BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: YOGASO BOUTIQUE (PHOTOS)

Bethesda entrepreneur Alem Bashir's Yogaso Boutique has been online since 2011. Now it's expanding to brick and mortar at Pike & Rose. Carrying labels like Persnickety and Room Seven, Yogaso also features the Aleme line, designed by Beshir herself.

THE HOLIDAYS COME TO PIKE & ROSE (PHOTOS)

Given the big holiday displays every year at Bethesda Row, I've been wondering what Federal Realty would do for the season at its newest development, Pike & Rose. Those questions were answered this weekend, and I present the festive results here for your pleasure. The tree was not yet lit at this point, but there is plenty of Christmas and Chanakuh spirit in the air even so. Obviously, the scene will be more impressive once Phase 2 of the development has been built out, as the Christmas cheer is limited in distance. But if enough of the new retail stores can open in time, this could be a real sleeper spot for holiday shopping in Montgomery County - particularly for those purchasing apparel.

BETHESDA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: PIKE & ROSE, INCLUDING GAP (PHOTOS)

Some of the exterior wraps are off at Gap on Grand Park Avenue, in Federal Realty's new Pike & Rose development in White Flint.

Meanwhile, two other tenants have opened this past weekend at the property. iPic Theaters opened Friday, without extending any preview invitation to this blogger, and thereby reaching less total audience. Doesn't seem too smart, given the extensive outreach competitors ArcLight Cinemas and Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema have engaged in prior to opening. The majority of iPic's PR seems to be focused on legacy media like broadcast TV, print newspapers, FM radio and glossy magazines - which probably would strike those who get most of their news via smartphone these days as a bit behind the times. iPic does have a couple of cool promotional spectacles going on at the actual property, though. One was a man on stilts walking around Pike & Rose, and the other was a projection of the Hollywood sign on a blank construction barrier wall.

Women's apparel boutique Francesca's opened Saturday.

With these openings, parking was jammed in the garage off of Grand Park Avenue Saturday. Room to maneuver along the drive aisles inside the garage proved to be quite tight, now that more people are visiting. Parking is indeed free for 2 hours, and no validation is necessary for that. Longer validations for free parking are available from tenants like Del Frisco's Grille and iPic. If confronted with a similar squeeze in the garage, your best bet is to skip Grand Park Avenue, and head to the garage entrance west of it along Old Georgetown Road, just past Del Frisco's Grille's patio.

Stilt walker near
Del Frisco's Grille

AMP sign is lit

"Goodnight from Hollywood"

FRANCESCA'S OPENS AT PIKE & ROSE (PHOTOS)

The first retail has opened at Federal Realty's Pike & Rose development in White Flint. Women's apparel boutique Francesca's debuted Saturday on Grand Park Avenue, off of Old Georgetown Road. This is the third Francesca's location in Bethesda, with existing stores at Bethesda Row and Westfield Montgomery Mall.

PIKE & ROSE CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Many more of the future tenant spaces at Pike & Rose now have signage showing where they will be located in the new Federal Realty development. Meanwhile, the next phase of construction is beginning on the site, formerly known as Mid-Pike Plaza.

Chipotle

Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt

This actually is not where
Sport & Health will be

PerSei apartments,
already open and leasing

Future garage ramp

Stella Barra Pizzeria

Summer House

City Sports

Gap, iPic Theaters
and AMP by Strathmore

Gap (left) AMP (center)

Del Frisco's Grille,
now open

PIKE & ROSE PARKING (PHOTOS)

Planning to head to Pike & Rose for Thursday's opening of Del Frisco's Grille? You can park in the garage at 11800 Grand Park Avenue. The street is at the signaled intersection with Old Georgetown Road about halfway between Rockville Pike (MD 355) and Executive Boulevard. After turning into Grand Park Avenue, drive up to the (temporary) end of the street, and turn left onto the garage entrance ramp. Alternatively, you can enter from 11580 Old Georgetown Road (although I did not try that yet), if you're on the Pike and Rose side of Old Georgetown.

One question readers have asked in the past is, will there be paid parking at Pike and Rose like Federal Realty's other town center-style properties, or would it be free like White Flint Mall or Montrose Crossing? The answer is, it is paid parking, using the Easy Pay system (take your ticket on the way in, and keep it with you). There is also free, 2-hour surface parking for the businesses at the corner of Old Georgetown and 355, such as Starbucks.

Businesses will offer parking garage ticket validation (although the Pike & Rose website says the first two hours are flat out free, without mentioning validation). Del Frisco's Grille, for example, will validate parking for 2 hours for you. Sport and Health will give you 2 1/2 hours. The iPic Theaters, opening in November, will give you a bit more for a movie: 3-and-a-half hours. Not enough time?

2 to 3 hours $1.00
3 to 4 hours $2.00
4 to 5 hours $3.00
5 to 24 hours $10.00

One other interesting point is that the garage uses the green/red overhead lighting system, like the Rockville Town Square garages. Searching for a space? If the lights are all red, head to the next row to find a green one.

