Ahh falafel, everyone’s favorite Middle Eastern street food. Beloved by vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, it’s hard not to love a deep-fried ball of mushed up chickpeas. Or so we thought.

Since Wagamama‘s announced in 2008 that they’d be opening a Penn Quarter location, we’ve been waiting with anticipation. But at times over the past few months, plenty of conflicting information had us wondering if plans for the location might be abandoned. But today, we received confirmation that the company does intend to open a location at 418 7th Street NW later this year.

Photo by roland.Penn Quarter Living and the Internationalist are hopeful that Wagamama, the U.K.-based noodle shop, might finally be opening in Chinatown after years of speculation. The store, which first announced it was coming to 418 7th Street NW back in March 2008 has been close lipped about the location since the initial announcement. In March 2009, they confirmed the location would open in May 2010. But then in January 2010, the building went…

Is it possible that D.C. should prepare itself for another invasion from the British, this time accompanied by the Japanese? U.K.-based kaiten sushi chain Yo! Sushi has announced plans to expand to the U.S., with an initial location in Chicago and future plans for D.C. and other cities. This comes on the tail of an announcement from Wagamama regarding the popular chain’s renewed expansion plans in the United States.

This morning, Prince of Petworth reported a rumor that a Ray’s Hell Burger would be opening in the City Vista development at the intersection of 5th and K Streets NW. DCist checked in with Ray’s owner Michael Landrum this morning, who merely said that the report was “premature.” He told us that the process for opening a restaurant can be a years-long one, and that sometimes the public expectation for a quick opening makes…

The Washington Business Journal is confirming that Wagamama, the British-based ramen chain who has a bit of a cult following amongst the cheap noodle and beer-loving among us, will be officially opening at 418 7th St. NW in May 2010. It was no real surprise (after all, we had an inkling this would happen back in June 2008), but it does serve as confirmation that we’re still a long time away from eating Wagamama…

With the official news that the Olsson’s in Penn Quarter is closing, there’s some speculation in our comments as to what will be in the new space. According to a few sources, Wagamama, the http://dcist.com/2008/03/14/the_weekly_feed_36.php”>British-owned ramen bar will be taking the space. Though it’s a bit further south on 7th St., the spot is bound to butt heads with other casual high-end fast food joints like Chop’t and the soon-to-be-opening Vapiano, as well as another…

Dish of the Week Wagamama – Duck gyoza with cherry-hoisin sauce, chili-garlic salt edamame and chili-beef ramen We apologize for jumping the gun a bit here, but today’s Dish of the Week is not yet available in our area. However, U.K. transplants may be happy to hear that Wagamama, the popular Japanese-style noodle house found across the U.K., is planning to open shop in the D.C. area late this year or early next, according to…