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Alexandria food Matthew Eng northern virginia

Defining the “Irish Exit:” Fiona’s in Kingstowne 

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

“Irish Exit” – Leaving a social gathering without saying goodbye. Also known as an “Irish Goodbye.”

Picture this. It’s Saturday night. You’re in your late twenties at a party with your friend. You only know a few people. It’s been over half an hour since you talked to somebody you knew. Every attempt to converse with strangers near the beer cooler had mixed results. Most of the time, you stare at your phone while the people you know engage in meaningful conversations. And then it happens: an idea. At that moment, you see the door to the apartment, with some delicious takeout and reruns of The Office within an hour in the comfort of your own home. You take your chance. You rush towards the door…to your freedom. 

You did it. You performed an “Irish Exit.” 

Now, you only have time to think about that brief moment before COVID-19 when a local Northern Virginia restauranteur performed the perfect LITERAL “Irish Exit:” Martin White and Fiona’s Irish Pub. 

Fiona’s Irish Pub opened at 5810 Kingstowne Centre in May 2014 in Alexandria, across from America’s first Top Golf. The new restaurant replaced one of the area’s King Street Blues locations. Martin White, owner of King Street Blues, chose to shutter the barbecue and southern food experience for something more authentic to his native Ireland. White is no stranger to local eateries in the region. Arriving in the United States from Ireland in 1986, White quickly started working in the restaurant business at the Hamburger Hamlet. Since then, he worked his way up in the industry, eventually buying four King Street Blues locations and developing Donato’s Pizza (several still exist in the area). He became a U.S. citizen on St. Patrick’s Day in 1996 and served as the parade’s Grand Marshal that year. According to an Eater DC article, opening an Irish Pub has always been his dream. “My desire is to continue to pass my good fortune forward through ongoing support of the local and Irish community,” White said. 

His wish finally came true with the opening of Fiona’s. From the start, the reviews and responses to his menu were favorable. White modeled the food and decor from his hometown of Dublin in a cozy and relaxed atmosphere. The description of the restaurant read: 

“Catch the Irish Spirit at Fiona’s Irish Pub. Fresh, authentic Irish Fare—fresh seafood stew, lamb chops… 14 draft beers, 20+ bottles, extensive Irish Whiskey and Scotch collection.”

A Yelp review from “Marissa D” boasted about the restaurant’s family-friendly atmosphere on top of the Guinness stew and Dublin mixed grill. The restaurant maintained a four-star rating throughout its time in service. As the business owner, Martin commented on people’s food ratings on Yelp, from the positive to the slightest of negativity. Despite some negative reviews, the Dublin transplant operated well on the surface.

The Guiness Stew looks….good?

Things were going so well that White opened a second Fiona’s location on 23rd Street in Arlington’s Crystal City, along the busy row of restaurants in April 2019. According to an Arlington Now article, White stated that things were “going gangbusters” at the Kingstowne location. 

Things were not going well. Fiona’s official social media accounts last posted on April 29, 2019, primarily about the opening of the new establishment. Within two months of opening a new location in Arlington, Fiona’s in Kingstowne closed without warning. 

Patrons (and employees) came to work on June 10, 2019, to locked doors. A small printed sign on the door read: “Due to circumstances beyond our control, Fiona’s Irish Pub is permanently closed.” Their website also had a short message thanking patrons for their support. According to a report from Alexandria Living, an employee of a tenant next door did not know why they closed either. The biggest news was that the owner of Fiona’s exited the company. No explanation. 

The Crystal City location on 23rd Street in Arlington was also closed, but they initially reported that it would reopen after resolving some issues with the building. To say the closure was unexpected and abrupt is an understatement. After everyone lamented the closure of their favorite local watering hole, questions began to arise as to WHY. Thanks to Nextdoor and Reddit, some of the proposed questions have answers. 

Some users on Reddit said the lease was up, and White could not pay the high rent due to the raised prices in recent years. Others said it was as simple as a lease agreement. With the other Fiona’s restaurant closed, the questions kept coming. Some claimed he went to Florida to start fresh. User “Technoslave” had a much more concise (and plausible) reasoning:

“The owner absconded with rent money, plus whatever else, since I think October, probably back to Ireland. Landlord/Management/Owner of the property finally went through all the processes necessary to get the place shut down. Sheriffs came in and closed the place.”

Reddit User “Technoslave” re: Fiona’s Irish Pub Closing

According to a user on Nextdoor, Martin was over $450,000 in arrears on his rent “based on the judgment entered against him in Fairfax a few years ago.” If that is true, the opening of a completely new restaurant in a busy and expensive area of Northern Virginia makes it sound all too wild and financially irresponsible. But everybody has to dream. Mr. White dreamed a little too big.

