new restaurant

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

Pete’s New Haven Apizza Plans Sunday Opening

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 12:25 p.m.) The new Pete’s New Haven Apizza restaurant in Clarendon is planning to open its doors on Sunday.

Pete’s co-owner Tom Marr tells us the restaurant has gotten all the necessary county occupancy and state alcohol permits, and is on track to open Sunday at 11:00 a.m. It could open today, he said, but management is focusing on training staff.

Pete’s serves New Haven-style pizza, which is explained at length on the company’s web site. Their “specialty apizzas” include: “Boola Boola” with house-made meatballs, roasted peppers, caramelized onions and cherry peppers; “Merritt Parkway” with Prosciutto di Parma, Kalamata olives, caramelized onions, basil and extra virgin olive oil; “New Haven” with white clams, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, Pecorino Romano and oregano; and “Nighthawk” with basil pesto, grilled chicken, wild mushrooms, caramelized onions and fresh mozzarella.

The price of an 18″ pie ranges from $18.95 to $25.95. In addition to offering pizza by the pie, Pete’s will offer a few varieties of pizza by the slice for $2.50 to $3.25.

Other menu items include appetizers, paninis, pasta dishes and homemade seasonal desserts. Twelve beers will be available on draft. Patrons will be able to choose between outdoor and indoor seating.

The restaurant, at 3017 Clarendon Boulevard, will be the first business to open on the ground floor of the recently-completed Clarendon Center north building. BGR: The Burger Joint is expected to open within the next two weeks.

More photos, after the jump.

(more…)

Cava in Clarendon Shooting for May Opening

By ARLnow.com

Cava, an upscale Greek restaurant that’s coming to the 2900 block of Clarendon Boulevard, is hoping to open its doors in early May.

Owner Ted Xenohristos says construction is underway on the 4,000 square foot restaurant, which will be Cava’s third location in the D.C. area. Last July, Xenohristos told the Washington Business Journal that he was excited about the prospect of opening a restaurant in Clarendon.

“It’s like a little city over there,” he said.

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.

Name Chosen for New Artisphere Cafe

By ARLnow.com

The contest to name Artisphere’s cafe is over, the votes are in, and the winner has been revealed.

Borrowing the last four letters of Artisphere, HERE is the new name of the cultural center’s cafe. HERE will feature a “seasonal menu of comfort food with Latin flavors made from locally-sourced and fresh ingredients.”

In addition to being a restaurant, HERE will be a full bar, a nightclub and a catering service. It’s owned by Barroso, Inc., the same group that runs Guajillo on Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn and Casa Oaxaca in Northwest D.C.

The contest to name the cafe was organized by the Washington Post Express. More than 530 entries were submitted. HERE, which was submitted by Bonnie Imlay of Silver Spring, Md., beat out two other finalists in the final public voting: “Artesano” and “Tamién.”

To celebrate the new name, Artisphere and HERE will be holding two events at the end of the month.

First, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, Artisphere will be hosting a “neighborhood tasting and open house” with “samplings of the restaurant’s cuisine, live music by Brazilian jazz combo Origem and hourly drawings for lunches for two and tickets to Artisphere events.”

Then, from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. on Friday, April 1, HERE is holding a launch party with more food samplings, door prizes and music by Thunderball and DJ Rex Riddem. The free event is open to the first 300 people who register for it.

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.

Naked Pizza Coming to Pentagon Row

By ARLnow.com

Fast-growing all-natural pizza chain Naked Pizza is coming to Pentagon Row.

A Naked Pizza restaurant will be replacing Pizza Milano, in a storefront that faces the Harris Teeter parking lot on the northern end of Pentagon Row. Pizza Milano, which used to offer free delivery, is now closed.

New Orleans-based Naked Pizza is noted for its devotion to making positive social change — it claims to be “part of the solution to the global epidemic of obesity and chronic disease” by making fast food “healthful instead of harmful” — as well as its health-minded pizza.

Some of the “favorite” pizza recipes on the menu at Naked include the Ragin’ Cajun (sausage, chicken, garlic bell pepper onion), the Superbiotic (artichoke, spinach, bell pepper, mushroom, garlic, red onion, cliantro), the Pima (black beans, jalapeno, cheddar cheese, tomato, onion, cilantro and lime) and the Smokehouse (hickory-smoked BBQ sauce, onion, chicken).

