1) Kids in the Kitchen
In 2009, the DC-region was on the cusp of becoming a great American restaurant city and, for the nation as a whole, turning utterly food-crazed.
That was the year Maria Kopsidas opened Cookology, a recreational cooking school in Dulles. In the decade since Instagram let unicorn food fly around the world, and farmers markets opened in seemingly every neighborhood, would a new generation of food-obsessed parents raise better eaters?
“No,” says Kopsidas. “I think kids have always had the incredible curiosity of cooking.” She sees their minds working, she hears their questions: Why does batter become thick thanks to the hand-mixer? Why is vanilla extract brown but vanilla frosting is white? Kids just need encouragement.
Kopsidas is doubling-down on her efforts. This spring she opened another Cookology: 6,000 square feet above Ballston Quarter. Classes include kids sushi and, for the adults, mixology lessons. // 4238 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; 21100 Dulles Town Circle, Sterling
2) Steak
Oak Steakhouse opens in Old Town Alexandria with hand-cut beef tartare, grilled Portuguese octopus and a 20-ounce cowboy rib-eye. // 901 N. Saint Asaph St., Alexandria
3) (Fake) Food Holidays
Aug. 4: Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
Aug. 8: Zucchini Day
Aug. 20: Bacon Lovers Day
4) Barbecue
Sloppy Mama’s, who’s slung brisket from Chantilly to DC, is now in Arlington, twice over. It runs a stall in the Ballston Quarter food hall and another stand-alone restaurant with three 500-gallon smokers. // 5731 Lee Highway, Arlington
5) Closings
After more than 15 years, iconoclast Ray’s the Steaks closed. | Moving to Ashburn after a decade in Middleburg couldn’t save French Hound Brasserie. | Tony Wagner shuttered his restaurants along Columbia Pike: Twisted Vines, BrickHaus and Josephine’s. | Geoff Tracy let the 10-year lease run out at Chef Geoff’s.
This post was originally published in our August 2019 issue. For more food stories, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