Former Fiona’s location under construction for new “mystery” project, 2022.

Whether he left back to his home country or not, Martin White, the once-celebrated pillar of the Irish community in Alexandria, made an exit for the ages. To this day, no information exists on his whereabouts or location. Only months after its closure, the second Fiona’s location never reopened, with its reporting that it had closed for good by June 12. The location remained an Irish pub, albeit mediocre, called McNamara’s. 

What happened to the Kingstowne location?

In February 2022, Fairfax Now announced that, despite delays, Chick-fil-A planned to open a 5,200-square-foot location in the former location of Fiona’s, a formerly popular Irish bar. Plans to build the Chick-fil-A at this specific location date back to April 2020, when plans were initially filed. The plans were to include a wrap-around drive-thru similar to the nearby Springfield location. 

The new restaurant opened on May 26, 2022, with a balloon arch with black and white “cow” balloons, reminding you, amongst other things, that their advertising works. Eat More Chicken. The Yates gas station across from the new restaurant even put a large banner on the back of their garage welcoming Chick-fil-A into the shopping center.

Individuals who purchase food there can bring a receipt for special discounts. When I saw that, I couldn’t help but think of the George H.W. Bush “Mission Accomplished” banner aboard USS Abraham Lincoln back in 2003 when I saw. And for the restaurant chain, maybe the mission is done. If Martin White exited the area without a word, fast food chicken made an entrance that greets countless customers today. Unfortunately, the fast food chain does not sell Guinness stew or shepherd’s pie. That is a distant and fond memory for all who once went to Fiona’s.  

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. When you leave a party without letting anyone know this year, remember to do it without skipping out on the bill like Martin did. 

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Matthew Eng northern virginia weather

Looking Back at the 1993 March “Storm of the Century”

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

It is the middle of March. Today’s temperatures crept up to 74 degrees, and tomorrow’s will be similar. After a freezing and dreary winter filled with lots of rain, this warmup, albeit way in advance for my global warming consciousness, felt amazing. 

Twenty-one years ago, however, the weather in Northern Virginia was anything but warm. A massive system from Florida to Maine dropped a foot of snow in this region. The warm air and moisture from the Gulf region hit the cold air from western Canada with a shallow barometric pressure that yielded terrifying weather results. The storm caused 11 tornados in Florida and over 200 deaths after its hurricane-force winds finished ripping through the East Coast and Canada on March 14th. According to some news reports, snow drifts in Northern Virginia measured upwards of 12 feet in height. The storm left thousands of travelers and citizens without heat and electricity for days. 

The Superstorm of March ’93, sometimes referred to as the “Storm of the Century” or snowicane,” did not have as significant an impact as many previous or more recent snow events in the region. The most recent event, the snowstorm of 2016, dumped over two feet of snow into the area. However, according to Accuweather, that snowstorm was not a Category 5 storm on the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) scale. Accuweather’s article on the event said the 1993 blizzard was “one of the most devastating storms of the 20th century.”

Steve Marvill, a senior forecaster for Accuweather back in 1993, said in a Washington Post article that the event “had all the conditions for a powerful storm. It was as if there was a hurricane, but in the winter.” 

It certainly felt like a hurricane to many who lived through it. At the Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge near Dahlgren, VA, the wind speed topped out at 73 mph. When the dust (and snow) settled, the storm caused nearly $6 billion in damage in 1993 USD. That’s over double the $12.8 billion in today’s money. That’s enough to build four new stadiums for the Commanders. That gives them four chances to win a game, right?

AP Photo – WTOP News
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Alexandria Matthew Eng northern virginia Postscripts sports

Offbeat Postscripts: This Isn’t the First Time a Sports Team Wanted to Play at Potomac Yard

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

Unless you live under a rock, you probably heard about the recent news of the potential move for two major Washington, D.C., sports teams to northern Virginia. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin reached a tentative deal two days ago with the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals (via Monumental Sports & Entertainment) to move the team’s sports venue from the Capitol One Arena to a “visionary sports and entertainment venue” at Potomac Yard in northern Alexandria. The proposed development would include a new arena for the two sports teams, as well as a practice facility, performing arts center, hotels, convention center housing, and shopping.

The proposed stadium/complex area (JBG Smith)

Naturally, most people in the area are split on the potential move. On one end, the location of the team at Potomac Yard near the new metro would mean potential job creation and a boom for surrounding real estate property values. With that, however, comes the traffic hassles in an already crowded area. This of course does not account for what D.C. natives feel for losing two major sports teams, leaving just the Washington Mystics, D.C. United, and Washington Capitals as the only pro-level teams vying for a competition in the nation’s capital. Mayor Muriel Bowser offered a very hefty counter offer which raised the eyebrows of locals wondering where the substantial figure came from.

