Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA, D.C. and MD with McEnearney Associates in McLean. Reach the office at 703-790-9090.
If you’re looking to try something new, and into the idea of customized pasta dishes, you should try Dal Grano in the Langley Shopping Center in McLean.
They have over 50 pasta combinations that you can create and eat in, take out or cook at home! In addition to just pasta, they have salads, sandwiches, desserts (the gelato!) and veggie side dishes.
Another reason to support Dal Grano is their involvement in the community. They sponsor the Fish swim team and McLean Little League.
Follow their Facebook page for daily specials. You can also use GrubHub to order for delivery.
Dal Grano is open Monday — Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m., and Sunday 12-8 p.m.
Located at 1386 Chain Bridge Road, McLean, Virginia 22101.
The Town of Vienna received reports in June about embezzlement involving two local restaurants, according to the Vienna Police Department.
Police said that reports to the town’s Finance Department said that Amphora Restaurant (377 W. Maple Avenue) and now-closed Falafel Street (235 E. Maple Avenue) failed to remit their meals tax for several months.
For Amphora, police said that “a check was later received from the restaurant to cover the tax.”
Photo via Facebook
Returning in August, Metropolitan Washington Summer Restaurant Week invites the community to once again branch out and try nearby restaurants.
From Aug. 12-18, food lovers can enjoy fixed-price meals at regional restaurants that would otherwise cost significantly more. Prices are $22 for brunch and lunch or $35 for dinner.
The list below shows participating locations in Tysons and the Mosaic District:
Alta Strada (2911 District Avenue)
Originally started in Massachusetts in 2007, Alta Strada specializes in Italian pasta dishes. Since then, they’ve expanded to four restaurants, including their Mosaic location.
Capri Ristorante Italiano (6825K Redmond Drive)
This Italian restaurant in McLean serves homestyle food with a menu featuring a variety of salads, soups, pasta and fresh seafood.
Wildfire (1714U International Drive)
Inside Tysons Galleria, Wildfire Steak House will offer a three-course lunch and dinner menu deal for the restaurant week, which includes a salad, main entree and dessert. Diners can check out their website for menu details and hours.
American Prime (1420 Spring Hill Road)
American Prime serves specialty steaks to customers in the Tysons area — the artisan charcuterie, dry-aged steaks and smoked prime rib are bestsellers, according to the restaurant.
Photo via American Prime/Facebook
The Vienna Inn has plans to celebrate National Hot Day Day on Wednesday (July 17).
Neary 60 years old, the Vienna Inn (120 E. Maple Avenue) is known for its hot dogs.
“We have many customers that have been coming in since they were kids and now, they come in with their children and even grandchildren, it’s become a rite of passage,” Owner Marty Volk said in a press release.
The restaurant will serve up $1.99 hot dogs and $2.29 chili dogs, which normally cost between $2.20-$2.60, the press release said. Diners can get their hot dogs plain or with cheese, chili, mustard or onions.
National Hot Dog Day is an annual event during National Hot Dog Month in July.
“The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council created National Hot Dog Day. The day was established in 1991 to coincide with a hot dog lunch on Capitol Hill every year on a Wednesday in July,” according to National Calendar Day.
Photo 1 via Vienna Inn/Twitter, photo 2 courtesy Vienna Inn
There’s a birthday party in the works for Tysons’ biggest nightlife spot, and you’re invited.
Tysons Biergarten is celebrating its third birthday and a year that has marked a number of changes for the bar with more on the way. Registration is available online.
The celebration is set for Saturday, July 20, from noon to 1:58 a.m. at the Biergarten (8346 Leesburg Pike).
According to the Facebook post:
We will be looking back on all the good times that wouldn’t be possible without you! We will have vendors, food, live music, games, and of course beer! Not to mention we will also be doing a free festival to help celebrate our birthday! Our third anniversary only happens once in our lifetime so make sure you don’t miss it!
Events at the party include a stein-hoisting contest and free giveaways.
While the upstairs is still the German beer-hall scene the brand was built on, the Biergarten recently converted the long tables downstairs into the Room 7 speakeasy — featuring a dress code and rotating music selection with a particular focus on international themes.
Tysons Biergarten had originally been planned to fill the space until nearby developments came online. But while The Boro is close to opening, Biergarten owner Matt Rofougaran said his restaurant is slated to stay in their location at least through the end of the year.
