new restaurant

‘Paciugo Gelato and Caffè’ Coming to Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

Yet another dessert option is coming to Clarendon.

Interior construction is underway for the first D.C.-area location of Paciugo Gelato and Caffè, a Texas-based gelato and coffee chain. The store will be located at 3033 Wilson Boulevard in the former Cafe Wilson/Big Belly Deli space.

Paciugo will be one of at least nine dedicated dessert options in the Clarendon area. Others include Boccato Gelato, Larry’s Homemade Ice Cream, Pinkberry, Red Mango, Crumbs, Red Velvet, Bakeshop, and the new LeoNora Bakery.

No word yet on when Paciugo plans to open.

Lime Fresh Expects January Opening in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

Lime Fresh Mexican Grill is hoping to open its new Clarendon outpost in mid-January, according to a manager.

The fast-growing Mexican chain’s new eatery, the first in the D.C. area, is located at 2900 Wilson Boulevard, in the former Comfort One Shoes space. The restaurant is currently accepting employment application at the location.

Here’s the company’s press release about the impending opening.

This January, Arlington will get a little fresher with the opening of Lime Fresh Mexican Grill, a popular Florida-based fast-casual Mexican concept. The South Beach bred concept has garnered a following from locals and celebrities alike throughout the state of Florida.

Famous for its signature blend of fresh, mouth-watering Mexican dishes, dynamic ambiance, stylized interiors and scrupulous service, Lime was originally conceived in 2004 by CEO and Founder, John Kunkel, to complement the vibrant and food-conscious culture of South Beach. Lime serves Mexican-style cuisine using only the freshest ingredients and charbroils on grills in an exhibition-style kitchen. Additionally, all locations feature a signature homemade salsa bar and 50 variations of hot sauces. Guests have the option of whole wheat, multi-grain or low-carb items, and everything on the menu has 0 Trans fat.

Arlington’s Lime Fresh Mexican Grill will be located at 2900 Wilson Blvd., near The Market Common in the Lyon Village neighborhood. Additionally, the company maintains ten locations in Florida, one in Huntsville, AL, and is expanding to the following markets: Greenville, SC; Charlotte, NC; Atlanta, GA; Louisville, KY; Lexington, KY; Richmond, VA and Philadelphia, PA.

Lime Fresh Mexican Grill will be open from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., Monday through Sunday. For information about Lime Fresh Mexican Grill, please visit the company website at www.limefreshmexicangrill.com.

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William Jeffrey’s Tavern Now Open on Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com

An ambitious new restaurant and watering hole on Columbia Pike is now open for business.

William Jeffrey’s Tavern opened to the general public for the first time last night, co-owner Wilson Whitney told us. The restaurant, at 2301 Columbia Pike, offers seating for nearly 200 and a menu featuring American-style fare, 16 draft beers, and Prohibition-inspired cocktails.

Despite the high expectation of many Pike residents, Whitney warned that the restaurant is still in “soft opening” mode. With the kitchen still getting up to speed, early patrons should expect slower-than-usual service, he said.

Whitney and partners Adam Lubar and Chris Lefborn also own local restaurant staples Rhodeside Grill, Ragtime and Dogwood Tavern. Together, they’ve invested some $2 million in William Jeffrey’s Tavern.

Wilson Tavern Now Open in Courthouse

By ARLnow.com

Wilson Tavern (2403 Wilson Blvd) is now open in the old Kitty O’Shea’s space in Courthouse.

The restaurant, which describes its offerings as “updated American classics,” is currently only open for dinner, but plans to start serving lunch on Tuesday. A weekend brunch service is expected to begin later this month, perhaps on Christmas weekend.

Wilson Tavern retains the small footprint of Kitty O’Shea’s, as well as the prominent bar, but renovations have resulted in an updated look that got rid of the old drop ceiling and exposed some of the building’s rugged brickwork. Black woodwork, an eclectic collection of new and antique furniture including repurposed 19th century church pews, and bare, hanging light bulbs give the tavern a unique, vaguely old-fashioned feel.

The food menu includes updated takes on comfort food, like a burger with beef sourced from The Plains, Va., saffron PEI mussels with steak frites, and stuffed mac ‘n’ cheese with artichoke, pork belly and a brioche crumb. Some may not find the prices as comforting, though: the fish ‘n’ chips is $17 (compared to $13 at Ireland’s Four Courts, down the street), a roasted chicken with collard greens and gravy is $17, and the Plains-sourced burger — with aged cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion and a brioche bun — is $12.

The menu will be changed seasonally and daily specials will be available. There is also a condensed menu available for late night diners.

The draft beer list, which will also change regularly, currently includes eight curated selections from brewers like New Belgium, Legend, Bell’s and Port City. Drafts range from $5 to $8, while bottled macrobrews like Miller Lite and Budweiser clock in at $4. A short California-centric wine list prices glasses from $6 to $10 and bottles from $22 to $38.