A very poignant comment (AlxNow.com)

This would be a major deal for Youngkin and his administration. However, this is not the first time a pro sports team tried to play in Potomac Yard. In the early 1990s, then-Redkins owner Jack Kent Cooke attempted to move the franchise from RFK Stadium in Washington to “Kent Cooke Stadium” at Potomac Yard. The huge announcement came on July 9, just several months removed from what would be the last Redskins Super Bowl Win (a game I remember watching fondly as a 7-year-old). On that day, Jack Kent Cooke made the announcement with Virginia Governor K. Douglas Wilder for a plot of land in the approximate area where the shopping area resides today next to Richmond Highway.

Like today, the announcement was highly controversial. The Washington Post reported that many Alexandria-area residents and several City Council members expressed their distaste for the plan, adding that they were “angry that Wilder and Cooke hatched the proposal without consulting the city.” Given that the Metro official was also not notified by Youngkin or the investment firm about the newest iteration of the sportsplex, history repeats itself.

Cooke proposed a 78,600-seat stadium with plans to be ready for the 1994 season. Ultimately, the plan fell through after Cooke “rejected concessions that Wilder said were necessary to keep the proposal alive,” just three months after the initial announcement in October 1992:

“I still believe that Potomac Yard is an ideal site for the new Washington Redskins stadium. I thank the governor for his valiant efforts to bring this plan to fruition, but in light of the dramatic changes which were proposed that I cannot abide, I now have no further interest in the Potomac Yard site.” – Redkins Owner Jack Kent Cooke

Washington Post (Thursday, October 15, 1992; Page A01)

The Redkins later received their long-awaited replacement stadium in Maryland, Fed Ex Field, which is (in my humble opinion) a poor replacement for RFK and considered one of the worst stadiums in pro sports.

Will Youngkin forge a new history and ink a deal for pro sports history? Given what happened outside of Reagan National (just up the street from the proposed site) at Thanksgiving, I am personally finding it hard to fathom what would happen to the stadium when somebody like LeBron James and the Lakes comes to town. Ample parking has never been a strong suit for Alexandria, and I don’t see that happening here.

What do you think about the proposed deal?

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Angela H. Eng Fairfax County northern virginia

The Mount Vernon Monster

By Angela Harrison Eng, Offbeat NOVA

The Bunny Man may be the most well-known urban legend of Northern Virginia, but there is a lesser-known story about a creature that haunts a small patch of woods in the Fairfax County side of Alexandria: the Mount Vernon Monster. 

The Mount Vernon Woods are in part of what was originally George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate. A 1979 Washington Post article states the land was specifically within an “area where George Washington’s slaves once grew wheat and raised pigs.”1 Today, the woods sit right off Mount Vernon Highway, between two neighborhoods. Grist Mill Park sits on the southwest edge, and a golf course borders the northwest edge. 

Approximate area of the Monster in Mount Vernon, Alexandria. (Google)

Unlike a lot of urban legends, there is no discernable origin story of the monster. It simply appears in the form of “nocturnal screaming” sometime in the fall of 1978.2 The screaming occurred only at night and was described in a variety of different ways from witnesses:3 

They described the sound as something like a wild boar, really loud frogs, some guy blowing in a wine bottle, a barred (or hoot) owl, a broken microphone on a CB outfit, a parrot, a mouse with an amplifier, a strangled dog, the ghost of George Washington and the ghost of George Washington’s pigs.

Blaine Harden, “The Mount Vernon Monster,” Washington Post (May 12, 1979)

I don’t know about you, but I want to know more about ghost pigs. 

A blog article from Sam Hartz also describes the sounds as “something like: “ooahkra-ah,” or “eeveakgoo-ah” or even “aaaoohauoa-ah-oo.”4 A short video about the Mount Vernon Monster recalls the testimony of an 11 year-old witness, claiming it seemed most active between midnight and 5am and the sound was so loud it would cause the windows to rattle.5 A post on Fairfax Underground forum posted, “[The sound] rattled windows. It was very deep and not like any animal I have heard and I had spent time in the outdoors. The sound moved quickly from one end of the street to the other . . .  There were large woods with marshy land behind our home. It sounded like it came from that area most of the time.”6 Though the descriptions of the sounds vary, all of the witnesses agree that it was an out-of-the ordinary sound, and it was loud.

