By the Gastronomes March is a grand time to visit Old Town’s two wonderful Irish Restaurants – Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub and Daniel O’Connell’s Irish Restaurant & Bar. We featured them both in this space a few years ago but wanted to show them some extra love again this year. Even though this article is in our Dining Out Column, the approach will be different. I wanted to write about the opening of each and my thoughts. Some of you might not agree with me, but I feel that Murphy’s is more of neighborhood “Cheers” kind of place while O’Connell’s is more upscale with “Old World” charm. You can’t deny, however, that they are both Irish to the core. Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub & Restaurant 713 King Street I moved to Old Town in 1977. This beautiful destination was not anywhere as big or popular back then. Actually, only Alexandrians knew much about Old Town. Old Town proper back then extended from the Potomac River to the 700 block of King Street, one block on the other side of Washington Street. Almost all of the action was down on the waterfront with restaurants and shops occupying old seaport warehouses. In fact, the revitalization of the wharf area had only begun that decade. Back in the 60’s, Old Town was just a thought. I met a guy, David Stasko, at the Fish Market Restaurant in the Brass bar and we became lifelong friends. Dave grew up in Alexandria and knew everything and everyone. He invited me to come play rugby with West Potomac Rugby and I accepted. This was my entree to Old Town. We would meet with other new friends every day at one of the bars on lower King Street. The now defunct Ireland’s Own was the only established…
By Doug Fabbioli As the snow piles are melting down and we are seeing the ground again, I feel like we are hitting a fresh season with better luck happening ahead. Maybe it’s just spring, maybe it’s that Luck O’ the Irish thing or just that we’ve been down so long that it all looks up from here. For whatever reason, the Virginia Wine industry has a lot of positive things happening in 2026 and we want all you folks to visit, imbibe, enjoy, and bring home the tastes that we grow for you! From the vineyard side, as cold as it was in January and February, the reports from our state entomologists, or bug specialists, is that this extended period of cold will kill off a significant amount of the eggs for the spotted lantern flies. Also, although many vineyard sites are still in a drought situation, growers have developed ways to manage their vines better through soil improvements, irrigation and pruning techniques. We have learned more about the symbiotic relationship between the soil nutrients, the microbes in the soil and the plants. Through this learning we have used less chemicals, improved our biodiversity in our vineyard rows, increased our nutrient availability by using more organics and compost. In the cellar, our wines are tasting terrific! In my style as a pretty traditional winemaker, barrel aged, hearty reds is what I do, what I want our customers to enjoy. But I have learned over the years that sparkling wines, sweeter styled wines, and even wine cocktails are pretty popular with our customers. Although I have tendencies to just stay in my lane, I am willing to learn other wines in order to stay fresh, relevant, and frankly to stay selling wines. Speaking of selling wines, there are more efforts…
By Timothy Long But some people probably shouldn’t be… St. Paddy’s Day falls on a Tuesday this year, and my friends and I love that! Did I just give you pause? (He wrote with a chuckle) Well, allow me to expound on that sentiment. I am sure that some of you are wondering why we love our holiday falling on a Tuesday. It’s easy. When St. Paddy’s Day falls on a weekday, the early crowd is a true Irish American crowd. They’re there for the same reason we are, to celebrate their heritage, in true Irish fashion, of course. And they understand that it’s about camaraderie and enjoyment, not just getting drunk “St. Patrick’s Day is all about being Irish and celebrating as only the Irish know how.: – Anthony T. Hincks My buddies and I have a long running Old Town St. Paddy’s Day routine. The day starts early, with breakfast. Eating is important on this day. Forgetting to do so can be dangerous. The day is a marathon, not a sprint. So planning is essential. And starting with a full belly is one of the keys to success. I also set my phone alarm to remind me to eat lunch. It’s easy to get caught up in the festivities and forget. It’s only one day. And one wants to get a full day out of it. We sometimes eat breakfast at a local restaurant, an Old Town staple known as Table Talk. Or we head straight to the pub and have breakfast there. Either way, we are sitting at the upstairs bar at Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub on King Street by nine o’clock am. Times have changed, but the location hasn’t. The festivities always begin at Murphy’s. “There are only two kinds of people in the world: the…
