A man was taken into custody after a reported assault at the Courthouse Metro station around 12:30 this afternoon.
Arlington paramedics were called to evaluate the victim, who appeared to have only minor injuries. The suspect was in Metro Transit Police custody near the turnstiles when medics arrived on scene.
The incident comes on the heels of a widely-publicized, caught-on-camera assault at the L’Enfant Metro station Sunday night.
Bayou Bakery (1515 N. Courthouse Road) has just the thing for the Creole on your Christmas list. The new Courthouse eatery has a number of “bite-sized gifts and stocking stuffers” on sale through Dec. 24.
Among them:
Arlington Rooftop Bar and Grill in Courthouse is now open and awaiting its first customer. (Update at 12:00 p.m. — And just like that, the first customers have arrived.)
This seems to meet the definition of a “soft opening.” So far, there’s nothing that would indicate to passersby that the unmarked door near the Subway on Wilson Boulevard leads to a swank new restaurant with a dozen employees waiting to applaud their first official customer. (Yesterday’s “friends and family” preview doesn’t count.)
The restaurant features two-story high ceilings and huge windows overlooking an inconspicuous part of Courthouse. The menu features American-style favorites and some surprises, prepared under the leadership of Aldrin Asencio, a chef who counts a number of bold-faced local fine dining restaurants — including 2941 in Falls Church and Roberto Donna’s former Galileo restaurant in the District — among his resume.
The restaurant is a bit hard to describe: it’s a mash-up of a number of different styles. The oldies pumped through the speaker system, the Prohibition-era woodwork behind the bar, the generally upscale, modern surroundings and the reasonably-priced menu — together defy easy comparisons.
General Manager John Cosgrove says Arlington Rooftop Bar and Grill is “an upscale sports bar with food that exceeds expectations.” There are plenty of flat screen TVs to watch sports on, for sure, but it’s wholly lacking tacky sports memorabilia on the walls, distinguishing it from just about every sports bar in the area.
The rooptop part is built, but it’s not ready for customers. Expect it to open at some point this spring.
More photos after the jump.
Registration opened today for the 2011 George Washington Parkway Classic, and a number of other local winter/spring races are also currently in registration mode.
The GW Parkway Classic will be held on the morning of Sunday, April 10 in Alexandria. There is a 10 mile course and a 5K course, which start at either Mt. Vernon Estates or Belle Haven Park and end at Oronoco Bay Park in Old Town.
The 2011 race calendar kicks off on Sunday, Feb. 13, with the annual Love The Run You’re With 5K, a Valentine’s Day-themed race for couples and singles alike. The run starts and ends at Pentagon Row, followed by a post-race party.
On Saturday, Feb. 19, the GW Birthday Classic will take runners on a 10K course up and down Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria.
And on Saturday, March 12, the second annual Four Courts Four Miler will invade the Courthouse and Rosslyn areas. The race sold out last year and attracted a big crowd, despite windy, rainy weather. Even if the weather is miserable again this year, there will at least be “food, friends and a bit of liquid courage at the end of the rainbow,” as organizers describe the post-race festivities.
Photo by Barry Skidmore
We haven’t heard an “official” opening date yet, but it appears that Arlington Rooftop Bar & Grill is just about ready to open.
Photos posted on the establishment’s Facebook page show an inviting, high-ceilinged bar/lounge area chock full of flat screen TVs. The bar stools, chairs, booths — all ready for customers.
We’ve also seen photos of the wood-floored rooftop deck, with some neat views of the Courthouse area, but would-be deck-goers may have to wait until the spring to enjoy it.
It has been an especially arduous permitting process for Arlington Rooftop Bar & Grill, which had hoped to open while the weather was still warm. Building permit applications for the bar go all the way back to mid-2009.
Photos via Facebook
The Rosslyn-Ballston corridor will be getting not one but at least two new frozen yogurt stores next year thanks to rapidly-expanding D.C. chain FroZenYo.
While some will take a “more the merrier” approach to food in Arlington, others may question whether a three-mile stretch of Wilson Boulevard can really support 5-6 frozen yogurt shops, not to mention numerous ice cream and gelato places.
Likewise, many people have already wondered aloud whether there are more than enough pizza joints and cupcake bakeries planned for the R-B corridor. Receiving less attention is the abundance of food trucks, cafes and “modern American” style restaurants in the area.
