By the Gastronomes

The quasi-historic site located on the corner of South Washington and Wilkes Streets in Old Town got a bit of a facelift earlier this year but kept held to the same theme as its former predecessors – Schuman’s Bakery (established in Alexandria in 1876) that specialized in the iconic Jelly Cake and the last local brick and mortar location for Firehook Bakery whose specialty was their Mediterranean crackers that are now being produced on a wholesale level elsewhere. Eclairons obviously has some big shoes to fill and it appears that they are on the right track.

This 430 South Washington Street location is the second Eclairons to open in the DMV. Their sister restaurant can be found in Arlington.  Both are family owned and operated by Pastry Chef Toni Srour. Many of you may recognize his name as he has been associated with Alexandria-based wholesale bakery Maurice Pastries for several years.

We debated about covering a few of the Mother’s Day Specials that will be available on the 10^th in this space, but thought it might be fun to check out a casual place that you can treat Mom – or anyone – to without making reservations and breaking the bank and revisit on a regular basis. While we wouldn’t classify the price point at Eclairons as “cheap eats” – our lunch of a sandwich, a wrap, a soft drink, an espresso, a brownie and a tart topped out at around $55 – we think it is a good value.

While the breakfast and lunch menus are fairly minimal, there is something for just about every palate. All of the items concentrate on being healthy choices. Both of us had our eye on the tuna salad sandwich but we decided we needed to give one of the wraps a test drive. In retrospect, we should have taken a better look at the display case where there were some very tasty looking submarine-style and croissant-based sandwiches and quiches available. Will save those choices for next time.

The tuna sandwich was a good size served on multigrain bread and included a slice of sharp cheddar. It was a good combo. The chicken shawarma wrap was a new experience for us both. The braised chicken shawarma, hummus, pickles, potato, toum (Lebanese garlic sauce) and chopped pickle in a whole wheat wrap was very tasty. We were a bit leery of the potato part but it added another layer and was very good. Neither are served with a side.

We didn’t have room for dessert so we decided to take a chocolate chip cookie brownie and a Key lime tart home to share later. They were both great choices. The brownie is very, very, very chocolaty and rich and the tart topped with meringue was as close to perfect as you can get with a Key lime infused dessert.

Eclairons clearly prides themselves on their pastries, and it is evident by the extensive choices on both the sweet and savory sides. We refer you to the photos accompanying this write up.

Open daily, they serve breakfast items and sandwiches until 2 pm each day. We stopped in right around noon on our last visit and there were a few people sitting on the patio and the line was forming at a nice pace inside.

The coffee they serve is the very popular illy brand and the espresso bar is impressive. While they don’t have beer or wine, they do have a nice selection of “healthy” soft drinks. I tried my first Olipop vintage cola that is purported to support your digestive health. Tasted great in any case and I may just seek it out the next time I go to the store.

The décor is simple and impressive. The mural at the north end of the room is very inviting as is the one behind the coffee station. There are two patios available for seating outside and each with a decorated pergola surrounding them. It provides for a good place watch all those pour souls traversing Washington Street traffic as you sit and enjoy a beverage, a sandwich or wrap and a sweet treat!

Eclairons

430 South Washington Street

Old Town Alexandria

703-718-4930

Eclairons.com