• Prince of Petworth hears that the team behind BGR the Burger Joint is opening a meatball sub shop in DC’s Penn Quarter at Sixth and E streets, Northwest. PoP reports that it’s next door to the soon-to-open Luke’s Lobster, a New York import we wrote about last week. From the same blog comes news that the building at 1407 T Street, Northwest, a former post office, is set to become a restaurant. Based on a sign posted in the window, it appears that the New York-based restaurant company Chow Down might be behind the project.
• The Washington Post’s Tim Carman has details on the new 150-seat Mala Tang (3434 Washington Blvd., Arlington; 703-243-2381), which had a “soft” opening Wednesday; the grand opening is Monday. It’s a partnership between chef Liu Chaosheng—of Hong Kong Palace and Uncle Liu’s Hot Pot—and brothers Tomer and Oren Molivinsky (Oren is a managing partner of the company that owns Harry’s Tap Room; Tomer will be general manager at Mala Tang). The menu includes xiao chi, or small plates based on Szechuan-province street foods, and individual hot pots as main courses. The trio spent half a million dollars on the space to make it look like a street in Chengdu, where Liu grew up.
• Missy Frederick of the Washington Business Journal tells us that Harry’s Tap Room in Pentagon City is morphing into Harry’s Smokehouse-Burgers & BBQ come May 3. Chef Alex Reyes will use hickory wood to smoke his meats, and the burger menu will have six patties. Harry’s co-owner Michael Sternberg tells Frederick that the concept is likely to expand into other locations.
• Senart’s Oyster and Chop House (520 Eighth St., SE) opened this week on Barracks Row. Thrillist has a video tour as well as a look at some of the dishes of the menu, which includes both steakhouse staples (steak tartare, hanger steak, New York strip) and, well, oyster-house plates (cioppino, baked oysters).
• We’ve got the scoop on a forthcoming restaurant from Tom Power, chef/owner of Corduroy in DC’s Shaw neighborhood. Power bought the space next to Corduroy for a casual eatery that he’ll call Velour. He’s keeping the space pretty raw—no dry wall, concrete floors—and hopes to open in 10 to 12 months.
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