We have been frequenting then South Austin Grill for over 20 years. It has always been a go to place for a good margarita and good Tex-Mex cuisine. After three months of extensive renovation last winter, the Austin Grill reopened this April. Like many established businesses they decided to try their hand at “rebranding”. As a result, they created the Austin Grill and Tequila Bar here in Old Town Alexandria. While we realize it has been over 6 months since the reopening, we wanted to wait and see how things all panned out before doing a dining out feature. Featuring a completely new interior design blending a “touch of Mexico with a bit of Texas style and Austin attitude”, the restaurant decor has dark wood tones and dramatic lighting including two striking chandeliers made of tequila bottles dubbed “monuments to tequila”. One hangs in the main bar and the other above the stairs going to the 2nd level. The massive set of longhorn “horns” that hung in the main bar area for years made the cut during the redecorating and reside above the serving area of the kitchen. With the addition of high tops on the main floor and family style tables and a large flat screen television on the 2nd level (a great place to watch sports as a group) and cowhide upholstered chairs, the restaurant has taken on an attractive new face. The menu changed exponentially as well. With dramatically expanded offerings of Tex-Mex inspired cuisine and 100 Tequila selections, the long-time Alexandria favorite still offers a variety of heritage menu items including Fajitas, Baby Back Ribs and signature Austin Wings. They now offer fresh house made Guacamole made tableside. This gives guests the opportunity to have their guac as mild or as spicy as they want. We ordered the small portion at $7.50 and…
This month the Old Town Crier has the pleasure of presenting a personality profile on the second half of the dynamic Armstrong Old Town Duo: Meshelle Armstrong. If you have ever been to Restaurant Eve, Eamonn’s A Dublin Chipper, or Society Fair, then you have seen Meshelle’s handiwork first hand whilst you enjoyed her husband Cathal’s cooking. While all of Meshelle and Cathal’s restaurants are beautifully adorned and perfectly represent the harmony that exists between the husband and wife team, this month I would like to focus on a place that is decidedly Meshelle. In fact, in many ways it has come to represent a “home away from home.” I’m talking about Society Fair. When you walk into Society Fair it is like crossing the threshold of a country circus for the first time. Your mood immediately brightens and a feverish energy overtakes you as soon as you push open the front doors. Bright colors, charming music, decadent smells, and an inviting atmosphere all mingle together to create the perfect welcoming sensation. Without the genius of fun-loving entrepreneur Meshelle Armstrong, Society Fair would just be a dream, rather than the brilliant reality that it is today. I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Meshelle over a glass of wine (or maybe two) to talk about her illustrious career, partnership with her husband, and her amazing kids, who inspire her every day. For those of you who don’t know Meshelle, she is self-described as, “very loud, flamboyant, and funny.” After spending a couple of hours becoming fast-friends, I have to say that even as a wordsmith I would have a hard time describing Meshelle with more accurate adjectives. She is a fascinating woman, who has led an incredibly amazing life. Let’s take Society Fair as one of many available…
Martin White is perhaps the nicest, most jovial, and craziest (more on this later) person that I have ever had the pleasure of interviewing. In his words he is “a little bit nuts.” In fact, you have to be just a little bit crazy to enter into a lifelong career as a restaurateur. But, before getting into the amazing details of Martin’s career, I want us to first explore his journey to the States. It all started in 1986, when Martin White made the trek from Ireland across the ocean to the United States. As a young 21-year-old lad, Martin came to the Alexandria area on a tourist visa. It should come as no surprise that this charming man met his future wife on his very first day in Alexandria. Two children and many years later, the two are still happily in love and looking forward to Martin’s next big restaurant adventure. Martin’s love of the restaurant industry began as a 14-year-old boy in Dublin, Ireland, where he worked in food service on the trains. When Martin came to the U.S. he started working as a food runner at a Hamburger Hamlet owned restaurant. Hamburger Hamlet was the enormously successful joint venture of actor Harry Lewis and his girlfriend turned wife Marilyn Lewis. The chain first opened its doors in Los Angeles in 1950 and soon spread to multiple locations across the country. When Martin White joined the team, he was attracted to the chain because of their dedication to their employees. According to Martin, “Marilyn Lewis was a genius and ahead of her time.” She understood that a restaurant should be more than a place to have good food. “A restaurant needs to look after its staff. After all, the best restaurants become a home away from home for…
For those of you who read us every month, you know that each month I visit a different area in our region as a road trip. However, each December I always write about our hometown, Old Town Alexandria. With the recent closing of the Robinson Terminal loading docks and the coal-fired power plant in north Alexandria, there has been a lot of activity as to what to do with the development of the waterfront. There is no doubt that change is coming, but for now, I am going to talk about December in Old Town Alexandria and the town itself. The first settlement was established in 1695, a half mile down the Potomac River at the mouth of Hunting Creek. The ground was not well suited as a harbor as the shoreline was very shallow, so the settlement was re-established at its present site where the channel came closer to shore. Oronoco and Duke streets extended into deep water, but between the two lay an arc of swampy flatland backed by bluffs. Beginning in 1759 the filling in of this marsh and flatland began and a wharf was eventually constructed. This was the beginning of Alexandria’s future as one of America’s leading seaports. Soon warehouses were built to store all of he commerce that was coming to, and leaving Alexandria. These same warehouses standing today make up the shops and restaurants of Old Town. By the end of the 18th century, Alexandria was among the ten busiest ports in America and had been designated an official port of entry. The town derives its Scottish heritage from Scottish merchants John Alexander, William Ramsay and John Carlyle. The celebration of that heritage continues today with the annual Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend and parade, which is held the first Saturday of every December. …