By Matthew Fitzsimmons When oenophiles think of events that changed the course of the American wine industry, they’ll likely mention the 1976 “Judgement of Paris.” During that event, a group of French wine judges blind tasted a lineup of American and French chardonnays and red blends, and ranked a pair of Napa wines as the best in both categories. While not as famous, the Virginia wine industry has made its own contributions to the modern wine industry. Here are a few pieces of Virginia wine trivia that everyone should know. The Carter Family – Colonial Virginia’s First Winemakers Thomas Jefferson is America’s most famous oenophile, yet he never made his own wine. While he believed America had great potential as a wine region and spent decades trying to grow European grapes, Jefferson’s experiments were constantly thwarted by pests and weather. Few realize that almost 20 years prior to his viticultural trials at Monticello, the Carter family succeeded where even Jefferson failed. The Carters were one of the “First Families of Virginia,” a group of early settlers who rose to social and political prominence. Looking to diversify their crops away from tobacco, Virginia farmers were encouraged to plant vines. In 1762, Charles Carter sent a dozen bottles of wine produced at his plantation of Cleve (located in today’s King George County) to London’s Royal Society of Arts. The exact grapes he used is unknown, although they likely came from a mix of domestic and European vines. Impressed with what they sampled, the Society awarded him a gold medal for his “spirited attempt towards the accomplishment of their views, respecting wine in America.” A year later, the Royal Governor of Virginia certified that the Carter family successfully grew European grapes. The Carter family’s vines were short-lived, likely the victim of the same…
By Grace Stewart If you have never heard of colcannon and champ, you’d be hard pressed to figure out what these are. Colcannon is a much-beloved Irish mashed potato dish. It is a heavenly concoction, traditionally served on All Hallows’ Eve, with either charms or coins hidden inside it, but equally as welcome on St. Patrick’s Day. Colcannon (along with champ), is one of the 1,000 foods to eat listed in the book 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, by Mimi Sheraton. If you’ve never tried colcannon, I beg you to make this and indulge in a huge bowl of it soon! I can describe it as creamy and buttery mashed potatoes mixed with softened and boiled cabbage. Green onions (champ) are added last, along with a generous amount of pepper. A significant amount of butter should then be placed in the middle of a mound of the colcannon, to melt into it. You should go about eating the colcannon by spooning up a heap of the potatoes, along with some of the melted butter. This is heaven. INGREDIENTS 2 large Russet potatoes ¼ cabbage cored and chopped 6 green onions sliced 6 tablespoon butter – split ½ cup milk salt to taste pepper to taste INSTRUCTIONS Peel and cut your potatoes into small pieces and place in a pot. Add water to just cover the potatoes. Add a pinch of salt, and then bring the potatoes to the boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium and then simmer for approximately 10 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender. Meanwhile bring another pot of water (filled about ¾ full) to the boil. Add your chopped cabbage along with a pinch of salt, and boil for about 2 minutes. Lower your heat to medium and simmer for another 8 minutes or so. Once your potatoes and cabbage are tender, drain. Add the potatoes…
By Matthew Fitzsimmons Have you ever looked for a bottle of Virginia wine but didn’t want to drive to a winery to find one? If so, then check out “The Stewards of Virginia Wine”. This initiative from the Virginia Wine Marketing Office recognizes restaurants, bars, and retailers who have championed the Virginia wine industry. These businesses were rated on criteria such as their partnership with local wineries, presence on shelf space or wine lists, and overall commitment to Virginia wine. A set of judges recognized 18 ‘Stewards’ in the inaugural list, released in October 2025. The Judges Award went to the top 5 scoring businesses, namely Charlottesville-based Ethos Wine & Tea, L’Auberge Provencale in the Shenandoah Valley, The Omni Homestead in Hot Springs, The Wine Guild of Charlottesville wine store, and Charlottesville’s The Workshop wine and coffee bar. These Stewards play an important marketing role for the Virginia wine industry. In 2019, an economic impact study found only 5.3% of wine sold in Virginia was locally produced. If Virginia is to increase this number, it will need retailers, restaurants, and bars such as these to increase the footprint of the local wine industry. Sales from these venues also offer a ‘prestige factor’ that is hard to replicate. Horton Vineyard’s 1993 Viognier was the first Virginia wine ever sold at The French Laundry, one of the most prestigious restaurants in the US. This was a marketing boon for the then-nascent Virginia wine industry. Why Virginia wine is hard to find outside the winery The lack of availability of Virginia wine is linked to two intertwined culprits: high bottle prices and low production. Most Virginia wineries make under 3,500 cases/year; only a handful produce more than 40,000 cases. The boutique nature of the business means wineries seldom achieve the economy of scale…
By Charles Oppman With Valentine’s Day almost upon us you need to come up with a gift for that special someone. Why not make it a gift of food? Not just any food – it must be chocolate. Lovers the world over consider chocolate to be sexy and sensual and few other gifts can say: Je t’aime ma chérie like chocolate. Ever since the Spanish Conquistadors brought this wonderful food back to Europe, chocolate has been one of the most prized foods in history and the perfect gift for special occasions. We usually just hand over chocolates that someone else made. Why not make this Valentine’s Day extra special and hand-make your gift of chocolate this year. When I think Valentine’s chocolate I think chocolate mousse. Why not? Here’s a quick and easy chocolate mousse recipe served in a chocolate cup no less. This will be the most memorable Valentine’s Day ever. While there are more complicated recipes involving meringue and gelatin, this one will do just fine. Ingredients 1 3/4 cups whipping cream 16 ounces quality semi-sweet chocolate chips OR chopped bar (reserve 4 oz. for cups) 1 tablespoon instant coffee dissolved in warm water 3 tablespoon dark rum 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened The Mousse Chill whipping cream in refrigerator. Chill metal mixing bowl. Place 12 ounces of chocolate chips in metal bowl and place in a double boiler or over a sauce pan with simmering water. Melt over barely simmering water, stirring constantly. Remove from heat while small chunks are still visible. Cool to nearly room temperature. Taste it, if it’s too hot to taste, allow continuing to cool. Add butter, rum and coffee mixture to chocolate. It might coagulate and clump at first, but continue to stir until smooth. In the chilled mixing bowl, whip…
