Good Tuesday morning, Alexandria!
🌤️ Today’s weather: Expect a mostly sunny day with a high temperature near 75 degrees and a light northeast wind shifting to the south at around 6 mph in the afternoon. On Tuesday night, there’s a 40% chance of showers after 2 am, with mostly cloudy skies and a low around 57 degrees accompanied by a south wind of approximately 6 mph.
After a three-month renovation, Royal Restauraunt reopened to the public on Wednesday with an expanded menu and hours.
The favorite brunch spot was bought by Alexandria Restaurant Partners and Sloan Hospitality last fall, and after being up and running for three months closed in January. ARP refurbished the 123-year-old restaurant, added a 56-seat patio with a retractable awning, reupholstered the booths, built an inside bar and expanded its menu to include dinner.
After nearly a year of extensive renovation and expansion, Piece Out Del Ray is reopening next month, it’s owner tells ALXnow.
The expansion from 2,700 to 4,600 square feet includes a large, center-focused bar area, a brand new dining room in what was previously a neighboring yoga studio, booths, dart boards and 21-and-up-only shuffleboard. A small area for outdoor seating is still being leveled and rails need to be put in place, but otherwise the restaurant was ready enough to open for a March Madness pop-up event on Wednesday night.
(Updated 2:25 p.m.) It can be hard to find good vegetarian and vegan-friendly options around Alexandria. After a walk along the waterfront or a stroll through Del Ray, it’s nice to know where you or your friends with plant-based diets can stop in for a meal.
ALXnow has you covered.
A new study shows that 8% of Alexandria households are food insecure.
Last year’s Hunger Report from the Capital Area Food Bank showed one in three Alexandria households had difficulty in affording and finding healthy food.
Nothing punctuates your feelings like throwing an ax, and now there’s a new place to do it while drinking a beer in Alexandria’s West End.
Bad Axe Throwing opened at 617 S. Pickett Street in October, offering walk-in and appointments for customers to hone their axe and knife-throwing skills. After signing a waiver, it costs between $30 and $40 per-person to hurl the sharp objects at the wooden targets.
There’s a concert of flavors happening with the newest treat from Goodies Frozen Custard and Treats (200 Commerce Street) in Old Town.
Owner Brandon Byrd is collaborating with local Girl Scout Troop 60132 at George Washington Middle School throughout Girl Scout Cookie season (until March 18) with their double chocolate frozen custard. The eight-ounce $8 treat has Thin Mints and chocolate syrup.
There’s nothing like numbing your aching body with a hot toddy after a long day on the slopes.
That’s the vibe that the owners of the Aspen on the Avenue popup (2312 Mount Vernon Avenue) have in mind. There’s a two-seat gondola parked outside the restaurant and bar greeting customers as they walk into a warm environment with a fake fireplace, a fake brick wall, lots of skis and two giant backlit photos of idyllic snowy scenes.
The savory Indo-Chinese food at Indochen in Cameron Station will be featured by America’s Best Restaurants (ABR) later this month.
On Feb. 28, the ABR Roadshow will stop at the restaurant at 4906 Brenman Park Drive to talk with its owner, chef Ram Thapa. The show will be aired on YouTube and social media channels and will be featured on the ABR website at a future date.
Washingtonian recently included three Alexandria restaurants in their food critic’s list of 19 favorite pizzas right now.
Washingtonian’s Executive Food Editor Ann Limpert included in her list “Stracci Bianca” at Stracci Pizza (106 Hume Avenue), the vodka pizza at Emmy Squared (124 King Street) and the white clam Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (3231 Duke Street).
Who doesn’t want a little bit of Willy Wonka in Alexandria?
This spring, Madame Coco’s Emporium And Everything Chocolate will open at 103 S. St. Asaph Street in the Old Town space that was the previous home to the Mint Condition consignment shop (now at 122 S. Royal Street). The creative force behind the project says that once it opens it will be a salon-styled chocolate shop for hanging out and getting Tarot card readings.
