Alexandria Snapshot: Spring Fun
Reithoffer Carnival at Landmark Mall extends stay until April 24.
Don Taco: New Take on Longtime Favorite
Newcomer to King Street offers diners a wealth of innovative options.
Walk the length of King Street from Route 1 to the river, and you’ll see a brand-new restaurant on your stroll. Nestled between Alfred and Columbus streets on the southern side of King, Don Taco Tequila Bar beckons to passersby, inviting the neighbors in for a taco or three and a frosty margarita.
In the Kitchen: Meet Chef Pawel Podbielski of Le Refuge
The Making of Filet de boeuf Wellington
Chef Pawel Podbielski sprinkles flour on the counter so the pastry won't stick. He is making Filet de boeuf Wellington, a customer favorite, at Le Refuge on Washington Street. "Last Saturday night I made 12 of these and they all sold out," he says. "I'm getting this pan nice and hot and then I'll add Kaola gold oil because it's no trans fat and has a buttery taste."
In the Kitchen: Meet Chef Pawel Podbielski of Le Refuge
The Making of Filet de boeuf Wellington
Chef Pawel Podbielski sprinkles flour on the counter so the pastry won't stick. He is making Filet de boeuf Wellington, a customer favorite, at Le Refuge on Washington Street. "Last Saturday night I made 12 of these and they all sold out," he says. "I'm getting this pan nice and hot and then I'll add Kaola gold oil because it's no trans fat and has a buttery taste."
Alexandria Snapshot: Save Our Ship Tours
Alexandria city crew raise timbers from a water tank where the remains of the hull of a 50-foot vessel are being stored.
Alexandria Appetite: 3 Spots to Dine Al Fresco This Spring
With warmer weather on the horizon, it’s time to grab a menu and eat outside.
Despite Mother Nature’s detour over the weekend, signs of spring are popping up everywhere. Cherry blossoms and Easter bunnies are sure signals of renewal, but when it comes to eating out, there’s only one way to tell spring is here: The patio furniture is dusted off, set out, and poised to welcome diners once more. Here are three restaurants that are ready to greet the season.
Alexandria Appetite: From Sauces to Spices, She Peppers Packs a Punch
Two-woman team of pepper purveyors is expanding its farmer’s market reach — and gaining shelf space in stores.
Many of Alexandria’s gardeners are just beginning to put their spring vegetables in the ground, last-minute frost be darned. But for Stephanie Freeman and Vickie Lucas, the business of peppers is a year-round affair. Instead of waiting until April to till the soil, they’ve been awaiting the beginning of farmer’s market season — and the expansion of their sauce-and-spice business, She Peppers.
Alexandria/Mount Vernon Weekend Fun: April 1-10
Entertainment
Events in Alexandria and Mount Vernon.
Alexandria: Wiggle Toes Plié Through the Morning
People at Work
The warm up music begins from the corner. "Are you ready?" Jessica Petchenick, instructor at Tiny Dancers on S. Washington Street, asks, "Can you dance with your eyes?" Moms and leotard-bedecked children blink at each other. "Can you dance with your nose?" Noses wiggle including five mothers and one father who has accompanied his daughter to today's Wiggle Toes class for 2-3 year olds. After wiggling ears and patting tummies, at last the answer is "You dance with your feet."
Alexandria/Mount Vernon Weekend Fun: March 25-April 3
Entertainment
Events in Alexandria and Mount Vernon, Va.
Alexandria: Local Breweries Bring in Kitchens on Wheels
Working together to serve customers.
At Port City Brewing in western Alexandria, the “pearl,” a layered dish of macaroni and cheese, baked beans and barbecue meat, is downed with a micro beer so it’s known to bring on a “food coma,” of sorts. Port City is one of the many microbreweries that serve no food but rely on independent food trucks that pull up outside for their food source.
Alexandria Resident Pens: ‘Drinking Adventurously’
Book spotlights 52 beverages.
Alexandria resident Jeff Cioletti had more than a decade of writing professionally about a full spectrum of beverages — from Chinese spirits to bottled iced teas to the best sparkling wines in America. As the current editor-at-large of Beverage World, where he’s held editorial roles for more than 13 years, he decided a few years ago to chronicle his adventures with these beverages in a 335-page book, “The Year of Drinking Adventurously: 52 Ways to Get out of Your Comfort Zone.”
Meet the Chef: Frantz of Majestic
Chef Frantz discovers her sweet spot in the kitchen.
Wedges of lemon, squares of unsalted butter, curly green onion slivers, low country gravy and blackened shrimp sit mise en place in the prep kitchen at The Majestic on King Street. Lisa Marie Frantz, executive chef at The Majestic, is preparing shrimp and grits made to order for each customer.
Alexandria People at Work: Getting Back on Track
Something's always happening at FireFlies on Mount Vernon. It might be Pick a Pasta Night on Tuesday, Build Your Own Omelet or Quiche Brunch on Sunday, live comedy on Monday Burger Night, local musicians on the weekend or children dancing on the stage when it's not otherwise occupied. Marylisa Lichens, owner with her husband Dan, says, "We wanted it to be a place where families could bring their children and have dinner a couple of times a week. We wanted it to become an extension of the neighborhood."
Musings from the Maestro: ‘Lushness & Lyrical’
Alexandria Symphony Orchestra
Alexandria Symphony Orchestra will present “Lushness & Lyrical” on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3.