Free Outdoor Wi-Fi at Libraries — “During the month of January, 2022, two new free outdoor Wi-Fi hot spots were installed at the Cherrydale and Glencarlyn Libraries. Library patrons and Arlington residents have now 24×7 access to the free Arlington County Wi-Fi network ‘ArlingtonWireless’ at all library branches, both outdoor and indoor, and at various locations around the County. No ID or password is required for the free service.” [Arlington Public Library]
Four Arlington Joints on Best BBQ List — Post food critic Tim Carman’s new “best barbecue” list includes a number of Arlington favorites: Texas Jack’s (9), Smokecraft Modern Barbecue (6), Smoking Kow (5), and Sloppy Mama’s (3). [Washington Post]
W&OD Bridge Work Complete — “The re-decking of the bridge east of Wilson Blvd in Arlington is completed!” [Twitter]
County Conducting Satisfaction Survey — “Arlington County is conducting its sixth County-wide, statistically valid community survey to measure satisfaction with major County services and gather input about issues facing the community. The results enable County officials to assess performance across many County agencies and services.” [Arlington County]
AWLA Selling Pentagon Chicken Shirts — From the Animal Welfare League of Arlington: “No-one asked for this but we did it anyways – get your official #PentagonChicken shirt now! With the Henny Penny stamp of approval, proceeds will go to help keep other wayward poultry out of government buildings.” [Twitter]
Beyer Delivers Boxes of Protective Equipment — “A constituent reached out notifying U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th) that Restart Partners, a West Coast-based charity involved in planning for and procuring PPE, learned of a significant amount of it available in a local warehouse. Partnering with the owner (who wishes to remain anonymous), Beyer identified two charities (Doorways and PathForward) that needed the items for those they serve and for their staffs.” [Sun Gazette]
De Ferranti Makes It Official — “County Board member Matt de Ferranti kicked off his bid for a second term on Feb. 2 with a call for Arlington leaders to accelerate efforts to enact Democratic priorities and serve as a bulwark against the new Republican majority in Richmond.” [Sun Gazette]
It’s Friday — Rain before today 5 p.m., then a chance of rain and snow. Patchy fog before 1 p.m. Temperature falling to around 37 mid-afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph. Little or no snow accumulation expected. Sunrise at 7:09 a.m. and sunset at 5:35 p.m. This weekend will be sunny with highs in the 30s. [Weather.gov]
Langston Blvd Plan Meets Resistance — “Following this May’s release of area planning maps and a presentation on density from consultant AECOM, a furious screed was published by Lyon Village Civic Association president John Carten. Though the process is still in the community engagement phase that precedes concrete recommendations, the hint of possible changes in the General Land Use Plan prompted the Lyon Village group to predict a parade of horribles.” [Falls Church News-Press]
New Clarendon Apartment Building Sold — “Trammell Crow Residential has sold the Alexan Earl, a 333-unit multifamily building at 1122 N. Hudson St., to Lincoln Property Co. for $192 million… The Earl represents the first phase of the long-planned Red Top Cab redevelopment… Shooshan continues to plan for the second phase, a roughly 250-unit building fronting Washington Boulevard at the intersection with 13th Street North. It expects to start demolition this fall.” [Washington Business Journal]
Online Fundraiser for Fallen Officer –” The family of George Gonzalez started a memorial fund Sunday for the Pentagon Force Protection Agency officer who was fatally wounded Tuesday on the platform of the Pentagon Transit Center… By 3 p.m. on Monday, the GoFundMe campaign had already raised $15,000, outstripping its original goal of $1,000.” [Patch, GoFundMe]
Local BBQ Joint Competing in ‘World Championship’ — “Arlington’s Smokecraft Modern Barbecue… has been invited to compete in the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue. Taking place in Lynchburg, TN on on October 8th and 9th, ‘The Jack’ as it is known, is widely considered the world’s most prestigious barbecue competition.” [Press Release]
Va. AG Continues to Fight Robocalls — “Attorney General Mark R. Herring today urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to fight back against the scourge of illegal robocalls by moving up the deadline for smaller telephone companies to implement caller ID technology. Attorney General Herring joined a bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general have in submitting comments to the FCC.” [Press Release]
Pentagon to Require Vaccinations — “The Pentagon will require members of the military to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 15, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a memo on Monday. About 64% of active duty military members are fully vaccinated, a low enough rate to pose concern for potential outbreaks and international deployment.” [Axios]
Local barbecue spot Sloppy Mama’s has closed its outpost in the Ballston Quarter food hall.
