Clarendon Culture

ABBIE winners

The ”Best of” Arlington ABBIE award winners were just announced, and several Clarendon businesses (which are italicized in the list below) made the list!  Congrats to all the winners!

• Best Boutique: ShoeFly
• Best Brunch: Carlyle
• Best Community-Based Nonprofit: Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC)
• Best Customer Service: Circa
• Best Dessert: Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe
• Best Late Night Spot: Bob and Edith’s Diner
• Best Performing Arts Organization: Signature Theatre
• Best Place to Care for Your Pet: Dogma Gourmet Dog Bakery and Boutique
• Best Place to Dance the Night Away: Clarendon Ballroom
• Best Place to Learn Something New: Arlington Public Library
• Best Happy Hour: Whitlow’s on Wilson Bar and Grill
• Best Neighborhood Bar: Ireland’s Four Courts
• Best “Bargain” Restaurant: Lost Dog Café
• Best Family Friendly Restaurant: Lost Dog Café
• Best New Business: District Taco

Foodspotting in Clarendon

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Foodspotting.com is a website that catalogs user-generated photos of dishes from area restaurants. You can sort by city, restaurant name, a specific user, or a few other ways.  I’ve quickly become hooked, and just recently started submitting my own images to the site.  Below are some of my favorite “foodspotted” images from around Clarendon…

Tomato and Avocado Omelette @ La Pain Quotidien

Fresh Beet Salad @ Astor Mediterranean

Loaded Cheese Fries @ Whitlow’s On Wilson

Seafood Kabobs @ Boulevard Woodgrill

BBQ Bacon Shrimp & Grits @ Restaurant 3

burger and fries @ brgr:shack

Cajun Ribeye @ Rays the Steaks

Donuts Treats @ Lyon Hall

Turkish Coffee @ Me Jana Restaurant

Weekend in pictures

(Edit: I will be writing reviews on the restaurants mentioned in this post later this week.  This post is just meant as a brief introduction.)

Friday

Homemade fettuccine alfredo and a great bottle of wine;

Saturday

Dinner at Liberty Tavern, completely random craving for a cake pop (which Starbucks surprisingly delivered on), drinks on the Whitlows roof terrace, then the Correspondents’ dinner;

Sunday

Brunch at Ulah Bistro (thanks to the great recommendation by Bitches Who Brunch) with Alla & co., amazing baja style tacos in Alexandria, and spending the night glued to our screens with the news of Bin Laden’s death.  Our military and president are badass.

Whitlows Rooftop Deck opens tomorrow!

Whitlows will be holding a grand opening bash Monday starting at 4 PM to celebrate the grand opening of their new rooftop deck!  (and in case you haven’t checked the weather, temps will be in the mid-70’s tomorrow!!) Check out recent pictures of the tiki-themed rooftop on TBD.com.  I’ll be there!

Clarendon Halloween Bashes

(image via)

Here is your guide to Halloween creepin’ Clarendon style.  All parties listed below will take place on Saturday night, October 30.

Clarendon Ballroom

• Doors open at 6 PM / No reentry allowed
• Cover starts at $10, but will increase to $20 as thenight goes on (no set time)
• $500 prize for best costume/All 3 levels will be open

Clarendon Grill

• Featuring band Gonzo’s Nose (on stage at 10 PM)
• Cash prize for best costume
• 1st place: $250; 2nd place: $100; 3rd place: $50

Liberty Tavern

• $5 Cover starts at 10pm / Reentry is allowed
• They’ll be featuring a cash-only, pop-up beer bar at the door to keep the drinks flowing.

Whitlows on Wilson

• Live music by The Cheaters
• (whiskey fuelled ROCK n ROLL!)
• 1st Place Prize For Best Costume
• 1st Place Prize for Sexiest Costume

Artistic Rendering of Whitlow’s Rooftop Bar/Grill

Here is an artistic rendering of Whitlow’s tiki-themed rooftop bar/grill, scheduled to open this fall.  Looks a bit like Clarendon Ballroom’s rooftop minus the art deco plus the great food!

Whitlows Adding Rooftop Deck

Whitlows on Wilson is set to begin construction on a huge rooftop deck, ArlNow.com reports.  The rooftop bar, which will be called ‘Fu Bar,’ is slated to open in September, and will have a nearly 300 person capacity.

Those of you who have lived here since 2006 might remember the tiki-bar themed Mama Quan’s, which closed in 2006, and was eventually leveled and replaced by Restaurant 3.  Through Fu Bar, the tiki-bar theme will be back in Clarendon. 

Construction is set to begin this Monday. 

Photos from the Clarendon TBD.com Tweetup!

Had a great time tonight at the Tweetup organized by TBD.com.  Bloggers, Tweeters, and other social media nerds converged at Whitlows on Wilson for cheap beer, cheap tacos, and loads of fun.  Meeting an avatar in person is actually much more exciting than it might sound on the surface.  Here’s to more Clarendon Tweetups!