Spottings of the Mount Vernon Monster at Union Farm Road and Southwood Dr.
Spottings in the past occurred at the end of Union Farm Road and Southwood Dr. directly in the back of the Mount Vernon Woods. (Matthew T. Eng/Offbeat NOVA)

There are far less acknowledgements of sightings, however. The Washington Post mentions that Thelma Crisp, who lived nearby, reported “a creature in her backyard that stands 6 feet tall and walks upright.”7 Perhaps her account is why the creature seems to be closely associated with Sasquatch or Bigfoot. I was able to track down another sighting online, though it is not within the correct timeframe or area. Others within the correct timeframe and area mentioned strange occurrences, like rabbit hutches ripped apart, trees breaking, and even, in one instance, an impaled deer.8 One person even produced a recording of the sound his father made. Listen to it here. 

Depiction of the Mount Vernon Monster. Most other versions closely resemble a classic “Bigfoot” character.

The brouhaha was so large by spring of 1979 that the Fairfax County Police got involved. They combed the woods, complete with searchlights and a helicopter, but found nothing. After the police search, the monster seems to have disappeared. There are no other records of the monster or any weird sounds in any official news sources, and there’s only a smattering of comments about it in forums and sites dedicated to Bigfoot research. As quickly as it appeared, the monster faded into obscurity. 

There are posts on the Fairfax Underground that claim the monster was a hoax—that kids put speakers in the open windows of a house or in the woods. However, some posters insist that the monster was real, and that there was no way those sounds could be faked. Real or not, the monster holds a place in Northern Virginia lore—and reminds us of our fraught relationship with nature and the fear of the unknown. 

Footnotes:

  1. Harden, Blaine. “The Mount Vernon Monster.” The Washington Post, May 12, 1979. LINK.
  2. Ibid.
  3. Ibid.
  4. Hartz, Sam. “Mount Vernon Monster Haunts Woods, Wrecks Peace.” Kentucky Daily Independent Newspaper, May 20, 1979. LINK.
  5. Author Denver Michaels. “The Mount Vernon Monster.” YouTube, December 16, 2022. LINK.
  6. D.N. “Re: Mount Vernon Monster.” Fairfax Underground, December 25, 2013. LINK.
  7. “Mount Vernon Monster,” The Washington Post. 
  8. Fairfax Underground. 

 

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listicle Matthew Eng northern virginia

A Fall NOVA Playlist – Part II (Films)

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

Although summer is officially over, who says you can’t bring on the new season in style? Here is a very early fall playlist on books, film, and records — all with a NOVA connection.

Read Part I: Books

Part II: Films (and Television)

  1. Doctor Strangelove – Columbia Pictures (1964)

As far as Northern Virginia landmarks go, the Pentagon ranks at the top. For many, it’s the MOST recognizable fixture of the region — a veritable symbol of the military-industrial-government complex we all tap into. If Northern Virginians are Romulus and Remus, the Pentagon is the wolf mother we suckle from.

…Anyways.

Most films that include the Pentagon feature it the same way. There’s a large, nondescript room with government seals and television screens on the wall. There’s usually a mix of military and civilian workers with one guy in a suit yelling at everyone. When I think of the stereotypical “Pentagon” in film, I look no further than 2007’s action blockbuster, Transformers.

1. Fake Pentagon Logo: CHECK 2. Giant Screen: CHECK 3. Angry White Guy: CHECK

Equally fake (but way more interesting), my first NOVA-inspired film or television show you should watch this fall is Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. The film’s cinematography surrounding the massive ring pendant table inside the “Pentagon” is worth it alone. The insane conversations around that table throughout the movie are a joy (and a terror) to watch. Cue…any year in recent memory. WIRED Magazine called the film “Basically a Documentary.“

AF Archive/WIRED/Alamy

The war room, with its giant screens that any sports bar would die for, is another prominent feature throughout the film. The suits and the smoke swirling through the room’s dead air are marvelous. Looking at the table and the people who portrayed fictional (yet not so fictional) characters during Cold War hysteria is like seeing a bizarro version of the Knights of the Round Table — like Spectre from the James Bond movies or other nebulous evil syndicates surrounded by a cocoon of giant screens with world targets (why always Prague…what did they do?)

Just watch it. The Air Force general’s name is “Jack D. Ripper,” for gods sake.

2. National Treasure: Book of Secrets – Walt Disney (2007)

There are two levels of imbibing alcoholic spirits when you are approaching forty and have been a parent for a few years. The first has the adult drinking one or two alcoholic beverages in a relaxed atmosphere. In the end, these drinks make you sleepy (which you gladly oblige in fear of getting a four-day hangover). The second is what I like to call “Greater Than Two,” or the “I’m Going to Steal the Declaration of Independence.” Thank you, Nicolas Cage…you are truly a national treasure.