The location closed last week after “operating costs became too much, especially with the recent meat pricing spikes,” owner Joe Neuman tells ARLnow. “The volume of sales just wasn’t there to sustain operations land we had to cut our losses.”
But Sloppy Mama’s is not going anywhere. Its primary, standalone location at 5731 Lee Highway is doing just fine, Neuman says.
“We’ve been staying quite busy at our Lee Highway location,” he said, adding that the Ballston Quarter closure “will allow us to consolidate some staffing and operate more efficiently to provide even better BBQ and service.”
Sloppy Mama’s Ballston and Lee Highway locations opened within a few months of each other in 2019. The latter is where the meats are actually smoked and cooked, whereas the mall location was simply a sales outpost.
In a bit of additional positive news for barbecue fans, Neuman said breakfast service on Lee Highway, launched 10 months ago, is “going well” and “here to stay,” while adding that “we might tweak our hours a little bit.”
For now, Neuman is focused on re-opening the restaurant for in-person dining.
“Our number one priority is getting the dining room open,” he said. “We’ve been doing some remodeling so even as Virginia opened up we weren’t able to open just yet — but I think we’re gonna be able to get it open next week.”
“Once we get the dining room open and get our feet under us with… we will possibly look to going back to seven days a week,” he added.
One additional focus: a program recently launched by Sloppy Mama’s to provide free meals as a thank you to local teachers. Community members are being encouraged to donate to the program, for which the restaurant subsidizes 40% of the costs.
This past fall the Washington Post ranked Sloppy Mama’s as the No. 9 barbecue joint in the D.C. area.
Every day, Executive Chef Lindsey Ayala fires up a smoker outside the Crowne Plaza hotel in Crystal City and feeds the fire with hickory wood.
She is smoking meats “low and slow,” slathering them with scratch-made sauces and serving sides such as mac and cheese, collard greens, and cheddar cornbread for a new pop-up restaurant concept within the hotel called Tom Bones BBQ.
The food is available for delivery through on GrubHub and UberEats or can be picked up from Potomac Social Tavern at 1480 Crystal Drive. It is how Potomac Social Tavern, managed by B. F. Saul Company Hospitality Group, is looking to weather the limitations on indoor dining while still cooking food for restaurant patrons and hotel guests.
Ayala, a pastry chef by training who came to barbecue later in her career, said she tries to be faithful to regional barbecue styles from in Memphis to Missouri. Even Baltimore, her hometown, has its own horseradish sauce, although people may not realize it, she said.
“Anywhere you go on the map, I have the sauce for that,” she said.
She delivers region-specific tastes through her sauces, whether it is a South Carolina-style mustard sauce or an eastern North Carolina-style spicy vinegar sauce.
“Southern states are usually where you get serious barbecue, so when people come to Virginia, they think we’re Northerners who don’t know anything,” she said. “Hopefully, it’ll remind you of how they do it at home.”
Ayala dove into barbecuing when she developed recipes to help her father launch a family restaurant in 2014. The two ran the restaurant and sold their food at flea markets, farmers’ markets and church events. Not long after, however, he had to leave to attend to his health.
Now, Ayala is picking up where she and her father left off, smoking brisket for up to 16 hours a day on the pool patio of the Crowne Plaza (the pool is still closed as a COVID-19 precaution).
So far, Ayala said the new concept is going well enough that she needed to hire a second cook. Generally speaking, she said these pickup and delivery-only concepts — sometimes called ghost kitchens — provide restaurant owners with a good safety net, helping to generate extra revenue at a tiny fraction of the cost of launching a new bricks-and-mortar restaurant.
“I think this will stick around,” she said. “If this happens again, we need a safety net to get our food out there without people having to sit down and dine.”
The pop-up concept is a pilot program within the hospitality group, Ayala said. The other restaurant testing out the idea is O’Malley’s Pub inside the Holiday Inn near Dulles airport. There, she said, Chef Stephon Washington is operating a pickup and delivery concept for Caribbean-style food, inspired by his Jamaican roots, called Grandpa Hank’s Jamaican Kitchen.
“It’s an equally great story,” she said.
If there’s one thing Arlington does particularly well, from a culinary perspective, it’s barbecue.
Four Arlington restaurants have made it on to Washington Post critic Tim Carman’s new top 10 D.C. area barbecue joints list, placing Nos. 3, 4, 8 and 9.
The overrepresentation of Arlington restaurants on the list is a remarkable achievement, considering that local eateries often underperform on regional restaurant lists and awards.
The BBQ joints that made Carman’s 2020 list (below) include two that opened this year: Smokecraft and Ruthie’s.
