Posts Tagged ‘Chef Geoff’
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, June 25th, 2009
Flanked by his wife, NBC News correspondent Norah O’Donnell, restauranteur Geoff Tracy was never without a trail of guests at last night’s Chef Geoff’s Tysons preview party, peppering him with questions about his latest dining establishment.
Restauranteur Geoffrey Tracy, at the opening of his Chef Geoff's Tysons
Accompanying star attractions were floating plates of mini mushroom spring rolls, crab dumplings and tuna sashimi. Well, them and Virginia gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds, who popped in for the first half-hour of the restaurant’s private tasting/viewing gathering.
Deeds, who moved his campaign headquarters from Charlottesville to Alexandria earlier this month, was present at the request of O’Donnell. “When Norah O’Donnell calls, I’m going to pay attention,” Deeds said. “She’s a great reporter.”
As for her husband’s cuisine? Deeds gave a nod to the condiment accompanying passing plates of mini duck corndogs. “I’ll tell you, that mustard burned some holes through the roof of my mouth,” he said.
Tracy, sporting his signature white coat with red script and sipping glasses of pinot grigio, said he was interested in this location—wedged in the same retail complex as Tiffany and Co., Equinox Fitness, Hermes and Gucci—because “Tysons needs a place that’s fun and unpretentious. My original goal was always chef-driven food in a very relaxed environment where everybody feels comfortable.”
According to Tracy, crews were scuttling around attending to paint spots and wiring lighting fixtures up to the last minute. “We were still on ladders 45 minutes ago,” he said 30 minutes into the event.
Payoff is already manifesting itself, in his eyes. Tracy pointed to the 90-seat bar area, 32-tap beer rotation and beneath-bar walk-in. “I finally got the bar I wanted,” he grinned.
Chef Geoff’s Tysons opened to the public at 11:30 a.m. today.
—Susan Anspach
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
Despite the spate of recession-related restaurant closings, a few brave chefs have been flirting with the idea of expanding their brands. What plans for new openings are actually in the works?
Photo Credit: Seth Freeman/Northern Virginia Magazine
Eponymous Chef Geoff Eying Tysons
Fans of Chef Geoff Tracy of Chef Geoff’s and Chef Geoff’s Downtown will be pleased to know that he’s opening a new location in Tysons Corner called (what else?) Chef Geoff’s Tysons. Located in ritzy Fairfax Circle (home of Tiffany & Co., Hermes and Kinkead’s Colvin Run Tavern), Cheff Geoff’s Tysons will serve his signature Modern American cuisine.
New District Digs for Donna
Chef Roberto Donna of Arlington’s Bebo Trattoria plans to open a new restaurant in D.C. this May. The new upscale Italian restaurant will resemble the former Galileo, including an attached Laboratoria, but with one kitchen to serve both “so there will be more control,” says Donna.
While Donna mans the new place in D.C., Claudio Sandria will be in change of Bebo Trattoria. Sandria, who attended a cooking school with 14-year-old Donna in Italy, used to work with him at the former Galileo and Laboratoria.
As for Bebo, Donna says it will stay pretty much the same, remaining the more casual counterpart to the more upscale dining rooms in downtown.
Morou: More Mulling, More Shopping
Plans for a new D.C. restaurant by Chef Morou of Farrah Olivia in Alexandria have been put on hold for now. Having worked in the District for much of his career, Morou seriously considered the former Butterfield 9 on 14th Street, but that plan “didn’t work out.” He’s still shopping around for locations, but he doesn’t “want to think too far ahead.”
If a new place does pan out, Morou knows exactly what kind of restaurant he wants to open: a casual, “recession-friendly” bistro-like place offering “different small dishes from all over the world.”
In the meantime, the West African chef is working on “reintroduce[ing] Farrah Olivia to the public as not as expensive as people think we are.” According to Morou, Farrah Olivia has “the cheapest menus in D.C” and is “not as stuffy.”
– Christina Lee