryan — nicknamed “winky” in high school — recently left his job as a manager of a local pizza restaurant to open his own business. He said he wanted to create a “cool spot” that would remind him of the backyard barbecues he used to love as a kid.

“All through college, I worked my way through school by cooking and by managing the pizza place,” Ryan said. “So I decided, hey man, this is my opportunity, this is my shot. ”

With an undergraduate degree in business, a passion for food and some seed money (source undisclosed), Ryan set out to find a well-trafficked but affordable location. He settled on 3902 Wilson Boulevard in Ballston, formerly home to Papi Pollo and Pike Grill. Although not very inviting from the street, the building does offer off-street parking and features a large, clean kitchen where customers can see their burgers being cooked.

“It’s not like I wanted to have a big casual dining place, I kind of wanted just a cool place that people could stop by and grab a bite to eat for lunch,” Ryan said. He added that he hopes the restaurant could also be a spot for first dates and quick meals with the kids.

(more…)

New Restaurant Coming to Ballston

By ARLnow.com

A new restaurant is coming to Ballston. Just for kicks, take a moment to guess what kind of restaurant it is.

Ready?

If you said ‘burger restaurant,’ you are correct! A new burger concept called “Wiinkys” (no, that’s not a typo) is coming to the storefront at 3902 Wilson Boulevard. The space used to house the Pike Grill and, after the grill closed, Papi Pollo.

All we know about Wiinkys so far is that it has a web site with pictures of burgers and wings and a note that says “Wiinkys Coming to a city near you. Spring 2011.”

Wiinkys will be within a short walk of Brgr:Shack (4215 Fairfax Drive) and the future Virginia Square home of Z Burger.

Ruffino’s Opening Today, BGR Hopes to Open Next Week

By ARLnow.com

A quick update on a couple of eagerly-anticipated restaurant openings:

Ruffino’s Spaghetti House (4763 Lee Highway) will tonight for the first time following months of renovations. An answering machine message says the restaurant will open at 4:00 p.m.

The new Clarendon location of BGR: The Burger Joint (3024 Wilson Blvd) is undergoing a final inspection today and hopes to open next week — perhaps as soon as Monday, if the inspection goes well. The restaurant’s interior is complete and employees are wrapping up preparations for the opening.

Top Chef Spike Mendelsohn Scouting Out Crystal City?

By ARLnow.com

Is former Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn planning on opening a restaurant in Crystal City?

An ARLnow spy spotted Mendelsohn and a man identified as his father dining at the Crystal City Chick-fil-A while chatting up the manager about foot traffic and sales.

“He is apparently opening a new restaurant (or planning to) in Crystal City,” the tipster said. A second source confirmed that Mendelsohn may be scouting out locations in Crystal City.

Mendelsohn is the proprietor of Good Stuff Eatery, a gourmet burgers-fries-and-ice-cream joint on Capitol Hill, and We, the Pizza, which is exactly what you think it is.

Good Stuff Eatery is in the midst of an expansion that is bringing it to new locales like Baltimore and Philadelphia. Might Crystal City be next?

Photo via Twitter

Z-Burger Coming to Virginia Square

By ARLnow.com

A Z-Burger restaurant is coming to Virginia Square.

The small District-based burger chain is in the midst of renovating a two-story red-brick house at the corner of Wilson Boulevard and N. Kenmore Street, according to county records.

Reached by phone, Z-Burger owner Mohammad Esfahani said that he is hoping to have the restaurant open by this summer. This will be Z-Burger’s fourth location and its first Virginia outpost. The restaurant serves burgers, hot dogs, cheesesteaks, fries, onion rings and 75 flavors of shakes and malts.

The building — which is situated 3-4 blocks from both the Clarendon and Virginia Square Metro stations — once housed a couple of business, including a video conversion business and a realty company. An attached one-story building that housed a palm reader, Madame Jacy, has been demolished. (A Yelp review of Madame Jacy once complained that the building “smelled really, really raunchy.” The same reviewer bemoaned that the predictions came true but were not specific enough.)

