A slice of Anthonys famous pizza. (Photo: News-Press)

In a controversial move to push it out of its long-time W. Broad Street location in the City of Falls Church in the summer of 2013, the legendary Anthonys Restaurant had to wait a year until last summer to have its new location at Route 50 and Annandale Road ready. But the agony over the lost old space and the year-long hiatus in the business is now long and forgotten, as the new location at 3000 Annandale Road is thriving in a big way. To many in the City of Falls Church, including the over 500 who signed petitions to keep the restaurant open where construction of a major new mixed use project (that will be anchored by a large Harris Teeter supermarket) is now well underway, the loss of Anthonys which grew into its old location over more than 40 years of service, was painful and hard to take.

But rather than just sink into history, the tenacity of the family of Greek immigrants has surprised everybody. Led by patriarch and matriarch Anthony and Faye Yiannarakis, the family business is now also being augmented by the work of their grown children and the spouse of daughter Penny, Peter Zoutis, who also hails from Greece.

Thriving in their new location, a spacious 4,400 square feet not far from the major Route 50 at Annandale Road intersection, the modestly-priced family-style restaurant seems like a better fit in its new location, serving a large community on the south side of Rt. 50, than it was on W. Broad, where it was fast becoming a bit of an aging anomaly in an area of high commercial and mixed use growth.

Anybody who has lived in Falls Church for any period of time is undoubtedly familiar with the core Anthonys menu, with abundant portions of spaghetti dishes, submarine sandwiches and outstanding pizza.

But the menu developed to attend the reopening at the new location is also larger and more comprehensive, beginning with 10 appetizer choices including calamari, stuffed grape leaves, spinach and feta cheese turnovers, tzatziki and pita, a combo tzatziki, hummus and eggplant dip with pita bread.

In addition to a soup of the day, a staple at the old location often being either navy bean or split pea, the menu now includes french onion and avgolemono as regular items, the latter being traditional Greek-style chicken, lemon and rice soup.

The array of salad options has grown to nine and there are an abundance of sandwiches, ranging from classic BLT, turkey, bacon, avocado and aged provolone, to crab cake, pastrami, corned beef and turkey reuben, three club sandwich choices (turkey, ham and cheese, roast beef and cheese and tuna and egg), the burger, cheeseburger and Greek burger (beef and pork infused with fresh herbs), pita bread sandwiches and 14 varieties of subs. Signature dinners include 10 Greek choices, six seafood options, six steak, pork and chicken choices and 13 pasta options, with arrays of toppings options (whole wheat pasta being available upon request for an additional $1.50).

Then there is their classic New York style pizza in three sizes (nine, 12 and 16 inches) with 22 topping options, including four premium toppings, and white pizza that features extra virgin olive oil, fresh garlic, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil.

There is a kids menu, and 18 dessert choices, including six homemade desserts (baklava, rice pudding, flan, bugatsa, tiramisu and Greek yogurt topped with candied fruit).

Originally posted here:
Restaurant Spotlight: Anthonys Restaurant

Friday will mark the last day for Sandys Pantry in the Koester Block.

Sandy Behrens will begin packing up her restaurants dishes, pans and utensils from the 33 years she has run the restaurant there since 1981. She is moving into the Astro 3 Theatre, where she plans to reopen her small diner.

The daytime restaurant is scheduled to open Feb. 2 in the theaters lobby. A 12x15-foot kitchen, located next to the concession stand, is under construction. Seating for the restaurant will be booths moved from her former location.

Additional tables and chairs will be set up during restaurant hours.

Alex Shultz, Astro co-owner, offered the opportunity for Sandy to move to the Astro this past year.

With rising operating costs, Behrens, who announced last year that she planned to close, decided the new location would be a good move.

She plans to serve the same menu as she offers now and may add a few new things. Hours of operation will be determined closer to the opening in February.

Shultz eats at Sandys Pantry every day, and said her cheeseburgers are his favorite food.

I am looking forward to the move, she said. It will be a challenge. I will miss the people who come in here, but hopefully they will all come to eat at Sandys Pantry at the Astro.

Behrens said shes met a lot of nice people at the restaurant through the years.

