Around Town

Hot Tub Catches Fire in Cherrydale — The fire department responded to a residence near North Quebec and 22nd Streets for a hot tub that somehow caught on fire, we’re told. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, then made sure the fire had not spread to the house. No word on whether the fire was caused by a malfunctioning time machine that sent its occupants back to the 1980s. Thanks to J.A. for the tip.

Clarendon Grill Nostalgia — With Clarendon Grill now closed for renovations, writer Melissa Stagnaro has penned a nostalgic account of working at “CGrill” in the late 90s. We’re not sure what it’s going on the web site of a small New York state newspaper, but it’s a great read nonetheless. One fun tidbit: the guy who interviewed her for the job was Nick Freshman, now co-owner of Clarendon hotspot Spider Kelly’s. At the time, Stagnaro writes, Freshman was “CGrill’s most junior manager… [he] had only recently been elevated from server status himself.”


Around Town

The Portofino Restaurants Celebrates 40th Anniversary — Portofino, the family-owned Italian restaurant on 23rd Street in Crystal City, is celebrating 40 years in Arlington this month. The restaurant opened its doors on August 17, 1970. Since then, three generations of the Micheli family have been cooking up authentic Italian dishes for thousands of patrons. Current and former employees and restaurant regulars will gather to celebrate the anniversary at an invitation-only bash later this month.

Arlington Library Director Rocks Out With Summer Tunes — Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh has compiled a list of her favorite summer songs. “School’s Out” by Alice Cooper, “Hot Fun in the Summer Time” by Sly and the Family Stone and “Stoned Soul Picnic” by Laura Nyro round out the top three. Also on the list: the David Lee Roth cover of “California Girls.” See all 20 selection on the Library Blog. Just don’t sing along if you happen to be listening in a library.


Around Town

A handful of tax-delinquent restaurants have all reduced their debts to Arlington County over the past eight months. But the restaurants still collectively owe the county hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid meals taxes.

The now-defunct Bebo Trattoria, Arlington Catering Company and Murky Coffee owe $133,825.80, $66,581.76 and $46,240.93 respectively as of July 12. That’s down from $156,330.96, $70,734.58 and $52,949.69 (according to a past Washington City Paper article), for a total reduction of $33,366.74 collectively.


Around Town

Arlington is home to a relatively new establishment that may be the country’s only restaurant dedicated exclusively to Tunisian cuisine (at least the only one with a web presence and decent SEO).

Chez Manelle (2313 Wilson Blvd) opened in Courthouse late last year. It is a small, independently operated eatery, with a unique vibe, a unique menu and some good old-fashioned friendly service.


News

Board members repeatedly reassured owner Scott Vasko that Flatbread was exactly the type of business that Arlington County is trying to attract. In the end, however, promises made to local homeowners in 2004 were upheld, and a patio between the restaurant and an adjacent house will remain an undeveloped “buffer zone.”

In a concession to Flatbread, the board granted the more lenient of two possible scenarios for sidewalk seating in front of the Clarendon restaurant. Flatbread will be allowed to set up tables on 25 feet of sidewalk in front of 11th Street North (the other scenario called for 15 feet). Combined with sidewalk seating also approved for North Fillmore Street, Flatbread will likely have a total of four outdoor tables and 10 seats. The patio could have sat 24.


Around Town

More Proof of Arlington’s Burger Supremacy — The Associated Press has declared that “better burger” joints — think: Five Guys — are “one of the fastest-growing parts of the restaurant industry” and that the D.C. area in particular “has emerged as fertile ground for ground chuck.” Mentioned in the article are Arlington-based Elevation Burger and Ray’s Hell Burger, formerly Arlington-based Five Guys, and BGR-The Burger Joint, which recently opened a location in Lyon Village.

Pentagon Chocolatier Popular With Pelosi, Palin — What do Nancy Pelosi and Sarah Palin have in common? They’re both loyal customers of Sherm Edwards Candies, a Pittsburgh-based chocolate company that recently opened a store in the Pentagon. More from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.


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In one corner are the supporters and management of American Flatbread, the wood-fired pizza restaurant that bills itself as a “community hearth” and is best known for its locally-sourced, organic ingredients. In the other corner are county planners and a majority of local homeowners (others support Flatbread), who don’t want the restaurant to open an outdoor patio on their relatively quiet section of North 11th Street in Clarendon.

At stake for neighbors is the tranquility of the neighborhood and, possibly, the area’s steep property values. At stake for Flatbread is its viability as a business in Clarendon.


Around Town

Despite reports to the contrary, Matuba Japanese Restaurant on Columbia Pike never actually closed. It did, however, change its name about three weeks ago.

The 30-year-old sushi restaurant is now known as Maruko Japanese Restaurant. The name changed when a new owner took over. Everything else remained the same, including the employees, the decor, the menu and even the prices.


Around Town

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:


Around Town

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.”


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