- Texas Jack’s (2761 Washington Blvd, Lyon Park) — “This Arlington restaurant has topped this list for the past two years, a difficult task given the vagaries of barbecue, and it might have retained the title if not for some tiny slippages.”
- Smokecraft Modern Barbecue (1051 N. Highland Street, Clarendon) — “Darneille buys Duroc pork, Wagyu beef and all-natural chicken and cooks them over six different types of wood, constantly tinkering with techniques to get the best out of his gas-assist smokers. The results are often mouthwatering.”
- Ruthie’s All-Day (3411 5th Street S., Arlington Heights) — “Formerly the culinary director for the Liberty Tavern Restaurant Group, including its smokehouse in Falls Church, Hill is blessed with an all-wood smoker at Ruthie’s… where he turns out superb specimens of brisket, pulled pork and spare ribs.”
- Sloppy Mama’s (5731 Lee Highway & 4238 Wilson Blvd in Ballston Quarter mall) — “The shop’s chopped pork, rich and smoky, remains the gold standard. The housemade sausage, a pork link emboldened with brisket fat, snaps on first bite, its richness cut ever so gently with pickle brine.”
Prosecutor Files Petition Against Judges — “A northern Virginia prosecutor who says her county’s judges are infringing on her discretion to dismiss charges and enter plea bargains is asking the state Supreme Court to intervene on her behalf. Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti filed a petition Friday asking the court for a relief from a policy imposed by the county’s four Circuit Court judges.” [Associated Press]
New BBQ Pop-Up Coming to Pentagon City — “In their spare time [chefs Kevin Tien and Scott Chung] dreamed up Wild Tiger BBQ, which launches Thursday, August 20 next to Bun’d Up at Pentagon Row in Arlington. The pop-up will run Thursday through Saturday for the first few weeks.” [Washingtonian]
‘Bumper Crop of Mosquitos’ — “With the floods of summer come the pests of summer — bloodsucking mosquitoes. It takes several days to a couple of weeks for mosquitoes to hatch, molt and fly out of floodwater, but the swarms eventually arrive, in greater numbers than before the flood. After the recent flooding from thunderstorms and Tropical Storm Isaias in the Washington region, a bumper crop of mosquitoes has emerged.” [Washington Post]
Retired Colonel Helps With COVID Response — “When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early March, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel David Ashley quickly found his planned spring and summer mountain climbing trips canceled. He spent about a week doing projects around his Arlington home, but after 27 years in the military, he realized he need something else, something with more purpose.” [Arlington County]
Cab Exec’s Offensive Post Makes Headlines — “An elected town council member in Strasburg, Va., who also is chairman of the 6th Congressional District’s Republican Committee admitted this week that he posted, then removed, a sexually offensive meme targeted at Sen. Kamala D. Harris… [John] Massoud, who is vice president of Arlington’s Blue Top taxi service and was an unsuccessful candidate against ex-Del. Bob Brink for a House of Delegates seat from Arlington in 1997 and 1999, moved to the Shenandoah Valley about 10 years ago.” [Washington Post]
Analysis of Rents Near Metro Stations — “The most expensive rents ($2,200 and up) are found in areas of Arlington and Washington, DC. Rent near the Ballston-MU station is in the mid-range among DC Metro stops. But while the median price increased near Court House, it decreased near Ballston-MU, according to the analysis. The median rent for a one-bedroom unit near Ballston-MU is $1,975, a 1.3 percent decrease from 2019.” [Patch]
Clement Rips Dems for Redistricting Stance — “An independent candidate for Arlington County Board has criticized the Arlington County Democratic Committee for its opposition to a nonpartisan-redistricting constitutional amendment on the state ballot in November. Audrey Clement, who is challenging incumbent Democrat Libby Garvey for County Board, said the Democrats’ vote seems disingenuous for a party that claims to be about good government.” [InsideNova]
Arlington Makes Top Travel Destination List — “For all the talk of a move to small, less densely populated destinations, Hotwire also ranked much bigger cities. Its ‘midsize must see’ picks were St. Louis; Tampa, Florida; Atlanta; Arlington, Virginia; Tucson, Arizona; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Pittsburgh; Miami; and Cincinnati.” [CNBC]
A new barbecue joint is hoping for an opening sizzle despite other restaurants going up in smoke during the pandemic.
Smokecraft Modern Barbecue is planning to open at 1051 N. Highland Street in Clarendon, in the former Citizen Burger Bar space, on Friday, July 31, the restaurant just announced.
Given the reality of opening during a global health crisis, some things have changed since the restaurant was being planned last year.