More here:
Friday last day for Sandy's Pantry on Koester Block

GROTON -- Ten years after his restaurant was torn down to accommodate improvements at the intersection of Route 119 and Sandy Pond Road, property owner Joseph Wong appeared before the Planning Board with plans to get back into food service.

Wong, along with representative John Amaral and engineer Jesse Johnson, met with the Planning Board Thursday to unveil early plans for the development of Crossroads Plaza, the 788 Boston Road lot the restaurateur owns and which had been the site of the former Groton Jade Chinese restaurant.

According to Johnson, the site plan presented at the pre-submission review included a pair of buildings, the larger of which would house a new 106-seat Chinese restaurant planned by Wong.

Wong received approval from the board earlier this year for a pair of special permits originally awarded to him in 2006 and covering a more ambitious plan for the environmentally sensitive site.

At the time, board members were told there were no immediate plans to develop the 4.5-acre corner site but that Wong wanted to keep his options open in case the economy improved.

Wong first contemplated developing the site several years ago, when it became clear the state's plans to redesign the Four Corners intersection would require the demolition of his Groton Jade Chinese Restaurant.

There was talk Wong would rebuild elsewhere on the site but as time went on, plans emerged for a full-scale redevelopment of the lot that included the construction of up to five buildings.

But those early plans met resistance from town officials, including the Planning Board, which was unhappy with the number and size of the proposed buildings.

In 2006, Wong changed his design team. He brought in engineering firm GPR Inc., which proceeded to make drastic alterations to the Crossroads concept including cutting the number of proposed buildings from five to four and reducing the size of the retail space from 43,000 to 19,000 square feet.

On Thursday, Johnson told members the new plan now included only two buildings, the first of which would comprise 4,500 square feet and house a new restaurant.

Read the original here:
Former restaurateur returns with new plan from Groton's Four Corners

GROTON -- Ten years after his restaurant was torn down to accommodate improvements at the intersection of Route 119 and Sandy Pond Road, property owner Joseph Wong appeared before the Planning Board with plans to get back into food service.

Wong, along with representative John Amaral and engineer Jesse Johnson, met with the Planning Board Thursday to unveil early plans for the development of Crossroads Plaza, the 788 Boston Road lot the restaurateur owns and which had been the site of the former Groton Jade Chinese restaurant.

According to Johnson, the site plan presented at the pre-submission review included a pair of buildings, the larger of which would house a new 106-seat Chinese restaurant planned by Wong.

Wong received approval from the board earlier this year for a pair of special permits originally awarded to him in 2006 and covering a more ambitious plan for the environmentally sensitive site.

At the time, board members were told there were no immediate plans to develop the 4.5-acre corner site but that Wong wanted to keep his options open in case the economy improved.

Wong first contemplated developing the site several years ago, when it became clear the state's plans to redesign the Four Corners intersection would require the demolition of his Groton Jade Chinese Restaurant.

There was talk Wong would rebuild elsewhere on the site but as time went on, plans emerged for a full-scale redevelopment of the lot that included the construction of up to five buildings.

But those early plans met resistance from town officials, including the Planning Board, which was unhappy with the number and size of the proposed buildings.

In 2006, Wong changed his design team. He brought in engineering firm GPR Inc., which proceeded to make drastic alterations to the Crossroads concept including cutting the number of proposed buildings from five to four and reducing the size of the retail space from 43,000 to 19,000 square feet.

On Thursday, Johnson told members the new plan now included only two buildings, the first of which would comprise 4,500 square feet and house a new restaurant.

Read more here:
Restaurateur seeks return to Groton site

THE site of a former Hereford restaurant on the banks of the River Wye is finally set to be developed.

Riverside Construction (Hereford) Ltd will start work in the New Year on 18 new luxury apartments within a secure gated complex off Greyfriars Avenue.

The former Campions restaurant stood empty after it closed in the 1990s and was finally demolished in February 2013.

The site has been the subject of a number of planning applications over the years but plans submitted by Paul Tobin, of Riverside Construction, were approved a year ago.

Mr Tobin said that work will begin in the New Year and is expected to take around 15 to 18 months.