Although there are bits and pieces that seemingly feature Northern Virginia locales in the first National Treasure film, National Treasure: Book of Secrets features a set piece filmed on location at George Washington’s estate, Mount Vernon.

Screencap (Walt Disney)

In the scene early in the film, Ben (Cage) uses a no-so-clever ruse with his father (who fishes at night that close to Mount Vernon on the Potomac River?) to break into the President’s birthday party at Mount Vernon in order to corner him for crucial information about the supposed “book of secrets” hidden at the Library of Congress. There are secret doors and pithy dialogue throughout the 10-minute scene. According to the Mount Vernon website, the scene took a week to film. Playing off the success of the film, you can still book a “National Treasure Tour” at Mount Vernon where guests “hear stories about the filming, and learn how the locations were used during Washington’s time.” The cost is only $10 additional to the regular cost of admission.

Is the scene a bit hokey and hackneyed? Yes. Do I still find it entertaining? Absolutely. Say what you want, the National Treasure films are like downing Krispy Kreme doughnuts — completely empty yet utterly fulfilling.

3. Jack Ryan – Amazon (2018-2023)

After four seasons, Amazon’s hit show with Jim Halpert — I mean John Krasinksi — finally wrapped to moderate fanfare. To be honest, the last season was not phenomenal. As a lifetime fan of the Clancy series since The Hunt for Red October, I was a bit disappointed.

Why does a show that spent the majority of time internationally make the list? The first two minutes of the premiere episode. In the shot, Jack bicycles to work from his home in Georgetown to CIA headquarters in Langley in McClean.

Screencap (Amazon/Spy Culture)

Put simply, Jack Ryan’s bicycle route from Georgetown to Langley is insane. At one point he is biking from Georgetown to the Tidal Basin and back to Georgetown from the opposite direction before making his way to CIA Headquarters. It may be a 7-mile trek from Georgetown to Langley, but Jack’s route would add at least 5 more.

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Although the opening shot was actually filmed at the CIA, the end of the episode included this disclaimer (via Spy Culture):

If you want the full breakdown of his route, go HERE.

4. Mission Impossible – Paramount (1996)

Speaking of Langley, does it get any better than the nail-biting espionage scene at the CIA headquarters when Ethan Hunt rappelled from the ceiling to grab the NOC list? I especially love it because it truly dates the film – the NOC list was stolen on a floppy disk. It seems both dated and nostalgic at the same time when you watch it with 21st-century eyes.

“It’s a Unix system.” (Paramount Pictures)

I will die on the hill that action films peaked in 1996: The Rock, Independence Day, Mission Impossible, Twister, etc. It was the golden age and we didn’t even know it (But not Goldeneye…that was the previous year).

I always felt bad for Agent Donloe. The man just wanted some coffee to wash down the top-secret work. He didn’t need to be poisoned by a secret agent hooked up to a suspension system that looks like it belongs in a BDSM dungeon.

I have a pleasure room. (Paramount Pictures)

Although the exterior shots of the CIA Building are the real deal in Langley, the interior was filmed in the old London County Hall near the Westminster Bridge. It’s not quite as authentic as the Jack Ryan series because nothing was ACTUALLY filmed there, yet I choose to believe this is actually what the CIA headquarters up the road looks like from the inside. I have to tell you, I have been to many of the government buildings and Washington, D.C., and I am holding out hope that there are a few that have moderately interesting interiors.

5. Wonder Woman 1984 – Warner Bros. (2020)

Let me just go on the record before I even talk about it — this movie was very, very bad. I don’t even want to go into the specifics of it. I think we can all say that the high hopes were dashed almost from the very start. At least the mall scene filmed in Alexandria’s former Landmark Mall was neat. It was the perfect location. The scene filmed in the atrium and food court took advantage of the huge bank of windows and open concept.

(Warner Bros.)

The producers of the film decided to take the then-recently closed mall (Jan. 2017) and turn its largely vacant state into an 80s-themed mall that gave Starcourt a run for its money. I’m not sure how much money Warner Bros. poured into fixing that mall, but it must have been significant. The last time I was in the mall, it was almost completely empty save for the Chick-Fil-A at the top and the eyewear store at the bottom near the parking garage.

Taken in 2020 after filming wrapped for Woman Woman 1984.

Landmark Mall is completely gone now. I think we should think of it as burying the memory of watching this film. Great memories and cool locations, but not much else. Keep it as a historical document.

Can we just talk about how she and Steve stole a jet from the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum to make a nearly 6,000-mile trip to Cairo, Egypt? Ooof. Big oof.

