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YOU COULD SAY Alexandria, Va., was born to shop. After all, British and Scottish merchants founded the town on the banks of the Potomac in 1749 in part to market English silver and tea to colonists. Now, the narrow streets and 18th- to 19th-century buildings where Thomas Jefferson bought furniture and Martha Washington hit the apothecary hold up-to-the-second shops, from Asian decor dens and French cookware stores to art emporiums and enough clothing boutiques to drive a fashionista to her smelling salts. Here are our suggestions on how to hit the brick sidewalks ISO chic clothes, hip housewares and a feast of wines, teas and candy. Just don't be shocked if the combo of old cool and contemporary merch starts a revolution in your shopping habits.
1) Crate & Barrel Outlet Store
The only discount C&B close to D.C. draws bargainistas with way-marked-down furniture (a mirrored coffee table, once $700, was recently $300), a cafeteria's worth of cups and Marimekko fabrics for $5 a yard.
» 1700 Prince St.; 703-739-8800
2) Banana Tree
On upper King Street, this longtime Zen den loads a serene, jute-carpeted space with antique and new pieces from Thailand, India, Burma and Vietnam, including silk pillows, Buddha statues in sizes from tiny to fit-for-a-temple huge, and architectural fragments (from $99 each) that look exotic hung on loft-apartment walls. Don't miss the back bargain section, where recent scores included Indonesian rosewood boxes ($165 and up) ideal for stashing jewelry or other treasures.
» 1223 King St.; 703-836-4317
1) FashionEnvy
This new boutique specializes in cool, well-priced casual wear in sizes 2 to 22, from breezy print sundresses by Analili (shown, $177) to plus-sized jersey tees and other separates from co-owner Fresia Rodriguez's own line, Kingley&Posh.
» 1314 King St.; 703-299-0250
2) Dash's of Old Town
The original incarnation of this menswear shop dressed dapper locals from the 1960s until closing in 1989. Heir Victor Dash resurrected the store in 2005 with a snappy mix of well-crafted suits (starting at a very reasonable $550), and zippy Luigi Bianchi ties ($150 each), plucky plaid shirts from Paul & Shark and eyeglasses, cuff links and even cologne.
» 1114 King St.; 703-299-4015
1) The Butcher's Block
Adjacent to chef Robert Wiedmaier's Brabo restaurant, this European-style grocery carries a mix of gourmet nibbles and sips — fresh-baked bread, homemade pates, handpicked artisanal wines — ideal for grabbing for a party or picnic.
» 1600 King St.; 703-894-5253
2) La Fromagerie
Just check the blackboard for which cheeses this "Are-we-in-Paris?" corner shop has on a given day, from French raw-milk Comte to Virginia feta. Rhone-born co-owner Sebastien Tavel also populates the golden-walled space with cheese boards, wines and haute crackers.
» 1222 King St.; 703-879-2467
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN shopping, guzzling drinks and dancing in Alexandria, Va., since the 18th century. Today, charming signs of the town's tricorn-hatted past mingle with au courant boutiques, cool drinking holes and a hip restaurant scene. But in some ways, the more things change, the more they, well, don't.
» THEN Colonial dudes — George Washington included — drank at Gadsby's Tavern (now a museum/restaurant, 134 and 138 N. Royal St.; 703-746-4242 or 703-548-1288).
» NOW: Hipsters sip single malt scotch or wine at Vermillion Restaurant (1120 King St.; 703-684-9669).
» THEN Nineteenth-century firemen from the Friendship Firehouse (now a museum, 107 S. Alfred St.; 703-746-3891) fought blazes with horse-drawn engines.
» NOW: Hopheads fight thirst with microbrews at Columbia Firehouse (109 S. St. Asaph St.; 703-683-1776), a pub in a restored 1871 fire station.