“Originally slated to open in the spring, Owner and Pitmaster Andrew Darneille had to reimagine his business model and adapt to COVID-19 times with protocol prompted by guidance from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the CDC,” notes a press release. “In addition to taking necessary health and safety precautions to protect the restaurant’s team and guests, the seating layout has been altered to allow for ample social distancing, menus will be projected on screens to minimize high touchpoints, and a takeout program will be offered with to-go beverage options.”
The food menu — available for lunch and dinner — includes duroc pork belly burnt ends, smoked avocado deviled eggs, grilled peach and prosciutto crostini, St. Louis ribs, wagyu brisket, smoked spaghetti squash, and applewood-smoked chesapeake crab cakes.
There will also be a brunch menu, with “smoked monte cristo and proper chicken and waffles,” and a “distinct and interactive beverage program.”
More from the press release:
Smokecraft Modern Barbecue (1051 N Highland St, Arlington, VA 22201) is excited to open its doors to the public on Friday, July 31. Smokecraft Championship BBQ, which won over 70 awards in 2019, including being named a KCBS Pork Team of the Year Finalist, and Reserve Grand Champions at the York County BBQ Festival just last month, seeks to continue pushing the limits of barbecue with their first brick and mortar location. Smokecraft will offer a diverse menu to satisfy every taste for lunch, dinner, and brunch, accompanied by dynamic beverage offerings and an expanded takeout menu.
Originally slated to open in the spring, Owner and Pitmaster Andrew Darneille had to reimagine his business model and adapt to COVID-19 times with protocol prompted by guidance from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the CDC. In addition to taking necessary health and safety precautions to protect the restaurant’s team and guests, the seating layout has been altered to allow for ample social distancing, menus will be projected on screens to minimize high touchpoints, and a takeout program will be offered with to-go beverage options.
“We are excited to finally be able to share our award-winning barbecue with the local community,” says Owner and Pitmaster Andrew Darneille. “While these are challenging times to open a restaurant, we will continue to evolve our brand, while never waiving in our commitment to use the highest quality products to produce an amazing barbecue dining experience.”
Arlington is understood to be well behind D.C. in terms of fine dining restaurants and awards, but when it comes to barbecue it’s a closer contest.
Last week Washington Post food critic Tim Carman boosted the county’s ‘cue cred by naming two Arlington spots in his list of the top BBQ joints in the D.C. area.
The 2019 WaPo Best Barbecue list returns Texas Jack’s in Lyon Park (2761 Washington Blvd) to the top spot, praising it as being “as close to perfection, I dare say, as you’ll get in Washington barbecue circles.” The restaurant opened in 2015 and was recently the backdrop of a reality show filming in the area.
Meanwhile, Arlington now gets to claim Sloppy Mama’s — which opened earlier this year at Ballston Quarter (4238 Wilson Blvd) and in a standalone restaurant space (5731 Lee Highway) — as its own.
Sloppy Mama’s is No. 5 on the list, down from No. 3 last year, with Carman noting that “in the past few months, I’ve tasted the best that pitmaster Joe Neuman can produce (meltingly tender slices of moist brisket at Ballston), and I’ve observed the flaws in the system (spare ribs that had hardened into meat sticks, presumably from an extended stay in a holding unit at the Lee Highway shop).”
D.C. barbecue joints claimed spots No. 2, 3, 4 and 8 on the list, while Falls Church’s Liberty Barbecue (370 W. Broad Street) ranked as No. 9.
Other Arlington barbecue spots not in the top 10 list include Smoking Kow (2910 N. Sycamore Street), Epic Smokehouse (1330 S. Fern Street) and Rocklands (3471 Washington Blvd).
Award-winning BBQ pitmasters are planning to bring their first restaurant in Clarendon this spring.
Smokecraft Modern Barbecue is expected to open in the former Citizen Burger Bar space (1051 N. Highland Street) either in “late March or early April,” according to a spokeswoman from the restaurant.
Restaurant owners Marc “Red” Leone and Andrew Darneille are the team behind “Smokecraft Championship Barbecue.” The duo have won a plethora of BBQ competitions across the Mid-Atlantic, and will be at MetroCooking DC’s BBQ Bash next weekend.
Their upcoming restaurant plans to use a Southern Pride commercial smoker to prepare over 2,000 pounds of barbecue at any given time.
Anticipated menu offerings include “barbecue favorites,” plus unique dishes such as “smoked duck, chipotle maple cedar plank salmon, and smoked spaghetti squash.”
In addition to food, the 3,460-square-foot space will feature a full bar and late-night specials. Citizen Burger Bar closed in June after five years in business.
Lyon Park barbecue joint Texas Jack’s may be featured in a new reality TV show.
