restaurant

UPDATED: Arlington Eateries Shut Out at RAMMY Awards

By ARLnow.com

Despite Arlington’s burgeoning culinary scene, the local restaurants nominated for the 2010 RAMMY awards were shut out at tonight’s ceremony. The annual awards dinner, organized by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, was held at the Marriott Wardman Park in Northwest D.C.

The Arlington nominees who went home empty-handed were:

  • EatBar (Neighborhood Gathering Place of the Year)
  • Eventide (New Restaurant of the Year)
  • Liam LaCivita — The Liberty Tavern (Rising Culinary Star of the Year)
  • Josh Short — EatBar/Tallula/Neighborhood Restaurant Group (Pastry Chef of the Year)

Our Northern Virginia neighbors fared better at the ceremony, however.

2941 Restaurant of Falls Church won for Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year and its pastry chef, Anthony Chavez, won for Pastry Chef of the Year. Alexandria’s Vermilion Restaurant was named Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year.

The winners in the remaining categories all hailed from the District.

Morning Notes 5/26/10

By ARLnow.com

Eat Cheap in Arlington — Eleven Arlington County restaurants made Washingtonian magazine’s annual “Cheap Eats” list, reports the Sun Gazette. Counted among the 100 top food bargains in the area: Columbia Pike’s Bangkok 54, Lyon Village’s The Burger Joint, Courthouse’s Chez Manelle, and eight other Arlington eateries.

Berry Blasts Moran After WaPo Article — With less than two weeks to go before the local Republican congressional primary, GOP hopeful Matthew Berry wasted no time slamming incumbent Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) after a Washington Post article detailing Moran’s very active stock trading habit. Berry is calling for the House Ethics Committee to investigate whether Moran violated congressional rules by requesting earmarks for two defense contractors he and/or his wife owned stock in. “It was bad enough knowing that Jim Moran was trading earmarks for campaign contributions,” Berry alleged in a statement. “But obtaining earmarks for companies in which he has a financial interest takes the corruption to a whole new level.”

Changes at ARLnow.com — We’re always evolving, but you’ll notice two changes as of late. First, we’re joining the rest of the online news world by filing a morning news roundup instead of our usual end-of-day “afternoon notes.” Second, we changed our Twitter handle to @ARLnowDOTcom from the less aesthetically-pleasing @arlnow_dot_com. If you don’t already, follow us and be the first to know about everything worth knowing in Arlington. And as always, please send feedback and tell us what we can be doing better.

CONFIRMED: Restaurant Vero Closed

By ARLnow.com

Restaurant Vero, which has served up sophisticated American cuisine on Lee Highway for the past four and a half years, has closed. Management will be holding a cash sale of their remaining wine and beer until about 5:00 p.m. tonight (hat tip to commenter Rebecca for that tidbit, which the owners confirmed).

The mood was somber this afternoon as people stopped by to offer their condolences. What had been the restaurant’s dining area was in the process of being boxed up or moved out.

A source tells ARLnow.com that financial problems may have been to blame for the closing.

The brother/sister/friend team behind Restaurant Vero, Jay and Joy Reinhardt and Veronica Kunkel, also run the Arlington Catering Company.

Healthy, Locally-Sourced Food… At a Diner?

By ARLnow.com

When you think of diners, the greasy spoon image is the one that typically comes to mind. But Silver Diner is determined to appeal to a higher, more healthy culinary calling. The local chain, which includes the iconic location in the heart of Clarendon, is now calling itself “the next generation diner.”

As Stacey Viera writes at Every Food Fits, Silver Diner has launched a new menu that includes fresh, healthy, locally-sourced options.

Robert Giaimo, Silver Diner, Inc. co-founder and President and CEO said, “Diners are reflective of how people eat today… To get eggs from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, direct to Silver Diner, it costs about fifty cents more per omelet. When we surveyed the consumer, he said he’d pay more… This is a farm-to-table [operation] on a much, much broader basis than ever before. With this menu, we found that we had to go all the way with consumers,” and completely revamp the restaurant’s supply chain.

Stacey reports that Silver Diner had to increase its food costs by almost $375,000 in order to launch the new menu. But the effort has produced some dishes worthy of consideration by even the most experienced foodies.

“Try the new Grilled Wasabi Salmon Sliders for an infusion of Omega-3s, a salad with some of the sweetest strawberries around, and treat yourself to the gluten-free Mini Brownie Sundae,” Viera advises.

Read more at Every Food Fits.

Photo courtesy Stacey Viera.

Afternoon Notes: Alpine Restaurant Changing Owners

By ARLnow.com

New Ownership for Alpine Restaurant — Alpine Restaurant, the popular Italian eatery on Lee Highway in North Arlington, closed its doors on Sunday. After 44 years in business, owner Ermanno Tonizzo decided to sell the restaurant and retire. The restaurant will eventually re-open under new management. More from NBC Washington.

