When people walk into Fava Pot in Falls Church, they’re greeted with the smell of freshly baked pita bread made in a traditional wooden, along with a dozen menu options for traditional Egyptian cuisine.

Dina Daniel, the restaurant’s owner, opened the Falls Church Fava Pot back in 2017 after owning an Arlington food truck and has been serving up a variety of fare since, including vegan and vegetarian options.

Daniel said her favorite item is the Táamya, which she considers to be the eatery’s specialty. She called it an “Egyptian falafel” — the tiny ball has a crunchy exterior with a soft, veggie-filled inside. Unlike other types of falafels, the snack is made with fava beans instead of chickpeas.

Other best-sellers include Baba Ganoush, a tangy dip that comes covered in pomegranate seeds, combination platters that include lamb, chicken and veal and a variety of bowls and snacks.

When people stop by the restaurant, Daniel said she wants people to feel at home — comfortable, welcome and well-fed with wholesome fare with fresh veggies and whole wheat grains.

Daniel said that she wants people to feel as if they’re “having a feast at grandma’s house,” when they eat at Fava Pot. She added that many of the meals made at the Falls Church location are unique to that specific location and take more than 12 hours to prepare.

Unlike Fava Pot’s food truck or new pop-up in Union Market, the Falls Church location offers guests sit down meals with the help of Stephen Samuels, the area manager, and Elmer Ramos, the head chef. Fava Pot is also planning on expanding to Rosslyn later this year.

“Our business isn’t only about the back area, it’s about how you interact with the customer,” she said while waving to a regular customer across the room. 

When Daniel first opened the restaurant, she said she worried that people’s unfamiliarity with Egyptian food would scare away potential customers, so she spent time in Tysons handing out free samples for several weeks.

Since the restaurant is a “travel destination,” Daniel said she was concerned before the grand opening in 2017 that people might not want to make their way to Falls Church to eat at the restaurant. But she said that concern has turned out to be unfounded.

Several days ago, Voice of America Asia featured Fava Pot on its YouTube channel as part of its “Food Bites” mini-series.

“I believe America has misconceptions of Egyptians,” she told Tysons Reporter, noting that Egypt has a distinctive cultural identity from the rest of the Middle East.

The walls of the Falls Church location are covered with the stories of famous Egyptians, including athletes, academics and musicians. To give back to her home country, some of the money made from Fava Pot goes directly to benefit a group called Coptic Orphans, which assists underprovided kids in Egypt.

As for the location’s clientele, she said that about only 20% have Egyptian heritage, which gives her a chance to act as a cultural ambassador for the community.

Part of her breakfast customer base originally came from overflow from the adjacent pancake house, until people got over their hesitation about Egyptian breakfast and decided to give the cuisine a shot.

“After God’s grace, it is what made our business stay,” she said.

Locals can learn about Turkish coffee at the Tysons Corner Center tomorrow (Sept. 26).

The Turkish Coffee Lady will host a pop-up truck event from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Plaza (1961 Chain Bridge Road) to share Turkish culture, educate the public on travel opportunities to Turkey and allow visitors to sample Turkish delicacies like specialized coffee, a press release said.

At the event, guests can not only taste-test samples but also watch a micro-art demonstration from Hasan Kale and also participate in a workshop led by a gastronomy author.

The truck is stopping by Tysons on part of a month-long non-profit tour around New York, New Jersey, Maryland and D.C.

Gizem Salcigil White is the owner of Turkish Coffee Lady and the director of the cultural initiative.

“Turkish coffee is the world’s first coffee brewing method invented by Turks in the 16th century, and it is recognized by UNESCO’s World Heritage List as a cultural inheritance that was passed on from generation to generation,” White said in the press release.

The project is sponsored by several companies and partners including the American Turkish Association of DC and the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

“The coffee truck will also participate in the 17th Annual Washington DC Turkish Festival organized by American Turkish Association of DC this Sunday and conclude the tour at ‘Study Abroad & Global Citizenship Influencer Summit’ in early October hosted by Hostelling International USA,” the press release said.

Photos via Turkish Coffee Lady

The City of Falls Church will host their annual festival this coming Saturday (Sept. 14).

This year’s 44th annual festival will feature a Biergarten, local food vendors, pony rides, live entertainment, amusement rides and booths from businesses. The event will run from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. outside City Hall (223 Little Falls Street).

Admission to the event is free, but attendees can purchase tickets for food and drink from more than 15 vendors, along with tickets for the rides.

Throughout the day, visitors can enjoy live entertainment. Noland the Magician will perform a live magic show for onlookers featuring puppets at 10 a.m. Sudden M Pac Band, an R&B soul band, will perform at 12:15 p.m.

