Memphis Barbeque, located at 320 23rd Street S., will feature “authentic” Memphis barbeque as envisioned by chef and owner Chris George.
“Memphis Barbeque will feature a menu of finger licking, barbequed meats, fish and shellfish,” the restaurant said in a press release. “Meats will be slow cooked over hickory wood from two smokers and finished with a selection of tomato and vinegar based sauces.”
The Anime USA convention, an annual celebration of Japanese arts and popular culture, has brought plenty of colorful, costumed characters to Crystal City over the years.
This year’s convention at the Crystal City Hyatt was no exception — but it also represented what may be the last hurrah for the convention’s tenure in Arlington. Next year Anime USA will be held at the Washington Marriott Wardman, off of Connecticut Avenue in Northwest D.C.
The exotic cuisine will be prepared as part of a collaboration between two local chefs: Gordon Vivace of Cucina Vivace and Pritha Mehra of Falls Church-based The Mystic Kitchen. The two came up with a 10-course, $69 prix fixe menu that blends “Indian and Italian staples into dishes that remain true to both specialties.”
The menu includes:
The Crystal City 1K Wine Walk — which combines light exercise with moderate drinking — will be back for a second year. The event proved popular enough that it’s being expanded. The wine walk will now be held on two consecutive days: Saturday, Jan. 14 and Sunday, Jan. 15. Participants will be led on a one kilometer indoor course under the streets of Crystal City, with wine and snack stations set up along the way.
The following weekend, Crystal City will hold its inaugural 1K Beer Walk. Featuring the same general format as the wine walk, the beer walk will take place on Saturday, Jan. 21 and Sunday, Jan. 22.
Update at 5:45 p.m. — Firefighters have determined the object is not explosive nor a hazardous material, police tell ARLnow.com. The incident is “winding down” as authorities complete their investigation.
Earlier: The block around the SAIC building at 200 12th Street S. in Crystal City has been shut down as police and firefighters investigate a suspicious package in the building.
The project will enhance bus service to accommodate recent and upcoming developments in the area. Dedicated bus lanes are planned along Crystal Drive, S. Clark Street and S. Bell Street. During the first phase, seven new stops will be added along the route, in addition to the existing one at the Crystal City Metro station. Eventually, the plan is for the project to expand to the Pentagon City Metro station and south to the Braddock Road Metro station in Alexandria.
The locations of the new stations are already set, but you can help name them. The survey allows you to vote for suggested names or fill in your own ideas. To participate in the survey, click here. It will be available until November 10.
W-L Softball Field Improvements in the Works — At last night’s Arlington County School Board meeting, officials said they were moving forward “at quite a good pace” with plans to improve the softball facilities at Quincy Park used by Washington-Lee High School. Parents loudly complained over the summer about what they felt were inferior, dangerous playing conditions at the team’s home field. [Sun Gazette]
County Offers Free Leadership Course — From a County press release: “Want to learn more about how to make change happen in your neighborhood and County? County government’s Neighborhood College is offering a free, eight-week course — open to all residents — aimed at giving you the inside scoop on how County government works and helping you hone your civic leadership skills.” [Arlington County]
Memphis Barbeque, a new restaurant that’s starting to wrap up construction in Crystal City, is now hiring.
The restaurant (320 South 23rd Street) recently posted a help wanted ad on Craigslist seeking bartenders, servers, cooks, and hostesses. The ad also described the concept behind the $750,000 restaurant.
Norwood Found Guilty of Murder — A Montgomery County jury has found Brittany Norwood guilty of the brutal murder of Rosslyn resident Jayna Murray. Murray was found beaten and stabbed to death in a Bethesda Lululemon yoga store in March. [ABC 7]
Cain Accused of Sexual Harassment in Crystal City — Republican presidential frontrunner Herman Cain has been facing accusations that he sexually harassed female employees while serving as head of the National Restaurant Association. The latest accuser alleges that one incident of harassment happened at an (unnamed) restaurant in Crystal City. [Politico]
This year the MCM sold out of all of its 30,000 spots in a record breaking 28 hours. There are an additional 10,000 people signed up for the MCM 10K.
In 2009, the MCM became the fourth largest marathon in the United States, and the eighth largest in the world. It’s currently the largest marathon not to offer prize money to winners.
After a lengthy back-and-forth discussion, the Board voted unanimously to approve the project, which won high marks for its economic benefits to the county but which was strongly opposed by the county’s own citizen-led transportation and planning commissions.
Opponents of the Boeing plan argued that allowing six-story, single-tenant office buildings on the 4.7 acre property — located between Crystal City and the county’s new Long Bridge Park — ran counter to Arlington’s original “smart growth” goal for a mixed-use office, residential and retail development there.
On the ground floor of two residential developments, at the intersection of so much transportation, a collection of shops and restaurants have been struggling to gain traction. But several new arrivals at the Market Square shopping center hold the promise of reinvigorating the area, bringing in new diners to Arlington’s last (for now) retail frontier.
Paisano’s Pizza, which serves pizza, pasta, salads and sandwiches, opened over the summer. Boasting a large kitchen but very little seating, the restaurant is hoping to capture take-out customers in an area where there’s only metered street parking and garage parking, and where most of the foot traffic comes from residents of the 465-unit condo building above.