Small Fire at Reagan National — A scary moment for travelers at Reagan National Airport yesterday afternoon. A small fire broke out at a McDonald’s restaurant past the security checkpoint in one of the terminals. The fire was extinguished within minutes, and airport spokesperson said. There were some minor flight delays, but the terminal was not evacuated. Crews from the Arlington Fire Department assisted airport firefighters on the call. More from the Associated Press.

Arlington Woman to Appear on Jeopardy Tonight — Local resident Liz Murphy, who advanced past the quarterfinals of the Jeopardy Tournament of Champions last week, will face two other returning Jeopardy winners tonight in the semifinals. The show airs at 7:30 p.m. on WJLA (Channel 7).

Behind the Scenes at Columbia Pike’s Favorite Restaurants

By ARLnow.com

In honor of Columbia Pike’s bicentennial, the county-run Arlington Virginia Network has been profiling residents’ favorite off-the-beaten-path restaurants on the Pike.

Among the places featured is Abi’s Azteca Grill (3005 Columbia Pike), a Mexican/El Salvadorian restaurant that’s one of several serving up muy auténtico Latin and South American cuisine on the Pike.

Also featured is Dama Restaurant (1503 Columbia Pike), a family owned and operated Ethiopian eatery near the Air Force Memorial. The well-reviewed restaurant has been called the best Ethiopian spot in the D.C. area.

Arlington Foodies Prepare: Taste of Arlington Sunday

By Ashley Houghton

Ok, foodies, get your forks ready this Sunday from noon to 5:00 p.m. Area food lovers wait in anticipation all year for the day they can graze from one local restaurant to the next, tasting the latest dishes from their favorite chefs at the annual Taste of Arlington in Ballston.

Taste of Arlington is returning for another day of delicious taste-testing of our area’s best restaurants. Participating establishments include the new Northside Social and older favorites like Busboys and Poets (see a full list here).

Even the rare individual who could care less about food will be able to distract themselves with an extensive arts and crafts fair, local music, stilt-walkers and a selection of wine.

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association is providing a bike valet for those of us who attempt to burn the calories we’re about to consume by pedaling to the event.

Advance tickets to nosh are $20 for eight “tastes” and $25 the day of the event. The event will be difficult to miss by car, bike, or metro: Arlington is shutting down a block of Wilson Boulevard in front of the Ballston Mall to make room for tents and pedestrians.

We suggest getting your ticket soon. There are a limited number available and about 12,000 hungry locals typically attend.  Happy eating!

Photos from tasteofarlington.com


Afternoon Notes: Fake FBI Agent Pleads Guilty

By ARLnow.com

Fake FBI Agent Pleads Guilty — Brenna Marie Reilly, 29, was arrested in Arlington in March and accused of impersonating an FBI agent. Prosecutors say that as part of the elaborate ruse, Reilly went so as to hire an unwitting neighbor as an assistant. Reilly pleaded guilty in federal court today. She faces up to three years in prison.

Arlington Releases Memorial Day Closure List — Unsurprisingly, just about everything county-related will be closed. However, trash collection will continue as normal and the Barcroft Sports and Fitness Center will be open for part of the day.

Write-Up for China Garden Dim Sum — If you haven’t had dim sum at Rosslyn’s China Garden restaurant, it’s worth it just for the experience, if not the food, according to I Spy Things DC. China Garden is located inside the ABC7 building at Wilson Blvd and North Lynn Street.

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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Lost Dog Café Becoming Lost Dog Empire?

By ARLnow.com

What started out 25 years ago as a small neighborhood eatery in North Arlington is blossoming into a full-fledged local chain.

Lost Dog Café, which last year added a South Arlington location on Columbia Pike, is close to signing a lease for a storefront on Colshire Drive in McLean. And they’re not stopping there.

Lost Dog’s expansion is being undertaken not by the owners of the original restaurant, but by four friends who used to work there as teenagers.

Wes Clough, Mike Danner, Jim Barnes  and Mike Barnes are all graduates of Yorktown High School. Their devotion to Lost Dog Café started at age 16, when they started working there as drivers.

That dedication carried over through college, office jobs and marriages, and came full circle when Lost Dog owners Pam McAlwee and Ross Underwood gave their blessing for the friends to start the restaurant’s first franchise.

The Columbia Pike location, across the street from Arlington Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse, opened in May 2009. McAlwee and Underwood donated the franchise fee to their charity, the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation.

The new venture has been a success, winning awards and gaining customers at a pace well exceeding the friends’ expectations. Even this past weekend, during the height of Snowmageddon, the restaurant was packed.

Part of the success, says co-owner Jim Barnes, can be attributed to Lost Dog’s focus on serving customers. During the snow storm, Barnes personally delivered phone-in orders in his Jeep Wrangler.

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