Photograph by Kyle Gustafson
Oh, Virginia barbecue restaurants and their delayed openings. We just got word from the Memphis folks that they’re pushing the opening of their Crystal City eatery back from today (which was pushed back from the beginning of the November, to the middle of November, to the end of November). The new debut is slated for next Monday, December 5, at 11 AM (they’ll serve straight through until 10). Good news for anyone who stumbles into the restaurant today, though: The owner, Chris George, will be handing out coupons for a free appetizer, valid with the purchase of two entrées in the month of December. Now they have to open before 2012! You can see our preview and slideshow of the spot here.
Past setbacks were the result of permitting issues, and this one is no different: The owners say the liquor license was held up over the Thanksgiving holiday and just arrived this morning. Rather than rush, they want to give the staff (i.e., bartenders) the full time to train. In the meantime, you can get your barbecue fix over in Del Ray. Pork Barrel BBQ just opened for dinner on Tuesday after nearly two years in the making (and several missed opening deadlines of their own). Co-owner Bill Blackburn says on the first night, they served more than 600 guests—so many that the scheduled lunch service for the next day was canceled because they ran out of smoked meaty goodness. It looks like dinner service only this week, so if you’re stopping by for lunch anytime soon, make a call before heading over.
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.
