By The Gastronomes This month we stepped a bit outside of our “normal” Dining Out M.O. and decided to feature a few of the cool little places we dined in over the last few weeks on our travels in Maryland. Three of them we are very familiar with – Davis Pub in Eastport, Gordy’s and Adam’s Taphouse and Grille in and near Prince Frederick – as we have stopped in these places several times and one that we experienced for the first time while doing the R&D for this month’s “Road Trip” column, Miss Shirley’s Café just off of West Street in Annapolis. All four of these eateries are either under or just a bit over an hour away from Old Town Alexandria and are surrounded with lots of other things to do and places to see. Davis’ Pub 400 Chester Avenue Eastport Davispub.com Out of the four joints featured here, Davis’ Pub is probably our favorite. We have many memories going as far back as the 80’s. It has gone through a couple of “spruce ups” over the years but the vibe pretty much remains the same – small, local, the clientele doesn’t suffer fools and if you’re a “tourist” try not to act like one. The décor is geared toward sailing and sports and is best described as eclectic. The food at Davis’ has remained constant – great burgers and sandwiches, crab cakes and lots of crab-based items and the daily specials board never disappoints. At the top of our list is the Baltimore Style Steamed Shrimp – ½ pound of gulf shrimp smothered in onions and Old Bay, steamed, with drawn butter and cocktail sauce on the side. We have often been tempted to ask for extra onions because they are mighty tasty. It can get crowded…
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 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 the Gastronomes “Coffee by day, cocktails by night. Welcome to SOCIAL, Leonardtown Maryland’s neighborhood coffeehouse and cocktail bar! Over the years, we’ve created a welcoming space for our community to hangout, study, party, and be social. But we’re more than just a place to gather. SOCIAL is built on the “Buy Local” philosophy, and artfully combines local ingredients into mouth-watering espresso, cocktails, and cuisine.” After being “Home for the Holidays” all December long, we decided it would be fun to take a drive to one of our favorite Southern Maryland spots – the “not-so- small-anymore” town of Leonardtown to be more specific. Located on Route 5 about an hour and fifteen minutes (depending on Beltway traffic) from Alexandria, Leonardtown is a lively, vibrant waterfront town of about 4500 people. It has really come into its own in the last 10-15 years. Definitely a much different place than it was when we first traveled through there on a regular basis in the mid 90’s on our way to the marina where the boat was docked. One of the shining stars on the restaurant scene in L-Town is the SOCIAL Coffee House and Cocktail Bar. What started out in a much smaller location down the street from where it is now as a coffee shop with a “secret” speakeasy behind a bookcase that opened like a door, is now a full-time coffee roaster serving breakfast, brunch, lunch/dinner and cocktails. The brain child of Sean Coogan, who said in a previous interview that he didn’t even like coffee when he started the business but loved the community, working with people and building and growing things, SOCIAL has morphed into a major community hub where locals from all over the county stop in on a regular basis for a good cup of Joe and a bite to…
By the Gastronomes In this age of transparency and full disclosure…or not…when we sat down to pen this column we decided to see when we had last written about Hard Times. It was February of 2019. To tell the truth – there’s that word – this piece is looking like it is going to be almost a mirror of the 2019 version. That tells you that no matter how much things change, some things stay the same. Washington D.C. may have Ben’s Chili Bowl, but Old Town Alexandria has Hard Times Café. With winter on its way and the holidays fast approaching, we decided that a visit to Hard Times Café for some chili and a sandwich was a perfect fit for a cold day and will make for a good place to take a break from shopping. Back when there were hardly any businesses in the west end of Old Town, brothers Fred and Jim Parker decided to take Fred’s passion for making chili out of his house and open a restaurant. They rented an old building in the 1400 block of King Street and opened in 1980. It was a bold step as there wasn’t much foot traffic or many offices in that end of town, but the brothers forged ahead and opened their depression-era chili parlor. Now, 45 years later, that end of town has flourished and so has Hard Times. Both Parker brothers are no longer with us but the tradition is being carried on by Co-owners Rich and Heather Kelly. Same easy-going ambiance and really good eats. A Little Chili History: The initial recipe was handed down to Fred from his Aunt Irma, who had owned a successful chili parlor in Oklahoma. Fred’s other recipes were the result of research, experimentation and competition cooking at…
By the Gastronomes For those of us who live in Alexandria and particularly Old Town, we are aware of all of the beauty and history that surrounds us. However, sometimes we just don’t take advantage of some of those historical places that also serve a vital function. I have lived in the Old Town area since 1977 and have only dined at Gadsby’s Tavern Restaurant once or twice. It is more than a historic attraction, it is an everyday go-to restaurant. Over the last forty some years I have developed my favorite restaurants and watering holes, but Gadsby’s never enters my mind. However, seeking somewhere steeped in tradition for this column, we decided we would make a return visit to this elegant building on 138 North Royal Street and have a nice lunch. We did make reservations and were a bit early but got seated immediately. We are glad we did, as the dining room was filling up fast for a Thursday at noon. To set the stage for your experience, here is a bit of history for you: Founded as a seaport in 1749, Alexandria has always greeted visitors from near and far. Taverns, like Gadsby’s, provided travelers with much needed rest, food and drink, the latest news, a place to make business deals and to hold political discussions, and a variety of entertainment. The site known as Gadsby’s Tavern consists of two buildings, a circa 1785 Tavern and the 1792 City Hotel. Named after Englishman John Gadsby, an entrepreneur who leased the buildings and operated them as tavern keeper from 1796 until 1808, the tavern and hotel were the center of Alexandria’s economic, political, and social life in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The buildings were threatened with demolition in the19th century, however, American Legion Post…
