Foodie and the Beast - July 10, 2022

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis. On today’s show: • Arlington’s Buena Vida Gastrolounge reopened a few months back after an extensive renovation directed by owner Ivan Iricanin, CEO of Street Guys Hospitality. Executive chef Jaime Pelayo and marketing manager Dmani Harrison-Porter join us with info about Buena Vida’s Mexican homestyle tasting menu and – big surprise – their awesome tequila cocktails; • It opened in 2003. It closed in 2020, with lots of help from COVID. And now – drum roll , please –the Neighborhood Restaurant Group’s Vermillion is back – and with a new executive chef, yet! He’s Ben Pflaumer, late of Osteria Morini, Masseria, Officina and others you know and love. Ben’s in to tell us about recasting the menu and overseeing a facelift of the space; • Reginald O. Mack – Chef ROM (pronounced “Rome”) to those who love him – is head chef, House of ROM. And he’s the king of the Crack Bomb and the Messy Marvin. Say what? Hang tight – we’ll explain; • Some people dream, others live their dreams. Chef Thomas Harvey has been a mainstay in the D.C. area, working in kitchens helmed by Frank Ruta and other James Beard Award-winning chefs in Washington and at some of Virginia’s most popular restaurants. Now he’s opened his own neighborhood restaurant in Falls Church. The name? Harvey’s, of course! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.