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Welcome to a.m. Intel, your bite-sized roundup of D.C. food and restaurant news. Tips are always welcome, drop them here.
Hot Lola’s continues to fire up Arlington with a second location for its cult hit spicy chicken sandwiches opening in Rosslyn (1501 Wilson Boulevard). Chef Kevin Tien’s newest Nashville-meets-Sichuan fried chicken shop also plans to sell booze. The first Hot Lola’s opened at Ballston Quarter (4239 Wilson Boulevard) in May 2019. Tien recently opened Magpie and the Tiger in Petworth, where business partner and chef Caleb Jang whips up his Korean American comfort food. [ARLnow.com]
A diner with a milkshake bar and 35-pound cakes finally opens
Beeliner Diner has opened in the Bradlee Shopping Center (3648 King Street) with a 35-seat milkshake bar. The 5,000-square-foot restaurant also serves diner classics like Salisbury steak and elephantine TowerCakes. Each slice of a nearly 35-pound cake serves three or four people easily. Take a peek at the menu here. [ALXnow.com]
Expansions
Bethesda-based Fresh Baguette is firing up the ovens in Old Town (1101 King Street) starting today. Fresh Baguette, known for flaky croissants, a solid line-up of sandwiches, and of course fresh baguettes uses a cold-dough process, housemade “levain,” and French baking equipment. The new location is part of an expansion strategy that will see several more outlets open in Northern Virginia this year and next. [ALXnow.com]
Falafel Inc. and Arepa Zone have swung open at Foggy Bottom’s Western Market, bringing the total number of tenants at the food hall to seven. Falafel Inc. dishes falafel, hummus, tabouli, and za’atar fries. A portion of proceeds supports a refugee in need through a partnership with the World Food Programme. Arepa Zone got its start in a sunny yellow food truck in 2014 before bringing its hit Venezuelan arepas, cachapas, and tequeños to downtown D.C. and inside Audi Field. The Western Market location is Arepa Zone’s sixth spot. [EaterWire]
Coffee break
Soleluna Coffee and Bakeshop (1789 Columbia Road NW) started brewing in Adams Morgan on Friday. The petite new cafe moved into the former home of Nicecream, a locally grown liquid nitrogen ice cream parlor that currently has one location in Clarendon. [PoPville.com]
Meanwhile, Rue Cafe (3906 14th Street NW) is pouring Ethiopian coffee. The tidy coffee shop also serves simple breakfast and lunch items, plus cookies and pastries. [PoPville.com]
That’s the way the cookie crumbles
Crumbl Cookies is racing toward a March 18 opening in Reston’s Plaza (11700 Plaza America Drive)America with cookies baked in an open kitchen and sides of cold milk. Crumbl, founded in Utah in 2017, has grown to over 300 locations in over 36 states. There are several locations in Virginia and Maryland already. [FFXnow.com]