Honorable Mentions:

  • The Americans – One of the best shows in television history has the Jennings’ living in the fictional “Falls Church Commons.”
  • American Dad – Set in Langley Falls, which I can only think is a facsimile of McLean.
  • Breach – Kind of stating the obvious, but I want to do a deep dive of this for a future post.
  • Mercy Street – Set in Union-occupied Alexandria during the American Civil War. Ted Mosby stars in a role where he isn’t simping on women. Refreshing.

Stay tuned for music!

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listicle Matthew Eng northern virginia

A Fall NOVA Playlist – Part I (Books)

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

One of my favorite movie lines comes in the middle of High Fidelity. In the scene, John Cusack’s character, Rob Gordon, recaps a date night with a local musician he hit it off with at his record store. After explaining the finer points of flirtation, he says this line:

“I agreed that what really matters is what you like, not what you are like… Books, records, films – these things matter.“

As much as I don’t agree with his character on several things (even if I have been told I can be grumpy and opinionated like Rob), I wholeheartedly am on board with his statement. These truly are the things that matter.

Although summer is officially over, who says you can’t bring on the new season in style? Here is a very early fall playlist on books, records, and film — all with a NOVA connection. Look at it this way – if you are part of the impending government shutdown, I’ve provided you with a few things to occupy your mind.

Part I: Books

  1. All the President’s Men – Carl Bernstein and Carl Woodward

Before it was the incredibly gripping 1976 film starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, Bernstein and Woodward published a book about their experience investigating the 1972 Watergate scandal.

Although most of the book/film takes place in Washington, D.C., the pivotal moments where “Deepthroat,” AKA Mark Felt, provided secret information occurred inside a Rosslyn garage off Wilson Boulevard that (unfortunately) no longer exists. Even if you know the story, All the President’s Men is always gripping. The New York Times called it “maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time.” They may be right.

2. Silence of the Lambs – Thomas Harris

This is another tangential one, but SOME of the book takes place at the FBI Academy in Quantico. Sure, it’s the more mundane parts of the book, but it frames Clarice’s mindset for the search for Buffalo Bill and the trips up to the psych hospital where Hannibal Lector temporarily took residence. It’s hard to say the book is better because (unfortunately) the movie was so damn good. Both are incredible – read it then watch it. Afterward, try to sleep without thinking somebody is watching you with night vision goggles on.

3. Bridge to Terabithia – Katherine Patterson

The setting of this timeless YA classic takes place in the fictional town of Lark Creek, a rural locale in Virginia that can be described as “a car ride to Washington, D.C.” Some of the book is set in Washington, so one can surmise the fictional small town is somewhere in the outstretched parts of Northern Virginia. Make sure you read the book instead of watching the 2007 film. Yikes.

4. Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War – Tony Horwitz

As a long-time wannabe historian and occasional museum professional, I will always flock to any book about history. That goes double for books about the American Civil War. Acclaimed war correspondent Tony Horwitz traded the battlefields of Bosnia for the make-believe bivouacs of Northern Virginia in this brilliant piece of investigative journalism.

Americans have a strange love affair with the Civil War. For me, it was more about the battles and the heroism fought on fields I could see with my own eyes and much less on the many monuments and statues that caused so much familial heartache, pain, and frustration from protest picket lines to kitchen tables at Thanksgiving as of late. Tony Horwitz nails this dichotomy, visiting and interviewing “Soldiers” from battlefield reenactments primarily in Northern Virginia (Fredericksburg, Manassas, Fairfax Courthouse, etc.). A stand-out part for me will always be the hardcore reenactor who pissed on his buttons for historical accuracy:

“My wife woke up this morning, sniffed the air and said, ‘Tim, you’ve been peeing on your buttons again.”

Confederates in the Attic

That’s hardcore. Insane — but hardcore. If you haven’t, please read this. He passed away right before the pandemic, but his indelible legacy lives on. I wouldn’t say he was prophetic, but think about how many people today still say the Civil War remains unfinished? I bet a new edition of this book would have been incredible.

5. The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story – Richard Preston

Nowadays, most people do not want to hear about the origins of infectious diseases. Disregarding that, Richard Preston’s deep dive into the antecedents to filoviruses like Ebola, Margburg, and Ravn was an early 1990s best-selling book.

Preston devoted an entire section of The Hot Zone to what he called “The Monkey House.” It described the 1989 incident where lab workers discovered a viral relative to Ebola, known as “Reston Virtus,” in a primate quarantine facility in Reston, just fifteen miles away from the nation’s capital. Eventually, the U.S. Army and the Center for Disease Control were involved. Sound familiar? Although the planned film Crisis in the Hot Zone was never made, the project’s planned director, Wolfgang Peterson, later directed Outbreak. It’s a riveting read, especially in this day in age.

