Although the advent of the real-time Gawker Stalker map has freaked out certain celebrities who would prefer that their Us Weekly-devouring public not know that they’re dining at New York’s Tao or taking their fruit-monikered babies out for walks on Fifth Avenue, DCist has no qualms about letting its readers know where local celebs hang out. And there’s no area celeb more freshly minted than George Mason University basketball coach Jim Larranaga, who just yesterday took his Patriots to the Final Four.
If Larranaga’s team wins over Florida and then LSU or UCLA, he will indeed gain the people’s ovation and fame forever. But he won’t be going to Disney World. Rather, expect to see Larranaga head back to Fairfax’s Brion’s Grille, where the ball coach apparently ate after every George Mason home game this season. Indeed, Brion’s — which isn’t too far away from the George Mason campus over on Braddock Road, serves your standard bistro fare, and was the place to watch Patriots basketball away from the arena — even has a hamburger named in Larranaga’s honor. The Jim Larranaga burger is topped with spicy honey-mustard barbecue sauce, banana peppers, and jack cheese. (The old Jim Larranaga burger was topped with whitefish, sable, capers, onions, and cream cheese, but Larranaga — then known as “Larranaga David” — reportedly objected when he realized that no one would order it.)
According to the New York Times, Jim Larranaga does not eat the Jim Larranaga, but instead safely opts for Brion’s “Classic Chicken Fingers Dinner.” Otherwise, it’d be like in those pre-movie trailers where those weird cartoon sodas and hot dogs drink sodas and eat hot dogs. And that’s just sick cannibalism.
DCist, which has on occasion spotted University of Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams dining at Bethesda’s Grapeseed Bistro, is pleased that Larranaga mingles among the masses. Now that Larranaga’s a star, let’s hope that he won’t trade Brion’s for Le Tire Bouchon after games next season.
Brion’s Grille. 10621 Braddock Road. Fairfax, Va. (703) 352-7272. (And yes, they accept Mason Money, so quit asking.)
