I-66 Tolls Shifted Behavior, Did Not Improve Traffic — “The new high-occupancy toll lanes on one of the busiest highways in the Washington region have sparked dramatic shifts in commuter behavior, prompting motorists to alter their commute times and routes, data show, while yielding tolls as high as $47.50 — some of the highest per mile in the country.” [Washington Post]

‘Green’ Vienna Businesses Recognized — “Nine Vienna businesses who have successfully completed the Town’s 2018 Sustainability Challenge were recognized at last night’s Town Council meeting… Through the program, certified businesses tally points on a checklist of green practices that they undertake as part of day-to-day operations.” [FairfaxNews]

Local Restaurants Open On Christmas — Staying in town for the holidays and planning to dine out? Patch has compiled a list of McLean, Vienna and Tysons restaurants that are planning to remain open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. [Patch, Patch]

Rough Night for Silver Line Commuters — Those heading home on the Silver Line last night faced delays, offloading and other issues during the evening commute due to a track problem outside of Foggy Bottom. [Twitter, Twitter]

Skepticism About McLean Intersection Plan — “While there were a few who expressed their overall approval for Fairfax County Department of Transportation’s (FCDOT) recommendation for improvements to the Balls Hill Road and Old Dominion Drive intersection in McLean, the majority of those who attended the meeting at Cooper Middle School on the evening of Nov. 28 were less than satisfied with the outcome of more than two years of study and analysis.” [McLean Connection]

Disruptive Restaurant Employee Arrested — “Vienna police on Nov. 20 at 3:01 a.m. dispatched officers to Amphora Restaurant, 377 Maple Ave., W., after receiving a report that an employee, who appeared to be intoxicated, was yelling at customers.” [InsideNova]

Starbucks Customers Threatened in Falls Church — “Police responded for a report of an unknown subject approaching customers and threatening physical harm. Following an investigation, the suspect was identified, and the victim declined prosecution.” [City of Fall Church]

Flu Shots at Grocery Stores — “Giant Food announced today that flu shots are once again available at all of its in-store pharmacies for both adults and children. The vaccinations are administered by Giant’s certified in-store pharmacists and are often covered in-full by most insurance plans.” [FairfaxNews]

It’s been a troubled year for the Tysons Galleria’s third floor, but today’s grand opening of the new Taste of Urbanspace has seemingly brought the saga to a close.

One year ago, the space opened as Isabella Eatery, a series of restaurants spread out across a wide swath of the third floor. Owned by celebrity chef Mike Isabella, the ambitious project earned its namesake a New York Times profile, but a sexual assault lawsuit against Isabella and a year of declining sales left the space empty by August this year.

Less than month ago, New York-based UrbanSpace announced it would be taking over the space and filling it with a selection of restaurant favorites from throughout the region.

Today, five of the eight restaurants planned for the food hall are open for businesses. The new restaurants fill the same spaces as the former occupants, some in similar roles.

• Stomping Ground — A coffee shop and bistro in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood.Sen Hao
• Sen Khao — A new location from the owners of the Laotian restaurant Thip Khao in Columbia Heights.
• Donburi — A Japanese rice bowl restaurant with locations in Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle.
• Ice Cream Jubilee — An ice cream location with locations on the Capitol Riverfront and 14th Street NW, with another location soon to open in Ballston Quarter’s food hall.
• Andy’s Pizza — A pizza-by-the-slice shop from the D.C. frozen pizza company Eat Pizza.

Ice Cream Jubilee is hosting a grand opening celebration this Sunday, Dec. 9, from 12-4 p.m. Those who RSVP can get free ice cream.

The decor remains much the same. In some places, new stickers are peeling from where they were taped over the old wallpaper.

For all of the new stuff coming to Tysons, there is still a sense that those who live and work here want more.

With the Biergarten and the new Palladium, there’s more nightlife than before. Yet only 6 percent of respondents to a recent poll described Tysons as a fun place to go out at night.