No word yet on when the restaurant plans to open.

Photo via nakedpizza.biz. Hat tip to @RahulG86.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

New Bar Coming to Columbia Pike — William Jeffrey’s Tavern will be a 6,500 square foot bar and restaurant on the ground floor of the Siena Park apartment complex, across the street from Bob & Edith’s Diner. The tavern, owned by the team behind Ragtime and Rhodeside Grill, is expected to open this fall. [Pike Wire]

Arlington Funds Slugging Web Site — Each year, Arlington allots $10,000 out of its $8 million commuter services budget to fund Slug-Lines.com, a privately-run internet resource for the area’s unique, grassroots carpooling system. [Miller-McCune Magazine]

Recalling Java Shack’s Nazi Past — Of course, nobody at Clarendon’s Java Shack has any Nazi affiliation. But the cafe’s building does. TBD recalls the days when the building was the headquarters of the American Nazi Party. Another reminder of the building’s infamous past: the occasional appearance of nostalgic Nazi fliers. [TBD]

New Wakefield High Will Have Lots of Bike Parking — The new $115 million Wakefield High School will include 304 bike parking spaces, up from the old school’s 45 spaces. The Sun Gazette’s Scott McCaffrey wonders if that’s a bit optimistic of school planners. [Sun Gazette Editor’s Blog]

Falls Church (Hearts) Arlington — In an editorial, the Falls Church News-Press addresses redistricting rumors that the 31st State Senate District — which now encompasses Arlington County, Falls Church and a slice of eastern Fairfax County — will be shifted north into McLean and Great Falls, leaving tiny Falls Church to be folded into the Fairfax-centric 32nd State Senate District. That’s frowned upon by the FCNP. “Falls Church is the spiritual sister of Arlington, far more than Fairfax County,” the editorial says. [Falls Church News-Press]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Zpizza Opens in Rosslyn — Office-dwellers in Rosslyn have another lunchtime option. Local pizza chain Zpizza has opened next to the Baja Fresh at 1100 Wilson Boulevard. [TBD]

Alexandria Mayor Endorses Krupicka for State Senate — Alexandria City Councilman Rob Krupicka (D), who’s running for the state Senate seat currently held by the retiring Sen. Patsy Ticer, has received a quick if unsurprising endorsement from Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille. Ticer’s 30th District seat– which encompasses most of Alexandria and South Arlington — is also being sought by Del. Adam Ebbin and Arlington School Board Chair Libby Garvey. [Krupicka for State Senate]

Arlington Dems Meeting Tonight — With about half of the local elected Democratic establishment eying one another’s jobs, tonight’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting could get interesting. To wit, three out of five county board members and four out of four local House of Delegates members have been mentioned as possible candidates for higher political office this year.

Chinese Hot Pot Restaurant Coming to Virginia Square

By ARLnow.com

A new eatery called Mala Tang is coming to 3434 Washington Boulevard in Virginia Square. The restaurant will specialize in an Asian cuisine known alternately as Sichuan hot pot or Chinese fondue.

According to the restaurant’s web site, Sichuan hot pot is a 1,000 year old cuisine that consists of “a colorful array of meats, seafood, vegetables, bean curd and noodles that each diner chooses from and dips in a communal pot of simmering liquid.” The pot can be served in mild or spicy varieties.

No word on when Mala Tang will open — it just applied for a liquor license today and nobody is answering the phone — but the restaurant already has a Twitter and a Facebook presence. They’re in the process of hiring restaurant staff, according to a recent Craigslist ad.

The restaurant space at 3434 Washington Boulevard formerly housed Mei’s Asian Bistro.

Photo via Facebook

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Holiday Closures — Most federal and Arlington County government offices are closed in observance of Washington’s Birthday — better known as President’s Day. ART is operating on a holiday schedule and Metro is operating on a modified schedule with on-going closures on the Blue and Orange Lines.

Real Estate Prices Up — Arlington real estate continues its upward trend. The median sales price in Arlington rose by 7.5 percent, according to Arlington Real Estate News.

Restaurant Coming to Siena Park? — Taqueria Poblano is in talks to open a location on the ground floor of the Siena Park apartment building on Columbia Pike. [Pike Wire]

Book Club Devoted to Intellectual Adventures — A group of students and their parents have formed a book club devoted to topics from space to the classics, with expert speakers for each book selection. [Washington Post]

View More Stories