EatsPlace—the Park View food incubator and “pop-uppery”—is expanding to Alexandria. Come December, the Torpedo Factory Arts Center will host EatsPlace Cafe and Market, a quick-service spot with room for occasional cooking classes and demos.
The ground-floor cafe won’t be all pop-ups all the time like its DC counterpart, but there will be occasional menu takeovers. The all-day house menu will feature an eclectic mix of salads, soups, open-face tarts, and sandwiches, like a kimchee grilled cheese or a Swiss turkey melt with Szechuan peppercorn aioli. There will also be cheese, charcuterie, and Asian fermented food boards. That last one—aimed at vegetarians—is made up of Japanese natto (fermented soybeans), kimchee, and Chinese fermented bean curd (like tofu cheese).
Founder Katy Chang was attracted to the location because of her background in film-making and performance art. And she likes the fact that the Torpedo Factory is managed by city of Alexandria.
“It was great to partner with a city because so much of food is actually food policy,” Chang says. “And the fact that a city supports that and gets that art and food are really wonderful cultural catalysts that bring people together, that’s really great.”
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
