(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) The Mosaic District is getting a new restaurant.
Little Dipper Hot Pot is opening at 2985 District Avenue on Monday, Nov. 19. The first 100 guests to the grand opening at 11 a.m. will be treated to a free hot pot.
Hot pots are a traditional Chinese family staple meant to be enjoyed with a group, though Little Dipper says it serves only individual size hot pots. Hot pot varieties range from a tomato dipper with mushrooms and a variety of other garden vegetables to a platter filled with five different types of meat.
In addition to hot pots, Little Dipper Hot Pot also offers more individual-focused food choices like ramen or vermicelli. Cocktails, beer and wine are also available.
Little Dipper Hot Pot currently has two other locations, one nearby in Falls Church at 3000 Annandale Road and one in Rockville at 101 Gibbs Street.
Ten restaurants around the Tysons area made it onto this year’s Northern Virginia Magazine Top 50 Best Restaurants list, including five of the list’s top 10.
At the number three spot in the list is Maple Ave Restaurant at 147 Maple Ave W, just a few blocks west of the Vienna Town Green. It’s a small restaurant, but inside it’s an eclectic mix of American and European cuisine. The restaurant is open seven days a week for dinner, with lunch available on weekdays and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.
At the eastern end of Maple Avenue is Clarity, which comes in at number five on the list. Clarity offers a seasonally rotating menu of modern American cuisine. A nightly “tasting menu” offers a guided tour of the restaurant’s cuisine. Tonight (Thursday), it’s a three-course meal a variety of seafood and roasted duck, accompanied by Suntory Japanese Whisky and followed by a chocolate almond torte.
But Vienna doesn’t take all the culinary credit for the region. At number seven on the list is Asian Origin, a Chinese restaurant just west of Tysons Galleria at 753 Pinnacle Dr. The restaurant serves a mix of traditional Chinese dishes as well as pan-Asian cuisine like sushi. Asian Origin also boasts a variety of vegetarian dishes.
At number nine is 2941, the modern American restaurant in Falls Church (2941 Fairview Park Dr) near Merrifield. The restaurant puts a French spin on classic American dishes, like a Bordelaise sauce on a rib eye steak.
Lastly, Esaan near downtown McLean (1307 Old Chain Bridge Rd) comes in at number ten on the list. Esaan is a Thai restaurant that offers a variety of specialty items and “street style” dishes from the northeastern region of the country. There’s none of the usual Pad Thai, but offerings like the spicy papaya salad offer a more unique Thai experience.
Also included on the Top 50 list are:
- Amoo’s Restaurant (6271 Old Dominion Dr) – A Persian restaurant in McLean
- Assaggi Osteria + Assagia Pizzeria (6641 Old Dominion Dr) – An Italian restaurant with a focus on fish and pasta in McLean
- Elephant Jumps (8110 Arlington Blvd) – A Thai restaurant in Merrifield
- Nostos (8100 Boone Blvd) – A Greek restaurant in Vienna
- Tachibana (6715 Lowell Ave) – A Japanese restaurant in McLean
Scam Alert for Fairfax County — If someone calls or shows up on your doorstep saying they work for Fairfax Water, it could be a scam, county officials say. [Fairfax Water]
See’s Candies Opens Holiday Store — “See’s Candies, known for its American-made chocolates, just debuted a holiday gifting center in Tysons Galleria. Go-to boxes, complete with chocolate, brittle, lollipops, and truffles, can be found on the mall’s second level near Macy’s.” [Eater]
Veterans Day Closures Next Week — Fairfax County Government offices will be closed Monday for the observance of Veterans Day, but county schools will remain open. [Fairfax County]
Grove, a poke and salad bowl restaurant in Merrifield, may be expanding its health-oriented menu to include wine and beer.
Grove opened this summer at 2673 Avenir Place, in a shopping center just south of the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station.
The menu lists options ranging from Hawaiian-inspired poke bowls to Korean bibimbap. Options are also available for customers to build their own salad, soba noodle or pasta bowls.
At the end of October, Grove filed an application with the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) to sell wine and beer on the premises. The status of that application is currently pending.
Currently the only beverages on the menu are a variety of teas and juices.
Photos via Facebook
The Washington Business Journal has announced its list of 75 fastest growing companies in the Washington, D.C. area and it’s good news for the Tysons area.
Of the top four companies on the list, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority noted that three of them are based in Tysons.
