Alexandria Restaurants

The Stardust Café was one of my favorite stops of our six week tour across America. We had the Angus Beef Flank steak in a rice wine sauce. It was about $20. It was very delicious, exceptionally good. This quaint little cafe was filled with memorabilia from the 5O’s. There are knickknacks everywhere, including many household appliances like coffee percolators, fans and toasters. The owner, Avery Kincaid is creative and one of the friendliest persons you will ever meet. She told us all about her establishment. She pointed out where Davy Jones, of the Monkees, sat when he dined there. She even gave me a picture of her and Marianne, from the Gilligans Island TV show, taken while she was dining there. Al and Tipper Gore have dined there too. Avery told us that most of George Bush’s Cabinet have dined there. She even showed us the room were they have met. Several Congressmen also have dined there. This was a real blast!

Favorite Dish: Angus Beef Flank steak in a rice wine sauce had a wonderful flavor.

This is a new place that has already established a good reputation.

There are 5 steps to ordering here.
1. Select the fish that you want.
2. Select the method of cooking.
3. Select the sauce you want.
4. Select the sides.
5. Enjoy. (I am quoting the menu.)

Favorite Dish: I enjoy the salmon sauted with the dill butter sauce.

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Columbia Firehouse is a great, new restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, originally a fire station, the bottom two floors of the building are now a comfortable, slightly fancy restaurant with great local foods and regional beers. We arrived around 8pm one night, and I was immediately impressed with the warm comfortable wooden bar and dark trim. Unfortunately we were seated in the outdoor patio area which was a little too bright, open and cold to fit in with the rest of the restaurant. Nonetheless, the waiter was outstanding, the beer selection above average, and the food very good, despite the small portions.

Since it was Thursday when we arrived, I chose the low country bouillabaisse. This stew of mussels, shrimp, andouille sausage, and potatoes was served with small points of cheesy toast in a shellfish broth for a slightly expensive $24. I also had a few beers including a Brooklyn Lager and a Duck Rabbit Schwarzbier (black lager) which was really nothing like the tasty Kostritzer Schwarzbier that I love so much.

Columbia Firehouse is named for the City of Alexandria's Columbia Steam Engine Fire Company. This company was founded in 1871, and moved to the building which now houses this restaurant in 1883.

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Pop's is an old fashioned ice cream shop. They have a large variety of homemade ice cream in a variety of flavors. They also make sundaes, root beer flots, egg creams and have frozen yogurt. The ice cream flavors of the day are posted on a board above the counter with flavors such as Mango, Cookie Dough, Cheescake and the traditional flavors.

The lines are always long here since the ice cream is that good. Our last visit to Pop's was on a hot Saturday after noon with highs in the 90's. My wife was in the mood for an ice cream cone but I was melting and didn't feel like ice cream. I decided to indulge her wish and got in line for a cone. She usually gets a plain chocolate cone but decided to try the Cheesecake ice cream (it was a special on the menu).

The ice cream was served in a waffle cone and though only one scoop it was quite large. Needless to say; she loved it. The ice cream had large chunks of graham cracker crusted cheesecake throughout the cone. She raved about the flavor so much that I had to try it myself. It really was decadent on so many levels. The ice cream alone was incredibly rich never mind with the cheese cake chunks added to it.

I think she has found a new favorite flavor. Hopefully they will continue to put it on the menu in the future.

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Daniel O'Connell's is a nice pub/restaurant right on King Street in Old Town Alexandria. This place is massive with rooftop seating, side walk seating and a cavernous interior with multiple levels of dining rooms and bars. It is always an adventure to see where we'll be seated and if we'll find our way out at the end.

The menu here has a mix of pub grub and entrees. Tradtional Irish fare such a shepard's pie, Bangers and Mash and Fish & Chips can be found on the menu. Guiness and Magner's are also on the lists of beers that include some local and American beers.

Our last visit to O'Connell's we decided to sit iside; it was extremely hot outside in the high 90's. We were led upstairs to the third floor. We were seated at a nice table for two overlooking the main bar area on the first floor; perfect people watching. My wife and I were just looking for a snack and some cool drinks to beat the heat.

After perusing the bar menu I decided on the trio of sliders. There were three sliders: one beef, one lamb and one crab served with chips and onion straws. My wife ordered the flatbread pizza with basil, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. For drinks; I had a Sprite and Liz ordered a diet coke with lime. As always we had excellent service and our waitress was very attentive with the refills.

Our food arrived promptly and I was very happy with my meal. The burgers were very good. I enjoyed the lamb burger the best and it was covered in a creamy blue cheese dressing. The chips were very good and the onion straws were quite nice. Liz enjoyed her flatbread pizza and I even found it tasty after she fed me a bite.

O'connell's is one of those places where we like to relax with some drinks or enjoy a good meal. Evertime we visit Alexandria we find ourselves here; it just fels like our local back at home.

Favorite Dish: The Lamb Stew is very nice here and is a perfect winter meal. They also make a really good tuna steak with a citrus soy dressing; quite good. The sliders are a good appetizer as is the crab and spinach dip. My wife likes their flatbread pizza, Guiness burger and surf & turf.

Chipotle is a national chain that serves up monsterous burritos with either chicken, beef, or chorizo. You can pick a bowl (no carbs), giant burrito tortilla, or tacos. You get to choose your toppings like lettuce, choice of beans, rice, sour cream and salsa. For extra you can add guacamole. The only sides they offer are chips and then guacamole. The food is really good but the massive size may lead to some hurt tummies.

The actual restaurant is pretty nice. They have tables or a counter spot to view the city (King Street, more specifically).

Update: You can now download an app for your iPhone to order before going to pick it up. :) Gotta keep up with the times, you know??

Favorite Dish: I like the chicken burrito but I like to get it easy on the rice.

Just had to post a picture of the Alexandria Starbucks...

I stopped by here because it's at the east end of the street and I had walked most King Street. There was not a free table available...and I travelled on an off day in the middle of the day. I was getting private tours because no one else was touring the historic sites....BUT Starbucks was full. Now if that isn't sad, I don't know what is. :) (lol)

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La Madeleine is right in the center of King Street. It was pretty busy for lunch but they had a few windows that overlook the main street so I wanted to keep cool inside with a view. It was really a nice exprience to have a sandwich and watch the world go by. It's definitely one of my favorite things to do.

There was also outdoor seating but only about 5 tables and those were very popular and hard to come by in the nice weather.

La Madeline serves breakfast, lunch and dinner items, then has a separate bakery and coffee counter. So if you want a great meal or just some yummy dessert this is your place. The food they offer is very light. You'll find a majority of soups, salads, quiches, and sandwiches. I've never found anything I hated. They have complimentary bread with butter and preserves while you're waiting or to eat with your soup or salad.

Sun. 7:00 AM-10:00 PM, Mon.-Thu. 6:30 AM-10:30 PM, Fri.-Sat. 6:30 AM-11:30 PM

Favorite Dish: I love their caesar salad, strawberries and sauce, bread. My favorite meal would be the Turkey Ciabatta melt. It's sliced turkey with swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, and honey mustard dressing all on ciabatta bread. YUM!!!! Or the chicken pesto pasta...great for dinner.
Any of the desserts would blow your socks off. :)