KINGSTREET

AFTER A SNOW postponement, more than a dozen Alexandria boutiques — including footwear trove Shoe Hive, decor den Red Barn Mercantile and fashionista fave Hysteria — will offer merch at 70 to 80 percent off.

» Masonic Memorial, 101 Callahan Drive, Alexandria; Sat., Feb. 13, 9 a.m.-3 p.m; Check Oldtownboutiquedistrict.com. (King Street)

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SATURDAY: 'Tis the season for red and green — again. But you can make the pattern a bit different this year, with red and green (and blue and brown and yellow) tartans at the Scottish Christmas Walk, an Alexandria tradition in which every single Scottish person within walking distance parades, plaid-covered, through Old Town, accompanied by bagpipes. And you thought you'd never wear that plaid scarf your grandma knitted you!

Though the walk is held on Saturday, there's plenty of celebrating to do on Friday, too: you can sample some Scottish delicacies and get Christmas shopping done at the Scottish market.

» Old Town Alexandria; Fri. and Sat., Dec. 4 and 5, parade is free but some other events have admission fees; 703-548-0111. (King Street)

Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post

Jane Austen BallSATURDAY: It's pride and pinafores at Gadsby's Tavern on Saturday when the venerable site hosts the Jane Austen Ball.

Wear your best 1790s-era duds and enjoy English country dancing. Live music, refreshments and dancing instruction are part of the fun.

» Gadsby's Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal St., Alexandria; Sat., Aug. 15, 8 p.m., $50; 703-838-4242, oha.alexandriava.gov/gadsby.

Photo courtesy Gadsby's Tavern

Map courtesy WMATA
EVENING COMMUTERS on the Blue and Yellow lines faced big delays in Alexandria and Fairfax County yesterday as Metro investigated reports of a person being hit by a Blue Line train at the Van Dorn Street station around 5:45 p.m. A search for the victim lasted for about two hours but personnel could not locate the individual. Metro Transit Police asks that any witnesses to the alleged incident call 202-962-1792.

Blue Line trains heading to and from the Franconia-Springfield terminal had to share the same track between the Braddock Road station in Alexandria and Franconia-Springfield in Fairfax County — a stretch that boasts Metrorail's longest sections of track between stations. Because the single-track zone started at the Braddock Road and included the King Street station, Yellow Line trains were also impacted by the Blue Line delays.

Metro set up shuttle buses to ferry passengers around the mess. The situation was resolved by 7:45 p.m.

Map courtesy WMATA

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QUESTION: What is your favorite seafood dish for winter?

ANSWER: Bouillabaisse is my favorite. It's light yet hearty ... [has] many complex flavors, takes culinary talent and know-how to make a great one, [and has] all my favorite seafood in one dish. I happen to love food in a bowl.

» Hank's Oyster Bar, 1624 Q St. NW; 202-462-8888 (Dupont Circle)
» Hank's Oyster Bar, 1026 King St, Alexandria; 703-739-4265 (King Street)

Photo courtesy Mandarin Oriental Hotel
MAYBE YOU MADE a New Year's resolution to save money. Or perhaps you're less than excited about dropping a couple hundred dollars on one meal. Whatever the reason, your wanting to save a few bucks doesn't mean resigning yourself to frugal dining when you're craving fancy food and service. It's all in the strategy.

START WITH AN END GOAL: Check out menupages.com or restaurant Web sites for prices and come up with a budget for the evening's meal. And be realistic: Set a drink minimum and plan for the cost of drinks and tip.

LEARN WHERE TO GO WHEN: You don't have to wait for Restaurant Week to score a deal. Head to Restaurant Eve (see map, No. 1) for the weekday Lickety Split lunch, meaning you can taste Cathal Armstrong's cuisine for less than $20. Plan on Sunday dinner at The Majestic (see map, No. 2) — $78 for a family-style dinner for four. Ask for the upstairs menu in the lounge at The Source (see map, No. 3). If you're dying to try lacquered Chinese duckling or anything else on the fancy menu, the entire thing is available in the downstairs casual environs. Sit at the bar of CityZen (pictured above; see map, No. 4), where a three-course tasting menu at one of the top restaurants in town is $45. Hit up Dino (see map, No. 5) on Sundays and Mondays, when wines over $50 are 33 percent off. There are deals like this all over the city; it's just a matter of keeping an ear to the ground.

