new restaurant

Mussel Bar Brings Belgian Fare to Ballston

By Katie Pyzyk
1/15

Ballston is getting a little more Belgian, thanks to the opening of Mussel Bar and Grille (800 N. Glebe Road) this week.

Today and tomorrow the restaurant is holding its soft opening for invited guests and will open to the public for dinner on Thursday. Friday will be the first day it will open for lunch.

This is the third Mussel Bar and Grille location, joining others in Bethesda and Atlantic City. Owner and chef Brian McBride hopes to expand to as many as 10 locations. He thought Arlington seemed perfect for the newest restaurant.

“This Arlington area seems to be booming,” McBride said. “This is going to be a fun spot. It’s designed to be a neighborhood gathering place. It’s not pretentious, it’s very casual.”

As the restaurant’s name implies, mussels are the house specialty. Mussel Bar and Grille has exclusive rights in the D.C. area to Penn Cove mussels. That variety comes from the oldest mussel farm in the United States, and McBride says they have plumper, sweeter meat.

“We pay a lot more for those mussels than the standard P.E.I.s [Prince Edward Island mussels],” said McBride, “Just so we can have the best mussels we can get.”

Other seafood dishes include Maryland crabcakes and lobster rolls. The restaurant also offers options for customers wishing to munch on something other than seafood, such as brick oven fired pizzas, steak frites and a lamb meatball sandwich.

Chefs at Mussel Bar and Grille concentrate on old fashioned food preparation techniques, according to McBride. He notes that although each dish will look modern, no shortcuts will be taken, unlike other chain restaurants.

Along with the mussels, the restaurant will focus on Belgian beers. The bar offers 18 beers on tap and more than 100 others in bottles. Bartenders will be able to suggest beer selections that complement each customer’s dish.

“The goal is to introduce as many different kinds of Belgian beer to Arlington as we possibly can,” said McBride.

Bar Manager Adam Jarvis pointed out that the restaurant also serves up specialty drinks highlighting the time when the Bob Peck Chevrolet dealership sat on the land. The drinks bear the names of Chevy models like El Camino, Bel Air and Camaro.

“This is a big thing, to keep the Arlington community, and the history of Arlington as well,” said Jarvis.

Mussel Bar and Grille will have happy hour specials every day of the week from 3:00-6:30 p.m.

“I think people should be happy on the weekend,” McBride said. “It shouldn’t just be a Monday through Friday thing.”

The goal is to accommodate everyone at the restaurant, from bar goers to business people to families. Customers can sit in the dining area, order at the bar or enjoy the outdoor seating.

“Customers rule,” said McBride. “We don’t set too many rules.”

One rule the restaurant does abide by, however, is limiting the number of customers allowed in at one time for the first few weeks. McBride said it gives staff a chance to acclimate to the new system and smooth out any issues. He expects to go “full blown” in September and will begin offering weekend brunch at that time. For now, the restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday, and will begin serving on Mondays after Labor Day.

Pines of Florence Moves to Columbia Pike

By Ethan Rothstein
Pines of Florence opens on Columbia Pike
Pines of Florence opens on Columbia Pike
Pines of Florence opens on Columbia Pike
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Less than two months after its Virginia Square location closed, Pines of Florence is now open in a new location on Columbia Pike.

Pines of Florence abruptly closed up shop in Virginia Square in late June and was replaced quickly by the planned Water and Wall restaurant, operated by the owners of Maple Ave Restaurant in Vienna. On Sunday, the Italian restaurant and pizza shop launched a soft opening at 3207 Columbia Pike.

Pines of Florence owner Shafi Khan said he was forced to leave his old location after an acrimonious eviction battle with his landlord, which included Khan suing to stay in his old space and taking the landlord to court.

“For me, that location was the best for delivery, it was very centrally located,” Khan said. “I had to let 10 people go. That hurt me more than anything else.”

The Columbia Pike location is smaller — with a capacity for 61 customers upstairs and 38 downstairs — than the 115-seat Virginia Square space, Khan said, but he promised that the menu will be unchanged. The space was previously occupied an Ethiopian restaurant and by Sangam Restaurant, an Indian restaurant that closed last summer. Khan and his staff worked long hours the past few weeks trying to get it ready to open.

Khan said Pines of Florence is offering customers 50 percent off of their total bill — not including alcohol — until Sunday, Aug. 18. The deal is intended to bring customers back to the business after its brief hiatus, a point of concern with the new storefront.

