Arl Now has the good news that Washingtonians will no longer have to drive to Purcellville for their Haute Dog and Fries fix. Owners Pamela Swanson and Lionel Holmes are still scouting places in Arlington for a second location of their gourmet hot dog shop, but the plan is to start slinging their grilled dogs in the area sometime soon.
Washingtonian food and wine editor Todd Kliman reports that Michael Landrum is expanding his Ray’s empire—and he’s doing it right now. The unconventional restaurateur told Kliman that “there will be food and there will be drink” at the unnamed new eatery at 1650 Wilson Boulevard, which opened this week. Eater went over to take a look and photographed some menus. While much—the full menu, lunch service—has yet to be rolled out at the now-dubbed Ray’s^3, look for 13 varieties of steak, plus Landrum classics like fried chicken, crab royale, and “devilishly good” eggs.
Here’s some (almost) news: the Washington City Paper wrote that Mike Isabella is planning for a pizza venture just months after opening his first restaurant, Graffiato. The chef shared his aspirations for a more casual spot after a press event at Founding Farmers. So calamari-topped Jersey Shore pies for everyone? Not yet, clarified Isabella over Twitter. “The pizza place is just a pie in the sky dream right now,” he says. “No space, no lease.”
We Love DC reports that Mid City Caffe will close October 1. The Logan Circle coffee shop and neighborhood gathering place cited its location and ambiguous issues with its building as reasons for the shuttering. The blog points out that until the recent opening of Peregrine Espresso, Mid City was the only “serious coffee shop” in that area.
The much beleaguered (and currently closed) Shaw’s Tavern may be serving something soon, but apparently it’s not booze. The Prince of Petworth caught wind that the tavern may reopen as a coffeehouse.
We have updates on two restaurant openings: Mintwood Place, an Adams Morgan neighborhood eatery helmed by former Central chef Cedric Maupillier, is slated for mid-October. The menu will include rustic classics like cassoulet and roast chicken. Over in College Park, former Corduroy general manager Ferhat Yalcin is on the verge of opening a fish-sandwich shop called Fishnet.
The City Paper caught the press release that England’s Yo!Sushi, a conveyor-belt sushi chain, will open inside Union Station in 2012. Richard Pawlowski, who’s responsible for many area Cosi and Qdoba Mexican Grill locations, is also behind the concept. Never seen maki whiz by at the rate of 3.1 inches per second? Now you can.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
