A gourmet kitchen on wheels!

Always on the lookout for a good lunch, I stumbled across Tortuga in Tyson’s Corner. Yes, the gourmet food truck has arrived and I haven’t been disappointed yet. Officially added to my list of regular lunch spots.

The theme of classic sandwiches based upon the “Torta” includes skirt steak, roast pork, and fresh grilled summer squash all made to order. It is a gourmet kitchen on wheels that is along the line of anything you have seen in D.C., New York or L.A.

The “Havana” is tasty

Seems that Andrew (you’ll meet him) decided that there was a good opportunity in Fairfax Virginia for a gourmet food truck and he seems to sell out every day. One day a week he is in Merrifield so you will need to follow him on Twitter @TortugaTruck to know where he is every day… especially when you have a hankering for something exceptional.

Finding a hip sandwich truck in Fairfax isn’t going be easy, and I use an iPhone App call DCFoodTruck to see where these guys are in the DC Metro area including Arlington.

Skirt Steak, Roast Pork, Grilled Summer Squash

reading the menu made me hungrier!

Made to order

My suggestion to Andrew: Get that detailed menu up on the web site since Tortuga’s site isn’t gonna sell someone sitting in their office on Greensboro Drive to actually run downstairs and head over to the truck.

Hey, they should and seeing your fresh menu will do it!

Yes, he does have a Tortuga web site if you want to read more about his truck.

If you are, right now, sitting in your office at Booz Allen, SAIC or Wells Fargo then you might want to track this truck before he sells out for the day.

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October 2010 Tysons Construction Map

UPDATE October 15th: Route 123 in Tysons Corner is closed again to demolish a beltway overpass. It is scheduled to last until Monday at 5:00 a.m.

New Press Release

Original post

Just in case you missed the press release, Route 123 between McLean and Vienna VA will be closed June 12 and 13 as they demolish a 495 (The Capital Beltway) overpass. Yes sir, 123 will be blocked off with no realistic notice as to what your options are for detours.

This VDOT map of a detour plan looks like a nightmare to me, so here is where my local Vienna and McLean driving experience can help you.

Two Tysons Corner Detour Options

• Take International Drive in Tyson’s Corner which turns into Spring Hill Road, then turn right on Lewinsville Road.
• Take Route 7 and turn on Magarity Road to Great Falls Street.

When I am with some real estate clients this weekend, I think we will avoid the whole Tysons Corner area or at least give it a wide berth.

Like I have said, living in Northern Virginia requires you to have a driving strategy.

Any thoughts on this project? Leave a comment!

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Image by DougFrancis via Flickr

I had a home buyer Tweet me and ask if I had any words of wisdom to pass along. The funny thing is that I love giving advice, but 140 characters weren’t going to cut it because what I do really can’t be distilled down to a sound bite. It also raised an issue that many socialists have written dissertations on… the desire for a silver bullet or quick fix.

A picture and a paragraph won’t be enough

Buying real estate in Northern Virginia is going to be a complicated task that will require some planning and very hard work:

• You need to figure out how to pay for your home (and adjust if necessary)
• You need to figure out the best location (and adjust if necessary)
• You need to figure out what style of home you want (and adjust if necessary)
• You need to figure out a reasonable sales price (and adjust if necessary)
• You need to do some comparison shopping (and adjust if necessary)

Plus there really are distinct differences between living in Arlington, McLean, Vienna or Oakton, Virginia.

and now for Doug’s words of home buyer wisdom…

Right now, today, I can share some wisdom that is worth passing down and it will require you to do some serious soul searching. Did you ever read “What Color is My Parachute” when you were searching for a job or life purpose? In that book the author has his readers do some serious thinking to help them discover their individual strengths, and then organize and understand the importance of capitalizing on those strengths.

Where do you see yourself in five or ten years? Today you have opportunities to buy into a neighborhood for the long term, rather than starting with a first-timer home and then moving in five years to your “family” home. Today’s long-term mortgage interest rates are low and should be low for a while, and home prices have been knocked down too. I won’t bother you with equations, but as rates go up then your buying power goes down.

Right now, in Fairfax County, Virginia, I am not seeing builders building too many detached homes under $1,000,000. Understanding the basics of supply vs. demand proves that the supply of detached homes under $650,000 will remain unchanged (actually decrease) over the next ten years. And the population forecast is on the upswing too.

So, my buyer’s agent advice or words of a wisdom… this is the time to buy a home with the long-term in mind.

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