The Biergarten will be open from 11:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. While everyone is welcome to hang out in the space, anyone wishing to purchase or consume alcohol must be 21 or older. There will be beers on tap from Audacious Aleworks and assorted cocktails with liquor from Falls Church Distillers.

For kids, there will be a crafting tent in Cherry Hill Park.

Photo via the City of Falls Church

Tysons-based Curbside Kitchen imagines a food truck-friendly world where companies can easily coordinate with food trucks to cater events or just switch up lunch-time options.

Amy Katz, the CEO of Curbside Kitchen, founded the company around 2017 after talking to her husband Brian about his struggles in real estate and difficulty coordinating food trucks for events.

To solve the problem, she decided to create a technological platform that allows managers to schedule food truck arrivals for their business or building.

Katz described the company as “Uber for a food truck — with a ton of heart” and said that her company helps buildings maintain tenants by building a sense of community and diversity based on a shared love for food.

“Each truck has its own DNA,” Katz said.

When first starting out, the main obstacle was finding a way to coordinate with hundreds of food trucks with unreliable hours and various management types, she said.

“The biggest struggle is bringing the food truck owners up to the same standard,” Katz said, adding that there are many “unforeseen” circumstances around food trucks, including maintenance issues or poor weather.

But, despite the challenges, Katz is optimistic about the company’s growth. “I am so passionate about it that every day we learn something new,” she said.

Today, the company has around 300 food truck partners on call in three cities, but Katz said they plan to keep growing thanks to the Virginia Founders Fund from the Center for Innovative Technology, which recently granted Curbside Kitchen money to expand their venture.

Katz said she did not feel comfortable revealing the grant amount, but she did say that she plans to hire a few more employees and build an app.

The app will tell food truck patrons when their favorite trucks are nearby, allow trucks and managers to schedule gigs and remind trucks to show up at certain times. She said the app should be available for download within six months.

Though they are not the only company that works with food trucks, Katz said that Curbside Kitchen isn’t worried about competition.

“There isn’t really anybody out there with the technology and integration we have,” she said.

As Curbside Kitchen expands, they plan to keep their headquarters in Tysons — where the community is incredibly supportive of the food truck culture.

“I believe people have a close eye on what we are doing,” Katz said.

Photo courtesy Amy Katz

Independence Day is right around the corner, and events all over the Tysons area invite community members to partake in family fun.

Regarding the logistics of transportation to events, local authorities warn of overcrowded parking and suggest that attendees either carpool to events, use public transit or take advantage of ride-sharing apps.

Several companies, including Lyft, offer a promotion to curtail drunk driving on busy holidays. The Washington Regional Alcohol Program announced its SoberRide campaign, which gives users a $15 Lyft promotional code to be used within the D.C. Metro area. The code will be released at 6 p.m on July 4 and will be valid for the first 1,500 users of legal drinking age. It can be found on SoberRide’s website.

Tysons 

Tysons Biergarten is set to celebrate America’s Independence Day on July 3 from 11 a.m. until 2 a.m on the Fourth. The beer hall will offer both alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, traditional American food and live music for all to enjoy. Registration is free.

Falls Church 

Before the lighthearted celebrations begin in the evening, the Village Preservation and Improvement Society (VIPS) invites everyone to a reading of the nation’s founding documents. The readings begin at 12 p.m. in the Falls Church Episcopal Church (115 E. Fairfax Street). The group hopes it will help people recall the pillars of democracy and freedom.

Entry for the evening’s celebration at George Mason High School (7124 Leesburg Pike) starts at 6 p.m. While guests enjoy music from The Excellent Drivers, locally operated food trucks will also be selling a variety of fare. Fireworks begin at 9:20 p.m., but this time may be updated on the Falls Church social media accounts. All events are free.

On holidays, parking is free at the West Falls Church Metro Parking Garage.

McLean

Doors for the annual community center fireworks display open after 6 p.m. at Langley High School (6520 Georgetown Pike). Guests can expect to be greeted with food trucks and a DJ. This is a family-friendly event. Smoking, pets, fireworks, glass containers, weapons, sparklers, vaping and alcohol will not be allowed.

Entry is free for this event but there is limited parking at the venue. More parking spots are available at McLean Community Center, St. John’s Episcopal Church, and St. Luke Catholic School, where shuttle buses will ferry guests back forth.

Vienna

During the day, Vienna’s Sprinklers & Sparklers event features water slides, snow cones, and food trucks. It takes place at the Vienna Community Center (120 Cherry Street SE) and runs from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

In the picnic style, Vienna also opens up Yeonas Park (1319 Ross Drive SW) for an evening of family-friendly fun. Fireworks are expected to start at sunset, or roughly 9:30 p.m. The Little League concession stand will serve food as people pile onto the lawn and listen to a live performance from The Josh Christina Band.

Photos courtesy Town of Vienna