Continue Reading "Out & About: Eating Cheap, Surrounded by Luxury" »

METRORAIL RIDERS who head through Alexandria might someday have to stop at two new stations being proposed for the Blue and Yellow lines at Potomac Yard and in the Eisenhower Avenue corridor. The city council has given approval to a plan that would have developers near the proposed sites help finance the construction of the two stations, as the Examiner reported on Monday:

City Council members have instructed staff to add language to Alexandria's draft master transportation plan that would bar the city from approving development ... unless the development clearly contributes to the funding and building of a Metro station.
Blue and Yellow Line trains run through stretches of track where stations can be miles apart, as is the case with Eisenhower Avenue, King Street, Braddock Road and Reagan National Airport.

But don't expect stations to materialize in the near term: They cost about $100 million a piece and would take years of planning to make a reality.

Continue Reading "On Alexandria's Wish List: 2 New Metro Stations" »

Photo by Dusty LockhartA FEAST FEATURING seven types of seafood may seem excessive. Yet in the final days before Christmas, the Feast of the Seven Fishes is exactly what's featured at several area restaurants in celebration of the holiday, Italian-style.

All across the Old Country, eschewing meat before Christmas Day means savoring dishes such as anchovy lasagna in Piedmont, cod ravioli in Parma and fried eel in Naples.

Though eel and anchovy may not be centerpieces on local holiday menus, D.C. chefs offer opportunities to embrace tradition for the faithful and the excuse for non-Catholics to indulge in the day's catch.

All month long, chef Enzo Fabbraro at D'Acqua is preparing dishes from his Italian childhood, an eight-course tasting menu — seven fish dishes and a dessert — for $75, including ostrica al tartufo (pan- fried oysters and black truffles with a prosecco-flavored sauvignon), strozzapreti (seafood ragout in a lobster-cream reduction) and black-fin tuna salad with cannallini bean and red onion.

Continue Reading "Eating Around: Fishing for Christmas Cheer" »

Photo courtesy 2911 ProductionsTO WATCH TODD THRASHER of Alexandria's Restaurant Eve and PX make a drink cultivates a sense of possibility — whatever he's making will be intensely relaxing and surprisingly delightful, whether it's minimalist liquor on the rocks or a multi-ingredient cocktail.

As he begins, Thrasher unveils his gear from a travel tool case — which, by the way, holds seven knives, a juicer, a microplane, scissors, arm bands, string, a mini-spatula and a swizzle.

On a blustery afternoon, Thrasher makes Express an Elixir, a labor-intensive concoction for which he simmers water with nutmeg, allspice, star anise, cardamom, cloves, brown sugar, apples and orange peels. Then he strains the reduction, adds simple syrup, sparkling water and a tablespoon of vitamin C powder, which he pours into a soda siphon for carbonation.

"It adds creaminess to the cocktail," said Thrasher. "I like playing with texture. We do it for food; why wouldn't we want to add texture to drinks?"

Continue Reading "Mixologist Crafts 2 Cocktails to Ward Off Winter" »

Rendering courtesy City of AlexandriaALTHOUGH IT'S BEING BUILT ACROSS the river in Prince George's County, the city of Alexandria is getting ready for the massive National Harbor project. Why? Because the new convention and entertainment complex will be linked to Old Town via regular ferry service next year. That brings the great promise of more tourist dollars to Old Town, but also a pressing question: what happens when those National Harbor folks step off the boat?

On Tuesday, the Alexandria City Council unanimously approved a $1.3 million plan for improvements to the city's marina, pictured at left, along with a marketing initiative to promote the city's attractions that aren't immediately accessible to the waterfront. According to council dockets, the guiding principles of the effort are to "Attract, Welcome, Orient and Disperse."

The National Harbor push includes everything from new lighting at the marina to improved illumination along the King Street corridor to fresh signs and maps, in addition to historical interpreters who will point visitors to museums and attractions farther afield.

» "Alexandria City Council Unanimously Approves Funding for National Harbor Preparation" [City of Alexandria]
» "Arlington Focuses on Business Development; Alexandria Works on Boosting Tourism" [WaPo]

Rendering courtesy City of Alexandria