By Timothy Long February is the shortest month of the year, but it feels like it’s the longest. It’s the Tuesday of months. It’s lipstick on a pig. Do you get that February is not my favorite month? If you regularly read this column, you probably already knew that. It’s a dull and dismal month that’s usually colder than January. You shiver so much that it counts as a workout. And it doesn’t offer us much in the way of fun. The best part is the Super Bowl, but that’s always at the very beginning. At least in January you have New Years Day and playoff football for both NFL and college teams throughout the month. In February you get Valentine’s Day, a holiday created by Hallmark. It was the greeting card industry’s biggest success. But now even Valentine’s Day has been eclipsed by the Hallmark Channels and Hallmark Christmas movies. Our wives and significant others should be buying us dinner after we have suffered through Hallmark Christmas. I know, wishful thinking. Let’s face the brutal facts, February is 28 days, sometimes 29 during bad years, that we are never going to get back However, I feel that maybe this February will be different. Maybe this February will turn out to be fairly fun. Maybe, just maybe, this February wont consist of us counting the days until March. Why? Because there is a feeling in the air, and a fun event that many of you may not know about. The feeling in the air is Olympic Fever, and the fun event is the Waste Management (WM) Phoenix Open. The fact that I just suggested a PGA event for fun may throw off those who don’t play golf. You’re probably thinking “What the hell is fun about a golf tournament?” Keep…
By The Gastronomes This month we revisited one of the oldest restaurants in Alexandria and one of the ones that put Old Town on the restaurant map back in 1969. This iconic restaurant has not only earned its fame from the delicious food but also of the caricatures of local Alexandrians that adorn the walls. The restaurant is located in the 200 block of King Street in the “Pedestrian Mall” that has become a major attraction for Old Town Alexandria, which also includes the 100 block, and has allowed for in the street dining that has become very popular. Unfortunately, it is a bit cold this time of year, although they do have heaters for the “not so cold days”. In colonial times, Alexandria was a formidable seaport town along the Potomac River and most of the buildings along King Street were warehouses associated with the commerce of Alexandria and the east coast of America. The Warehouse Restaurant has maintained that legacy by retaining the name. The restaurant opened in 1969 when the many warehouses were converted to shops and eateries. Back then there was a bar upstairs called the Quarterdeck and was popular with the locals like myself. A local guy named John Nugent was our bartender back then, today John owns Nugent Design Build LLC located in Deale, Maryland. Another successful businessman who got his start tending bar in Old Town Alexandria. Let’s talk a bit about the décor. The Warehouse is famous or maybe infamous for their “Rogues Gallery” of sketches of locals that adorn the major portion of wall space. These sketches are of local icons, celebrities, politicians from both sides of the aisle, and just cool, “normal?” Joe Blows. If you have lived in the area for any amount of time, we are sure you…
By Doug Fabbioli New state representatives are coming to Richmond, and discussions have started about the laws regulating restrictions on farm wineries here in Virginia. The law was actually crafted with major input and approval from the Virginia Wineries Association to protect the integrity of the wine industry. The changes have a 5-year period to get wineries in compliance and there is no grandfather rule. We are 3 years into this transition period so changes are beginning to happen. The goal is to keep farming in the Virginia farm wine industry. Over the past decade or so, several farm winery licenses have been approved for venues and businesses that are not actually farming. These venues end up being businesses in the countryside with no connection between the land and the products that they serve. The main regulation that will affect some operations is the requirement to have 3 acres of crops that go into your products. This level is where most businesses will land. They can lease other vineyards, produce off site, but still be authentic in their agriculture operations. If the operation is farming less than 3 acres, they can still have a farm winery license, but they will be limited in production to only what they grow and will not be able to have as many businesses’ options. The goal of this law is not to exclude small operations but to keep land buyers from skirting the law and building venues that dilute the authentic wine-growing culture of our region. As our state has grown and developed, farmers have been granted a few exemptions from building and zoning regulations. Farming is hard enough without adding further restrictions, regulations, fees, and reports. Selling your farm products directly to consumers is an important part of farming success in the 21st…
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