Endo Sushi‎

Tried out Endo Sushi tonight located at 3000 Washington Blvd in the Reserve apartment bulding. Its tucked away in the corner and easy to miss, but it offers decent food at good prices.

Unfortunately they close at 10:30pm, which is exactly when we arrived. They were nice enough to give us our order to go.

A malt liquor 40 oz is the recommended accompaniment to sushi by the way.

The Club to replace Arlington Funeral Home

I've always wondered how long the Arlington Funeral Home would last in Ballston. The single story building and very large ground parking lot looks very out of place flanked by high rise apartments in the quite urban downtown Arlington.

Located on the corner of Fairfax Blvd and Quincy Street, it will be replace by a luxury residential building built by WCI. The builders don't have any information about "The Club" on their site yet.

I question whether the Ballston community needs another luxury condo highrise, especially given the market. Light commercial business might do better there, as there is not much dining or nightlife nearby save for Temple Lounge or Pines of Flourence.

Edit: Looks like I didn't do my homework here, as construction on the Club has been in the works for 2 years. Guess I never noticed the sign... embarrassing....

Thanks Neil for pointing this out!

Science Club

Another venue in Foggy Bottom that I'm becoming a fan of is the Science Club. Located on 19th St NW, it is just up the street from 18th Street Lounge.

A different DJ every night pumps beats through the four floors of the converted townhouse. My favorite room is the basement, as features very cozy with science theme decor on the walls. Any place that has photos of Einstein and the periodic table behind the bar wins points in my book.

Vapiano

The trendy Italian venue Vapiano has been getting such great reviews from Yelp and local word of mouth that I had high expectations tonight. After a great meal, great wine and warming up next to the fireplace I was not disappointed.

Vapiano uses a completely unique ordering process that involves absolutely no wait staff. Instead, customers tell the chefs in person their order and the professional cooks prepare the meal right in front of them!

Also the venue uses swipe cards for each individual customer to keep track of what they have ordered, eliminating the hassle of splitting up checks for larger groups.

Located conveniently in Ballston near Best Bun. I highly, highly recommend a visit soon before they alter the wine list.

The Pub in McLean

An interesting dive bar located in the new shopping center in downtown McLean is simply named "The Pub". Its an honest dive bar that holds a few interesting twists.

The owners of The Pub also run the next door Chinese food restaurant, Peking Imperial. So the two very different venues actually share the same address.

Also, patrons of the Pub can order Chinese food or traditional American bar food fare. It could be quite an experience to be receiving General Tsao's at a dive bar.

Oh, and one of the patrons brought a pet baby alligator to the bar. Classy.

My whinings about traffic

This is a typical view getting on 66 West in the weekday mornings, going away from the city.

Notice how 66 East is clear because of its HOV restrictions at this time of day.

66 West however is completely jammed every morning on both the Ballston and East Falls Church entrance ramps. This backup is caused by the fact there is only two lanes available.

Today was a good day; on a bad day cars can be backed up for a good mile past the entrance ramps, which can cause delays in the local intersections leading up to the entrances.

Still not nearly as bad as the hell traffic people go through on 495 or the toll roll, but I think its notable since all these cars are going away from the city or the opposite direction of expected traffic in the morning.

Union Jack's in Ballston

I just discovered Rock Bottom's neighbor Union Jack's in Ballston mall. The smoke-free british pub is very new and has taken over the Macaroni Grill's space.

Union Jack's reminds me alot of the 4P's in Falls Church, with its talkative youthful happy hour patrons and evening bar quiz contest. The venue seems right at home along with Bailey's and Frontpage, and was surprisingly well occupied for a Monday night.

Didn't try the food, but it seems standard bar food fair with a British theme. I did like the decor and the staff was friendly. I would like to venture out there again on a more crowded weekend night.

Although the restaurant is new, What's Up Arlington beat me to reviewing it. Grrr.

Big Buns in Ballston

Ever wonder what a hamburger at Chipotle would taste like? Big Buns has the delicious answer.

The trendy burger joint in Ballston shares such a similar decor and ordering system as Chipotle that they must be owned by the same parent company.

Located at 4401 Wilson Blvd, I've managed to overlook this gourmet grill until now. I had an awesome chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries. The regular fries are amazing as well.

I opted for the chocolate milkshake instead of a Yuengling, and was very happy with my juvenile choice.

Highly, highly, highly recommended.

Eleventh closed early tonight

Eleventh is quickly becoming my favorite spot in Clarendon, due to its laid back atmosphere and lack of a cover fee.

Tonight was a little disappointing, as the patronage was a little thin and the basement closed early at 1am. Then half an hour later the entire venue closed, 30 minutes before the usual kick out.

Super Bowl After Party @ Marvin

God damn Steelers. Thats all I have to say about that.

Went out to a late night Super Bowl after party at Marvin. This is a nice little lounge located on U street. Its known for its outdoor rear bar, which luckily has overhead heaters to keep the patrons warm in the winter.

The upstairs front bar featured a collection of tables and comfy chairs and a DJ booth. Our friendly barkeep Lou advised us that we where his first and only customers tonight! Not that surprising, on accounts that it was a Sunday night and post-Super Bowl.

Marvin is a nice upscale venue that would be great locale for a date, especially with the fresh air bar with a view in the back.