With PBS’ announcement that it is moving to Crystal City, some talk in the local restaurant world is making DCist wonder what may be going on across the river. Crystal City may in fact have a heart beat.

Now DCist doesn’t want to ridicule the fine denizens of Crystal City, but just about anyone can admit that the area is filled with souless, architecturally bland residental and office towers all bisected by the elevated Jefferson Davis Highway. It has been described as a wasteland that deserves to be torn down. (It made DCist’s Grade-X list.) That’s why we were curious when we heard that Jaleo and Oyamel are set to open soon in Crystal City.

From the eGullet food forum on Crystal City as a culinary wasteland:

We’ve got the Jaleo, Oyamel, et al, going in, which will be nice. Then there’s the 23rd street strip, which….tries hard, but largely fails. There’s good variety…Lebanese, two Thai, Vietnamese, kebabs, diner, sports pub, but none of the places I’ve been have done much. Lebanese was average, and the service was terrible. Diner is alright, service not great, and it’s missing some serious diner staples. I was in the area the other night, and something smelled awsome…think it was the sketchy (Think ‘mob front’) Italian place.

So, I think Crystal City is trying, but it’s not quite hitting the mark just yet. Hopefully this will raise the bar a little.