“I’m very worried about our future here,” Khan said. “This is a very difficult time for business, people are very health- and money-conscious. We just have to keep offering good food at fair prices, but it’s going to take some time to get the customers to come back.”

Mussel Bar Expected to Open in Ballston Next Week

By ARLnow.com

Mussel Bar in Ballston Mussel Bar in Ballston

Mussel Bar & Grille, a gastropub from restaurateur Robert Wiedmaier, is expected to open in Ballston next week.

The restaurant is taking reservations for dinner on Thursday, Aug. 8, which, we’re told, is its current expected opening date. Through its big plate glass windows at 800 N. Glebe Road this week, managers could be seen training staff and construction workers could be seen putting the finishing touches on the wood, concrete and steel interior.

Mussel Bar, which has existing locations in Bethesda and Atlantic City, N.J., will serve “mussels & frites, wood-fired tarts (Belgian pizzas) with seasonal toppings, grilled meats and fish, salads, soups, sandwiches,” according to its website.

As with other Wiedmaier restaurants, like BRABO in Alexandria and Brasserie Beck in D.C., an extensive beer list will be offered.

Taj of India Coming To Cucina Vivace Space

By Ethan Rothstein

Cucina Vivace in Crystal City, now closedAn Indian restaurant is going to fill the former Cucina Vivace space in Crystal City this fall.

Owner Sahjahal Mia, who owns Taj of India in Georgetown, said he’s been looking to open a second Taj of India location in Virginia for a couple of years. Once the location on the 23rd Street S. restaurant row opened up, he knew he’d found a home.

“There are a lot of restaurants on that strip, but no Indian restaurants,” Mia told ARLnow.com. “I’ve been visiting 20-30 times, and every time it’s crowded. I think we’re going to do well.”

Mia’s Georgetown location has been open since 2002 serving traditional Indian fare and offering customers carry-out and delivery, including online ordering through services like Seamless and GrubHub. He said the offerings at the Crystal City restaurant, slated to open in mid-September, will be the same.

Mia’s observation of the 23rd Street restaurant row differs from that of Gordon Vivace, who owned Cucina Vivace.

“That strip is not in good shape and is simply no longer a location where an upscale restaurant can survive,”  Vivace said when he closed his doors in March.

The only other Indian restaurant in the Crystal City/Pentagon City area is Kohinoor Dhaba on S. Eads Street, so Mia feels he is better positioned to succeed. In fact, he said, he has had several calls for delivery to Crystal City from his Georgetown restaurant. Although it was out of his delivery range, he has told his drivers to make the trek anyway, just to build up a following.

“We have a lot of customers who have come from Crystal City hotels to our restaurants,” he said. “We needed to be here.”

Bracket Room Reveals Menu, List of 64 Shooters

By ARLnow.com

Bracket Room logoBracket Room, a “female-friendly” sports bar set to open in Clarendon next month, has revealed its food and drink menu.

The restaurant will offer upscale takes on traditional bar food like burgers, wings, ribs and fries, as well as higher-end items like Maine lobster and healthier options like ceviche, a “superfoods salad” and chilled asparagus. A brunch menu is also offered.

List of shooters at The Bracket RoomThe drink menu includes at least 15 beers on tap, from a $4.50 Miller Lite to a $6 Kona Big Wave. Sixteen bottled and canned beers are available, with prices starting at $3 for a PBR can. Numerous varieties of wine and cocktails are also available, but perhaps the most talked-about offering will be the 64 shooters, which are arranged on an NCAA-style tournament bracket. The “winning” shooter is $3 until March, while the 63 others are $6 apiece.

Bracket Room is located in the former Burapa Thai space at 1210 N. Garfield Street. Among the three partners in the business are Chris Bukowski, of  “Bachelorette” and “Bachelor Pad” reality show fame.

The sports bar hopes to open its doors at some point next month (August). A press release announcing the menu, after the jump.

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BonChon Opens in Lyon Park

By Katie Pyzyk
1/5

Although it’s only considered a “soft opening” period, BonChon officially opened its doors today at 2209 N. Pershing Drive, near Clarendon, to let the public try out its Korean chicken.

The dining area quickly filled when the restaurant opened at 11:30 a.m. and customers steadily streamed in through lunch hour. Although BonChon will be open for lunch and dinner, for the first few weeks the restaurant will be closed from 2:00-4:00 p.m. while staff members work to perfect operations.

The restaurant has a dining area, bar area and a separate counter for customers to pick up carry out orders.

Although the menu lists side dishes, salads and appetizers, the main attraction is the crispy fried chicken which comes as drumsticks, wings or chicken strips. Orders are accompanied by garlic soy sauce or hot sauce.