Once it opens, the restaurant will have a limited amount of off-street parking available to customers. It will face competition from Mario’s Pizza House, across the street, and the soon-to-open BGR: The Burger Joint in Clarendon.

Photo (and tip) courtesy Garrett P.

BGR: The Burger Joint Prepares for Clarendon Opening

By ARLnow.com

BGR: The Burger Joint is preparing to open its new Clarendon location next month.

The restaurant, located near the corner of Wilson Boulevard and North Highland Street, next to Hard Times Cafe, is still in the midst of construction. But exterior signs are up and much of the interior decorating is complete. General Manager Greg Comer says he expects the restaurant to open at the beginning of next month, perhaps as soon as April 1.

“It’s coming along pretty well,” he said outside the store today.

The restaurant will employ 20-25 people and seat about 40. The menu will be similar if not identical to other BGR locations. Comer said he’s still hiring for a few positions, adding that details are available on Craigslist.

He said he’s not afraid of competition from the similarly-named but otherwise unrelated Brgr:Shack restaurant up the road in Ballston. In fact, he said, he’s hired a few of their employees.

This is BGR’s sixth location. The company’s Lee Highway location — its fourth — opened a year ago.

Comer said that the company has been learning how to handle the large crowds its restaurants seem to attract. He promised that wait times for burgers won’t be as long as they were shortly after the Lee Highway location opened.

Brgr:Shack Opens in Ballston

By ARLnow.com

Arlington’s latest burger joint has opened for business.

Brgr:Shack serves 100% natural grass fed beef burgers in a light-filled, modernist setting across from the Ballston Metro at 4215 Fairfax Drive.

In addition to nine types of burgers, the restaurant serves fresh cut french fries, sweet potato fries, two types of salads, seven types of beer, shakes, ice cream and — coming soon — cupcakes.

(For those keeping score, burgers, salads, beer and cupcakes make up four of the six Arlington food groups. Only froyo and pizza are missing.)

Come spring, the restaurant is expected to start opening the garage door shown in the photos.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Westover Beer Garden Saga Continues — Several months into the battle between the county zoning office and the Westover Market beer garden, a final resolution still has not been reached. Tens of thousands of dollars have been allocated to building new code-compliant restrooms, but more must now be spent constructing a restaurant separate from the grocery section. County regulators “are doing their best to make me a Republican,” market manager Devin Hicks told the Falls Church News-Press.

Fun and Games at the Library — The Westover Library will host a game-playing get-together for all ages this afternoon. From 2:30 to 5:00 p.m., players will face off in board games, card games and Nintendo Wii. More from the Arlington Public Library blog.

Brgr:Shack Wants to Open This Month — A new “better burger” joint is hoping to open soon in Ballston. The efficiently-named Brgr:Shack, located across from the Ballston Metro, was originally slated to open in the fall. They’re now eying a January opening, according to TBD.

Flickr pool photo by Team Rank

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

ART Route 75 Expands on Monday — The ART 75 bus route will add stops at the Shirlington Transit Center and the Virginia Square Metro station on Monday. More from the Arlington Transit Blog.

New Ballston Burger Joint Coming Soon — Brgr:Shack (4215 Fairfax Drive) will feature grass-fed beef, home-made buns, and a selection of wine and beer. The 30-40 seat restaurant is expected to open in early November. More from TBD.

Shirlington Oktoberfest Map — It’s not as highly-anticipated as Clarendon Day, according to our informal poll, but the 10th annual Mid-Atlantic Oktoberfest in Shirlington next weekend is sure to attract another huge crowd. The good news is that there will be plenty of stations serving beer, so getting each of your 4 oz. samples hopefully won’t take too long. Shirlington Village Blogspot has a map of all 79 vendor booths.

Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief

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