Courthouse

Bagpiping on a Beautiful Day

By ARLnow.com

Around 12:30 this afternoon, outside the Courthouse Metro, it was a springtime scene to delight the senses.

The warmth of the sun reflecting off the sidewalk. The smell of Cubano sandwiches wafting over from the Rebel Heroes truck. The sight of smiling, sunglasses-clad people, taking in the perfect weather after an extra-dreary start to the week.

Then, there was faint wail of Amazing Grace playing on the bagpipes.

It was coming from the small park across the street from the Jerry’s Subs shop. Eric Rice-Johnston, an employee in the Arlington County community planning office, was practicing.

Rice-Johnston has been a piper since the early 70s, when he was working as student firefighter at the University of Alaska.

He began practicing during his lunch hour last year, and has just started up again now that the weather is warmer.

Rice-Johnston’s practice session today — he’s getting ready to participate in some bagpiping competitions — included Amazing Grace and the other classic bagpipe tunes, which are usually known for being played at parades and funerals. But there were also a few unfamiliar and upbeat melodies in his repertoire.

Rice-Johnston was not fazed by the confused glances from passersby. He did, however, acknowledge the one individual who applauded.

Pool House Sex Assault Suspect May Have Struck Again

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Police believe a man who assaulted a woman in her apartment complex’s pool house may have struck again just before 11:00 Friday night.

Investigators say a 5’7″ Hispanic man grabbed a woman from behind as she was walking behind a restaurant on the 2000 block of Wilson Boulevard in Courthouse. The man restrained the woman as he touched her sexually. She fought back and eventually got away.

The attack was similar in nature to an assault that occurred in the pool house of a Rosslyn apartment complex on May 8, police said. The victim of that assault was able to fight off her attacker, who she also described as a 5’7″ Hispanic male.

The composite image seen here was generated after the May 8 assault.

Anyone with information about either incident is asked to call the Arlington Police Tip Line at 703-228-4242. Witnesses can also call Arlington County Crime Solvers at 866-411-TIPS (8477).

Four Hospitalized After CO Incident at Courthouse Hotel

By ARLnow.com

At least four people were sent to the hospital after elevated carbon monoxide levels were detected in the Arlington Court Suites Hotel at 1200 North Courthouse Road.

Firefighters believe the CO may have wafted into the hotel after a vehicle was left running for an extended period of time in a parking garage.

Several victims complained of headaches as a result of carbon monoxide exposure. One other person was evaluated on the scene and released.

Firefighters have brought in portable fans to ventilate the building.

Arlington-Based Elevation Burger, A Higher Plane of Fast Food

By ARLnow.com

In a small, quiet office, in an old, nondescript building on Wilson Boulevard, you’ll find the people behind one of the hottest start-up restaurant chains in the country.

Locals may know Elevation Burger for their strip mall storefronts on Lee Highway in Arlington and Falls Church. But the restaurant industry knows Elevation Burger as  #56 on last year’s annual FastCasual.com Top 100 list of movers and shakers.

The nascent chain has seven restaurants open right now and expects to open more than 100 restaurants from LA to NYC to Kuwait by 2013. A Rosslyn location is also in the works, and a Ballston location may not be too far behind. The company hopes to open a few dozen stores in the D.C. area in coming years.

Elevation Burger was founded by Arlington resident Hans Hess, who also owns the EnviroCab taxi service. Hess and his wife April opened the first Elevation Burger in Falls Church in 2005. The company started franchising in 2008 with the help of Dan Rowe, who helped turn Five Guys Burgers (founded in Arlington, now based in Lorton) into a national chain.

Elevation is an ultra-environmentally-friendly twist on the burger-and-fries concept: the stores are constructed with sustainable materials, the french fry oil is donated for conversion to bio-diesel, trash is recycled and carbon offset credits are purchased.

The main thing separating Elevation from just about every other burger joint, however, is the beef. Elevation’s burgers are made with organic, grass-fed, free-range beef. The company argues — convincingly — that it makes for a better-tasting and lower-calorie burger when compared with the corn-fed, industrial beef used just about everywhere else.

