F.C.’s Taco Bamba Earns ‘Favorite Fast Bite’ RAMMY Nod

The finalists for the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington’s annual RAMMY awards were announced Monday and, once again, a Falls Church favorite snagged an honor. The Pimmit Hills taqueria Taco Bamba is the sole F.C. representative in 2017, having been nominated as a “Favorite Fast Bite of the Year” for the second year in a row.

2015 RAMMY Chef of the Year Victor Albisu’s taqueria, with locations in Falls Church and now Vienna, lost out on the prize last year to Bub and Pop’s deli in Washington, D.C.

While no other Falls Church proper eateries made the cut, nearby Mosaic District in Merrifield is represented well, with the neighborhood bar B Side earning a Beer Program of the Year nod and the French Mediterranean restaurant Requin named a finalist for New Restaurant of the Year.

A public vote will determine if Taco Bamba nabs the Fast Bites win this year, with voting open through 5 p.m. on May 31 at nbcwashington.com/RAMMYS while the fate of the other local nominees will be decided upon by an anonymous panel of judges.

The 2017 RAMMY winners will be announced at the association’s 35th annual awards gala on July 30 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C.

Falls Church Distillers Moves Closer to Opening

The journey towards The Little City’s first-ever distillery is inching closer to completion as Michael Paluzzi tells the News-Press this week that he’s working towards a late May opening for his new business, Falls Church Distillers.

Paluzzi, owner and CEO of the upcoming distillery, says he’s secured his permit to operate a distilled spirits plant from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and now it’s all up to the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. He says construction on the building, located in the former Mobu Kids space on S. Washington St. in Falls Church, should be completed by the end of this month and then he’ll be aiming for a soft opening in late May and then a ribbon cutting on the first weekend in June.

Paluzzi tells the News-Press he’s trying to sync up the distillery’s opening with the Tinner Hill Blues Festival which is set to take place the weekend of June 9 this year.

Falls Church Distillers | 442 South Washington Street | Falls Church | facebook.com/FallsChurchDistillers

Free Empanadas Saturday for National Empanada Day

National Empanada Day is a day to celebrate and free empanadas make it all the better.

On Saturday, April 8, Pollo Camperos everywhere will be fêting the stuffed pockets of dough by giving out free empanadas to customers all day. The Latin fast food restaurant will offer three flavors of empanadas: Latin buffalo, Peruvian verde and chicken chipotle.

There are 13 Washington, D.C.-area Pollo Campero locations including one in Bailey’s Crossroads.

Pollo Campero | 5852 Columbia Pike | Falls Church | campero.com