Wilson Tavern will serve classic cocktails made with freshly-squeezed juices. The menu includes a dark and stormy, sazerac, old fashioned, gin and juice, screwdriver, pickled Martini and a Negroni, with prices from $7 to $10.

Wilson Tavern’s chef, Chris Kenworthy, hails from Hook, Equinox and Watershed restaurants in the District. Bar manager Matt Culbertson is a former bartender at PS 7’s in D.C. and Cowboy Cafe in Arlington.

Owner Sandy Lewis, a friend of landlord and fellow Lyon Village resident Ray Schupp, says she hopes Wilson Tavern becomes more of a neighborhood dining destination than Kitty O’Shea’s, which was forced out after a contentious legal battle. Despite a very quiet opening last Tuesday, Lewis says she’s been happy with the number of diners who have been showing up for dinner.

“We’re putting out a little bit higher quality food than the average bar,” she said, pointing to locally-sourced meats, freshly-prepared sauces and other house-made ingredients.

(more…)

Greene Turtle Hoping to Open Soon in Ballston

By ARLnow.com

The Greene Turtle is hoping to open in Ballston by the end of the year.

The sports bar and restaurant, on the ground floor of the new Virginia Tech National Capital Region building at 900 N. Glebe Road, should open at some point between Christmas and New Year’s Day, The Greene Turtle’s Sattar Shaik tells ARLnow.com.

According to The Greene Turtle website, the restaurant will be open from 11:00 a.m. to midnight Sunday though Wednesday, and from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

The Greene Turtle has more than two dozen locations around D.C./Baltimore region, including two locations along the Delaware shore.

New Eatery Worries GPS Is Leading Customers Astray

By ARLnow.com

A new restaurant in the far southeastern corner of Arlington is worried that its customers are having a hard time finding it due to outdated GPS data.

Melody Tavern is located at 3650 S. Glebe Road, near Potomac Yard — but mapping software and GPS systems often interpret the address incorrectly. For instance, Google Maps will steer users to a vacant lot several blocks away.

The restaurant recommends that customers use the address 3600 S. Glebe Road, instead, when using navigation systems. That address seems to work in most cases.

The 150+ seat, 6,700 square foot restaurant, which opened with a series of food tastings and soft openings earlier this month, is facing another challenge: it’s barely visible from the street.

“Much of its outdoor signage is difficult to see or obscured by trees,” a press release acknowledged. Still, owner Michel Daley says that the people who do finally find Melody Tavern are becoming loyal fans of the restaurant’s “creative American cuisine, warm and intimate atmosphere and ‘40s style jazz and blues music.”

“We think of ourselves as a ‘hidden jewel,'” Daley said. “We are definitely a destination place, but people do find us, and they are being drawn in by our good, reasonably-priced food. We offer plenty of free parking, and our application to offer live music is being processed.”

Daley hopes to be able to host live jazz and blues acts once his live entertainment application works its way through the Arlington County approval process.

New Mediterranean Restaurant Coming to Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

A Roti Mediterranean Grill location is planning to open on the ground floor of 1501 Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn come January, a spokesperson said today.

The new restaurant is expected to open on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012. It will be the Chicago-based chain’s first Virginia location, although it currently has half a dozen locations open in the District of Columbia.

“Rosslyn is the perfect location for the Mediterranean-inspired, fast, casual, tasty and healthy food because of the amazing community filled with hip, active and health conscious professionals,” the company’s PR rep said in an email. “By serving ‘food that loves you back,’ Roti is the perfect meal option for the residents and businesses in the area.”

Roti’s menu includes stuffed pitas, wraps, salads and Mediterranean platters. “Meat” options include chicken, steak and falafel. Toppings include hummus, baba ghannoush and cous-cous, among others.

To celebrate the opening, Roti will be raffling off a year’s worth of free lunches to one lucky winner. Interested diners can sign up on the restaurant’s website. Roti is also planning a “free lunch day” fundraiser for the charity Adoptions Together from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

Photo via Facebook

Good Stuff Eatery to Open in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

‘Top Chef’ contestant Spike Mendelsohn’s Good Stuff Eatery is announcing its impending arrival in Crystal City.

A photo posted on Facebook over the weekend shows big, colorful signs covering the doors and windows of the future burger-and-milkshake joint’s prime, 3,300 square foot space on Crystal Drive’s restaurant row.

This will be Good Stuff’s second location. Its original location on Capitol Hill opened in 2008.

Washingtonian reported earlier this year that Good Stuff Eatery was hoping for a January opening. So far we’ve been unable to reach anyone associated with Good Stuff for confirmation, but a review of permit applications for the restaurant’s location at 2110 Crystal Drive reveals that it’s still without a building permit. That means an opening would likely be at least a couple of months away.

Memphis Barbeque to Open on Dec. 1

By ARLnow.com

Crystal City’s newest sit-down restaurant is expected to open on Thursday, Dec. 1.

