One of the most popular stories on ALXnow this week has been a link to a Zebra article about a lobster food truck near the Bradlee Shopping Center.
While this is possibly more of a testament to this being a relatively slow news week in Alexandria, it raises the question: do Alexandrians yearn for a better food truck culture?
Ethiopian spot Feru Bar and Restaurant in the Van Dorn Shopping Center (512 S. Van Dorn Street) recently won a spot on Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema’s top five great affordable restaurants around the region (shoutout to Patch for spotting it).
Sietsema praised not only the awaze tibs — a meat stew dish — but the down-to-earth atmosphere of the restaurant and the hard work of owner Firehiwot Bireka. Sietsema also praised the vegetarian kitfo with diced mushrooms, jalapenos and mitmita.
A local coffee shop mere steps from the federal courthouse in Alexandria is no more.
Sprig’s Coffee and Pastry Cafe, which opened only two years ago at 2050 Ballenger Avenue, has closed.
Del Ray bakery Taste of Eurasia (428 A Hume Avenue) closed last month after seven years serving cuisine from the Caucasus, Central Asia and beyond.
In a post on Alexandria Dining — a popular group dedicated to Alexandria cuisine run by The Zebra Press — owner Shohina Touraeva said the restaurant was closing as she pivoted back to work in real estate.
Regional restaurant chain Founding Farmers is one of three restaurants announced for the in-development Oakville Triangle project and it could include extensive outdoor dining.
An application filed with the Planning Commission for the September meeting outlined plans for outdoor dining along Swann Avenue and Route 1 in an L shape around Founding Farmers.
The Tall Ship Providence Foundation will soon be floating an expansion plan past the Alexandria Planning Commission. The proposal would add outdoor dining with alcohol and live entertainment to its offerings along the waterfront.
The proposal by the nonprofit to amend its special use permit would expand its current footprint along the Potomac River at Waterfront Park to accommodate a portable bar, 78 seats, and an area for live music performers.
Del Ray restaurant Junction Bakery & Bistro (1508 Mount Vernon Avenue) announced the grand opening of its new bar and patio.
The new expansion includes a 750-foot patio addition at the northern end of the restaurant.
After a construction delay, Pupatella Neapolitan Pizza is still planning to open in Old Town North before the end of this year, the company tells ALXnow.
Construction started and then stopped at the building at 700 Slaters Lane, and will resume again in the next few weeks, according to Natasha Neely, a vice president for marketing for the company. Neely did not comment on the delay.
Alexandria Living Magazine reported that the Van Dorn Street Red Lobster may close after all.
While the local franchise survived an earlier round of closures, Alexandria Living Magazine reported that the location at 555 S. Van Dorn Street was on the chopping block according to new bankruptcy court filings.
In 1992, Konami debuted a groundbreaking new X-Men game. Using two screens, an unprecedented six-players could fight together as their favorite X-Men against Magneto.
It was a hit, one of the highest grossing arcade games of the year, but only around 500 of them were made and it’s been largely inaccessible on modern technology, leaving modern game fans with no way to play it — until now.
A year ago, popular Arlandria/Del Ray bar Hops N’ Shine faced a contentious city review as it faced criticism from both the Planning Commission and City Council zoning violations.
Now, a new staff report for a special use permit one-year review paints a much rosier picture of the situation with the bar.