The list ranks average percent change in revenue from 2015 to 2017. The companies must be headquartered in the Washington area and must be privately held.
DGC International, a company which provides logistical support to military and government clients, was ranked number one on the list. According to Bloomberg, DGC International Inc. is headquartered at 1604 Spring Hill Road near the Spring Hill Metro station but maintains operations in the Middle East, Central Asia, South America and Africa.
The Washington Business Journal said that DGC International has seen an 876 percent revenue increase over the years surveyed, far surpassing TechAnax in second place with a 187 percent increase and Dynamo Technologies LLC with 138 percent.
“There’s no slowing down here,” said Evan Hopkins, business analyst for DGC International Inc. “We’ve brought on a lot of new people, younger talent, and it’s ended up being a really dynamic work atmosphere.”
Hopkins said DGC International Inc. has been working to grow by filling specific needs in narrow markets.
“We’re currently pretty heavy in the vertical of global logistics, and we’re moving into mission support and global operations,” said Hopkins. “It’s a lot of construction work and operations. We’re also really growing in training with a lot of new and upcoming training contracts that we’re currently looking at.”
The companies ranked third and fourth, Dynamo Technologies LLC and Ridgeline International Inc., are also headquartered in Tysons.
Dynamo Technologies is located at 1775 Tysons Blvd just east of Tysons Galleria. The company provides IT services to federal agencies.
The 75 companies were also surveyed on their future plans, with 79.7 percent of those surveyed saying they do not plan on going public. Companies located in the region also seemed satisfied with their location, with 97 percent of those surveyed saying they do not plan to move their headquarters outside of the region.
The rankings also list the fastest-growing companies by their total revenue.
Tysons based KLDiscovery also topped the revenue list at $281.2 million. KLDiscovery is located west of Tysons Galleria across International Drive. The company primarily provides technology services and software to law firms and legal departments.
Number four on the top revenue companies, Dovel Technologies, is also located near Dynamo Technologies and had $190.8 million in revenue in 2017. Following it at number five on the top revenue list is another appearance by DGC International, which reported $149.7 million in revenue.
Photo via Facebook
DC’s Dancing Stars is coming to the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons this Saturday (Nov. 10) for an evening of glitz and glamour with some surprising names.
The annual gala pairs local celebrities with professional dance partners. The dance pairs compete for a mirror ball trophy and a $10,000 donation to the charity of their choice.
The judges of the event are professional dancer and Dancing With the Stars regular Chelsie Hightower, Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta’s Monte Durham, and former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who turned down an invite to go on Dancing With the Stars last year. Spicer and Hightower were also judges in the 2017 competition.
The gala includes a cocktail reception, dinner, silent auction, professional performances and a live band in addition to the dance competition.
Eight local celebrities are scheduled to compete in the event. So far, construction executive George Nash has the lead in fundraising with $37,920 raised to benefit Youth For Tomorrow.
The gala will be emceed by Will Thomas, a former Fox 5 anchor, and Julie Donaldson, the NBC Sports Washington anchor and reporter.
General admission tickets to the gala is $175, which includes a seat to watch the competition from the balcony or back of the ballroom, dessert buffet, dancing and an open bar.
The VIP ticket includes access to a VIP-only cocktail hour, viewing of the show close to the stage, and a gourmet dinner and dessert.
Nearly one year after the shooting, there are no answers in the investigation of McLean resident Bijan Ghaisar’s death at the hands of U.S. Park Police.
In addition to a resolution on VDOT’s ramp closure proposal, the McLean Citizens Association’s (MCA) Board of Directors is scheduled to vote tonight on a resolution to pressure Park Police and the FBI to release more information about the shooting of Ghaisar.
Ghaisar, a 25-year old accountant who lived in the Tysons area, was shot on Nov. 17, 2017 by two U.S. Park Police officers who fired into his Jeep Grand Cherokee. Ghaisar died at Inova Fairfax Hospital on Nov. 27.
The incident started when Ghaisar was rear-ended by an Uber driver and the driver contacted police. Park Police located Ghaisar’s Jeep and signaled for him to pull over, and on two occasions he did — before then driving off. Finally, on the GW Parkway south of Alexandria, Park Police officers moved in front of the Jeep and when Ghaisar tried to maneuver around, the two officers opened fire.
In December 2017, Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roessler Jr. released a dashboard camera video showing the pursuit and the shooting. After this, federal investigators took over the case.
