Timber Pizza, Rice Crook Join the Crowd at Ballston’s Quarter Market

Two more restaurants are serving up dishes for diners in Ballston: pizza restaurant Turu’s by Timber Pizza Co. and Korean fast casual eatery Rice Crook.

Customers formed long lines at both joints today (Thursday) in the food hall of the newly redeveloped Ballston Quarter mall.

Rice Crook is creation of Scott Chung, who started Union Market’s Bun’d up. His new fast casual eatery serves wraps, salads and rice bowls.

Bowls were the only items on the menu today. Options included Korean BBQ beef, BBQ pork, tofu or mushrooms, or Thai chicken.

Chung said the restaurant takes its name from a Korean saying about food so good it makes people into rice thieves

“Basically everything that you see on the menu is stuff that I eat on the daily,” said Chung, who told ARLnow he hopes the restaurant will introduce Arlington to Korean cuisine. Chung himself is a relatively new Ballston resident, after moving to the area last April in anticipation of Rice Crook’s opening.

Chung’s grandmother from New York travelled down to Arlington for the opening and was helping customers at Rice Crook today, while emphatically recommending the addition of hot sauce.

Nearby in the 10,000 square-foot space of Quarter Market’s food hall, Turu’s by Timber Pizza Co. was holding soft opening from 11-2 p.m. today (Thursday) featuring giant slices of pizza with all the classics — as well as a jalapeño and spice honey recipe.

The pizzeria is a brick-and-mortar venture from Petworth food truck Timber Pizza that will continue the tradition of Neapolitan-style pizza cooked with a wood-fire oven.

Turu’s staff told ARLnow that the pizza eatery will re-open tomorrow (Friday) from 11-2 p.m. again and said the plan is open with “expanded hours” next week.

The Quarter Market’s food line-up has fluctuated over the past year as the development project was beset by multiple delays but as today Hot Lola’s, Ice Cream Jubilee, Copa Kitchen and Bar, and Mi & Yu Noodle Bar were also serving customers.