A crew of a new reality show about D.C. area young professionals visited the restaurant’s private dining room last month to film a conversation between one cast member and his father.
The restaurant’s Director of Operations, Remzi Yilmaz, told ARLnow that the cast member himself chose the restaurant as the location.
“This was one of his favorite places,” he said.
Yilmaz said he was not allowed to share details like the name of the show, citing a non-disclosure agreement, but said the crew might be spotted over the next four weeks filming at other area restaurants, as well as landmarks like the Washington Monument
The show is expected to air in January, though the network on which it is airing and other details are murky.
“I think they’re just giving insight into young professionals in this area, and how they live life, and what they go through,” he said.
A camera crew was also spotted last week at Pentagon Row, in Pentagon City, but it’s unclear if the crew was connected with the new reality series.
Texas Jack’s opened in 2015 and replaced the Tallula and EatBar at 2761 Washington Blvd in Lyon Park.
A new BBQ restaurant is planning to open next spring in Clarendon.
Smokecraft Modern Barbecue is coming to the former Citizen Burger Bar space at 1051 N. Highland Street, according to a press release.
The team behind the restaurant has been racking up honors at competitions around the Mid-Atlantic and plans to offer traditional barbecue favorites as well as “unique flavors and ingredients,” including smoked duck, salmon and spaghetti squash.
“Smokecraft is installing a pair of Southern Pride commercial smokers which will allow the team to simultaneously smoke over 2,000 pounds of meat while using an assortment of woods to create various smoked flavors,” the restaurant said in the press release.
Citizen Burger Bar closed in June after five years in business.
The full press release is below.
The award-winning team behind Smokecraft Championship BBQ is pleased to announce its first brick and mortar restaurant, Smokecraft Modern Barbecue, slated for a Spring 2020 opening in Arlington’s Clarendon neighborhood at 1051 N Highland Street. Smokecraft will offer a menu to satisfy every taste as well as outdoor dining, varied beverage options, and late-night specials. The space is located on the ground floor of a 10-story, LEED certified office building owned by KBS, one of the largest owners of premier commercial real estate in the country.
“It’s long been a dream to open our own restaurant, and we are excited to bring our award-winning barbecue to the Arlington community,” said Smokecraft Owner & Operating Partner Andrew Darneille. “Our goal is to continue to push the boundaries of what barbecue is and can be. This has driven our success, including our Turkey Smoke Grand Championship at this year’s Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle here in DC, and we’re excited to see what the future holds.”
Smokecraft is installing a pair of Southern Pride commercial smokers which will allow the team to simultaneously smoke over 2,000 pounds of meat while using an assortment of woods to create various smoked flavors. Award-winning Pitmaster Marc “Red” Leone’s menu boasts modern takes on a variety of barbecue favorites, offering something for everyone. Pulling unique flavors and ingredients from around the country, potential options include a reverse-seared tri-tip sirloin, smoked duck, chipotle maple cedar plank salmon, and smoked spaghetti squash. Distinctive weekend brunch offerings include Smokecraft’s award-winning smoked Monte Cristo, slow-smoked pastrami hash, and pulled chicken & waffles. The expansive 30-foot bar will be the perfect backdrop to showcase Smokecraft’s diverse beverage program, featuring a seasonally rotating variety of handcrafted cocktails and 10 craft beers on tap to enjoy.
Award-winning DC-based firm Grizform Design Architects, led by Owner and Principal Griz Dwight, will transform the 3,460 square-foot restaurant into a modern barbecue destination. A dynamic seating layout will accommodate 95 diners with an additional 20 seats for outdoor dining. The design team will employ natural, organic elements like stained wood and veneers, brick, stone, metal, and warm lighting throughout the eatery. “We are thrilled for the opportunity to work with Smokecraft Modern Barbecue to bring a modern design to the residents of Arlington, emphasizing the fundamental barbecue ingredients: wood, brick, fire, steel, and secret sauce,” said Griz Dwight.
According to KBS Senior VP and Asset Manager Stephen Close, 3003 Washington Boulevard is a prime location for Smokecraft’s very first restaurant. “This property is located in an urban walkable village approximately two miles from Washington D.C.,” says Close. “Based on this irreplaceable location, Smokecraft Modern Barbecue will benefit from built-in patronage from our building’s office tenants and employees, as well as the ability to quickly connect with the surrounding community. Just as Smokecraft continuously pushes the boundaries of an exceptional culinary experience, KBS is constantly innovating and delivering the very highest level of amenities to our properties throughout the US. These like-minded goals make Smokecraft an excellent match for this building.”