Since the FBI and Justice Department took over the case, little new information about the case has emerged.
The resolution from the MCA urges the Park Police and FBI to disclose the reasons for the shootings, the identities of the police officers involved, and other results of the investigation. The resolution also commends Roessler for releasing the video of the incident in a timely manner.
The MCA Board of Directors meetings are open to the public. The meeting is scheduled to be held at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Wednesday) in the McLean Government Center (1437 Balls Hill Road).
Image via Fairfax County Police Department
A man accused of threatening to blow up the Starbucks in the Yorktowne Shopping Center, in the Falls Church section of Fairfax County, is due in court for a preliminary hearing next month.
David Velasquez, 28, is facing a felony charge of making a bomb threat in connection with the Saturday afternoon incident, which prompted the evacuation of the cafe and surrounding businesses. His preliminary hearing for the bomb threat charge is scheduled for Dec. 19, court records show.
If convicted on that charge, he could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
Velasquez is also charged with being drunk in public. It’s the 10th time he’s been arrested and charged with being drunk in public in Fairfax County so far this year, according to General District court records.
More on the bomb threat from a Fairfax County Police Department press release:
A 28-year-old Fairfax man is facing charges for threatening to bomb a Starbucks in the Yorktowne Shopping Center around 4 p.m. on Saturday. David Velasquez was drunk and passed out inside the Starbucks, located at 8104 Arlington Boulevard when an employee woke him and asked him to leave. Velasquez refused and said he had a bomb in his backpack that would explode in two minutes. He then went inside the bathroom and would not come out.
Employees immediately evacuated the business and called 9-1-1. Our officers arrived and asked adjoining business to evacuate as a precaution. Negotiations were attempted for almost 70 minutes before Velasquez finally walked out of the front door and was arrested. Due to his level of intoxication, Velazquez was taken to an area hospital to be medically treated. Velasquez was then taken to the Adult Detention Center, where he was charged with threats to bomb or damage buildings , and being drunk in public. He was held on no bond. Our Explosive Ordinance Division responded and examined the backpack, which did not contain any hazardous items.
For residents of the corner of McLean inside the 10th Congressional District, last night’s election saw Jennifer Wexton (D) oust Barbara Comstock (R). But for the rest of the area, incumbents will be returning to office.
Not only did Wexton win in Fairfax County, but the Dranesville District heavily favored Wexton by 3,592 votes.
It was an active race, with 73 percent of voters casting ballots across the Dranesville District. Even before election day, the 10th District race saw an unusually high number of absentee ballots.
Comstock won the seat in 2014 after replacing Congressman Frank Wolf (R), who’d held the seat for over 30 years. Wexton will be the first Democrat representing the 10th Congressional District since 1981.
But while McLean saw high turnout in the competitive race, the Tysons area voter turnout was lower than the countywide average.
Countywide voter turnout was 69.8 percent, but the Tysons precinct only reported 58.7 percent voter turnout. At the nearby Magarity and Rotonda precincts, voter turnout was 66 and 64.7 percent respectively.
In the 8th Congressional District, incumbent Don Beyer (D) handily beat challenger Thomas Oh (R), winning 76.3 percent of the vote.
It was a similar story in the 11th Congressional District, where incumbent Gerald Connolly (D) defeated challengers Jeff Dove (R) and Stevan Porter (L) with 71.1 percent of the vote.
In the statewide race, Sen. Tim Kaine (D) won a 15-point victory over Republican Corey Stewart.
Two constitutional amendments allowing tax exemptions and the public safety bonds request were also approved.
Photo via Facebook
Crash in Idylwood Area Closes Road — Idylwood Road was closed in both directions during this morning’s rush hour due to a two-vehicle crash that caused live wires to fall across the roadway. [Twitter, Twitter]
High I-66 Tolls This Morning — “Hump day is often considered one of the heavier traffic days for local commuters, and the day after the elections was no exception. The toll along I-66 lanes, inside the Beltway, reached $45.50 just before 9 a.m. The toll prices are dynamic and change every six minutes, depending on speed and traffic volume. Those who are solo and traveling at peak times have to pay them.” [Washington Post]
Last Night’s Sunset — Across the D.C. area last night, the sky lit up at sunset after an extended stretch of rain and overcast gloom. The spectacular sunset was particularly picturesque when set against the Tysons skyline. [Twitter, Twitter]