Likewise, there are plenty of restaurants in Tysons proper, but via social media we hear grumblings about there being too many chains and not enough interesting, independent eateries.

So what do you think? Of the following list, what is the biggest need for Tysons?

Have a specific type of cuisine you’re hungry for more of in Tysons? Let us know in the comments.

Photo via Facebook

The Vienna Shopping Center, already a popular local lunch destination with fast-casual spots like Cava and Mod Pizza, is about to add Don Pollo to the local casual food offerings.

The charbroiled chicken eatery is scheduled to open at 146 Maple Ave. W sometime in December, according to its website. The Vienna location will be the sixth for the chain and the first outside of Maryland.

Don Pollo features Peruvian cuisine, from its namesake chicken dishes to steak and seafood. Sides include South American staples like yuca and chaufa (Peruvian fried rice).

A new Ben & Jerry’s also opened in the Vienna Shopping Center on Sept. 21.

Hat tip to “Vienna J.”

Details are emerging about A Taste of UrbanSpace, a new food hall planned to replace the Isabella Eatery on the third floor of Tysons Galleria.

According to the Washington Post, the new eatery will bring together eight restaurants from across the Washington area. So far, five of the eight new restaurants have been announced. They are:

• Stomping Ground — A coffee shop and bistro in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood.
• Thip Khao — A popular Laotian restaurant in Columbia Heights.
• Donburi — A Japanese rice bowl restaurant with locations in Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle.
• Ice Cream Jubilee — An ice cream location with locations on the Capitol Riverfront and 14th Street NW, with another location soon to open in Ballston Quarter’s food hall.
• Andy’s Pizza — A pizza-by-the-slice shop from the D.C. frozen pizza company Eat Pizza.

The new food hall is scheduled to have a quick turnaround, opening this coming Wednesday (Nov. 28), completely replacing Isabella Eatery and its in-house restaurant brands while maintaining the same kitchen and dining spaces.

UrbanSpace, the company running the new eatery, specializes in food halls and markets that support smaller restaurateurs and entrepreneurs. The company runs Broadway Bites and Mad. Sq. Eats, among other markets in New York City.

For the past year, the Turkish Coffee Lady has been the one-stop-shop for Turkish coffee and other delicacies inside the Tysons Corner Center mall. Tomorrow, for their anniversary celebration, the store will be hosting a Turkish holiday bazaar.

The event will run from noon-6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17 at the store on the ground level of the mall near the Lord and Taylor. The bazaar, styled after the marketplaces of Istanbul, will feature a variety of holiday gift items for sale.

Beyond just selling coffee, the Turkish Coffee Lady also offers group coffee and Turkish cuisine tastings and complimentary fortune readings, a tradition of Turkish coffee drinking.

Similarly, the bazaar activities are scheduled to highlight a variety of Turkish cultural activities. These will include a Turkish folk dance, calligraphy, face painting and more.

The Turkish Coffee Lady is a woman-owned business. A portion of the sales will be donated to the Washington Turkish Women Association, which aids Turkish children and schools.

Photo via Facebook

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

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

There is no shortage of places to eat in Tysons, though sometimes it can be hard to pick a lunch option or figure out a good meeting spot for a sit-down dinner.

We scoured the dozens of restaurants in the immediate Tysons area on Yelp and picked out the highest-rated options.

Included are everything from fast casual eateries to high-end steak and seafood restaurants. Many, as one would imagine given the local landscape, are located in malls, office buildings and single-story shopping plazas.

The top 15 restaurants are below, with the best-reviewed options at the top.