Which of the preceding, if any, do you think has reached the highest “saturation” point?
The Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe sign has finally come down from 1515 North Courthouse Road.
A Bayou Bakery sign will be taking its place later today, staff tells us.
Bayou will be open for breakfast and lunch but will close at 5:00 p.m. for the rest of the week, except for Thursday when it will be closed for Thanksgiving.
Bayou Bakery Opens, Officially — “Come and get it,” the press release says — Bayou Bakery is “officially” open today, albeit with (unspecified) limited hours and a limited menu. The cafe/restaurant/bakery, in the old Camille’s space at 1515 North Courthouse Road, was unofficially open on Friday and Saturday.
Tejada Expresses Frustration Over Secure Communities Doublespeak — County board member Walter Tejada, who led the charge to opt out of the federal Secure Communities immigration initiative, is not happy about the mixed signals coming out of the Department of Homeland Security. At first the department signaled that localities could opt out of the program, only to later clarify that it was next to impossible to do so. “If that had been the case why didn’t they tell us in May?” Tejada asked. More from the Washington Post.
Lyon Park Has Extra Tulip Bulbs — The Lyon Park Citizens Association is trying to give away extra tulip bulbs to its neighbors. The community received the bulbs from the National Park Service’s Tulip Library and planted most of them earlier this month. The excess bulbs are now up for grabs. Tara-Leeway Heights is among the neighborhoods considering vying for a tulip donation.
Arlington Schools Get More iPads — Arlington Public Schools have received a $70,000 grant that will go toward the purchase of 120 new Apple iPads. The $499 devices will be shared by students at Barrett, Carlin Springs and Randolph elementary schools. The donation will supplement a state education grant of 70 iPads received by Arlington in September.
Flickr pool photo by Reid Kasprowicz
For two short, unannounced hours today, Courthouse’s new Bayou Bakery opened its doors and started serving customers. The soft opening will continue tomorrow, “from 8:00 a.m. until I have to say ‘Uncle,'” according to a Facebook post by owner/chef David Guas.
Guas had originally hoped to open yesterday, but that plan was foiled by a late Certificate of Occupancy.
Bayou Bakery, which is more of a cafe/restaurant hybrid, will be closed on Sunday. No word on when it will “officially” open with regular hours and a full menu.
Update at 12:30 p.m. — The suitcase has been determined to be safe. The scene is now clear.
Police and firefighters are on the scene of a suspicious piece of luggage, located behind the county government building (2100 Clarendon Blvd) in Courthouse Plaza.
The black suitcase is located in the center of a pedestrian square, near a number of shops and restaurants. The area has been blocked off while the bomb squad examines an X-ray of the package.
Sushi Rock, Arlington’s leather-clad, rock ‘n’ roll take on Japanese cuisine, got the live entertainment permit it wanted from the county board last night, but it came with a restriction the business fought to avoid.
Sushi Rock volunteered for most of the provisions sought by residents of the high-end condos above the restaurant: keeping doors and windows closed during live entertainment, using sound-dampening materials, testing decibel levels in condos, designating a “neigborhood liason,” prohibiting loitering outside the business, picking up trash outside, and so forth.
Owners did not agree, however, to restricting the use of outdoor speakers on the restaurant’s patio. But that’s exactly what happened last night. The board approved the live entertainment permit with a provision that the outdoor speakers be shut off after 10:00 p.m. on weekdays and 11:00 p.m. on weekends.
Sushi Rock partner Tony Hudgins was incredulous. He said the live entertainment permit would have no bearing on what’s broadcast through the speakers.
“If I’m following the logic… we’re actually being asked to give up what we’re already allowed to do, in order to get a live entertainment license that won’t allow us to broadcast [live performances] outside,” he said.
But two residents asked the board to restrict the use of the speakers.
“If the speakers are allowed to be on outside, I wouldn’t be able to sleep,” said condo owner Marilyn Lythgoe. It’s not clear if she had already been affected by the speakers, which were in use this summer.
Phyllis Bradley lives three stories above Sushi Rock. She also argued against the speakers, even though during a recent sound test, in which the outdoor speakers were in use, she acknowledged that “we did hear a sound, not even a pin drop.”
“If that’s how it’s going to be when they get their permit, I have no objections,” she said. “But I don’t think so.”
