August 13 - The fair is back! + new restaurants galore.

Welcome to the bagel. Stop what you’re doing and send this to a friend 🙏 It helps me out a lot!

🧑‍🍳 Restaurant Openings

• 🍻 Shirlington Clubhouse “1969” - Shirlington Village - Opens Friday The basement bar underneath Astro Beer Hall is 1969 themed. ICYMI: Astro Beer Hall opened last September in Shirlington Village. The Clubhouse has pool tables, shuffleboard and arcade games.

• 🧑‍🍳 Neutral Ground Bar + Kitchen - McLean - Opened in July This restaurant was opened by David Guas, the celebrity chef behind Bayou Bakery in Courthouse. Bayou is the best coffee spot in Courthouse and has great New Orleans food. I’m adding Neutral to my list! It serves American dishes and “stiff drinks”.

• 🌮 Anita’s - Virginia Square - TBD Late August Anita’s is a family-owned southwestern chain with 10 locations around NOVA. The menu covers the basics as well as arroz con pollo, empanada and pupusa platters. There’s talk of an opening event with a Mariachi band.

📰 Top News

• Forbes ranks Arlington as the second best US cities for retirees. This surprised me due to the high price tag ($2.3 million) Forbes calculated is needed to retire here. And with a median age of 35 (3 below nat’l. average) it’s not exactly a young city. Retirees, what do you think?

• It’s Restaurant week in Arlington. It runs until Sunday. Participating restaurants are offering $25/$35 lunch/brunch specials or dinner specials for $40, $55 or $65. Go grab a table at Ser, Sfoglina, Salt Line, Ambar and more.

• The Arlington County Fair is back at the Thomas Jefferson Community center this week. It runs from Wednesday to Sunday and is FREE. It has rides, a beer garden and is stacked with performances and events every day. See you there!

📅 Events

• Wednesday-Sunday - Arlington County Fair - Thomas Jefferson Community Center - Free

• Friday & Saturday - Stand-Up Comedy with Josh Wolf - Arlington Drafthouse - $29

_{If you haven’t caught a comedy show at Arlington Drafthouse, you should check it out. The vibes in that place are crazy. Like a bowling alley mashed up with a board room.}

• Saturday - Tulum Darty - Clarendon Ballroom - Free

• Monday - Arlington run club - outside of Seamore’s Clarendon - Free

🏛️ Local Gov

• Arlington School Board proposes cell phone ban for elementary and middle school students. The policy would limit high schoolers to only using phones in between classes.

  ^{As a 90’s kid, I’m surprised this isn’t already an official policy. I guess I’m getting old…}

🥯 Everything Bagel (Grab Bag)

• McDonald’s releases limited edition collector cups today only. This isn’t Arlington related but I couldn’t let this one go unmentioned. If you order a special meal using the McDonald’s app today, you’ll receive one of six throwback collector cups. I will be claiming my Shrek cup as soon as this newsletter goes out.

  ^{On a related note, the Fairlington McDonald’s is the best one in the country.}

• Local hot dog stand celebrates 70th anniversary. I’ve walked past Weenie Beenie in Shirlington a zillion times but haven’t tried it yet. You can tell by the old school sandwich boards that they know their way away a griddle. Has anyone tried it?

☀️ Weather Report

• Today - High 84 °F - ☔️ 2%

• Wednesday - High 87 °F - ☔️ 4%

• Thursday - High 89 °F - ☔️ 5%

• Friday - 87 °F - ☔️ 24%

• Saturday - 88 °F - ☔️ 63%

• Sunday - 88 °F - ☔️ 24%

• Monday - 87 °F - ☔️ 24%

🎸 Jam Report

• Country Pop Up - Renegade - Today 8 PM - $10

• Britton James - O’sullivan’s - Thursday 8:30 PM - Free

• 40 Miles Home - Arlington County Fair - Wednesday 6:00 PM - Free

Thank you!

Thank you for reading! If you want to help us grow, please share the bagel with your neighbors.

If you have an event or news item you want highlighted, please send it to [email protected]

See you next week!

-Billy