new restaurant

Sugar Factory Now Open At Pentagon City Mall

By Chris Teale
1/10

A new restaurant and candy shop is open at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City.

Sugar Factory American Brasserie offers an extensive lunch, dinner and weekend brunch menu, and also has a grab-and-go bulk candy store, an ice cream and coffee shop and outdoor seating by the sidewalk at 1100 S. Hayes Street.

It has been in the works since 2015, and had initially been set to open last October.

The restaurant will be open daily for lunch and dinner, Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., with retail opening at 10 a.m. On Friday and Saturday, dining is open 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., with retail opening at 10 a.m. Weekend brunch will also be available.

A seven-page dessert menu includes traditional favorites as well as the King Kong Sundae, which can serve up to 12 guests with 24 scoops of ice cream adorned with various decorations, sauces, fruits and candy, all topped with giant rainbow lollipops and sparklers.

From a press release:

Arlington, VA (May 26, 2017) — Famed eatery and candy shop, Sugar Factory American Brasserie, opens its first location in Northern Virginia in Pentagon City (1100 Hayes Street, Arlington, VA), bringing the internationally-renowned celebrity sweets and signature treats it’s known for to the Washington, D.C. metro area.

The 5,500-square foot Sugar Factory restaurant and retail store is adjacent to the bustling Fashion Centre at Pentagon City Mall, housing a brasserie-style dining room with vibrant, whimsical decor that seats up to 200 guests. The family-friendly location also features a grab-and-go bulk candy store, an ice cream and coffee shop and outdoor sidewalk seating.

The diverse food menu, curated by a team of world-class chefs, includes a tasty selection of lunch, dinner and weekend brunch originals and classics such as red velvet pancakes, sweet and savory crepes, specialty Monster Burgers and sliders, entree salads, pasta dishes and innovative pizzas. Foodie favorites like the Fried Macaroni & Cheese Pops, Chinese Chicken Salad and the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich — made with buttermilk-battered Buffalo chicken breast, shredded lettuce, vine-ripened tomatoes and celery aioli, served on a brioche bun — offer something for every occasion, from birthday parties to bachelorette bashes.

Sugar Factory’s legendary dessert menu includes the famously colossal King Kong Sundae, designed to serve up to 12 guests with 24 scoops of ice cream adorned with sprinkles, caramel, strawberry & fudge sauce, toasted marshmallows, Reese’s Pieces, chocolate chip cookies, crushed waffle cones, gummy bears, white chocolate strawberry shavings, sliced bananas, toasted walnuts and whipped cream, all topped with giant rainbow lollipops and sparklers.

But the sweets don’t stop there! Guests will find seven pages worth of dessert options on the extensive Sugar Factory Pentagon City menu, like traditional and frozen hot chocolate, old-fashioned ice cream sundaes, gourmet ice cream sandwiches, chocolate fondue, cheesecakes, pies and cakes. Plus, there are 18 original decadent shakes to try, including eight signature Insane Milkshakes like the best-selling Bacon Cheeseburger Milkshake, made with strawberry ice cream and topped with candied bacon, pretzels, M&Ms and a cheeseburger slider.

The brand’s selection of celebrated premium cocktails mix sweet treats with spiked adult beverages, including the signature 36-ounce alcohol-infused, smoking candy goblets like the White Gummi, a mix of Cruzan peach and raspberry rums garnished with gummy worms. Sugar Factory’s martini selections include candy inspired treats like the Sour Apple Lolly Martini, finished off with a Pop Rocks rim.

Sugar Factory’s menu and playful, over-the-top ambiance add a touch of sweetness to Pentagon City, where fans can get their hands on the brand’s world-famous Couture Pops in every flavor and color, including blinged-out designs by Kendall and Kylie Jenner. The Pentagon City space also showcases glam photos of Sugar Factory’s other A-list celeb fans, such as Rihanna, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Pitbull, Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian West, Drake and many more.

Sugar Factory Pentagon City will be open daily for lunch and dinner, Sunday through Thursday, 11am to 11pm (retail opens at 10am) and Friday & Saturday, 11am to 1am (retail opens at 10am). Weekend brunch will also be available on Saturday and Sunday. Reservations and group bookings are available by calling 703.258.3374 or by visiting OpenTable, https://www.opentable.com/r/sugar-factory-pentagon-mall-arlington.

“Sugar Factory is all about celebrating the sweetest moments in life, so we combine a fun, unforgettable dining experience for any age with an elevated twist on classic American and French dishes,” says Charissa Davidovici, Founder of Sugar Factory American Brasserie. “From our Insane Milkshakes to our Monster Burgers to our endless candy options, we are all about treasuring family fun, having a ball and savoring every memory. We are looking forward to our grand opening event and welcoming the community to our space.”