Memphis Barbeque, located at 320 23rd Street S., will feature “authentic” Memphis barbeque as envisioned by chef and owner Chris George.

“Memphis Barbeque will feature a menu of finger licking, barbequed meats, fish and shellfish,” the restaurant said in a press release. “Meats will be slow cooked over hickory wood from two smokers and finished with a selection of tomato and vinegar based sauces.”

The nearly 5,500 square foot restaurant features a 54-seat bar and a 170-seat dining room, in the storefront once occupied by Mackey’s Public House. During warm weather months, Memphis Barbeque plans to have a 48-seat outdoor patio.

George’s 20 years of restaurant experience includes managing upscale restaurants in Atlanta, Memphis and Los Angeles. The Memphis, Tenn. native counts his father Dr. William George, a Memphis business leader and ordained minister, and his sister Yolanda George Turman, who works in bio-pharmaceutical sales, as partners in the new restaurant. Redrick Rayborn, the “pit master” for Memphis Barbeque, just moved to Arlington from Memphis, where he managed a Corky’s Ribs and Barbeque location.

(more…)

William Jeffrey’s Tavern Bets Big on the Pike

By ARLnow.com

William Jeffrey’s Tavern, a new “eclectic American” restaurant and 16-tap watering hole on Columbia Pike, represents a huge bet on the Pike’s future by three successful local restauranteurs.

Wilson Whitney, Adam Lubar and Chris Lefborn — who own Rhodeside Grill (1836 Wilson Blvd), Ragtime (1345 N. Courthouse Road) and Dogwood Tavern (132 West Broad Street, Falls Church) — are plowing some $2 million into the elaborately-decorated, nearly 200 seat restaurant at 2301 Columbia Pike, on the ground floor of the Siena Park apartment building. They’re in it for the long haul, too, after signing a 20-year lease on the space.

“We’re really out there,” Whitney said of their investment.

The partners say they’ve been following the Pike’s redevelopment for some time, and decided to act now (after saving up for a few years) to grab “one of the better spaces” before the pace of change accelerates.

“We looked at this area for probably eight years, as a place to come and bring our style of restaurant to,” said Lubar. “But we didn’t really think it was ready for it until all this new development came down here.”

The partners are hoping to quietly launch the restaurant with a “soft opening” on Dec. 12, though that date is still in flux. Lubar said he is actually looking forward to the openings of the other two new restaurants on the block: Eamonn’s and Taqueria Poblano.

“We’re excited about that, we don’t want to be the only kids on the block,” he said. “We want this to be a destination. We want this area to be a place where we keep the residents here instead of sending them to North Arlington or across the river.”

The planned Columbia Pike streetcar was also a deciding factor in launching the restaurant.

“We’ve been waiting for it. I think it’s going to be really, really cool when it comes through,” said Lubar. “That was one of the selling points to this area, that that should be down here some day. I think connecting this area with Fairfax and making it a little more Metro accessible can only help develop this whole area.”

William Jeffrey’s will feature 16 beers on tap, including a “microbrew of the month,” and more than a dozen beers in bottles and cans. It will have “Prohibition-style” specialty cocktails, featuring fresh juices and homemade bitters and simple syrups.

The food menu includes appetizers, soups, salads and sides; seasonal entrees priced between $18 and $25; and wraps, sandwiches and burgers priced between $9.50 and $12. There will also be an emphasis on daily specials. Though the menu is pretty standard “American-style” fare, chef Sam Adkins — formerly of Jackie’s Restaurant in Silver Spring and Cashion’s Eat Place in the District — said there will be an emphasis on homemade ingredients, including homemade bacon, pickles, spice rubs, dressings and mayonnaise.

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Ben Affleck Flick Filming in N. Arlington? — Local residents are telling us that ‘Argo,’ a new Ben Affleck-directed political thriller, is currently in production in the area near Overlee pool. [Forums]

New Restaurant Coming to Shirlington — A new Mediterranean restaurant called Medi is coming to Shirlington. The eatery will offer “uniquely blended flavors, healthy ingredients, and great value,” according to The Village at Shirlington Facebook page. [Shirlington Village Blog]

County Board Candidate Sims Launches Website — County Board candidate Terron Sims II has launched a new campaign website. Sims is one of three Democratic candidates who have formally announced for the upcoming special election to replace state Senator-elect Barbara Favola. The West Point grad and Iraq war veteran has already won support and endorsements from County Treasurer Frank O’Leary and Rep. Jim Moran. [Sims for Arlington]

County Scales Back Legislative Agenda — With Republicans firmly in control in Richmond, Arlington County may be abandoning hope of getting its quarter percent hotel taxing authority restored any time soon. [Sun Gazette]

Signs Biting the Dust in the Rosslyn Area — One local blogger has taken note of at least two recent incidents where signs have apparently been knocked down by out-of-control cars in the Rosslyn area. [Ode Street Tribune]

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