Wow! That was The Burn’s reaction to the new menu at the upcoming Neighbors Sports Bar & Grill in Ashburn. It’s full of Caribbean-style dishes that are often hard to find in the area.
Regular readers know that the former Broadlands Pub on Truro Parish Drive closed in May and its transition to Neighbors has been underway ever since. (See our previous coverage here.)
Now, we’ve gotten a tour of the redesigned space plus a first look at the menu — and it’s got some exciting dishes on it.
The new owners have Puerto Rican heritage and the new chef is Cuban-American. So while there are wings, and cheese curds and nachos and fried pickles, they have some popular Puerto Rican and Cuban dishes as well.
We’re talking empanadas, papa rellena (stuffed potatoes), croquettes, tostones, sweet plantains, and yuca chips as well as entrees such as churrasco steak, Pureto Rican mofongo, Cuban roasted pork, ropa vieja, vaca frita and more. You can check out the full menu here.
While you can occasionally find Puerto Rican and Cuban dishes in Loudoun — Cubasi Bistro in Sterling being the most obvious example — it’s not as common as it is closer to DC.
As we’ve reported before — the former “dive bar” that was Broadlands Pub has been completely renovated. It’s got all new furniture, a new bar top, new paint, new decor and a new floor finish. The bathrooms have been made over too.
Behind the scenes, the kitchen equipment has been given a deep steam cleaning, all the beer lines have been replaced and a special “cooler” device — similar to a tankless water heater only in reverse — has been added that helps chill the beer as it heads to the tap.
The new Neighbors is just about ready to open. They have one final inspection to pass and they are good to go. The doors could open as soon as this week, so stay tuned.