Food and Drink, The Daily Feed

This Week in Food

Photo courtesy of
‘Pork Loin with Kumquat Marmalade @ Ardeo’
courtesy of ‘jimcollins’

Talk about an empire. DCMud.com reports that restaurateur Ashok Bajaj, the man behind Bombay Club, 701, Rasika, and Ardeo + Bardeo could soon sign a lease for the retail space at 22 West in West End. Bajaj somewhat hinted at a new project in a chat last month with my fave food critic, Tom Sietsema.

My favorite news of the week comes via The Washington Post: Whole Foods Market and a D.C. real estate firm want to build a new store in Navy Yard, “but the developer says that luring the grocer would require $8 million in tax breaks.”  WaPo reports that William C. Smith and Co. is proposing a 39,000-square-foot Whole Foods in the 800 block of New Jersey Ave. SE as part of a building that would also include 375 apartments.

In other Navy Yard news, JDLand writes that a beer garden might soon be on its way to Southeast. The ANC6D (Advisory Neighborhood Commission) voted 6-0 “to support the Bullpen’s plans to open an additional 632-seat beer garden at Half and M, across from the Navy Yard Metro station’s west entrance just north of Nationals Park.”

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Dupont Circle, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed

Yola: Yogurt Parfait Bar Opens

Photo courtesy of
‘Chalkboard detail, Yola’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’

We all know about the proliferation of frozen yogurt spots in DC over the past few years, and frankly I’ve gotten bored with them – especially now in the winter when my chattering teeth can’t take it. So I was intrigued when invited to a media preview of a new yogurt place that serves up it fresh instead.

Yola is a “fresh yogurt parfait bar” in Dupont Circle started up by Laura Smith, Owner and Food Director, and her father David Smith, as a way of highlighting the fresh yogurt and smoothie bars Laura had enjoyed in Europe. Though at first glance it looks like any frozen yogurt bar, with the usual bins of fresh fruit and crunchy toppings, the yogurt selections are all made fresh by two local family farms – Blue Ridge Dairy in Leesburg, VA and Trickling Springs Creamery in Chambersburg, PA. Blue Ridge supplies Yola with both thick Greek-style yogurt and regular low-fat yogurts like honey and vanilla, while Trickling Springs goes for flavors such as maple or the old-reliable chocolate.

I felt instantly Yola was going to become a favorite breakfast haunt of mine. It just has a cute, friendly vibe.

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