Want to handle parking in advance? You can do it online with Parking Panda's Pike and Rose parking reservations and payment system.  Although, when testing it as of this writing, it was telling me the parking space would be at the Marriott North Bethesda Convention Center across the street, not at Pike & Rose. The Pike & Rose development is so new, have some patience with the various services that are being phased in. A $5 valet parking service is also scheduled to begin operating after October 1.

DEL FRISCO'S GRILLE PIKE & ROSE VIP PREVIEW PARTY (VIDEO)

Here is video from last Thursday night's VIP preview party at Del Frisco's Grille Rockville, opening this Thursday at Pike & Rose. You can see the decor, the cocktail luge in action, and a sample of the dishes that were served from the menu that night. For a full report, and many photos, from the Del Frisco's event, click here for my story last Friday.

DEL FRISCO'S GRILLE AT PIKE & ROSE - VIP PREVIEW PARTY (PHOTOS)

Del Frisco's Grille gave a crowd of VIPs a preview of the first restaurant opening at Pike & Rose last night. Signage had been attached to the facade of the restaurant, which is scheduled to open next Thursday, September 25.

General Manager Rahsaan Stone (L)
greets VIP guests at the tented
entryway erected outside the
restaurant's entrance

Attendees made a red carpet entrance, greeted by General Manager Rahsaan Stone and a free cocktail. Each party posed for photos before a Del Frisco's Grille logo red carpet backdrop. Inside, the spacious restaurant was packed, even with the standalone tables removed from the floor. An open bar finished what the martini glass at the door started, and uniformed servers made the rounds with a selection of appetizers and small plates from Executive Chef Cody Lynch's forthcoming menu.

A mixologist sends another
Apt. 5-D martini
down the ice luge

In many ways, the event had the feel of one held in the District more than in staid Montgomery County. Strawberry martinis with Tito's Vodka, lemon sour, simple syrup, a dash of balsamic, and cracked black pepper - called the Apt. 5-D, and quite good, I must add - gushed down a large cocktail luge, before arriving in their appointed glasses. The spectacle easily commanded the most cellphone photos of the evening, with shots of the frozen sculpture popping up on Instagram. Millennials hammed it up at an electronic photo machine throughout the night, and made up a large portion of the crowd in general. A raw bar with another ice sculpture served up oysters and shrimp just in front of the restaurant's open kitchen.

Striking a pose at
the electronic
photo "booth"

The finished product,
ready to print

The restaurant's main,
wraparound bar was
abuzz with activity all night

So was another kind of
bar - the raw bar

Raw oysters were the
main attraction here

The circulating appetizers got favorable reviews from everyone I spoke to. Dominated in sheer numbers by the restaurant's signature Ahi Tuna Tacos, it featured inventive twists on some popular small plates. My favorite was the crab fritters. Not to be confused with the crab cake sliders, which were pretty good themselves, the fritters have a far-lighter texture than you would expect from a fried dish. Inside the crispy exterior were bits of sweet peppers, tender corn, and - of course - crab. A drizzle of sriracha mayonnaise added a spicy finish to the top.

Cheesesteak Eggrolls

Crabcake on toast

Tomato and mozzarella skewers

Pork and cabbage taco

A fantastic crab fritter

Del Frisco's signature
Ahi Tuna Tacos

Grille Prime Cheeseburger
Sliders

After pursuing another Del Frisco's signature item, the Cheesesteak Eggrolls, without success, I spotted Chef Cody Lynch, who brought out a plate of 4 fresh from the kitchen for me. These were another winner, with the flavors of a fresh Philly Cheesesteak sandwich somehow jammed into an eggroll-like shell. Other good choices were the Grille Prime Cheeseburger, Pork Tacos with cabbage, and a veggie burger. Later in the evening, some selections from the dessert menu began to appear, including Coconut Cream Pie. Beers currently on tap are Stella Artois, Allagash White, Samuel Adams seasonal Oktoberfest, Yuengling and Blue Moon. I'm looking forward to trying some of the full entrees after the opening, because there are quite a few on the menu that sound great.

What's currently on tap;
GM Rahsaan Stone says
the selections will alternate

All in all, the evening was a brief taste of what nights at Pike & Rose could be like in the future. Federal Realty Development Associate Jay Corbalis said that the company is positioning Pike & Rose as an entertainment-centered development, with the AMP by Strathmore live music venue and iPic cineplex both on-site. With similar movie theaters canceled at JBG's North Bethesda Market II, and possibly at Lerner's White Flint Mall site redevelopment, Pike & Rose is primed to become the nightlife activity hub of the "new" White Flint. You need to get dinner with that movie, or a bar to meet up with friends before the show, and Del Frisco's seems poised to fit the bill.

Stay tuned for video from the event! Here are more photos; click to enlarge for greater detail:

This artwork hangs behind the wall
that separates the host stand from
bar area

Warmer installed on the
outdoor patio

The patio was packed
last night

Looking toward Executive Blvd.

A successful evening for
Executive Chef Cody Lynch
and
GM Rahsaan Stone

Oenophiles weren't left out
at the bar

"Do right and feed every man" is
the motto over the kitchen - and
on the back of staff uniforms

Valets line up the VIP vehicles
after the party