By the Gastronomes Erin Go Braugh! This month’s column is going to take on a little different vent. March is the month of all things Irish in the USA and Old Town used to do their part with one of the best St. Patrick’s Day parades along the east coast. Alas, the “Rona” has put […]

By Bob Tagert Every Day is Valentine’s Day at Our Restaurant Partners! We wanted to take this opportunity to highlight our loyal restaurant advertisers and give you some ideas for your Valentine’s Day dining plans. LANDINI BROTHERS RESTAURANT There is a reason that Landini Brothers is listed first. This is one of the oldest and […]

By the Gastronomes Starting 2021 With Good Luck Foods! While the pandemic protocols are still in full force for our restaurant and bar businesses we are looking toward a much brighter future. There is a vaccine now and more people seem to be willing to dine at an establishment – indoors and out – but […]

By The Gastronomes Thanksgiving Dinner – To Stay or To Go This holiday season is going to be one for the books for sure with the pandemic still in what seems to be full force. Who would have thought it would be this serious for this long? A huge part of the holidays is food […]

By the Gastronomes Al Fresco Dining Through the Holidays Yes…you read the headline correctly. In order to continue to provide those of you who still aren’t ready to dine indoors – due to the virus – an opportunity to keep going out to dine, many of Alexandria’s eating establishments will continue offering al fresco dining […]

By the Gastronomes Dining Out….Or Not! Just like many of the other standard columns published in the OTC, this column has taken on a new personality since the pandemic hit the area. We no longer feel like we can single out any one particular restaurant to profile when they “all” need all of the extra […]

By the Gastronomes pic-nic /pik nik/ noun – an outing or occasion that involves taking a packed meal to be eaten outdoors While the restrictions on dining out in our favorite eateries are being lifted on a continual basis as the COVID numbers decrease, we believe there are still a fair number of people out […]

By the Gastronomes Curb-side Pick Up? Delivery? Dining at Home! It has been nearly eight weeks since we sat in our favorite restaurant or bar and watched the folks outside gaze in the windows to check out the action inside. Is the bar too crowded? Are there any seats available? Some even had their noses […]

By Bob Tagert Dining In! Wow, how things can change in thirty days. Last month we wrote about a new Irish restaurant for our March issue. At the beginning of March we had already been to our next restaurant, Sweetbay, in Leonardtown, Maryland, and then all hell broke loose. The Coronavirus came on the scene […]