BonChon, which means “Original Village” in Korean, started out in South Korea and quickly came over to the United States. It now has more than 50 locations around the world.

Bar Louie Coming to Crystal City

By Katie Pyzyk

Memphis Barbeque in Crystal CityIt appears the Crystal City space formerly occupied by Memphis Barbeque will be getting a new tenant.

A recently-filed permit application says that Bar Louie is planning to open at 320 23rd Street S. The Texas-based bar/restaurant chain has more than 40 locations across the country, including two nearby locations: next to the Gallery Place Metro station in D.C., and in the Rockville Town Square development in Maryland.

Bar Louie also has restaurants in Miami, Tampa, Chicago, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh. It describes itself as “an eclectic urban bar made famous for our signature martinis, cocktails and dynamic beer selection.”

Memphis Barbeque, which opened in December 2011, suddenly closed in January. Its phone number was disconnected around that time and its website has been taken down, despite indications it may reopen.

So far, no word on when Bar Louie is expected to open.

Update at 5:15 p.m. — A Bar Louie spokeswoman denies that a final location has been chosen for the restaurant.

“We are continuing to review locations in Arlington, Va.,” said Bar Louie marketing manager Amanda Utter. “At the present time nothing has been finalized.”

Pan American Bakery Moving Into Arlington Mill Community Center

By Ethan Rothstein
Arlington Mill Community Center
Pan American Bakery and Grill
Pastries at Pan American Bakery and Grill
Pastries at Pan American Bakery
Arlington Mill Community Center
1/5

Pan American Bakery and Café will be the in-house restaurant at the new Arlington Mill Community Center after it opens later this summer.

The location in the four-story community center, at 909 S. Dinwidde Street, will be Pan American’s fourth, but it will be decidedly different than the storefront a few blocks down Columbia Pike — which will remain open — and the shops in Alexandria and Fairfax.

The restaurant in Arlington Mill will specialize in healthier foods and offer options like specialty coffee, gelato and its specialty, salteñas, according to its lease agreement with the county. The County Board is expected to approve  the lease at its meeting Saturday. The restaurant will be on the ground floor and occupy 1,875 square feet.

The owners, Maritza Genny DeFoor and Ramiro Morgana, were chosen, according to county staff, because of their “business experience, local presence, financial strength, willingness to accept the county’s monetary terms, and readiness to proceed.”

The community center is on target for completed construction in early August, Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Myllisa Kennedy said. The first programs are expected to be held in early September and the DES has planned a ribbon-cutting for the new building Sept. 28.

Pines of Florence Closes, Water and Wall Preps Begin

By Katie Pyzyk

Water and Wall moving into former Pines of Florence space ABC permit notice for Water and Wall in Virginia Square

As anticipated, Pines of Florence has closed in Virginia Square. The owners of a new restaurant going in at 3811 N. Fairfax Drive have wasted no time in preparing to transform the space.

Tim Ma and Joey Hernandez, known for Maple Ave Restaurant in Vienna, are bringing Water and Wall to Arlington. Ma said Pines of Florence moved out the last couple days of June and the Water and Wall folks brought in designers and engineers right away on July 1.

The concept will be similar to that of Maple Ave, which the chef alternately calls “eclectic American” or “creative American.” Ma said he’s classically French trained and another chef at Maple Ave is Burmese trained. Their different cooking strengths will allow for simple fare such as a chicken sandwich, and more inventive dishes featuring rabbit or sweetbreads.

“The food encompasses a large amount of cuisines. We’re able to put things like a soft shell crab with a Burmese curry, alongside something like a rabbit roulade — which is something you’d associate as very French,” said Ma. “Essentially that’s what American food is now, just a mish mash of all types of cuisines.”

No menu has been devised yet for Water and Wall, but the chefs are testing ideas at Maple Ave Restaurant.

“Maple Ave evolved as the kitchen evolved, and I expect kind of the same thing to happen here,” Ma said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to do items that we’re not able to do at Maple Ave given the limited space. That will take shape as we figure out the kitchen here.”

Ma and Hernandez had originally wanted Maple Ave to be in Arlington but it wasn’t a good fit when they were looking to launch four years ago. Now they feel ready to make the leap from a restaurant of about 10 tables to one of about 25 to 30.

“The economics and scale of that [Vienna] restaurant made more sense for a true mom and pop, which is what me and Joey are,” said Ma. “As we grew at Maple Ave it made sense that we wanted to return to where we were originally looking.”