“There are a lot of options out there for burgers… but we’re able to offer a product at a competitive price that’s not even comparable in terms of quality,” says Chris Lambert, a partner in the company.

Elevation Burger’s “Ingredients Matter” philosophy extends through the entire product line. The cheeseburgers are made with real cheddar. The fresh-cut french fries are made with olive oil, which packs an extra flavor punch. And the shakes and malts are so good, one store manager says, that they occasionally outsell fountain drinks.

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Small Brush Fire in Courthouse

By ARLnow.com

Firefighters put out a small brush fire in Courthouse this afternoon. A pile of fallen leaves and branches caught fire near a power substation at the Woodbury Park apartments. The flames were quickly extinguished.

It’s not clear how the fire started, although Dominion Power was evaluating the substation following the fire.

The photo above was taken shortly after the incident, as firefighters were apparently refilling their engine with water from a hydrant.

Fire Works Pizza Bringing the Heat to Courthouse

By ARLnow.com

Watch out, American Flatbread. Another wood-fired pizza place is coming to the area, and it’s bringing the heat.

Fire Works Pizza is moving into a large 5,500 square foot space at 2350 Clarendon Boulevard, within walking distance of American Flatbread’s Clarendon store, which opened just a couple of months ago.

Fire Works is setting up shop in Courthouse after the concept proved to be “wildly successful” in Leesburg, Va. But the Leesburg location won’t hold a candle to the Courthouse iteration. The new Fire Works is promising more of everything — more seating, more beers and more pizza.

Management expects a seating capacity of 276. There will be a huge 112-seat patio, complete with a fire pit (assuming the county permits go through).

“This space is amazing, everything about it is perfect,” said general manager John Hoffmeyer.

A 26-seat bar will feature 31 beers on tap, two cask-conditioned ales, more than 100 bottled beers and a full wine list. Fire Works will have “a great selection of American craft beers” and hard-to-find specialty beers. It’s also billing itself as “Belgian beer heaven.”

An exposed, walk-in beer cooler near the front of the store may eventually host tasting events.

Many of the signature pizzas will be the same as in Leesburg, but they’ll be made in a much larger wood-fired oven (which will be installed in dramatic disassemble-the-front-of-the-store fashion in about two weeks).

Unlike Leesburg, the new Fire Works will also boast a full kitchen, which will allow them to offer more salads, appetizers and other non-pizza items.

The folks behind Fire Works, who also run Magnolias at the Mill in Purcellville, say they’re excited about their inside-the-Beltway foray. We imagine American Flatbread’s owners are considerably less excited.

Expect Fire Works to open in mid- to late-June.

Eat (and Dance) Compassionately This Weekend

By Alex

If you want evidence that eating vegan is becoming more mainstream, just look at the 29 Arlington restaurants listed as vegetarian-friendly on VegDC.com.

“There’s no doubt that the popularity of meatless cuisine is on this rise,” said Erica Meier, Executive Director of  Compassion Over Killing, a D.C.-based animal advocacy group. “A growing number of restaurants in Arlington and throughout the D.C. area are dishing out more delicious and nutritious animal-friendly fare to meet the increase in consumer demand.”

One local restaurant is going all-out in its effort to meet that demand.

Toscana Grill, an eco-friendly restaurant in Courthouse, together with Compassion Over Killing, recently launched “Vegan Weekends in April.” Each weekend features a menu of exclusively plant-based dishes.

Timed to coincide with Earth Day, Toscana is also holding some special vegan weekend events. On Saturday, the restaurant is hosting a “dancing and drinks night,” featuring wine and all-you-can-eat vegan appetizers. Then on April 25, it’s Bring Your Dog to Brunch Day.

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To Do This Weekend: Laugh, Live, Love (In That Order)

By ARLnow.com

Once again, there are plenty of events to choose from this weekend. Here are a few options:

Laugh. Kristen Schaal, best known as the Flight of the Conchords’ only fan, will be performing her stand-up comedy act tonight at Arlington Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike). Tickets for the 9:45 show cost $20. She has two additional performances scheduled for Saturday night.

