• 27Jun

    Ballston Farmer’s Market will Open Thursday, June 28 (Tomorrow)

    Announcement from the Ballston BID:

    “The Farmer’s Market will take place Thursday, June 28 from 3pm to 7pm at Welburn Square in Ballston (the Ballston Circle) between North Stuart & North Taylor Streets, across from the Ballston Metro.

    In addition to the participating merchants, the Grand Opening will feature a celebrity chef from the Ballston restaurant Willow, who will conduct an outdoor cooking demonstration, as well as live music from the noted-Rockabilly band, Jumpin’ Jupiter.”

    The vendors are listed in the announcement.

    -JAY

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    Permalink Filed under: Events, Ingredients, Products Tags: , 1 Comment
  • 02Sep

    Topic of Discussion: Union Jack’s (Ballston) Dress Code

    Isn’t odd that Union Jack’s (a restaurant/bar in a shopping mall) in Ballston has a dress code with only two rules for women and 11 for men?  What is the message being sent here?  We value female business more than male business?  If I was denied entry for wearing this Jon Wye shirt (it has a skull), UJ would lose a (current and future) customer. and my group and I would go next door to Rock Bottom. I’m just not understanding why they are giving men (potential customers) detailed style advice. Anyone else think their dress code is excessive for men?

    These rules go into effect at 9pm.

    On a lighter note, a friend said “Someone using that font is giving style advice?”

    -JAY

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    Permalink Filed under: Restaurants Tags: , 1 Comment
  • 24Aug

    Chicken Shwarma in Ballston

    chicken shwarma

    Upper Crust Gourmet (a Mediterranean cafe) in Ballston has a new Chef and has started serving house made chicken shwarma daily–they have the necessary rotisserie . The new Chef (Jimmy) is Egyptian, and the (very personable) Manager (Maher) is Middle Eastern as well. The rice was cold, but I was ok with that.

    I had the shwarma today and enjoyed it. I ordered it as a platter…and really enjoyed the spicy condiment they included. They add a bunch of little garnishes and touches–often they even give you a little fruit or feta cheese on the plate with whatever you order (as you can see below).

    spinach quiche

    Jimmy has been making other new dishes…including one to three quiches a day (Sunday was spinach, quiche Lorraine and broccoli). He also makes a good koshary, an Egyptian pasta dish with lentils and fried onions–an occasional special.

    And, they serve Illy coffee…good stuff.

    I’ll admit that I have been sitting on this recommendation a while, since they needed to get the (new) restaurant/cafe working smoothly…but with a new (and very good) chef…it’s time to share this one.

    Upper Crust Gourmet
    100 N. Randolph St.
    Arlington, VA 22201
    703-243-7400

    Open for breakfast, lunch, and until 8pm daily (Sundays they sometimes close at 7 or 7:30).  They have outdoor seating, wine/beer and are working on a webpage.

    -JAY


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  • 17Jul

    Fertile Plains Ballston Farmer’s Market

    This market is Thursday evenings and has some good vendors including 3 meet vendors.

    I purchased some smoked pork chops ($8 a pound) and a 2 pound (beef) porterhouse ($11 a pound) a few weeks ago at Fertile Plains Custom Pork’s stand, and both were very good, but the steak stood out.  I grilled it and it was much more tender than any porterhouse I’ve had previously.

    He carries chicken, pork, ad beef and prepared foods (like soups), and also does markets in Reston, Herndon, Farfax City, and Braddock road.  His email is frtlplns@fronteirnet.net.

    Other stands to look out for are Baguette Republic, the blueberry vendor, the lamb vendor, Culinary Herb Farm (spices), and the several stands that sell produce.

    -JAY
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  • 06Nov

    The Burrito Box in Ballston

    burrito box3Burritos have been street food in DC for years but tend to be the vegetarian variety as witnessed in last year’s DCFUD article: A Tale Of Two Burrito Stands.

    Colin Hudson has opened a non vegetarian burrito stand called “The Burrito Box” in Ballston near the Ballston Mall and 30 feet from Pupatella.

    I’ve tried his (vegetarian) tortilla soup, but he has since upgraded it; I’ll try it again soon.  The beef and chicken burrito included corn, black beans, onions, peppers, and a green salsa.  It was good although the beef was a tad tough but he uses a lower fat cut of meat.  In general, the stand leans towards lower fat options (and has vegetarian options as well). He does a good job of mixing up the ingredients in the burrito so that the rice is coated and flavorful.

    Burrito Box is a new stand, and a work in progress.  Colin just upgraded from hand-written to self-printed menus and will get laminated menus soon.  He is

    Colin selling tacos.

    Colin selling tacos.

    also still working on the menu.

    Stop by, get some takeout, give him some foodback, and give him a reason to stick it out all winter in the freezing cold. 🙂

    Mon – Fri: 7:30 am – 10:00 am for breakfast (breakfast burritos etc.) and 11:30am-3:00pm for lunch.

    -JAY

    Permalink Filed under: Etc, Stores Tags: , , , 2 Comments

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