Ma said he and Hernandez like mix of business and residential spaces in Virginia Square, as well as the overall vibe.

“We kind of like how Virginia Square is a little more quiet. It’s not the hustle of Clarendon or Ballston, it’s a little more relaxed. Yes, we’ve become more destination dining, but we’re already destination dining in Vienna,” Ma said. “We’re happy with that. We’re not in the crowd and the competition of Clarendon. There’s really, really good restaurants there, there’s so many choices now. Hopefully we provide another option here and perhaps fill a niche that doesn’t exist yet in Virginia Square.”

The crew behind Water and Wall hopes to open the restaurant by November 1. Ma acknowledged that such a goal may or may not be met, but he’s patient. He noted that it took four years to get to the point where a second restaurant became a reality, and said extra time just allows for a better opportunity to get things right.

“If the permitting process takes longer, it takes longer. That’s just the way it’s going to have to go down,” Ma said. “The magnitude, the scale of things is different from what we’re used to so we want to make sure we get things done right. Arlington is a different city than Vienna and we want to make sure we cross all the ‘t’s’ and dot all the ‘i’s’.”

Despite striving for perfection, Ma admits that mistakes are also a part of the process.

“We’ve taught ourselves so many things. There were so many mistakes we made, and I’m sure we’ll make here. We’ll make all new mistakes, the same quantity of mistakes, but they’ll just be completely different,” he said. “Hopefully we’re here for a while and learn from those mistakes.”

Although the interior has been cleared of the furniture from Pines of Florence, major renovations have not begun on the restaurant space. Ma said he has a mix of excitement and nervousness about launch the project he and Hernandez have been working on for more than a year.

“I’m just really excited to see how Arlington receives us,” he said. “We’re really stoked about this.”

Tom Yum District Opens in Rosslyn

By Katie Pyzyk
1/15

(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) Tom Yum District has become the latest addition to the Rosslyn food scene. Following test runs during a soft opening period and a grand opening party last night, the restaurant officially opened its doors to the public today at 1515 Wilson Blvd.

Co-owner Mel Oursinsiri and co-owner/chef Aulie Bunyaratapan have been working on the concept for more than two years. The idea is to offer Thai food in a fast, casual environment instead of at a traditional sit-down restaurant.

The couple like the convenience of Chipotle and the freshness of Subway, so they decided to create a similar restaurant featuring Thai food.

“When I saw Chipotle when they first got here, we right away thought, ‘this is it,'” said Bunyaratapan. “Thai food with this type of concept is very new. People can enjoy fresh, healthy, fast, convenient, very simple food.”

Customers choose from four bases including jasmine rice or pad thai noodles, and from four proteins like chicken, shrimp or tofu. They can then mix and match with the five house-made sauces and 10 toppings.

Bunyaratapan said some people aren’t familiar with Thai food and are afraid to try it, but Tom Yum District lets customers dive in with less of a commitment than traditional restaurants. She said this concept allows people to try a variety of Thai dishes at once because “the price is right.”

In addition to the food, Tom Yum District serves Thai beers and will likely serve wine at some point in the future.

The restaurant will be open for dinner, but the couple said what really drew them to Rosslyn is the “great lunch crowd” and the fact that it’s “a great neighborhood.” They also own Bangkok Joe’s in Georgetown and T.H.A.I in Shirlington

Jimmy John’s Coming to Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com
1/4

(Updated at 5:35 p.m.) A new Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches shop is coming to Rosslyn.

The eatery is the first business to lease a ground floor retail bay in the new Sedona | Slate apartment complex at 1510 Clarendon Blvd.

The 14-story, 474-unit complex, developed by the JBG Companies, held a ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday morning. JBG representatives were joined by Rosslyn BID Executive Director Cecilia Cassidy, state Sen. Barbara Favola, County Board Vice Chair Jay Fisette and County Manager Barbara Donnellan.

Already, 70 percent of the 271-unit Sedona tower is leased, while all 55 committed affordable units in the complex are leased. The 203-unit Slate tower will begin leasing next month. The complex features rooftop pools, LEED Gold sustainability certification and planned cafe seating for retail tenants along Clarendon Blvd.

Jimmy John’s has two existing Arlington locations, at 2450 Crystal Drive in Crystal City and 550 N. Quincy Street in Ballston. A JBG rep tells us the new restaurant in Rosslyn is hoping to open early this fall. So far, no building permits have been issued.

The Sedona | Slate project was beset by a couple of construction incidents in 2011, including the partial collapse of a retaining wall and a rescue operation for a crane operator who suffered a medical emergency.

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