Tag Archives: around town

Food & Drink

New Pierogi Stand Opens in Ballston Quarter Food Hall | Instant News


Just four months after chef Ed Hardy start making pierogies for collection and delivery, its operation, Zofia’s Kitchen, owns a brick and mortar shop in the Ballston Quarter.

“We are very fast going from ghost kitchen to the store front, “Hardy told ARLnow.” We’ll be looking for a second location, maybe, if we can do it well through January. “

His Dumplings shop – at former place of the Cucina Al Volo inside the food hall of the Quarter Market – will have a grand opening tomorrow (Friday). The first 30 customers will receive 15 Zofia’s Kitchen e-gift cards. To promote social distancing, both direct orders and delivery are eligible.

Hardy combines New York City Jewish flavors and Chicago Polish with a dash of Old Bay and Southern barbecue to complement the vast geographic expanse covered in his humble dumplings.

Signature perogies include stuffed baked potatoes, home cured and smoked pastrami and provolone, crab rangoon and all bagels with cream cheese and liqueurs.

Additionally, customers can choose from seasonal sides and soups, or try Hardy’s latke donut: grated potatoes and onions ringed and fried, served with lemon-dill sour cream.

If they still have room for dessert, customers can stick with sweet pierogies, such as a seasonal brown sugar prickly pumpkin “pie-rogi,” or take a break from dumplings and opt for sweets like truffles or rugelach.

Prior to coming to Northern Virginia, Hardy had careers in some of New York City’s most famous restaurants. He worked for three Michelin-starred restaurants, Modern, Gramercy Tavern, and Aquavit, as well as a convenient food destination Red Chicken Harlem.

Locally, Hardy ran the kitchen Bistro Life at McLean and Satisfactory in Rockville, Md. Then he closed his apron and started driving Bacon N ‘Eds food truck.

Hardy first class teaching at Cookology Culinary School when it was closed and switched to virtual learning due to the pandemic.

“COVID-19 hit Cookology hard,” said Hardy, who is looking for other ways to continue cooking.

He came to the pierogies after being asked to serve them for a social distancing party. It went so well that he and the host, Nate Reynolds, decided to go public with the idea.

Hardy goes to Cookology to ask if he can operate the ghost kitchen from there, knowing the owner will be in it.

“I thought he had advertised that he would be open to being a potential concept incubator,” said Hardy.

In mid-September, Hardy and his team, two of his former students and two other chefs who were recently laid off, move into the ghost kitchen at Cookology. Two and a half weeks ago, they had their soft opening at the Ballston Quarter food court while they prepared the venue for the grand opening.

“Honestly, I was surprised by the enthusiastic response to the humble pierogi,” said Hardy. “I think we have taken advantage of the need for other foods that are different, yet familiar, comforting. Zophia is like the Polish grandmother you didn’t know you missed. “

For a limited time, Zofia’s offers three festive pierogi plates, with flavors inspired by familiar Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s tastes.

Cooked or frozen pierogies are available for pick-up in the Ballston Quarter and for delivery via Postmates on the Zofia’s Kitchen website or via UberEats and DoorDash.

.



image source

Italy

Italian Market Plans Opening Soon on Pentagon Row | Instant News


A new Italian marketplace opens up on Pentagon Row with a grab-and-go version of the beloved DC restaurant.

Napoli Salumeria (1301 S. Joyce Street) will have sandwiches, pastas, salads, and desserts from Michelin Bib Gourmandgraded Napoli Pasta Bar in DC (2737 Sherman Avenue NW), but the Pentagon Row site was built to pick up groceries and bring them home, according to owner Antonio Ferraro.

Ferraro said the site plans to fully open on Tuesday, with the website going live Saturday night or Sunday morning for people to place orders.

“All of the Napoli Pasta Bar main course, we will enjoy it here, ready to serve,” said Ferraro. “We can warm it here. For now, we haven’t offered to sit down, only take. But we’ll get an outside plaza room, where the ice skates are, so they can order and eat there. “

Ferraro said once the site is up and running, he plans to add shipping options at a later date.

The location first once home to A Deli, so Napoli Salumeria will keep its little Italian heritage alive on S. Joyce Street.

.



image source

Italy

‘Citizens’ Provides Lyrical Escape in Italy | Instant News


By
Loren King
|
in 22 October 2020

Gianni DiGregorio, left, Ennio Fantastichini, and Georgio Colangeli play struggling Romans who want to move to a more affordable country in the hot comedy “Citizens of the World”.

By Loren King

A light and lovely Italian film about three aging dreamers, “Citizens of the World” is a sweet escape with a gentle touch.

The film, available for streaming from the Jane Pickens Theater, is the latest from veteran Italian director, screenwriter and actor Gianni DiGregorio, whose oddly similar films, “Mid August Lunch” (2008) and “The Salt of Life” (2011), feature middle-aged characters, like Chaplin, and shy who grope as they seek more of life.

