Update:
Oyamel has closed in Crystal City, and will reopen at 401 7th Street, NW in early 2007!
This fifth installment in the series will continue to focus on happy hour and daily food specials. The listed prices are after discount, but before adding tax and tip.
In the first installment of this series, I mentioned Tuesday nights at Ragtime’s Tuesday Night Raw Bar. It turns out that they also have a half price burger ($3.75 + fixings) night on Sundays from 6pm until closing. I stopped by last night and had a half a pound of shrimp ($6), and a drink, after already having eaten dinner. Weekdays from 4-8 pm, they have $1.50 Miller Light drafts, $2.50 rail drinks, and $2 micro brew of the month.
Faccia Luna in Clarendon offers a Monday evening pizza special in the Arlington location. 2 people share 2 small house salads or one appetizer and one twelve inch pizza with up to two toppings for $22.22, including two glasses of house wine or two non-alcoholic drinks. Faccia Luna also has a lunch special Monday through Friday of two slices of pizze with a salad and small soda for $5.75.
Molly Malone’s in Clarendon features half price ($4) burgers Mondays 4-10 pm Tuesdays 4-10pm is features half price ($5) Shepherd’s pie. Wednesdays 4-10pm is half price burgers ($4), and pub quiz night. Thursdays and Fridays 4-10 pm feature half price appetizers ($4-6.50), with Fridays including live music. Sundays feature half price ($4) Buffalo wings.
Cowboy Café features half price ($4) burgers all day on Tuesdays and 25 cent wings, $2.50 Miller High Life, and $3 Yuengling drafts Wednesday all day. Cowboy Café has a different blue plate special daily (all day) for $8.99. Their happy hour is 4-7 pm, and features $2 domestic bottles of beer, and $2.75 rail drinks.
Oyamel in Crystal City has a Taco Night on Tuesdays, during which fish or pork (soft) tacos are $1.50. Also included are a few other $1.50 items, including a Cesar salad with paper (thin) croutons. The webpage states that the tacos are $3.50 for two on taco night, but I was told on the phone that they are $1.50 each. Oyamel has a happy hour Tuesday through Friday 4-7 pm, during which drafts are $3, and rail drinks and margaritas are $4.
Where To Eat In Arlington When You Are Nearly Broke I
Where To Eat In Arlington When You Are Nearly Broke II
Where To Eat In Arlington When You Are Nearly Broke III
Where To Eat In Arlington When You Are Nearly Broke IV
Ragtime
1345 N. Courthouse Road
Arlington, VA 22201
703 243-4003
Faccia Luna
2909 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA
(703) 276-3099.
Molly Malone’s
3207 Washington Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 812-0939
The Cowboy Café (No webpage)
4792 Lee Hwy.
Arlington
(703) 243-8010
Oyamel
2250-B Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA 22202
(703) 413-2288

All right, we’re not sure if many Fud-dies have the same pleasure of working in a Springfield, Va. industrial park as we do. But if your work atmosphere is more train tracks and shopping centers than DC power lunches and metro rides, you’re in luck.
A Chipotle just opened in the Springfield Plaza on Old Keene Mill Rd. Ok, not such a big deal. BUT they’re giving out FREE FOOD AND DRINK to celebrate their opening. Technically you need a coupon, but the nice guys at the door let us in, and gave us a stack of invites for tomorrow as well. Free food event runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
So those of you stuck slaving away in scenic Springfield, console yourself with a burrito bol this week.

