* ALBI OPENING FEB. 20: Thursday sees the opening of Albi, the new restaurant from Chef Michael Rafidi promising "a new perspective on traditional Levantine cuisine." City Paper has a preview, and the menu is online. Sibling wine bar Maxwell Park will open in March, according to a press release, and there will also be a daytime cafe space called "Yellow" (I am curious!) nestled in between the two spaces, coming later in the spring. Chef Rafidi was previously executive chef of Arroz and Requin. The address is 1346 4th Street, SE, in the ground floor of the Guild apartment building at the Yards.

* FIVE OF THE VERY BEST: Washingtonian's annual 100 Very Best Restaurants list is out, and the neighborhood clocks in with five entries: All-Purpose at #22, Chloe at #35, Osteria Morini at #59, Hatoba in a joint entry at #65, and ABC Pony at #71.

* EMMY SQUARED? The exact location of the second DC outlet of the trendy Detroit pizza shop from New York has been rumored to be at the Bower at 4th and Tingey, and while there is still no announcement, this week's DC Register includes the announcement of an alcohol beverage license application for an unnamed restaurant at 1300 4th Street SE serving pizza and sandwiches. So...?

And now some of increasingly old tidbits:

* ALBI/MAXWELL: Washingtonian reports news of two restaurants coming to the Yards in 2019: Albi, a "modern American eatery inspired by {chef Michael Lee Rafidi's} Middle Eastern and Mid-Atlantic roots," and another branch of Shaw's "oenophile haven," the wine bar Maxwell. The JDLand commentariat has analyzed the situation and are positing that the new garage door-style panels on the 4th Street side of the Bower might be the home for these ventures.

* CHEMONICS: Not a restaurant, but Washington Business Journal reports behind its paywall that Chemonics, a USAID contractor among other things, is close to a deal to move its 1,200-person headquarters from near Farragut West to Yards Parcel A Yards Parcel G (updated 1/2/19 with the correct location--oops). This northern portion of Spooky Park has long been planned to be Class A office space--as for the rest of the block, I wrote a few weeks ago about the plans for residential along N Street and the new streets coming. This new office building would be north of the hotly awaited Quander Street. (h/t commenter Westnorth)

* SQUARE 696 UNMASKED? With thanks to commenter CL85, we may have our first look at what is coming to Square 696, the block just about out of the ground on the south side of I Street between Half and 1st. (If Clark pulls it down, here is the rendering.) This is going to be an 818-unit residential project spanning the entire block when both phases are complete in 2022. (It sounds like they are going to build the "structure and skin" of the entire project, but will first complete the eastern tower before moving to the interior work of the western tower.)

* NEW BIKESHARE STATION: If you haven't stumbled across it yet, there is now a 19-dock CaBi station on 4th Street SE just north of M (alongside the new Sprint store and kitty corner from Teeter).

* NEW ANC COMMISSIONERS: In local local local election results, ANC 6D07 (the seat left open by Meredith Fascett's retirement) has been won by Edward Daniels, while in 6D02 Anna Forgie clobbered incumbent Cara Lee Shockley.