Mark Kuller. Photograph courtesy of Proof.

Via a series of tweets this Saturday, Washingtonian restaurant critic Todd Kliman revealed some exciting news: Mark Kuller, owner of Proof and perpetually packed tapas spot Estadio, has a new place in the works.

Here’s what Kuller told Kliman:

Located at 14th and S streets, Northwest, in the JBG building, the yet-to-be-named restaurant is inspired by Southeast Asian cuisine. Chef Haidar Karoum of Proof and Estadio “will bring modern techniques and execution to these traditional dishes,” Kuller said.

The menu at the 140-seat spot will be “an assortment of noodle dishes, soups, and grilled ‘sticks’”—skewers—of meats, seafood, and vegetables. There will be an open kitchen and a “curated cocktail bar . . . along the lines of Little Branch in NYC.” The latter will be helmed by Adam Bernbach, who is the bar manager at Kuller’s other two restaurants. An outdoor patio will accommodate 40 additional diners.

Teeny Toki, where you can now reserve a spot in advance. Photograph by Kyle Gustafson.

Twenty-seven seat ramen (and dumpling) phenomenon Toki Underground is a famously tricky place to score a spot. As of today, however, it just got a little easier—provided you like to eat early.

The new reservations site CityEats has brokered a deal with Toki to turn over one reservation for two people at each of the following times: 5, 5:15, and 5:30, Monday through Thursday. Two additional four-top tables will be reservable via the site at 5:45 and 6 on the same days.

Now we can only hope that Little Serow will follow suit. We hear that last week, the wait at Johnny Monis’s tiny Thai place was up to two hours long. 

How serious are you about your key lime pie? Photograph courtesy of Red Truck Bakery via Facebook.

Key lime pie is kind of a summer thing, but Red Truck Bakery in Warrenton—home of, let’s not play around here, some very fine pies—is making an exception for the Super Bowl. The Key lime confection is usually only available from Memorial Day through Labor Day, but if you order today, you can pick one up on Friday or Saturday . . . just in time for this weekend’s game.

Now, we admit that for those of us living near Washington, DC, Warrenton is a bit of a hike. So what this comes down to is: One, how seriously do you take your Key lime pie? And two, how seriously do you take you Super Bowl party food?

The pies cost $24; order by 5 PM today.

Gina Chersevani at PS7's.

Here’s sad news for anyone who loves posting up at PS 7’s bar and sipping a creative cocktail from Gina Chersevani: The self-dubbed “mixtress” left chef Peter Smith’s Penn Quarter eatery this week.

According to Chersevani, a disagreement with Smith led to the split. The duo—who’ve been a prominent team both in the restaurant and out on the event circuit—were developing a new concept together this year, but it's unclear whether or not that will go forward as planned.

“How do you leave a place after three years and separate yourself?” says Chersevani. “It’s like a divorce.”

Chersevani is currently weighing the prospects (a cuptail-ery, pretty please?). We’ll catch up with Smith as soon as possible to find out about his plans.

Gaffney's will re-open as the Majestic, a sports bar/gastropub. Photograph courtesy of Gaffney's via Facebook.

Early in January, a Bethesda Magazine blog reported that Gaffney’s had closed and was being replaced by an eatery called the Majestic Bar & Grill. Since then, there haven’t been many details other than a faux-news interview posted on the upcoming restaurant’s door and website. So we checked in with PR spokesman Jeff Wyatt for an update.

Wyatt said first-time restaurant owner Stefan Lalos is planning a sports bar and grill theme, but that the target audience is Bethesda’s thirtysomething-plus population looking for a quieter “gastropub” atmosphere with watch parties organized around golf tournaments (Lalos is a fan). Wyatt says they’ve picked a local chef who’ll create a “creative American” menu for the space, but the Majestic team wouldn’t release a name or offer up any menu details. One of the biggest draws at Gaffney’s was the airy back patio; there’s a possibility that it will be expanded at the Majestic.

There is some local controversy surrounding the name, but Wyatt says Lalos borrowed the title from the Pittsburgh-area bar his grandfather ran after immigrating to America in the 1930s, not the popular Alexandria restaurant.

Check back in with us for details in the coming weeks.

Chicken skewers at Kushi. Photograph by Scott Suchman.

You hear a lot about how Valentine’s Day is rough on singles, but it’s no picnic for new or casual couples, either. Fledgling partners can opt not to acknowledge it, but there’s a certain stage in a relationship—somewhere between “What’s your middle name again?” and “Should we get a dog?”—when ignoring Valentine’s Day is as awkward as recognizing it at some romance-on-steroids place with smooth jazz on the stereo.

It’s with these couples in mind that we created this list of relaxed restaurants where you can celebrate being in love (or being in like, whatever) without all the candlelit, rose-petal-strewn pressure.

1) Graffiato is too noisy for serious romance, and the classic-rock soundtrack makes it impossible to take anything seriously, anyway. Still, there’s Prosecco on tap in case you want to toast, and the food tends toward the swoon-worthy. A $60 special menu will be served on February 14 (the regular menu will be available on the first floor); be sure to reserve right away.

2) Granville Moore’s will turn the lights down a little lower than usual on February 14. Other than that, it’s business at usual at this skinny stretch of restaurant in the center of the H Street action. No special menu, no heart-shaped anything. Just mussels, fries, and lots of beer.

Ed Lee, flanked by fellow cheftestants Heather Terhune and Paul Qui. Photograph courtesy of Virginia Sherwood/Bravo.

Top Chef: Texas fans, take note: Season 9 finalists Edward Lee and local son Paul Qui (from Springfield, Virginia) are going to be in town on March 31 for a cooking demo, lunch, and Q&A at Asia Nine, so get your tickets early. If you miss the class, you might catch Lee dining at Volt or tasting through a meal at Minibar—two spots he says he’d like to hit during the visit.

We recently checked in with the Louisville, Kentucky-based chef, who has spent this season whipping up rattlesnake for Padma, barbecuing for Modernist Cuisine author Nathan Myhrvold, and creating gore-inspired treats for the Evil Queen herself, Charlize Theron. With only five toques left, the pressure is on, and we won’t know until tomorrow night whether Lee makes it to the final four. Below, the chef spills his thoughts on the toughest challenges, what he’d change about the season, and his upcoming projects.

So what have been some of your favorite challenges so far?

My favorite challenges were the ones I did well in! The one with Charlize Theron is definitely up there, and I think the other chefs would agree. It was challenging, but there was a lot of freedom. As chefs, that gets our juices flowing.