In “Citizen of the World,” Di-Gregorio plays a retired classical professor, known as “Professor,” who lives in a pension in Rome. His friend, Giorgetto (Georgio Colangeli), an unsuccessful unemployed who struggles for his meager social security, convinces the Professor that they must leave Italy for a country where they can spend their years more comfortably financially. They team up with antiquarian dealer Attilio (played by the late Ennio Fantastichini), who seems to know lots of people who can advise men. Together, they made half-baked plans to immigrate to Bali, or perhaps Bulgaria, finally settling in the Azores. (Read more)

.



image source

Fashion

Local Boutique Holds Fashion Show Amid Pandemic | Instant News


The old boutique in Arlington recently hosted “Beautiful in Shirlington, ”An event for local women to model their clothes after seeing a decline in customers during the pandemic.

Sheyla Luxury Boutiques has been a part of the Arlington community for 16 years, but over the last few months, Sheyla Voye, the boutique owner, hasn’t seen many of her customers.

“I have a lot of customers who buy from me, but not even 5% of those people come because people don’t need clothes,” said Voye. “Because of the pandemic, now nothing is going to work. Most of my business runs because people are going to work, events, dinners, parties – and sadly since none of that is allowed yet, it becomes very challenging and difficult. “

“Chic in Shirlington,” held earlier this month, asked women in Arlington to model Sheyla’s outfit in front of the Shirlington fountain.

“Sheyla Luxury Boutique is looking for a model to celebrate when we return safely outside. We welcome groups of friends, sisters, mother / daughter duos or come alone! Don’t miss dressing up to go out, ”says the list of events.

Models can try on clothes, do their hair and makeup, walk the runways, take pictures and receive gift certificates to the shop.

Kim Honor Matkovsky, a resident of Waverly Hills and a loyal Sheyla customer, said the event brought together women of “all shapes, ages, styles” in a fashion celebration – and shops.

“Sheyla … is a phenomenon,” he told ARLnow. “I’ve been a customer for 16 years and I’m trying to help him weather this economic storm.”

“The boutique is where Loehmann used to be: a fun and rewarding treasure hunt for women who want quality and style without the price tag,” wrote Matkovsky. “And Sheyla is the special sauce.”

Since the pandemic began, Voye has faced many challenges including moving locations in Shirlington and losing employees.

“I used to be on Campbell Avenue before moving to another building. That [storefront] what I have now is a monthly rent, not a permanent lease. The permanent rent is too high for me and I can’t afford it, ”said Voye. “I work alone. Right now, I can’t afford employees and I work seven days and sometimes it’s very tiring. I have a family and I have very few opportunities to spend time with them. “

Even though Voye had faced many challenges, she said she refused to give up.

“It is difficult, but I still go. I don’t want to stop, ”said Voye.

“Sheyla has been torn down, refused a loan, lost her lease, and even ran her business from a truck for several years,” said Matkovsky. “He is dogged by a lack of access to patient, affordable capital and has overcome the problem by taking temporary leases on retail space. Sheyla recently paid off a small business loan through a non-profit lender who charged her with 14% interest. “

“It takes a special person to keep fighting,” he said.

.



image source

Food & Drink

“Shuck Shack” Roasted Corn Stand Brings New Food Truck to Arlington | Instant News


Roasted Corn Stall “Shuck Shack“Will soon serve local residents on wheels.

Florida-based franchise opens the first Arlington location at the Fashion Center in Pentagon City last October. That owner from a local stand announced the addition of a food truck on Instagram last week.

The restaurant bills itself as “the house of world famous Mexican street corn,” and the “cornistas” of its employees. Menu items including roasted corn with salt and pepper, Old Bay seasonings, lime-marinade and parmesan cheese, and more – almost 30 corn flavorings.

Vincent Johnson, the stand owner, said the mall’s customers responded well to its opening last year.

“Business was very good when we first opened it. We had a very nice and warm welcome from the community when we first opened. “People were very interested in corn and that was going well until January, when malls started to slow down,” said Johnson. And of course in March the mall is closed. “

Since the mall reopened, Johnson says he’s served customers from across the country.

“The Pentagon City Mall is an attraction when people come to the area, so we get people from all over the place. And now with the pandemic going on, we have people from New Orleans, Texas, Chicago and California coming to the mall and they’re all like ‘I can’t stay home anymore. I was fed up and I just wanted to go somewhere, ‘”Johnson said. “It’s very interesting how people catch this pandemic.”

Johnson said adding a food truck was something he had always dreamed of.

“I have a friend who has had his own food truck for a few years and he’s done pretty well, so after I opened in the Pentagon City mall, it was a natural development,” said Johnson. “We have had a very good response at the mall, but of course with the pandemic, some people don’t want to come to the mall, and the thing I love about trucks is that I can go where people are. and it’s something I’m really looking forward to. “

Shuck Shack food trucks will have varying operating hours, while restaurant hours at the mall will remain the same.

“We have general plans now to do daylight, maybe starting around 11 a.m., and then maybe around 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. during the week,” Johnson said. “We’ll start in downtown Arlington and try to have lunch around town. We will be adding to our staff and there will be people working in malls or working on trucks. “

The Shuck Shack food truck’s grand opening event is planned for Wednesday, October 14, at the mall in front Zara and Sugar Factory. Opening times are yet to be determined, but Johnson says customers can follow suit Facebook, Instagram, or Indonesia for further announcements.

Once his truck is up and running, Johnson says he will be able to serve “100 to 200 cooked ears per hour”.

Photo via Shuck Shack / Instagram

.



image source