Permit: Kung Fu Tea Coming to Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

A Kung Fu Tea store is coming to Clarendon, according to a county building permit.

Interior demolition is underway in the former Larry’s Homemade Ice Cream location at 3018 Wilson Blvd, next to the new Hanabi Ramen restaurant.

Kung Fu Tea, which has locations across the United States, serves various types and flavors of bubble tea.

No word yet on an opening date.

Photo courtesy Bill Colton

Former Mexican Food Truck Moving to Arlington Drafthouse’s Green Room

By Chris Teale
1/5

The proprietor of a food truck that would park near the now-closed Food Star grocery store is set to take over the former Green Room next to the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse.

The truck, Tortas Y Tacos La Chiquita, sold Mexican food like tacos, quesadillas and tortas from the parking lot at the corner of Columbia Pike and S. George Mason Drive.

Owner David Villalobos said on the eatery’s official Facebook page that their new digs at 2911 Columbia Pike will be open in the first or second week of June. He also said that customers can expect “new cakes and tacos” after the grand opening.

The restaurant replaces “The Green Room,” which hosted stand-up comedy and other events adjacent to the main theater. It closed earlier this year as owner Greg Godbout looked for a new tenant.

The changes are part of a wider revamp for the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse, which is preparing to show first-run and art-house movies, up its ticket prices and overhaul its food menu.

Continental Beer Garden Set For June Opening in Rosslyn

By Chris Teale

Rosslyn’s new 180-seat indoor and outdoor beer garden is slated to open next month.

The Continental Beer Garden at 1901 N. Fort Myer Drive transforms what was once a service station under an office building.

Continental’s outdoor space is equipped with bocce courts, patio sofas and lounge chairs, picnic tables and a long communal high top table for 150 people. Workers also added lights, flower boxes, tree planters and a mural.

Inside, reconditioned garage doors open to an indoor bar and kitchen with seating for another 30 people. The beer garden is owned by Curt Large, who also owns the nearby Continental Pool Lounge. The project received support from the Rosslyn Business Improvement District and landlord JBG.

Beers from Virginia and Germany will be served by the pint or pitcher, while wine can be ordered by glass or carafe from kegs. A slushy machine will also be among the drink offerings.

On the food menu, chef Marjorie Meek-Bradley has introduced a selection of sausages including bratwurst with sauerkraut and a classic D.C. halfsmoke with grilled onions and cheese.

Meek-Bradley, who was a finalist on the 13th season of the Food Network’s “Top Chef,” has added other snacks, entree salads, a selection of skewers served over basil quinoa salad and hot sandwiches like grilled cheese and pulled pork.

Once open, Continental’s hours will be 3-11 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. A firm opening date has not been set yet.

Courtesy photo

Opening Day No Closer For Dudley’s in Shirlington

By Chris Teale
1/6

The long-awaited and long-delayed Dudley’s Sport & Ale in Shirlington appears to still be far from ready to open.

Owner Reese Gardner had hoped the sports bar would be open in either June or July, but in a brief email he said the planned sports bar at 2766 S. Arlington Mill Drive is still plagued by the same permitting problems “as before, unfortunately.”

Gardner said the county has still not approved all of its necessary permits. A 28-seat bar, a 125-seat dining area, and a “stadium style” viewing area are planned, as well as a rooftop bar — Shirlington’s first — with a game area, a 15-seat bar, and patio seating for about 114 people.

The original plan was to open Dudley’s last March, but work associated with the planned rooftop deck greatly delayed that timeline.

A spokeswoman for the county’s department of community, planning, housing and development confirmed the project has been going through the administrative change process. The spokeswoman referred further questions to the county’s lead planner on the project, who did not respond to requests for more information.

Gardner, who also owns the nearby Copperwood Tavern, Quinn’s on the Corner in Rosslyn and Irish Whiskey in the District, said he would have further information on an opening date once permits are approved.

Sehkraft Successor The Board Room Hoping to Open Before Labor Day

By Chris Teale
1/4

Just months after Sehkraft Brewing closed in Clarendon, its successor is preparing to make its mark.

According to license applications filed with Virginia ABC, The Board Room will look to continue Sehkraft’s in-house brewing in its former space at 925 N. Garfield Street. The old restaurant had a 10-barrel system for making its own beer. A permit application indicates that The Board Room hopes to brew up to 500 barrels per year.