The complex will feature a living green wall which is designed to look aesthetically pleasing, while reducing energy use, providing insulation and minimising carbon dioxide emissions.

Hunters Estate Agents are handling sales and are accepting offers between 279,500 and 295,000.

And the agents say they have already received substantial interest, with nine of the apartments already sold.

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Flats to be built on site of former Hereford restaurant on banks of River Wye

Red O, a Rick Bayless-inspired restaurant that has a location in Newport Beach's Fashion Island center, will replace Donovan's in UTC area.

Red O, an upscale restaurant brand that showcases celebrity chef Rick Bayless authentic Mexican cuisine, is coming to San Diego where it will take the place of Donovans Prime Steakhouse.

The Irvine Co., landlord for the 825,000-square-foot Plaza office complex in the UTC area where the restaurant will be located, announced Monday its plans for the space that Donovans will vacate Jan. 3 before relocating to its new home on Prospect Street in La Jolla.

Red O and the Irvine Co., which will raze the standalone Donovans restaurant structure, expect to invest $7 million in creating the new 8,300-square-foot restaurant that will also include a 2,000-square-foot patio. The Irvine Co. will start construction in early 2015, with an opening expected in mid-2016 across from Westfield UTC.

The move marks the first San Diego location for Red O, which already operates in Los Angeles and Fashion Island in Newport Beach and will be opening in Santa Monica as well. Bayless cuisine, which is inspired by the food typically found in various regions of Mexico, most notably the Yucatan, Oaxaca and Baja California, is the centerpiece of Red Os menu.

Bayless, while not technically a co-owner or partner in the Red O restaurants, has complete control over the menu, and his team trains all the chefs at his well-known Chicago restaurants, Topolobampo and Frontera Grill. Everything on the menu must be approved and tasted by Bayless personally, said Red O Chief Operating Officer Jason Miranda.

Were taking a steak and seafood restaurant and adding a Mexican twist so people would be wrong to categorize us as a typical Mexican restaurant, Miranda explained. Therefore its upscale dining with a ticket average of $70 plus per person, the same price point as Donovans.

Obviously it caters to upscale neighborhoods, and La Jolla being an upscale neighborhood, it can support these type of cuisines because of the affluence in the area. We thought it could be a good fit.

The move to San Diego is part of an expansion plan to bring the Red O concept to other locations across the country, with one to two openings planned a year, Miranda said.

Red O in Newport Beach is one of the top performing restaurants among Fashion Islands nearly 50 dining venues, said Irvine Co. spokesman Michael Lyster. Bayless is a James Beard award winner and host of the PBS series Mexico: One Plate at a Time.

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Rick Bayless concept headed to UTC

VOL. 129 | NO. 246 | Thursday, December 18, 2014

Folks Folly has finished rebranding and renovating the restaurants adjacent butcher shop that opened in 1989, a spate of activity that also included renaming the shop in honor of restaurant founder Humphrey Folk.

The butcher shop adjacent to Folks Folly that opened in 1989 has been rebranded and renamed in honor of restaurant founder Humphrey Folk.

(Submitted Photo)

The shop, at 551 S. Mendenhall Road, is now Humphreys Prime Cut Shoppe. It also has launched an online store, http://www.HumphreysMemphis.com, and rolled out a new brand identity, fresh marketing materials and redesigned packaging as part of the changes.

The namesake of the shop and of Folks Folly Prime Steak House was a businessman involved in construction and real estate development whose work took him around the country and who, perhaps unsurprisingly, developed a deep appreciation of good food and fine wine.

Lauren McHugh, Folks Folly president and managing partner, said that Folk would often give gift packages of prime steaks to business associates as well as to friends. He was doing that out of the back door at Folks Folly as early as 1977, she said.

Now, were giving him the iconic front door he had always envisioned, she said.

The newly rebranded shop sells fresh, hand-cut meats and other gourmet products, and Humphreys items can be delivered in Memphis or shipped overnight anywhere in the continental U.S. Its a way, Humphreys manager Terry Martin said, that customers can take the restaurant experience with them choosing a hand-cut prime steak and other fixings for a customers home, in other words, is the next best thing to enjoying them in the Folks Folly dining room.

