There’s no shortage of food options in Tysons Corner Center mall, but if you’re looking for some stir-fry, the new Go-Stir Fry Express offers a variety of Japanese dishes.
The restaurant is located in the third-floor food court next to the AMC Theater. The restaurant offers chicken, rice and beef stir-fry bowls with either rice or noodles for around $8. Side dishes include spring rolls and fried dumplings.
Go-Stir Express also has a wide assortment of teas, from classic milk teas to bubble tea with fruit.
EJ Hong, manager of the Tysons location, said the stir fry location opened less than a month ago and is the third location for the New Jersey-based Go-Stir Fry.
Hong said the Tysons location is off to a good start and suggests first-time visitors try out the chicken stir fry.
Go-Stir Express isn’t the only new location in the third-floor food court. On the opposite side on the floor, the recently opened Dabke offers Lebanese cuisine like falafel wraps and chicken shawarma at around $9.
Staff at Dabke said the restaurant opened less than two months ago.
Admittedly, the new Donburi in Tysons Galleria is a little smaller than the Adams Morgan or Dupont Circle locations.
But, for owner James Jang, this smaller location in the Taste of Urbanspace food hall allows him a special opportunity: he can try something new.
With two established locations in D.C., Jang said he’s hesitant to change the menus too much. But soon, Jang says he plans on trying out adding udon, a type of thick Japanese noodle dish, to the Tysons location.
“We’ve just opened here,” said Jang, “so we can be a little more creative with what we try out.”
Like the nearby Andy’s Pizza, the restaurant has also filed for an ABC permit in hopes of being able to serve Japanese beer and sake.
“We’re looking to get the beer on draft if we can,” said Jang. “We might do cocktails as well.”
Jang has owned and operated Donburi for six years and jumped at the chance to join Taste of Urbanspace, a collection of new locations from regional favorites that filled the void left by the high-profile collapse of Isabella Eatery.
For Jang, the opening in Tysons is also a homecoming, though he also said moving back into the area has been a rediscovery of how much it has changed since he grew up in nearby McLean.
“I used to live here,” Jang said. “I went to McLean High School, so this is more of a hometown than D.C.”
The most popular dishes on Donburi’s menu are the karaage salad, a soy sauce marinated chicken with mixed greens, and sakedon, a salmon sashimi that Jang says is the restaurant’s signature dish.
One month after opening, Andy’s Pizza is the go-to spot in Tysons Galleria for a slice of New York-style pizza.
But now that the holiday rush has settled, the restaurant aims to expand its ambitions and become a go-to spot for a craft beer.
“We’re going to have wine, but we’re really excited about the craft beer,” said Emily Brown, who co-opened the restaurant with her cousin Andy Brown, the co-founder of D.C.-based Eat Pizza. “Mostly it’s from the east coast and particularly local places.”
Brown said the idea of using primarily local beers is in keeping with the theme of Taste of Urbanspace, a food hall that opened in early December after the high-profile collapse of the Isabella Eatery. The core concept of Taste of Urbanspace is opening new locations for local favorites.
Andy’s Pizza offers pizza by the slice, from simple cheese pizza at $3.49 to whole pies loaded with a variety of toppings for $18.99. The restaurant also has caesar salads with croutons borrowed from the Stomping Ground eatery next door.
Brown said her cousin’s passion is for pizza, but her true love is the craft beer scene. Her focus is going to be on maintaining a regularly changing menu, bringing in the newest and highest-profile beers from throughout the area.
She compared the beer scene to the sneaker scene, where people regularly line up to check out the newest release. Brown said the same is true in the beer scene, where connoisseurs congregate outside Richmond breweries to get a sampling of the latest batch. It’s that level of expertise and hipness to the zeitgeist that Brown said she hopes to bring to the bar-side of Andy’s Pizza.
Tysons has something of a chronic nightlife problem, and Brown hopes that some of the new drinking choices at Andy’s Pizza and other spots across the Taste of Urbanspace can help turn the mall’s food court into a social scene.
