Alexandria is no stranger to “best of” lists, but nearly all of them focus primarily, sometimes exclusively, on Old Town.
At best, Del Ray might get a mention, but most of the time the top recommendations never stray more than a few blocks from King Street.
A few weeks ago we put out a call for some recommendations outside of Old Town and here’s what people had to say:
Restaurant/Cafe recommendations:
- Big Bite Pizza (666 S. Pickett Street) has “bangin wings“
- Pizzaiolo (1623 Fern Street) — “I maintain it is one of the most underrated NY style pizza places in the DMV as a native New Jerseyan”
- Great Harvest Bread Co. (1711 Centre Plaza)
- St. Elmo’s, which has locations in Del Ray, Old Town North and Fairlington
- Pork Barrel BBQ (2312 Mount Vernon Avenue) for the sandwiches
- The Dairy Godmother (2310 Mount Vernon Avenue) for the frozen custard
- Mediterranean Bakery (352 S Pickett Street) for the “fresh pita & hummus“
- KungFu Kitchen (3221 Duke Street) for the soup dumplings
- Cortado Café (4543 Duke Street) for the coffee and sandwiches
- Swing’s Coffee (501 E. Monroe Avenue) for what some argue are the best coffee beans in Del Ray
Shops recommendations:
- Reunions, a gift shop in Fairlington Centre (1709 Centre Plaza)
- Crooked Beat Records (2417 Mt Vernon Avenue), a local favorite record store recently moved to a spot in Del Ray
- Magpie Reclamations (202 E. Custis Avenue), a vintage houseware/furniture shop in Del Ray
- Artistic Artifacts (4750 Eisenhower Avenue) for its fabric selection, sewing machines and other mixed media supplies
- UpCycle Creative Reuse Center (5380-D Eisenhower Avenue), a nonprofit that recycles creative materials
Nature:
- Monticello Park near the border with Arlington, featuring a variety of birds and plants and more
- Fort Ward (430 W. Braddock Road), a former Civil War fort turned museum and park
- Great Waves Waterpark at Cameron Run (4001 Eisenhower Ave) once the temperatures start to rise
- Ben Brenman Park (4800 Brenman Park) where visitors can’t go in the water, but several 18th-century ships can
- Chinquapin Park (3210 King Street) makes for “a lovely” visit
- Jerome “Buddie” Ford Nature Center (5750 Sanger Avenue) for “families with kids“
- Ivy Hill Cemetery ( 2823 King Street) for a somber but scenic stroll; notable burials include Wernher von Braun and architect Charles M. Goodman
- The Winkler Botanical Preserve (5400 Roanoke Avenue), a hidden gem of the West End
Events:
- Art on the Avenue in Del Ray held in October
- Del Ray Citizens Association’s Chili Cookoff this weekend and GardenFest in April
- Baseball games at Frank Mann Field (3700 Commonwealth Avenue)
Miscellaneous:
- The Get Air Trampoline Park (340 S. Pickett Street) for kids and their parents
- “Slam Michelobs while drowning worms to catch blue cats at the confluence of 4 mile run and the Potomac.”
- “Tetanus tunnel” between Eisenhower Avenue and Duke Street
Other very common recommendations were to visit Port City Brewing Company (3950 Wheeler Avenue) and Aslin Beer Company (847 S. Pickett Street) and Lost Boy Cider (317 Hooffs Run Drive).
Get a beer at Port City Brewery. Take your dog to one of our amazing dog parks. Watch baseball in the summer at Frank Mann Field. Have a picnic or cook out at Fort Ward Park. Buy a record at Crooked Beats, then get a sandwich at Pork Barrel, and custard at Dairy Godmother!
— R. Kirk McPike (@KirkMcPike) February 1, 2024
If you have other favorite locales around Alexandria outside of the West End, from shops to natural spots, sound off in the comments.
