Good good-beer news for Arlington, Virginia

The area of Arlington, Virginia bounded by Ballston, Clarendon, and Court House, is about to become very good-beer friendly.

There's the granddaddy Galaxy Hut, which has been pouring good beer since the early 1990s.

Soon joining Galaxy Hut will be Fire Works Pizza, whose original location, in Leesburg, Virginia, is an intimate restaurant of wood-fired pizzas and good draft beer selections.



The new, much larger, location will be in the Court House district of Arlington at the intersection of Clarendon Boulevard and Adams Street. It should have 30 draft lines plus 2 dedicated cask lines, and a wood-burning domed oven similar to the one in Leesburg. The projected opening is the 3rd or 4th quarter of 2010.



The ownership team at Liberty Tavern is opening two new restaurants in April: Northside Social, a bakery lounge with a wine emphasis (and coffee), and Lyon Hall, at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Highland Street. Here's how Northern Virginia Magazine described it:

a bistro/bar project ... 20 draft lines–with Eastern European cuisine, including: Alsatian tarts, hanger steak and frites, skate schnitzel, roast chicken, and a [homemade] sausage platter.

The three-story establishment will also feature an open kitchen (basement), 18-seat marble bar, outdoor patio, semi-private dining in the “Trophy Room” and reclaimed New York City subway light fixtures throughout.

Neighborhood Restaurant Group —the folk that brought you Churchkey in Washington, D.C., and before that Rustico Restaurant in Alexandria (and several other establishments)— has just publicly announced what has been whispered about for months: There's a second Rustico to open, this one in the Ballston area of northern Virginia in mid-June 2010.



It's to be at the intersection of Wilson Boulevard at Quincy Street. [At the link, scroll a few blocks to the right —east. Google Maps was acting a bit goofy.]

There will be 30 40 draft lines and two dedicated cask lines. An off-premise license means that one will be able to purchase bottled beer for take home. The original location in Alexandria will also be adding a second cask line in addition to its original one.

The late lamented Dr. Dremo —a pool hall/draft beer emporium— was torn down in January 2008 and replaced by ... an empty field.


Former owner Andrew Stewart announced plans to re-open Dremo's this year in a new location in the area. His plans seem to have been derailed, at least for the present, due to building code requirements, although he believes he has found a newer, larger location.

UPDATE. More good good-beer news for tHE rest of northern Virginia: here.