“If you’re coming in for lunch and you’re into beer, we want to have the kind of menu that will have you coming back in after work,” said Brown.
When the new bar comes online is dependent on when the licenses are approved by state regulator. Andy’s Taste of Urbanspace neighbors Donburi, Sen Khao, and Stomping Grounds are all also applying for alcohol licenses.
When you do come in for that first drink, Brown suggests a crisp pilsner would pair well with the pizza.
There’s plenty of acclaimed restaurants around the Tysons area, but the selection for vegetarians or vegans are a little more slim.
Chains like Cava and &pizza have vegan options and several locations across the Tysons area. Honeygrow, a stir-fry chain with vegetarian options and a vegan dish, recently opened at 8409 Leesburg Pike.
Happy Cow, a website that lists vegetarian-friendly food options, lists a handful of vegetarian-friendly restaurants in the area. Most are in Vienna or Merrifield.
So if you’re a lifelong vegetarian or someone trying out Veganuary, here’s a look at some vegetable-heavy dining options around the area.
Vienna
Amma Vegetarian Kitchen (344 Maple Ave E) — A quick service restaurant featuring South Indian cuisine like dosa, chole bhatura and uttapatham. Happy Cow notes that the restaurant uses dairy in some products, but still has vegan options.
The Pure Pasty Co (128 Church St NW) — This British pies and pastry shop in downtown Vienna is not vegetarian focused but has vegetarian hot and frozen options and frozen vegan options.
Sunflower Vegetarian Restaurant (2531 Chain Bridge Rd) — An Asian cuisine restaurant with extensive vegan options.
Merrifield
Spice 6 Modern Indian (2674 I Avenir Place) — An assembly line-style Indian restaurant that serves meat but has vegan options. The menu has several vegetarian meals and curries, and the whole wheat naan is vegan.
Lost Dog Cafe (2729 Merrilee Drive) — A restaurant with locations throughout the region that features a large selection of sandwiches. The menu marks items that are vegetarian and has vegan options for sandwiches.
Puree Juice Bar (2905 District Ave) — A juice bar with organic produce, vegan smoothies and salads.
True Food Kitchen (2910 District Ave) — The menu changes seasonally at the True Food Kitchen, a national chain of restaurants with another location in Ballston Quarter, but always includes vegan and vegetarian choices. Options include tofu bowls and cheese-less pizzas.
Jinya Ramen Bar (2911 District Ave) — A casual Japanese food and ramen chain, with a new location opening soon in Vienna. Vegan ramen options are available, with vegetable-based sides and salads.
Oath Pizza (2920 District Ave) — A pizza restaurant with vegan cheese and some vegan toppings.
Tysons
Mixing Bowl (7949 Tysons Corner Center) — A Korean tacos, wraps and bibimbap restaurant on the first floor of the Tysons Corner Center mall with vegan options.
Earl’s Kitchen (7902 Tyson’s One Place) — A restaurant near the Tysons Corner Center mall with vegan options, including sushi, salads and bowls.
Inca Latin Kitchen, a new South American restaurant at 2670 in Merrifield, is hosting a series of pre-opening events this weekend and next week before its grand opening on Feb. 1.
Today (Friday) and tomorrow, the restaurant will host its final Machu Pisco tasting. No reservations are required and the event is free to attend. Parking is also free after 6 p.m. in the nearby Metro station lot.
“We will be featuring our Machu Pisco collaboration beer that can only be drank at Inca or Crooked Run Brewing,” the restaurant said in a Facebook post. “You will also be able to enjoy our Pisco Sours as well as some of our classic Latin American cocktails like a Chilcano and our tasty sample menu for you to taste many of our menu items like Lomo Saltado, Inca Balls, Ceviche and so much more!”
The restaurant will have a soft opening Wednesday (Jan. 9) from 4-9 p.m.
Inca Latin Kitchen is also currently open to applications for positions from bartenders to managers.