Hours of the newly renovated butcher shop are Mondays through Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and its closed on Sundays.

See the article here:
Folks Folly Rebrands, Renames Butcher Shop

The newly reborn, $100 million Edgewater Hotel on the shores of Lake Mendota has been under construction for more than two years.

It still is.

True, the Statehouse, Edgewaters fine dining flagship restaurant, opened its doors to diners in late September. But on many levels, its just not ready for prime time.

Some of the problems are physical. During lunch last week, diners raised their voices to be heard over the installation of doors somewhere in the kitchen. A utility cart bearing the name of Edgewaters developer, Findorff, loitered next to a ladder in the bar area.

As one approaches the restaurant through the lobby, the design is sleek and modern, paying photographic homage to Madison icons like Ben Sidran, Harry Steenbock, Oscar Meyer and Mike Leckrone.

But during the giddy debut of Edgewaters ice skating rink, one of the slick interactive digital lobby displays had stopped, frozen on an error screen.

Service, too, felt under-rehearsed. During dinner more than two months after the restaurant had opened, everything was late.

One cocktail took an hour and fifteen minutes to arrive, by then watery and weak. Another didnt arrive at all as we learned later, the bar didnt have the ingredients.The whole endeavor took two and a half hours, including the hour we sat, waiting to place an entre order.

To their credit, servers were friendly, quick to suggest replacements for items no longer on offer (duck fat tater tots), and compensated for slowness with free wine.

But they couldnt answer basic questions.What comes on the Statehouse burger, for example? (Its not mayonnaise; its chili aioli.) One fumbled, apologetically, after losing our order.

Continued here:
Restaurant review: The Statehouse, Edgewater's fine dining flagship, remains a work in progress

Yannick Gagne stands in the new Musi-Cafe under construction in Lac-Megantic, Que., Wednesday, June 11, 2014. The restaurant-bar at ground zero of the deadly train derailment and explosion that killed 47 people in July 2013 is back in business.The Musi-Cafe quietly opened its doors to the public today in a new location, about 400 metres from the original site. | CP

MONTREAL - The restaurant-bar at ground zero of the deadly train derailment and explosion that killed 47 people in Quebec in July 2013 is back in business.

The Musi-Cafe quietly opened its doors to the public in Lac-Megantic on Monday, about 400 metres from the original site.

Owner Yannick Gagne said only three of the original employees have returned to work with him in his new establishment.

"One of them is my chef, a friend," he told The Canadian Press in a phone interview.

"I have a girl who worked for me for three or four years she's coming back and one of my good friends, Karine Blanchette, will handle all the artists who will come here."

At the time of the disaster, Blanchette told reporters two children were left orphans after one of her friends died in the tragedy.

Many of the 47 victims were inside the Musi-Cafe when a runaway oil-tanker train rolled off the tracks and exploded in the heart of the town.

Gagne lost three workers in the blast and about a dozen have decided not to come back to work with him.

Continue reading here:
Musi-Cafe, Restaurant At Centre Of Lac-Megantic Disaster, Reopens

Peter Rakobowchuk, The Canadian Press Published Monday, December 15, 2014 3:51PM EST Last Updated Monday, December 15, 2014 7:11PM EST

MONTREAL -- The restaurant-bar at ground zero of the deadly train derailment and explosion that killed 47 people in Quebec in July 2013 is back in business.

The Musi-Cafe quietly opened its doors to the public in Lac-Megantic on Monday, about 400 metres from the original site.

Owner Yannick Gagne said only three of the original employees have returned to work with him in his new establishment.

"One of them is my chef, a friend," he told The Canadian Press in a phone interview.

"I have a girl who worked for me for three or four years -- she's coming back -- and one of my good friends, Karine Blanchette, will handle all the artists who will come here."

At the time of the disaster, Blanchette told reporters two children were left orphans after one of her friends died in the tragedy.

Many of the 47 victims were inside the Musi-Cafe when a runaway oil-tanker train rolled off the tracks and exploded in the heart of the town.

Gagne lost three workers in the blast and about a dozen have decided not to come back to work with him.

He now has a staff of about 20, which is five more employees than before.

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Lac-Megantic restaurant at centre of deadly 2013 explosion reopens