• Last weekend, a Falls Church building at 101 East Annandale Road suffered a terrible fire that wiped out the 30-year-old Lebanese Butcher & Restaurant. The Falls Church Times reports that the city’s economic-development director is helping the owners find a new location for the business, which was on the verge of expanding into the adjacent space.
• Today is the first installment of the new Horace Mann Central farmers market in Bethesda (4430 Newark St.), which will run Fridays from 3:30 to 6:30 through November 19. The first batch of vendors includes a number of farms as well as a seafood purveyor, a baker, and Cowgirl Creamery, a Penn Quarter cheese shop.
• Jeff and Barbara Blacks’ empire (Black Market Bistro, BlackSalt, Black’s Bar and Kitchen, Addie’s) is expanding, Jeff Black tells Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post. He’s buying the building at 1612 14th Street, Northwest, to install the Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, which will have an oyster bar and dining room downstairs as well as a bar and bocce court upstairs. Sietsema’s list of menu items includes seafood stew, po’ boys, and fried chicken. The Blacks hope to open by Valentine’s Day.
• Metrocurean got lots of details from former Zaytinya chef Mike Isabella on his forthcoming Penn Quarter restaurant, Graffiato (707 Sixth St., NW). The Italian menu is a nod to his heritage and the food he grew up with. The two-level spot, which will seat 150, will have a wood-burning pizza oven, pasta, a charcuterie bar, and small plates. Isabella, who was on Top Chef season six, will appear on the next season of the show, a collection of all stars from previous iterations.
• The latest news from chef Roberto Donna came yesterday via Tim Carman of the Washington City Paper: Galileo III, his project in DC’s Metro Center area, opens Tuesday. We’ll believe it when we see it.
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