Mark Handwerger, owner of The Board Room’s parent company Bedrock Bars, confirmed in an email that the bar will look to continue the in-house brewing program, but there is “nothing concrete” regarding operations or if they will partner with anyone.

The Board Room, which has another location currently open in Dupont Circle, combines an extensive drinks menu with board games, available for rent for a flat fee of $2.

The bar has applied for a liquor license and intends to seat more than 150 people. Sehkraft had seating for 210, including 66 on two outdoor patios. Handwerger said the adjoining butcher shop will be transformed into “Ms. Peacock’s Champagne Lounge.”

Demolition on the inside should begin soon based on building permits filed with the county. Handwerger said he hopes to open before Labor Day.

High-Tech Rosslyn McDonald’s Now Open for Business

By ARLnow.com
1/12

(Updated at 4:05 p.m.) A new McDonald’s, sporting shiny gadgets and screens throughout, has opened in Rosslyn.

Located in the base of the new Central Place apartment tower at 1800 N. Moore Street, near where a standalone McDonald’s once stood, the fast food eatery was open for business and bustling around mid-afternoon Wednesday.

The restaurant is among the chain’s most modern, with large flat-screen ordering kiosks, flat-screen soda dispensers, a display case for McCafe pastries and sleek decor. There are also flat-screen menus above the manned ordering counter, for those who prefer to place an order with a human. Patio seating in a plaza just outside allows for outdoor dining.

The opening was not without its hiccups. At one point this afternoon an irate customer started loudly complaining about the wait for his order, which was apparently lost to cyberspace after being placed on one of the kiosks.

“Oh, here we go,” said one of the other dozen or so people also waiting around, watching for their order number to appear on a flat-screen display above the pick-up counter. The irate man’s order eventually appeared.

Hat tip to Eric LeKuch

Asian Eatery ‘Bar Bao’ to Open Thursday In Clarendon

By Chris Teale
1/8

The Social Restaurant Group‘s newest addition to the local dining scene is just days away from its official opening in Clarendon.

Bar Bao at 3100 Clarendon Blvd will throw open its doors for the first time Thursday after several soft openings, including one tonight with 20 percent off all food.

The new restaurant, the successor to the Mad Rose Tavern, will serve steamed buns, dumplings and other small bites inspired by Chinese and Taiwanese street food.

There will be space for 197 seats inside, including the bars, with room for approximately 70 outdoors on the back patio and a soon-to-open front patio facing Clarendon Blvd next to the State Department Federal Credit Union.

Inside, murals designed by local graffiti artists Mike Pacheco and Rodrigo Pradel are inspired by Tang Sai’er, a female rebel leader who protested the Ming Dynasty’s unfair treatment of the people in China in the 15th century and led a peasant uprising.

The murals flow throughout the restaurant, showing her as the self-styled Godmother of the White Lotus Cult until her death.

“We just wanted a cool mural that told a story,” said SRG co-founder Mike Bramson.

The eatery’s menu includes a number of Asian-inspired cocktails, like the Hiddel Leaf Swizzle, referred to as the “Ninja Cocktail” and drunk out of a cup that looks like a ninja. Executive chef Donn Souliyadeth is behind the menu offerings.

“We told him, ‘Here’s some parameters, create some stuff on your own,’ and together with the chef we were able to create some stuff,” Bramson said. “We had a lot of tastings and tried to get as creative as we possibly could, but with food that was still approachable.”

Bar Bao joins Pamplona next door, another SRG property open since mid-January. Bramson said it was always the group’s intention to have both restaurant spaces, but to have differences between the two in terms of design.

“Everyone loves the design of Pamplona, but we wanted it to feel completely different,” Bramson said. “We wanted it to feel different from anywhere in Clarendon. Our initial walk-through, we knew we needed to go with concrete floors, graffiti artists and do that real edgy vibe.”

Stageplate Bistro Close To Opening In Ballston

By Chris Teale
1/4

Those in charge at Stageplate Bistro in Ballston say the new restaurant’s opening is just days away, now all its required permits are approved.

The eatery at 900 N. Glebe Road, on the first floor of the Virginia Tech Research Center, is the successor to Backstage Bistro Cafe near Dulles International Airport that closed last October. Backstage also hosted a catering company that specialized in events and providing food for touring entertainment acts.

With its certificates of occupancy finalized and having hosted some small functions for investors to give its food a test-run, general manager Mary Marchetti said a full opening is just days away.

The menu will feature mostly American cuisine, with some subtle differences. Instead of serving pizza, Stageplate will serve Turkish pide, a street food version of pizza that can be filled with various different ingredients.