Continue Reading "Everything Old Is Sort of New Again: Old Town Alexandria, Then and Now" »
WHEN HE OPENED lush, locavore temple Restaurant Eve (110 S. Pitt St., Alexandria; 703-706-0450) in 2004, Irish-born chef Cathal (the T is silent) Armstrong put Old Town Alexandria on the culinary map. Not one to rest on his reductions, the 2006 Food and Wine best new chef has since become the force behind three other neighborhood foodie destinations: the Majestic Cafe (911 King St., Alexandria; 703-837-9117), Eamonn's Dublin Chipper and speakeasy P/X (both at 728 King St., Alexandria; 703 299-8384). We caught up with the busy cook about what he digs in his adopted hometown.
» EXPRESS: Why'd you choose Old Town for your restaurants?
» ARMSTRONG: We were looking to open an Irish country inn. [My wife] Meshelle has lived in Alexandria since she was about 6 years old, but we initially discounted it, because we assumed we wouldn't be able to afford the rent. We were fortunate to find this location. It has the mood we were trying to achieve and a long, interesting history.
Continue Reading "Irish Import: Restaurant Eve Chef Cathal Armstrong" »
THURSDAY: Don't just think of him as the "Don't Worry, Be Happy" guy.
The real Bobby McFerrin, whose talent was obscured by an irritating megahit, is a master of polyphonic and percussive effects — a one-man vocal orchestra with a deep knowledge of jazz and multiple Grammys to his name.
» Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria; Thu., March 18, 7:30 p.m., $65; 703-549-7500.
IN 2005, JONATHAN COULTON quit his job as a software programmer and became a full-time songwriter. In short, he the man who's living the dream in the back of your head.
Coulton's the thirtysomething geek who made good and gained arguably intergalactic fame not for changing his nerdy persona, but for embracing it and writing clever songs about it. He wrote a song a week for a year and came out of it with a whole lot of songs to perform and a rabid fanbase of geeks of every stripe who were slavering to see him in concert and sing those songs along with him live.
So he did what musicians do and went on the road.
"I had never toured as a musician before," says Coulton, "so there was a lot for me to learn — the nuts and bolts of how to get cheap hotel rooms and how to get upgraded to first class when you can, but also how to be a live performer and how to relate to an audience and how to build a setlist."
Continue Reading "Not Another Code Monkey: Jonathan Coulton" »
Ashley, 23, is an exhibits and registration coordinator. Alex, 24, is a technical and operations manager. They live in Alexandria.
» The Main Event: They're tying the knot May 22 in Michigan, at the university where they met, Grand Valley State.
» How They Met: In climatology class. They were put into a lab group together to analyze weather, and when they took a wrong measurement, "Alex volunteered to go with me to fix it, even though the job only required one person."
Continue Reading "B.I.O.: Ashley De Boer, Alex Vande Bunte" »
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE is tired of badly dressed bands. "I don't think anybody should pay $15 to see someone who looks like their plumber," says the neo-honky-tonk singer, who is Steve Earle's son. "It's completely disrespectful. How many flannel shirts can you own? Do all your jeans have holes in them?"
In response to such sartorial crimes, Earle dresses sharply whenever he plays live, usually in a crisp suit, smart bowtie and horn-rimmed glasses. His fashion sense recalls that of his heroes, men like George Jones and Porter Wagoner. "There was just a certain respect back then," he says. "Even though Hank Williams was a drunk and a junkie, he still got into a suit every night."
That fashion regimen has paid off in unpredicted ways: In February, GQ named him one of the best-dressed men in the world: "It definitely made me take a step back, because I'm white trash from Tennessee and I got my picture in there between Johnny Depp and Anderson Cooper. I'm sure a lot of people picked up that magazine and said, 'Who the heck is Justin Townes Earle?'"
Continue Reading "Cut From Quality Cloth: Justin Townes Earle" »
SUNDAY: Flower arranging sounds easy, but a scan of the gorgeous, precise arrangements in the biennenial ikebana show at the Art League makes it clear that there's more to the art than plunging some blooms into a bowl.
» The Art League Gallery, 105 N. Union St., Alexandria; through March 8, demonstration on Sun., March 7, 1 p.m.; tea ceremony and discussion Sun., 1:30 p.m.; musical performance Sun., 7 p.m.; 703-683-1780.
Addison Road