Botched Bolts Behind Metro Mishap — “A Metro train pulled apart on the tracks last year because the agency was using the wrong parts, installing parts that were used incorrectly, and not checking to ensure things were done right… The 51-page report approved Thursday by the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission details a litany of failures that led up to an eight-car Silver Line train bound for D.C. coming apart outside the McLean Station on Aug. 25.” [WTOP]
New School Rules — “The new Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, which was approved by the board on Thursday, includes more than two dozen changes meant to standardize the way discipline is handed down in the school system.” The changes go into effect this fall. [WTOP]
County Seeking Tysons Traffic Solutions — “A number of options to relieve traffic congestion around McLean and Tysons were presented at a previous community meeting. Fairfax County’s transportation department is seeking feedback on those options, and the deadline for comments has been extended to July 31.” [Patch]
Large Music Library in Falls Church Home — “A long-time local resident who is once again kicking off the Creative Cauldron’s summer cabaret series also happens to curate one of the most interesting home collections of the Tin Pan Alley era of music.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Virginia Nabs Top Spot on CNBC List — CNBC ranked Virginia #1 on its recently released “America’s Top States for Business” list. [CNBC]
Firework Sparklers Behind McLean House Fire — “The garage of a McLean home caught fire on [July 3] due to firework sparklers that were improperly disposed of.” [ABC7]
Egyptian Art Coming to Falls Church — “Falls Church Arts (FCA) is excited to be the first gallery to exhibit this unique collection of Egyptian Contemporary art by these wonderful artists from the Luxor, Alexandria, and Cairo regions of Egypt. These artworks were created over the last several weeks on papyrus especially for this exhibition, the first of its kind in the U.S.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Tysons may not have the liveliest nightlife at the moment, but that could soon change as more late-night restaurants and places to hang out open. “Tysons After Dark” will highlight a different spot every week.
Tucked away in a strip mall along Leesburg Pike, Roll Play serves up Vietnamese cuisine in a fast-casual restaurant filled with colorful art.
From rolls to bowls, banh-mi sandwiches to pho, Roll Play offers a variety of filling food. For drinks, the menu offers Vietnamese coffee, basil mint limeade, Stubborn Soda, San Pellegrino Water and Fiji Water.
Customers order their food from touch-screen kiosks, which allow for customization. For late-night diners, Roll Play is open until 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
A mural on the left wall features the Roll Play logo with a woman with long flowing dark hair, while the right wall has framed pho-themed phrases. Look down and you’ll spot rainbow footprints weaving around the restaurant.
Located at 8150 Leesburg Pike, Roll Play is about a 12-minute walk from the Tysons Corner Metro station.
Roll Play is open from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-2 a.m. on Friday, noon-2 a.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m.-8 p.m. on Sunday.
Like the rest of Tysons near the Spring Hill Metro station, the McDonald’s at 8512 Leesburg Pike is getting a facelift.
The restaurant is temporarily closed for renovations as the store is converted from its more traditional blue-sloped roof to a more modern design, like the one at 8111 Leesburg Pike.
Workers at the project said construction is expected to last two or three more weeks, though they declined to say what the new renovations entail.
A sweeping redesign is in the works for McDonald’s nationwide, though the efforts have been with met with some resistance from franchise owners.
Photo via Google Maps
“Battle of the Brews” Voting — Several Tysons-area breweries are featured in a beer bracket to determine the best brewery in Northern Virginia. Voting for the second round begins today. [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Metro Study Looking for Infrastructure Solutions — “Metro is launching is a two-year study of the Blue, Orange and Silver Line in order to find long-term options to meet future regional needs.” [Reston Now]
Falls Church Student Shares Story — “Junior Niharika Singhvi has attended Falls Church City Public Schools since 2006. In April of 2018, her parents’ work visas expired, and she was forced to return to India. Four months later, she arrived back at George Mason High School.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Local Restaurants Make Washington Post List — Fahrenheit Asian and Amoo’s in McLean made the “The 25 best casual restaurants in the D.C. area” list. [Washington Post]
Tysons Bartender Included in Photography Pop-Up — Shakara Ellison, a bartender at the Founding Farmers in Tysons Corner, was included in a photography project highlighting bartenders of color. [Washington City Paper]
MicroStrategy Sold Domain Name for Millions — “Tysons-based MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR) has struck a deal to sell the “Voice.com” domain name to a blockchain-based company for $30 million in cash — and that could be just the beginning of a domain name selloff at the business intelligence software firm.” [Washington Business Journal]
Little Library Memorializes Falls Church Kids — Lemon Road Elementary School opened a little library to remember three Falls Church kids who were killed in a collision with an alleged drunk driver. [NBC4]
Photo courtesy Caboose Brewing Company
Patsy’s American is ready and open for business, but Randy’s Prime Seafood and Steaks needs a little more time.
The pair of restaurants, along with the recently opened Best Buns, are part of a trifecta of new eateries from Great American Restaurants (GAR) at 8051 Leesburg Pike.
Staff at Patsy’s American said that Randy’s is scheudled to open sometime in mid-July, but no definitive date has been established.
Randy’s Prime Seafood and Steaks is set to include seafood towers, wagyu steaks and American wines, according to Northern Virginia Magazine.
The restaurants are named after Randy and Patsy Norton, a husband-and-wife restaurant team who were two of the founders of GAR in 1976. Today, GAR is a regional enterprise with dozens of restaurants, including Coastal Flats in Tysons Corner Center.