1. Blessing Cafe (8618 Westwood Center Dr) — 5 stars — “While working basically next door this was the close place to grab a quick lunch and it certainly did not disappoint. I had the chicken teriyaki one day and then the beef bulgogi another day. Both were great.”
2. Lei’d Poke (8032 Leesburg Pike) — 4.5 stars — “Lei’d Poke is a solid spot to get your raw fish fix. If you didn’t know, this joint is run by the same owners of Chasin’ Tails, Teas’n You, and Roll Play… Here, I’d recommend getting Matcha Edamame Rice with Sweet Maui Onion Salmon and Class Shoyu Tuna.”
3. Banban Fusion Eatery (8251 Greensboro Dr) — 4.5 stars — “The restaurant… is a small office cafe-optimized for people to grab their lunch and go. They have several menu items such as sandwiches, bibimbap, and hibachi bowls.”
4. Roll Play Grill (8150 Leesburg Pike) — 4.5 stars — “This is the real deal place for pho and Banh Mi sandwiches… go directly to the flat screen and place your order.”
5. American Prime (1420 Spring Hill Road) — 4.5 stars — “Skip over everything else on the menu and order the house-smoked prime rib with sides of bone marrow mashed potatoes and bacon creamed corn.”
6. Charlotte Artisanal (Tysons Corner Center, 1961 Chain Bridge Rd)  — 4.5 stars — “This crepe stand is located inside Tysons Corner mall in front of [the] Gap store… I ended up getting banana Nutella crepe and it was TERRIFIC!”
7. Super Chicken (8357 Leesburg Pike) — 4 stars — “You know those rotisserie chickens you get from grocery stores? What if they were really really good? What if they were really cheap and came with sides (two sides per order) like chickpeas, veggies, fried rice, fried plantains, French fries, etc.? Well that just about describes the chicken at this place.”
8. Coastal Flats (7860 Tysons Corner Center) – 4 stars — “Forget your usual mediocre, overpriced mall restaurants, this place is legit worth checking out. The have a pretty extensive menu so there’s something for everyone. Be sure and get the Ozzie rolls.”
9. Eddie V’s Prime Seafood (7900 Tysons One Pl) — 4 stars — “Eddie V’s provides a tasteful atmosphere which combined with the live music and nice views, makes for a nice dining establishment. Beyond that, however, my experiences here have had a tendency to be inconsistent.”
10. Crust Pizzeria Napoletana (8415 Old Courthouse Rd) — 4 stars — “Great, authentic Naples pizza – finally! – in Tysons/Vienna… Decent selection of drinks, good side dishes, slightly grumpy guys in charge – so just like Naples!”
11. Nostos (8100 Boone Blvd) — 4 stars — A favorite of Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema, who wrote: “My favorite place to eat in Tysons continues to be Nostos, home to a Greek menu and charming service.”
12. Paddy Barry’s Irish Pub and Restaurant (8150 Leesburg Pike) — 4 stars — “Great spot for a Guinness and if you are looking for a quiet place for a business lunch, this is the place to go… It’s a rather large Irish bar with a good Irish draft beer selection and a good menu. Two in my group left no crumbs in their large Shepard’s pie and the fish and chips was a hit too.”
13. The Capital Grille (1861 International Dr) — 4 stars — “I think this is possibly even better than Morton’s and Ruth’s Chris, certainly less stuffy although around the same price points and comfortable but very upscale ambiance. A great experience all around from excellent service to amazing food.”
14. CAVA (8048 Tysons Corner Ctr) — 4 stars — “Cava bowls have a special place in my heart! They are nutritious and packed with flavor. It’s good to have an option of fast food that you don’t have to feel guilty about.”
15. Thai’s Corner (8607 Westwood Center Dr) — 4 stars — “Probably the best Thai restaurant I have ever been to. Food is definitely good and the service is excellent… My favorite: Pad Thai, Drunken Noodles, Spring Rolls, Basil Chicken Fried Rice. Basically everything is good.”

Want to go out at night after your meal? Nightlife in Tysons leaves something to be desired, but there are several popular options to choose from.

And in case you’re wondering about the lowest-rated restaurant in Tysons with at least 5 reviews on Yelp — it’s the McDonald’s in Tysons Corner Center mall, at No. 207 on the list.

Photo via Instagram/Lei’d Poke