Arlington, VA, March 19, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Ivan Iricanin, founder and CEO of Street Guys Hospitality, is pleased to announce the March 18 opening of TTT Mexican Diner & Buena Vida, which will be located at 2900 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, Virginia 22201. Renderings here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6zi4rlmd38h1my2/AAAOSxYXrRkHqiuUn7UYK6h0a?dl=0
Iricanin has teamed up with Gerardo Vázquez Lugo, the acclaimed executive chef of the popular Mexico City restaurant, Nicos, for this new endeavor. Vázquez Lugo will serve as concept chef for both dining concepts. TTT Mexican Diner is the first-floor concept showcasing authentic Mexican street food with 86 seats in the first-floor dining room, 26 seats on the mezzanine level, an additional 15 seats at the bar and a 30-seat outdoor patio. TTT will serve brunch, lunch and dinner daily. Tacos and tortas will be the main attraction showing how a few simple ingredients can make a diverse menu that can be enjoyed by everyone. The restaurant will showcase a pastry corner where all the breads, biscuits and traditional Mexican pastries will be made in-house. Tortas and tortillas will also be made on the premises using traditional recipes and organic ingredients found in Mexico City. On the second floor, Buena Vida will offer a menu showcasing traditional, indigenous fare that incorporates recipes that have been handed down through generations. One will have an authentic experience, tasting Mexican cooking that transcends what one expects from most Mexican restaurants in America. Buena Vida is 3,700-square-feet with seating for 101, which includes an 18-seat private dining area and a 11-seat bar.
A native of Mexico City, Gerardo Vázquez Lugo is an architect by profession, but he abandoned his promising career to pursue his true passion: traditional Mexican cuisine. Vázquez Lugo inherited his love of cooking from his parents, Raymundo Vázquez and María Elena Lugo Zermeño, who opened their popular Mexico City restaurant, Nicos, in 1957. He completed his culinary studies twenty-five years ago at the Institute of Culinary Culture (CUCUL), where he obtained honorable mention in the Diploma of Restaurant Management, under the tutelage of the renowned chefs Alicia Gironella and Giorgio De'Angeli, authors of the Larousse of Mexican Cuisine. In 1996, Vázquez Lugo was named executive chef of Nicos, and since then, has worked alongside his mother to preserve Mexican heritage through traditional home cooking. Today Nicos cuisine is attached to the precepts of the Slow Food world movement, of which Vázquez Lugo is one of its promoters in Mexico: a cleaner kitchen, socially responsible and above all fair and equitable. Since 2015, Nicos has been named one of Latin America’s “50 Best Restaurants.” In 2018, Vázquez Lugo and his mother celebrated the restaurant’s 60th anniversary and received The Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award 2019 for their joint contribution to Mexican cuisine.
The daily brunch menu at TTT will offer a variety of Fresh Fruit, House-Made Pastries, Scrambles, Benedicts, Omelets, Amaranth Pancakes, Churro Waffles and Signature Brunch Dishes. Menu items will feature cage-free eggs, house-made lamb chorizo sausage and additional meats sourced from local Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania farms. Signature menu items will include the Breakfast Enchilada; Torta; Chorizo Taco, and the Chilaquiles. Guests will also be able to enjoy a collection of house-made cocktail list during brunch including Michelada, Bloody Mary Bloody Maria, Mimosa and sparkling wines paired with seasonal, freshly squeezed juices. Hot chocolate, both with milk and a dairy-free version will also be available along with a collection of Mexican coffee drinks such as the Café de Olla and Vera Cruz. TTT will also feature a pastry corner where breads, biscuits and traditional Mexican pastries will be made in-house. The Amaranth Pancakes, Churro Waffle, Chocolate and Vanilla Conchas, and Yucatan Buñuelos will also be standouts that whisk guests to Mexico.
For lunch and dinner, TTT will also serve a collection of Tacos, Tortas, Soups & Salads and Platos Fuertes. Highlights include Requeson and Hibiscus Flower Tacos; Lamb Chorizo Tacos with onion and coriander; Shrimp & Cheese Tacos with red adobo; Suadero Torta with salsa verde and avocado; Octopus Torta with bell peppers, squid ink and olives; Lamb Carnitas with consommé, and the Chile Relleno with poblano pepper, cheese and tomato gravy. A selection of signature guacamole and made-to-order salsas from Concept Chef Gerardo Vázquez Lugo’s Mexico City restaurant, Nicos, will also be available. Prices will range from $8 to $25.
The dinner menu at Buena Vida will offer an array of Soups & Salads, Raw Bar, Fish, Bird and Meat dishes as well as menu items “To Eat with a Spoon”, which will be served with a side of rice. Highlights include the Shrimp Aguachile with Serrano pepper, lime and coriander; Suadero Huarache with masa, tender cactus and suadero in salsa verde; Dry Soup with a coulis of ancho, guajillo and chipotle chilies; Shrimp in Sesame and Amaranth; Fish in Angel Sauce with orange juice, butter, onion and aromatic herbs; Guerrero-Style Grilled Fish with mayonnaise, guajillo, garlic and spices; Picadillo Stuffed Ancho Chile as well as Duck in Red Pumpkin Seed Sauce with duck rolls. Buena Vida will also serve Caesar Salad with romaine, egg, anchovies, Dijon mustard and sheep’s milk cheese, which will be prepared in wooden bowls tableside. The recipe originates from Italian-American Restauranteur Caesar Cardini who is said to have invented the salad in 1924 at the Hotel Caesars in Tijuana, Mexico. Prices will range from $5 to $30.