Photo via Facebook
Christmas Tree Pickup Underway — Fairfax County and Town of Vienna residents can dispose of Christmas trees with their regular trash collection through Jan. 11. [Patch]
Vienna Companies Celebrating Anniversaries — Two Vienna companies are celebrating 60 years in business: Ar-Jon Portable Toilets and the Parkwood School. [InsideNova]
Local Restaurants Participating in Restaurant Week — Nearly two dozen McLean, Tysons and Vienna area restaurants are participating in the annual Winter Restaurant Week from Jan. 14-20. [Patch, Patch]
Sen Khao isn’t just physically distant from most of the other eateries in the new Taste of Urbanspace food hall in Tysons Galleria — its Laotian menu sets it a little apart from the standard mall food fare.
The restaurant is a new location from the creators of Thip Khao in Columbia Heights and offers a scaled down version of that restaurant’s menu.
The main dishes at Sen Khao are coconut sticky rice and rice noodle soup, most for around $14.
The coconut sticky rice is served with pickled cucumber, carrot and onion, with options for sausage, chicken or tofu. The rice noodle soups are served with a choice of chicken, tofu or shrimp.
For those looking for a small helping, Sen Khao served curry puffs — crispy dough pockets stuffed with curried potato.
Sen Khao is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., except on Sundays where it closes at 6 p.m.
If the new ice cream parlor wasn’t enough dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth in the recently opened Taste of Urbanspace, boutique cakemaker Lady M opened in Tysons Galleria last Thursday.
Lady M’s Urbanspace location is a pop-up that is scheduled to last until February 2019.
During December, the boutique’s website says the shop will offer a selection of classic and seasonal cakes:
Get ready for Mille Crêpes in Signature, Green Tea, Coconut, and Marron. With winter weather in mind, we’re also bringing Chocolate Arc-en-Ciel, Gateau Fromage, Mont Blanc (thoughtfully sized for one), and the beautiful and boozy Black Forest.
Lady M will be open from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. from Monday-Saturday, then 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on Sunday.
Six or nine-inch cakes are available from $55-95, with slices of cake available from $8.50-9.50.
Photo via Facebook
Senators Try to Intervene for Farm — “As operations wind down at Claude Moore Colonial Farm following a contract dispute between the National Park Service (NPS) and the farm’s friends group, both of Virginia’s U.S. senators are asking for an yearlong extension so the parties can try to hammer out an agreement.” [InsideNova, Patch]
Vienna Council Wants Marco Polo Demolished — “The vacated Marco Polo Restaurant fell into disrepair before it burned down Oct. 14 in a blaze allegedly set by a pair of teenage arsonists. Vienna Town Council members on Dec. 10 urged town officials to step up their efforts to have the building’s charred remains demolished and removed.” [InsideNova]
FCPD Looking for Local Missing Man — Fairfax County Police are looking for a 35-year-old man who went missing after last been seen “near the 2200 block of Mohegan Drive in Falls Church.” He was wearing a black turban and jogging pants and is “considered endangered,” according to police. [Twitter]
Building Near Spring Hill Metro Purchased — “Transwestern today announces it brokered the sale of Tysons Pond II, a 67,151-square-foot, free-standing office building located at 1604 Spring Hill Road in Tysons… A private investor purchased the 70 percent leased asset for $10 million.” [Citybizlist]
Nantucket Bay Scallops Season in Tysons — “Nantucket Bay scallops are in season and Eddie V’s of Tysons Corner has a special scallop dishes that are available for a limited time.” [WUSA 9]
Jerry Gordon Reflects on Retirement — “Jerry Gordon has two weeks left on his job as the president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Authority, and his office is so empty it echoes… After 31 years on the job, Gordon is transitioning out of a role that led Fairfax to become a superstar in economic development.” [Washington Business Journal]
More Silver Line Phase 2 Problems — “Hundreds of concrete rail ties installed at track crossovers along the second phase of the Silver Line are flawed, officials say, a problem that could further delay the multibillion-dollar rail project that is already 13 months behind schedule.” [Washington Post]
