• Last October, the Washington City Paper’s Tim Carman reported that chef Frank Morales, formerly of Rustico and Zola, was behind the stoves at Jackie’s in Silver Spring. He lasted only three months, though: Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema wrote on Twitter this morning that Morales is again without a job.
• We got a press release Monday announcing that Mark Hellyar is now executive chef at Hook, a swanky seafood restaurant in DC’s Georgetown. Hellyar plans to infuse the menu with techniques and flavors from his last job as chef de cuisine at the Oak Door at the Grand Hyatt in Tokyo. Before that, he held the same position at Blue Duck Tavern in DC’s West End. Hellyar—who will also tweak the menu at Hook’s sister property, Tackle Box—replaces Jonathan Seningen, who left right after January’s Restaurant Week.
• The Baltimore outpost of CakeLove closed its doors on Sunday, reports Missy Frederick of the Washington Business Journal. The store, which was in the Canton neighborhood, opened two years ago.
• Pupatella, the firetruck-red pizza cart parked near the Ballston Metro, is opening a brick-and-mortar shop at 5104 Wilson Boulevard, less than a mile west of the mobile location. Tim Carman noticed that the couple behind the operation is blogging their way through the building process, and they hope to open in the spring.
• For almost a year, we’ve been hearing rumors that Wagamama, a British-based noodle-shop chain, was planning on opening an outpost at 418 Seventh Street, Northwest. But Don Rockwell says a source told him the restaurant is not coming, and the space is up for lease.
• Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Snowpocalypse 2010 has already started to pummel Washington. Did you visit a grocery store and find empty shelves? Tell us about it here.
• Our restaurant critic Todd Kliman posted on Twitter that he heard Inox and Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, both in Tysons Corner, are closing their doors.
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