One of the DMV’s most celebrated bagel shops is coming to Ballston, bringing creative sandwiches, locally roasted coffee and other carb-loaded goodies to the former Starbucks storefront at 4000 Wilson Boulevard.
Husband and wife owners Andrew Dana and Daniela Moreira opened the first location of “Jew-ish deli” Call Your Mother in 2018 in D.C.’s Park View neighborhood after sell-out performances at farmers markets. Today, their playful pink concept has nearly 20 locations and a devoted fanbase for bagels they describe as “a New York-Montreal mashup.” The dough is fermented for at least 24 hours, then boiled in honey and malt for a soft, chewy and slightly sweet finish.
That signature carb forms the foundation for sandwiches like the Sun City (bacon, pastrami or Impossible sausage with a bodega-style egg, cheese and housemade hot honey) and the Thunderbird, a breakfast sammie featuring maple-chicken sausage from Logan’s Sausage in Alexandria.
The JetSki, a nod to Dana’s Philly-bred mom, is a cheesesteak-inspired riff featuring pastrami, brisket, jalapeno and melted cheese.
Other proteins such as turkey, smoked salmon, tuna or whitefish salad may be combined with offbeat toppings ranging from potato chips or sofrito to Korean marinated cucumbers. For folks who can’t do gluten, a yuca cheese bread can be subbed on any sandwich.
The menu also includes Jewish-inspired deli favorites such as potato latkes, babka muffins and black-and-white cookies.
“Growing up, my dad always talked about how he wished he’d opened a deli. I guess I always had his dream ingrained in my head,” says Dana, a D.C. native who grew up in Mount Pleasant. “We get a lot of messages from customers about where they want us to open, and Arlington has been the No. 1 request.” (They also have a kiosk in National Landing’s Water Park and a storefront in McLean’s Chesterbrook Shopping Center.)
Moreira, who hails from Argentina, is a trained chef who previously cooked at New York’s acclaimed Eleven Madison Park. She clearly has a knack for dough. She and Dana are also co-founders of Timber Pizza, whose 11 locations include eateries in McLean and Ballston Quarter.
She had never even tasted a bagel when her husband, who was raised Jewish, floated the idea of opening a bagel shop. Turns out that was a good thing. “She came at it with such a blank slate and looked at it from a totally new angle,” Dana says. I tell her the stuff I love and she puts her own twist on it.”
“We are not kosher,” he jokes. “We like to innovate.”
In Ballston, watch for “funky fresh” pink and teal decor with a few nods to the local neighborhood, as well as Argentinian-inspired specials to coincide with this summer’s FIFA World Cup.