Honorable Mention:

  • The Walking Dead – Robert Kirkman
  • Spy – David Wise
  • Firestarter – Stephen King

More to come!

Next Up: 5 Favorite Songs from Northern Virginia Musicians

Categories
Arlington food history Matthew Eng

A BLT in 1949 Would Cost You a Pretty Penny

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

If you are one of the many individuals who have since gone back into the office in the past year or months, you have undoubtedly forced yourself to talk about SOMETHING with your coworkers. Or if you are like me, you get Covid within three weeks of going back to work in a tight office stuffed to the gills with people coughing in their cubicles. Corporate cringe be damned, we are in it for the culture:

Of course, there are always the staples: the weather, the score of a sports game, and of course, the ubiquitous weekend plans. I always have the yardwork talk locked and loaded for such an occasion.

Lately, a lot of the water cooler talk (and we call it that only as a reference, because who the hell is still using a water cooler and talking near it in 2023) has been about the price of food. It’s the perfect conversation starter while you are waiting to heat up your sad, lukewarm leftovers. In recent months, going to the grocery store in Northern Virginia will net you about $50 a bag (and you better bring your own, too — we aren’t animals).

And let’s not even talk about Costco. I know some things there are necessary, but if I come out of there spending less than $300, I will chalk it up as a moral and financial victory. I need my Babybel cheese, damnit.

I was looking through some Northern Virginia history books I checked out from the library that completely blew my mind and put the current inflation going around the United States in perspective.

Towards the back of Arlington County, Virginia: A History, published by the Arlington Historical Society, is a chart comparing the price of common goods between 1939 and 1949 in the post-war years. While many well-known items were rationed during the war years like sugar, coffee, and meat, the hope was that prices would return to normal after V-J day. It was once patriotic to collect your used household fats. You know…for victory.

Illinois Digital Archives

The Office of Price Administration was established in 1942 as a safety net for price controls on these goods. For the most part, the Administration did its job, keeping inflation in check and prices reasonable. But as the book pointed out, “prices did rise during the decade, especially after controls were lifted.” The book included a chart from the Arlington Sun on comparative prices between 1939 and 1949. At first glance, the prices seem normal; cheap even. It’s only after you use the CPI Inflation Calculator from the U.S. Bureau of Labor that things get interesting.

If we use the calculator to adjust for inflation, the cost of some of these items would make the “egg crisis” of 2023 look like a doorbuster deal on Black Friday. Keep in mind, America was going through a recession that began in November 1948 that lasted until 1949.

Right now, the average consumer cost for a dozen eggs is $2.66. That cost, adjusted in 1939 has the same buying power as $5.00. Once prices rose after the restrictions were lifted, that same carton of eggs would cost you $8.74.

If you wanted to make a BLT sandwich, it’s going to set you back $6.21 for the bacon and $5.32 for the jar of mayonnaise. The bacon is shockingly the same as the 2023 average, which makes the 2023 inflation nearly consistent with that of 1949. As global markets continue to slide and talk of “recession” remains at the top of the news (unless you like Titanic and Russian coups), it’s always interesting to see how far the American dollar has stretched across time. At least when I make an egg salad sandwich this summer, I will have some perspective. I’ll make sure to have my “Ok, boomer” commentary locked and loaded at the office microwave because the high prices have always been something to complain about.

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Matthew Eng prince william county Woodbridge

Rating the Showrooms at IKEA Woodbridge (Part II)

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

Ah, yes. Spring is in the air. 

Everybody wants to start over out of the winter slumber. New clothes. New perspective. How about new furniture that’s hard to pronounce but cheap enough to ignore the fact that you have to put it together? Sure. 

Out with the old and in with the new right? I know of a place where you can stretch your dollar and get that springtime fresh feeling with new furniture: IKEA. IKEA Woodbridge near the Potomac Mills Mall has been a staple in the community for years. I love IKEA because they have unique showrooms that take half of the decision-making out of it. Does it spark joy? Ok…but does the price point spark joy? 

There you go. Crate & Barrel still seems like a pipe dream. 

STARTING at $1,700? If you get something from the “Gather” collection does it come with a sign to hang in your kitchen and years of repressed racism?

This is the second in a three-part series highlighting my favorite showrooms (15 Total) at the Woodbridge IKEA. For this round of five showrooms, I am also going to add where I think the showroom resides, AKA what part of Northern Virginia.