“Pide is one of those things that you can do really fun ingredients, like fill it up with fun and interesting things,” Marchetti said. “It’s almost like a cross between a Stromboli and an artisanal pizza. You can do roasted butternut squash, red onion, delicious cheeses and stuff like that.”

In addition, Marchetti said guests can expect pasta, sandwiches, soups and salads. In the evenings, she said the menu will likely have other rotating options in its bistro entrees.

The restaurant will have around 125 seats indoors, 28 outside on the patio and nine at the bar, while a back room can be hired out for small events and functions of no more than about 50.

Stageplate joins a crowded area of Ballston, with an Applebee’s nearby as well as World of Beer and P.F. Chang’s. Marchetti said the newcomer has put some thought into how it will fit in with the rest of its neighbors.

“We’re so lucky to be in the middle of all these great restaurants,” she said. “With everybody that’s on the street, we tried to say, ‘Okay, what can we do that will complement and help hopefully bring more people to the area?’ We were really cognizant of the beers we put on tap, the wines we’re going to serve and the food we’re going to serve.”

Japanese BBQ Restaurant Coming to Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

A Japanese barbecue restaurant is coming to the former Brixx Pizza space in Clarendon.

Signs are now up in the windows of 1119 N. Hudson Street for Gyu-Kaku restaurant. It’s the first D.C. area outpost of the chain, which is based in Japan.

Gyu-Kaku, which translates to “Horn of the Bull,” serves Yakiniku cuisine — barbecued meats and veggies that are cooked by diners on a charcoal grill in the center of the table. The chain has hundreds of locations in Japan and existing U.S. locations in New York, Los Angeles, Hawaii and elsewhere.

Brixx, a small chain of wood-fired pizza restaurants, closed its Clarendon location in April 2016 after just six months in business. Brixx was housed in a newly-constructed restaurant space on N. Hudson Street, an off-the-beaten-path location between longtime restaurant Nam-Viet and a CVS Pharmacy.

Courtesy photo

Grand Opening Event At Heritage Brewing Co. Clarendon On May 13

1/7

A beer release of epic proportions is coming to Arlington.

In celebration of the opening of their new Clarendon location, the Heritage Brewing Co. team is releasing four new packaged beers, and 10 draft only releases on May 13 at their Market Common Brewpub & Roastery.

The primary release for Heritage Brewing’s Grand Opening event will be their three-year anniversary ale. A massive beer, and yet another rich entry into Heritage Brewing Co.’s barrel series. This beer is the product of the time and patience of

master blenders, taking an artful approach to combining seven different barrel series beers aged up to 33 months. It consumes the palate with flavors of deep molasses, dark cherries, and toasted oak, finishing with tart citrus notes. The result is an extremely complex beer that drinks more like a fine spirit than an ale. Only 600 22-ounce bottles will available in the Arlington brewpub on the day of the release.

Heritage Brewing Co. will also be kicking off its new Lincoln’s Hat beer series with

two packaged releases: Double Taxation, a double India Pale Ale, and Sovereign Stout, a nitro imperial stout. Double Taxation is a complex and unfiltered imperial IPA that is juicy, resinous, and loaded with tropical citrus notes from its generous hop additions. Sovereign Stout is a dangerously smooth and velvety imperial stout with bold flavors of honey, chocolate, and dark-roasted coffee. Heritage will be releasing 150 four-packs of 16-ounce cans of each Lincoln’s Hat beer during the Grand Opening. Supplies aren’t anticipated to last long.

The third and final packaged beer release available on May 13 will be Heritage Brewing Co.’s first ever wild fermented beer release and the start of their new Wilderness Series bottle releases. A collection of rare and wild aged beers that take on sour and tart flavors from their naturally occurring fermentation. Each beer is aged in a mix of barrels from vineyards and distilleries. This first Wilderness Series release is a wild-fermented Belgian strong ale; only a few hundred of these will be available in 375 ml bottles. This ale features a mix of spices, giving it a refreshing tart fruit flavor like no other beer in their lineup to date.

The doors at Heritage Brewing Co. Market Common Brewpub & Roastery will open at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 13, and the releases will kick off immediately. Guests can also dine-in at their location and enjoy their chef-driven, locally sourced menu, created to pair perfectly with their long lineup of brews. Simultaneously, the main production brewery in Manassas will also be selling the new releases upon opening at 12:00 p.m.

For additional information on the grand opening event to include draft beer release descriptions and information as well as package photography and merchandise photography, visit the event page.

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