Live. On Saturday, get free home improvement advice at the Arlington Home Show and Expo. There will be 14 free classes and presentations from 60 exhibitors. The expo is being held from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Walter Reed Community Center (2909 16th Street South).

If the home show put you in the mood for redecorating, head over to The Arlington Urban Village Market. Talking place in the Courthouse parking lot from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the market will feature housewares and other furnishings for sale.

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Rock and Sushi Rolls

By ARLnow.com

Perhaps the quietest thing about Sushi Rock was its launch. Courthouse’s new sushi bar welcomed its first paying customers last night amid little fanfare. No signs, no balloons, no screaming radio DJs at folding tables outside. At 5:45 p.m. it was just a bunch of marketing people on laptops finalizing the menu, a reporter, and one curious couple with their baby.

The promised non-stop rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack hadn’t even started yet.

But there’s little doubt that Sushi Rock will soon host hoards of latest-greatest-thing-seeking patrons. The owners — the same folks behind the perpetually-crowded Public Bar in the District — certainly think so. The only question that remains is: will the neighbors mind?

Sushi Rock takes over its space at 1900 Clarendon Blvd from Chinese-Peruvian fusion restaurant Yaku, which closed a few months ago.

We’re told Yaku wasn’t a huge hit with residents in the adjoining Odyssey condominiums. Some condo owners complained about the noise coming from Yaku’s customers. Between the rock music and the planned outdoor seating (still pending county approval), Sushi Rock may face some of the same scrutiny.

But management hopes that Sushi Rock’s hip, upscale atmosphere will help add value to the neighborhood, which is a bit of a no-man’s-land — down the hill from Courthouse but up the hill from Rosslyn. And in case that value proposition fails, Sushi Rock is also offering 20% off to Odyssey residents.

More photos and details on Sushi Rock’s menu and hours, after the jump.

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Afternoon Notes: Woe In Savannah, Sushi Rock Opening

By ARLnow.com

New County Manager Will Be Missed in Savannah — “A sad day for the city of Savannah.” A “loss for the city.” In an uncommonly heartfelt display of sadness and regret over the departure of an unelected public official, media outlets and politicians in Savannah, Ga. are weighing in on the loss of Savannah city manager Michael Brown. A native Virginian, Brown will become Arlington’s new county manager in May.

Sushi Rock Set to Open — A rock-themed sushi bar is set to open in Courthouse today. “The place feels like the remnants of a 1980s Japanese tour by AC/DC, if only they kidnapped a chef and raided half the Tokyo fish market before they left,” writes UrbanDaddy. Sushi Rock is located in the space at 1900 Clarendon Blvd formerly occupied by Yaku.

Arlington Green Party Leader Quits — Josh Ruebner is leaving his position as head of the Arlington Green Party. The departure is a result of “internal conflict and name-calling,” reports Scott McCaffrey in the Sun Gazette.

Arlingtonian Arne Duncan Profiled — U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s two children attend Arlington Public Schools. Parenting Magazine profiled Duncan and wife Karen, who live in Arlington and send kids Claire, 8, and Ryan, 5, to a county elementary school.

iPad Fans Camp Outside Clarendon Apple Store — Apple sold more than 300,000 iPads on Saturday, its first day on sale. Some of those iPads were sold at the Clarendon Apple store, where the Washington Post has video of the ensuing iPad hysteria.

Four Courts Four Miler a Success Despite Rain

By Barry Skidmore

More than a thousand runners braved heavy wind and driving rain on Saturday to compete in the inaugural Four Courts Four Miler road race, part of an early St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

“How do you like this traditional Irish weather?” an organizer called out to the crowd just before the race began.

The race started at Ireland’s Four Courts in Courthouse and took runners along an out-and-back course down Wilson Blvd, through Rosslyn, and past the Memorial Bridge on Route 110.

The course made for a relaxed downhill first half with a tough uphill return including a steep quarter-mile hill just before the finish line.

“The climb from Rosslyn was incredibly arduous, but seeing the crowd at the final hill really inspired me to finish strong,” said race participant Elyssa Lacson.

The rain, which had been coming down in sheets before the race, relented to a light drizzle by the 9:00 a.m. start time. The initial deluge left participants soggy, but in good spirits.

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