THE WEEKLY DISH

TOM SIETSEMA

SOMETHING NEW IN OLD TOWN: Figuring eight is enough, the family that owns the various Lebanese Taverna restaurants and carryouts around the Washington area opted to do something different with its latest project, 100 King Restaurant at -- where else? -- 100 King St. in Alexandria (703-299-0076). Instead of offering the food of their homeland in the new venue, the five siblings behind the Lebanese Taverna Group opted to serve small plates whose flavors embrace not just the Middle East, but also France, Greece, Italy and Spain.

"We've come to realize over the years, besides Lebanese food, we do hospitality very well," says Dany Abi-Najm , president of the company. That feel-good business plan typically extends to environments that are warm and cozy. At 100 King, however, the ground-floor dining room, referred to as the bistro and completely nonsmoking, is very white, very stark and fueled by background music that suggests a cool party; the banquettes are the color of snow; the backs of the chairs are a shade of frost; and a "curtain" of tiny silver beads sets off the entrance. The effect is intentional. "Everything in Old Town looks the same: traditional," says Abi-Najm. "We wanted a contemporary look and feel." One flight up is a more formal space, with 25-foot-high ceilings and a quieter air. (As the restaurant, located near the Torpedo Factory, eases into its first weeks, the upstairs is open primarily on weekends.)

Denis Soriano , former chef of the Willard Room in Washington, is turning out 100 King's appetizer-size skewered lamb, goat cheese pizza, red snapper over spinach, polenta souffle and duck leg confit. Serendipity helped him land his current gig. Soriano and his wife were dining at the Lebanese Taverna in Pentagon Row where they happened to strike up a conversation with the hostess, Jenifer Abi-Najm , Dany's wife, who shared the news of a forthcoming restaurant. Soriano, who resides in Alexandria, told her that he always dreamed of opening a restaurant in that location. "Call my husband," she responded. He did. After the two men met, recalls Soriano's new boss, "I never interviewed anyone else."

Lucky them and lucky us.

Small plates $6 to $14.