Restaurant Week in Baltimore has hit the midway point, and it’s three weeks until the summertime version of Washington’s Restaurant Week begins.
This will be my third RW in DC since I moved back to the area, and, so far I’ve made reservations for Bobby Van’s Steakhouse. I had been hoding off dining there until after I hit the lottery or found Tom Hanks’ wallet, but Restaurant Week will do. I’m also being dragged to a mystery in the District by some friends who want to keep it a surprise. Could it be Ceiba? Olives? Zola? There’s not too many restaurants on the list this year I wouldn’t try, though some more than others.
I’m curious what a chain (though, admittedly, a pretty good one) like McCormick & Schmick’s would offer that’s dramatically different than what they already make at lower price points. There are a couple of notable omissions from the list, such as Palena in Cleveland Park and Jose Andres’ Oyamel in Crystal City. Odd, since other restaurants of his, including all of three Jaleos and Cafe’ Atlantico, are listed.
A few notes to those who are new to Restaurant Week:
1) Make sure you note in your reservations or to your server that you’re looking for the specific Restaurant Week menu. It seems every year some diners make the mistake of thinking everything on the menu is suddenly $30, and that’s not the case. It is entirely up to the restaurant what they would like to provide for the RW price. Some places offer a few of their regular dishes at the discounted price. At others, they could develop a specific menu.
2) Substitutions are a tricky subject at some restaurants at any time, and particularly so during RW. Some chefs do not like to change what they feel is a masterpiece dish, where each ingredient combines to make a symphony of taste. Due to the demands of RW, other kitchens have already spent a lot of time preparing the RW menu in advance, and a substitution of a specific ingredient would be impossible to accomplish. Conversely, some diners do not like certain flavors, or have food allergies that must be addressed. Again, to avoid an unpleasant scene at the restaurant, call ahead. Most places will work with diners to help identify any food allergies in advance, and suggest other options.
3) Have no reservations about setting reservations – some of the more popular places are already booked during prime dining times, and only prepare a certain amount of the RW menu items. If you expect to walk into packed restaurant and order the RW menu at 10:30pm, you should expect to go hungry.
4) This is a great time to go to a restaurant that does not participate in RW. Have you been trying to score reservations to The Palm but keep getting shut out by the junior senator from Wisconsin? Or been desperately trying to go to Obelisk? Now might be your chance, as participating places are filled up.
What are your plans for Restaurant Week? What places do you want to attend, and which places will you avoid?

“Just what dc needs, another Sushi Restaurant.”
You may recognize this as the mating call of the DC Pretentious Urbanite as he tries to be suave at a prospective mate. This species can be spotted blocks away by their distinctively boring plumage, arrogant squawk, and, above all, unwillingness to admit that there’s no such thing as too many sushi restaurants.
Evolve, Pretentious Urbanite! The ability to experiment with new types of raw fish is a hallmark of civilization. Also, if you don’t cut it out, I swear I’m willing to substitute in for natural selection. If you had your way, we would not have DC’s newest, and most awesomest sushi place, Wasabi.
When it opened about 2 weeks ago, a decent number of DC-ers had never heard of conveyer belt sushi. You know, you sit at a counter, the sushi comes around, you choose what you want, the plates get counted at the end, dim-sum style. It’s a mainstay of most civilized cities, but bizarrely not here.
But this is not the usual conveyor belt sushi with large rubbery chunks of fish protein and rolls that look like the chef is being paid by the pound. When I was finally able to get a seat at lunch last Thursday, what met my waiting chopsticks were absolutely lovely, fresh tuna and salmon sashimi, freakishly perfect and unusual rolls, and then a whole bunch of stuff I’d never seen before at a sushi restaurant. Like melting yellowtail and flounder sashimi that had been marinated in soy sauce and herbs, cerviche-style. And spinach in a sesame seed sauce, tightly packed like a sushi roll. And what looked for all the world like kobe beef tartar, but probably wasn’t.
Don’t like it in the raw? Some of the sushi was cooked, like a duck and herb roll that looked delectable, but for those who despise anything with rice, there were a number of ‘Peruvian inspired’ fish and chicken dishes…and was that calamari tempura I just saw go by? The end result is, take your sushi-hating friend and invite her out for “Japanese Tapas” instead. This place is happy to cater to it. Also of note, The edamame- I know that sounds silly, but it was fresh, perfectly cooked, and had the biggest, tastiest salt crystals I’ve ever had the pleasure to crunch down on. Order it from the additional menu.
There are a couple teething troubles to work out- the waiters seemed ill at ease, and getting the check took a serious bite out of my afternoon nap. Conveyer belt sushi was created so that Japanese salarymen could cram and go, a paradigm that Wasabi will never duplicate unless their Hostess stops taking names by working forward from the last person in line . But that notwithstanding, this is my new favorite sushi place for three reasons:

1. They have take away. And I don’t mean that aweful, dry supermarket fluff either. If you ate it in the restaurant, there’s a decent chance it will be in the takeaway case, along with surprising complete bento boxes, seaweed salads, and traditional deserts. There’s also the same hot fish and chicken dishes, but they remain untried.
   
2. They are open for both Lunch and Dinner. A rarity in the Farragut North area
   
3. It’s right next to my office. That’s right, one block’s swagger and I can be in fishy heaven every day.

So here’s a standing offer for the next month: If this sounds like the place for you, drop a note to dcfud.writers@gmail.com to munch some ocean byproduct with me and feel happy with the world. Totally serious, I take my lunch at around 1:00, except Wednesdays. No Pretentious Urbanites allowed.
Wasabi
908, 17th St