Iricanin has tapped Esteban Ordonez as the mixology consultant for TTT & Buena Vida. Ordonez is the principal mixologist and managing partner for International Cocktail Group, a North American based consulting firm that specializes in creating and managing cocktail/beverage programs and spirits driven events for the hospitality industry, as well as luxe private clients. He has quickly risen in the national and international mixology scene and is best known for helping open Albert Trummer’s famous cocktail mecca, Apothéke in New York City’s Chinatown and the now famous Amaru Pisco Bar in Queens as well as Theater Bar in Tribeca. Ordonez was also the winner of the National Brand Ambassador and Director of Mixology for Don Q Rum and Serrallés USA. In 2005, Esteban launched his own consulting business, creating and mixing cocktails for high profile clients and properties throughout the United States, South America, and the Caribbean. His unique libations have been featured in the New York Times, New York Post, Time Out New York, Rob Report, Market Watch, The Japion, Revista Vanidades, Cosmopolitan Magazine and numerous other publications. Esteban’s cocktails are currently poured at Bleu Moon in Miami, and New York City’s Apothéke, Amaru Pisco Bar, Colors Lounge, Spitzer’s Corner, Yerba Buena Perry and Plein Sud, A Voce Restaurant and The Arthur, to name a few.
Esteban stepped out from behind the bar in 2001 to study at the world-famous Escuela Española de Cata and Circulo de Vino Matritense, both located in Madrid, Spain. This immersion in European culinary methods served to further hone his unique style, palate, and technique, which he brought back to New York City and shared at the famous Citarella Gourmet Market and Atlas restaurants. He further developed his skills by taking and successfully completing the renowned B.A.R course in New York City in 2011.
Both restaurants will showcase an expansive beverage program. Buena Vida will have an approachable list of wines from Mexico with bottles ranging from $30 to $50. 17 wines will also be available by the glass with prices ranging from $8 to $13. Additionally, one will find a variety of traditional and craft Mexican beers by the bottle and on draught, along with a diverse selection of tequilas, including blancos, reposados, añejos, premium, and house-infused options staring at $8. A carefully curated list of agave and Mexican spirits such as bacanora, raicilla and sotol will also be available.
TTT will offer a cocktail menu that showcases the diversity of Mexico’s celebrated spirit, featuring agave cocktails as well as classic margaritas. The menu reflects the vibrant colors and the rich tropical flavors of Mexican culture. The focus is on quality and flavor incorporating seasonal, local and sustainable ingredients whenever possible. Priced from $8 to $12 each, standouts include Modern Margarita; Tommy’s Margarita with Blue Weber agave silver tequila; the Mezcalita with Mezcal Blanco and Agavero orange liqueur and the Ponte Frida with almond coconut milk, cinnamon and baked coconut flakes. House-made fruit juices and fruit cups will also be available as a delightful finale. Hot chocolate, both with milk and a dairy-free version will also be available along with coffee from La Colombe Coffee Roasters and a collection of Mexican coffee drinks such as the Café de Olla and Vera Cruz.
The 3,500-square foot restaurant, TTT will showcase vibrant colors and bold graphics inspired by the colorful street food scene of Mexico. Mexican-inspired textiles were chosen to accent the industrial finishes. Other highlights include a DJ booth, a mural from Victor "Marka27" Quiñonez, the internationally renowned street artist, and a 190-inch single panel projection screen, which retracts from the ceiling making TTT an ideal place to watch sporting events or a favorite movie. One can book a private event for 26 guests on the mezzanine, which has a perfect view of the screen ideal for watching the Kentucky Derby or the Super Bowl. Other unique design touches include three roll up garage doors which invite the outdoors inside (weather permitting). The 20-seat inside bar at TTT is also double sided and serves eight patrons on the outside sidewalk patio. A communal table occupies a prominent space within the dining room and extends outside onto the patio for gathering ideal for both shade loving and sun worshippers to share a meal. Upstairs at Buena Vida, the light-filled restaurant draws on the warm, relaxed characteristics of Mexico. Natural woods, woven textures and greenery add to the charm.
TTT & Buena Vida is located at 2900 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, Virginia 22201, just two blocks from the Clarendon metro accessible on the orange and silver lines. Parking is available in the Colonial Parking Garage at 1303 North Filmore Street. TTT will be open for brunch Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.; lunch and dinner Monday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Friday, from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Buena Vida will be open for lunch Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner Sunday through Thursday, from 4 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, from 4 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Brunch will debut in late Spring and will be served Saturday and Sunday, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For additional information or reservations please visit www.tttdiner.com & https://www.buenavidaclarendon.com.
Street Guys Hospitality, an international restaurant group, which owns and operates ten concepts and employees 400+ across two continents, which they currently oversee. Concepts include: TTT Silver Spring, Buena Vida Contemporary Cuisine Silver Spring, AMBAR Belgrade, AMBAR Capitol Hill, AMBAR Clarendon, BABA, Mala Fabrika Ukusa, Burrito Madre Belgrade, Burrito Madre Karadjordjeva and Burrito Madre Bulevar. Additional information can be found at: http://streetguyshospitality.com.
Media Contact: Heather Freeman (202) 441-3607
www.heatherfreeman.com
Heather@Heatherfreeman.com
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