Food Flash

Let the Chatter Begin

One of the Washington area's most glamorous restaurants -- 2941 in Falls Church -- is saying farewell to its top toques, executive chef Jonathan Krinn and chef de cuisine Jon L. Mathieson, who plan to leave the destination dining room after Sunday.

The two plan to open a yet-to-be-named place of their own in a yet-to-be-claimed location in Tysons Corner. Krinn calls the venture, nine months in the planning stages, "property worth the wait" and "a great opportunity" to work with Mathieson as an equal partner. (Yes, Krinn's father, Mal, will continue to bake bread for his son.)

Filling their station, at least for a few months, will be "guest chef" Scott Bryan, until recently the executive chef of Veritas in New York. Bryan, 42, is no stranger to Washington, having worked under Bob Kinkead at the late 21 Federal in 1989. He has cooked in some of Manhattan's best-known restaurants, including Gotham Bar and Grill, Bouley, Le Bernardin, and the late Lespinasse. Food & Wine magazine trumpeted him as one of its Best New Chefs in 1996.

But the biggest news is sure to set off guessing games among area chowhounds: Bryan's replacement come January. Mary Alexander, the president of 2941, hints only that the chef, who is still finalizing his departure from a top-tier kitchen in New York, will be conversant in French cooking. "Stay tuned," she teases.