By the Gastronomes Are you all ready for an adventure? Do you like a really great burger, amazing fries and an ice-cold beer with a good salad tossed into the mix? Maybe listening to some good local music on a Friday or Saturday night? How about meeting some Blue Ridge locals at a funky throwback bar and restaurant that reeks with character? The Horseshoe Curve Restaurant is the place to be! Located in the Blue Ridge close to the small berg of Bluemont, VA, the Horseshoe is nestled in the heart of a legitimate “horseshoe” curve on Pine Grove Road right off of Route 7. There isn’t any real signage so you have to get your bearings before you head out. We have been roaming around this area of the Commonwealth for well over 30 years visiting several of the wineries and small towns in the area and can’t believe we didn’t know about the Horseshoe until friends of ours told us about it a couple of months ago. On our latest trek to visit Twin Oaks Tavern Winery on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon, it dawned on us that we had to be close to Horseshoe. Good old Google maps indicated that the distance between the winery and the restaurant was a two minute…yes minute…drive. Who knew? As we made our way around Horseshoe Curve, there it was on the left side of the road. There were only a couple of vehicles in the parking lot. At first, we thought maybe it was closed but we were there for lunch and it was just after noon. They had just opened and we were their first customers of the day. We weren’t alone for very long as diners started drifting in as the afternoon went along. I come from a…
By the Gastronomes This column isn’t going to be quite like the “norm” in that we aren’t going to try to tell you about all that this waterside paradise on the South River near Annapolis has to offer and let me tell you, they have an amazing menu and everything, literally, that we saw being dropped off at the tables around us looked great. You definitely aren’t going to leave this place hungry! We imagine those of you who are Maryland hard shell aficionados – and there are many in the area – are going to want to chime in after reading this, so we want to make it clear on just how we picked Mike’s. Neither of us had had hard shells this season and we have been trolling our crab picking pals social media pages for over a month trying to decide who ranked highest. In a piece the OTC published on “The Ten Best Crab Houses in Anne Arundel County” a few months ago, Mike’s was right there at the top and the majority of our trolling resulted in Mike’s getting many accolades – cue Tim and Leigh Long. We have had carbs at several amazing places over the last 30 years and can’t believe that we had never tried this place. That was another reason we decided it would be a great “pick”. That and the fact that it’s an easy drive from Old Town – Beltway onto Route 214, left on Riva Road and right into the parking lot. Cantler’s Riverside Inn on the other side of the Severn River is a favorite of ours but it’s an adventure getting there via asphalt so this was a pleasant surprise. We were there on a beautiful Sunday afternoon so had anticipated maybe having to wait for…
By Ms. Gastronome “Ray “Pop” Giovanoni had been in the ice cream and dessert business since the 1940s. Much of Pop’s early career was spent catering events at the White House serving First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt her favorite ice cream. In 1998, he left behind his little black book of recipes. Today, Pop’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream continues the same legacy that made the First Lady so happy.” Whewie, it has been one hot summer so far and it doesn’t appear that it is going to be getting any cooler this month. What better way to put the squelch on the heat than stopping in a nice air-conditioned ice cream joint and procuring a couple of scoops in a waffle cone. We thought it only fitting to highlight our very own Pop’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream in this column this month and list the other spots in Old Town (there are several) that cater mainly to the ice cream and gelato crowd. I pulled up the profile we published about Pop’s in August of 2013 and after reading through our writer – Liz Jones’ – piece, it appears that not much has changed in these last twelve years when it comes to the experience and the vibe at this fun place. To quote Liz: “In a world of frozen yogurt chains and organic everything, it is refreshing to be reminded that you are allowed to indulge from time to time. I was fortunate to profile a business whose homemade ice cream, fire engine red seats, and checkerboard floors have been bringing the people in Old Town great joy for many years. Ladies and gentlemen, children and adults of all ages, I am pleased to share with you one of the best places to stay cool during these dog days of…
By the Gastronomes Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the National Day of France and celebrated on July 14th each year. The French National Day is the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, a major event of the French Revolution. In honor of Bastille Day, we decided to revisit one of our very favorites and Alexandria’s very own, Bastille Brasserie & Bar, for this month’s Dining Out column. Bastille is located at 606 N. Fayette Street in north Old Town. Although there are no views of the Potomac River, there is ample free street parking to help relieve that hassle. The restaurant has a comfortable bar/bistro area as well as two more dining rooms. We were there on a beautiful evening and chose to sit on the large patio adjacent to the Asher Apartments courtyard for some al fresco dining. We weren’t the only ones with that idea. We even met a very cute canine visitor named Ernie. It was also a good night because Bastille had just released their new summer menu. Unfortunately, that meant we couldn’t order their delicious beet salad but there are many new items to enjoy. We will just have to wait for fall to roll around for our beet fix. We are particularly fond of the Prix Fixe menus offered here. There are two three 3-course Prix Fixe Menus available. The Bistro menu is $49 while the Brasserie is $59. Both are excellent values. The choices are numerous as you can see from the photo of the menu. All of the items on the fixed price menus and several other choices are available ala carte. For those of you who are familiar with “Restaurant Week” where eateries offer fixed price menus, you could say that Bastille has “Restaurant…
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