THE WEEKLY DISH

TOM SIETSEMA

SPRINGING AHEAD: "I couldn't take the solitude of the mountains anymore!" says Bryan Moscatello . The 37-year-old chef recently left Denver for Washington and the chance to cook in a room with a view -- of the water. That would be Indigo Landing (1 Marina Dr., Alexandria), a partnership between the Star Restaurant Group in the District and Guest Services Inc. in Fairfax. Scheduled to open in early April, the 140-seat restaurant replaces Potowmack Landing on Daingerfield Island. Indigo's theme: Southern low country, with some contemporary twists. We're talkin' chicken livers with sweet potato pickles, pepper-cured pork belly with ramp salad and hanger steak with green onion griddle cakes. The cuisine is fairly new to Moscatello, who last cooked at Adega Restaurant + Wine Bar in Denver and won acclaim in 2003 as one of Food & Wine's "America's Best New Chefs." But he's been busy acquainting himself with the flavors and techniques of the South, specifically the restaurants of Charleston, which is where we reached him last week. "I'm in a different kitchen every day," says the New Jersey native. Meanwhile, architects are busy whipping Indigo into shape, reports Dan Mesches , president and CEO of Star Restaurant Group. In addition to a view of the Potomac in a "parklike setting," he forecasts an indoor-outdoor bar and "a big wine focus."

EXPECTING PARENTS: Chef Cathal and Meshelle Armstrong , owners of the fashion-conscious Restaurant Eve (110 S. Pitt St., Alexandria; 703-706-0450), are preparing to welcome a new addition to their family: Eamonn's/A Dublin Chipper , which they hope to open (a lease is all but signed) in Old Town in the next three to six months, according to Cathal Armstrong. Eve was named for the couple's 6-year-old daughter; Eamonn's was inspired by their 3-year-old son. If all goes according to plan, the casual, two-level restaurant -- "the extreme opposite of Eve," says Meshelle -- is expected to replace Scotland Yard (728 King St.) and will feature fish and chips in a small dining room downstairs, and maybe even poker games in an upstairs bar. Why open another place to eat? The Irish-born chef suggests it has something to do with his younger child: "restaurant envy."