PART I

Note: These are not ranked in order but are shown in the flow of the showroom itself. Instead, I employed a system of 1-5 hex wrenches, the impossibly frustrating tool used to assemble most of the furniture.

  1. Gamer Dad Family Man

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. What about a showroom? This room definitely paints a very specific picture on its modular canvas.

I envision a bunch of kids running around and playing with toys using the bin on the right. Dad is telling the kids to stop playing in front of the television because he is a gamer (you can see the controller and headphones on the table. I’m also guessing that he is playing Call of Duty. He probably needs to let off some steam after a long day at the consulting offices. If he isn’t a mid-level manager at KPMG, I would be impressed. The couch is nice, but not cozy. I don’t get a sense that a lot of weekend movies are watched there. Just gaming.

As far as couches go, the 4-seat sectional Morabo is about as expensive as it gets for the store (which is funny because that is about the base price for anything at Crate & Barrel). There are a few included touches you know gamer-dad didn’t do, like the bookshelves and scrawly-text portraits. Mom went off on that one. In her mind, it really ties the room together, or at least distracts from the fact that the couple’s portrait rests just to the left of what looks like an urn for ashes. You can speculate all the symbolism you want there. Let your imagination run wild.

Given that the toy bin is in the same room as the nice couch and video games, I am going to assume that space is an issue. (Verdict: 2 out of 5 Hex Wrenches)

Northern Virginia location: Seminary Hill, Alexandria

2. Netflix and Chill

Picture this: Recent George Washington University graduate has lots of talent and even more debt. The education received at the prestigious school lands the individual a great job in the Rossyln. The job is great because it has hybrid flexibility, as you can see by the small home office set up in the living room. In fact, everything in this room is moderately priced and perfect for a recent college graduate getting into the work game. Unfortunately, all that time for school has left little time for the dating game. After furnishing their apartment with head-to-toe IKEA, they decide to get back in the game and go on some dates. Some are duds, but the one we see here…is a winner.

The beverage service on the table means two things: the date started and ended at the house (they did not go out to eat), and the second: it’s all pretty self explanatory. The “Are you still watching” is the digital “do not disturb.” Maybe some dinner was made. Either way, the date shifted to the couch where they put something on before the magic hour…or two?

It’s definitely an apartment, and it’s definitely in Clarendon. Date two will be at Maison Cheryl with a few glasses of wine…then Netflix. Ah, to be young. (Verdict: 4 out of 5 Hex Wrenches)

3. Old Town Grill Daddy

Of all the years going to IKEA to either pick up furniture or just shop around in the marketplace, this particular set-up has rarely changed. There are only a few “outdoor” showrooms at this location, but this is by far my favorite.

I know a lot of the materials in this image seem kind of cliche, but I love it. I love the floral accent wall. I love the lights. I love the fake wood deck and the focal point of the grill to the chairs. You can sense there might be some light entertaining happening in the small backyard. I envision a small patch of grass nearby that a small dog uses to relieve itself. Maybe it’s just the fact that it’s starting to get warm, but I am totally into it.

But the focus is the grill and the adjacent water hookup with the sink. Putting chicken on the grill? No problem – I can wash my hands here. It’s the kind of luxury I can get down with, especially in such a small space. The large compost bin at the bottom screams environmentally conscious, if not slightly crunchy. There might even be some prepping done outside. A little mise en place with Miller Lite? Oh hell yeah. (Verdict: 4 out of 5 Hex Wrenches)

This is a well-to-do newlywed couple in Old Town Alexandria.

4. Patrick Bateman Lives Here

You like Huey Lewis and the News?

This room screams serial killer, albeit a cost-conscious one. It’s still a serial killer. Nobody lights up the back of their television screen that actually uses it. It’s all just for show. Just like the abundance of carpet space that doubles as a great location for drop cloth to sop up Paul Allen’s blood.

There’s something so sterile and unsettling about this room. No art. All white. The wine decanter and two glasses. If you walk into this room with an attractive but assertive gentleman that works as a Vice President for Mergers and Acquisitions at Pierce & Pierce, run away. Run away as fast as you can. Just make sure you look out for falling chainsaws. (Verdict 2 out of 5 Hex Wrenches)

If Bateman lived in NOVA, he would definitely live in McLean.

5. Cozy Office/Library

Although I am not a super fan of the color choice in this office/library, I cannot deny how cozy it all looks. Despite the darkness of the furniture, there is a good amount of light that let’s you believe it’s a room that two or more people would ACTUALLY use — and that’s a rarity in some of these IKEA showrooms.

I love the large bookshelves with room to display personal pieces and tchotchke’s of various sizes. There’s personality to this room.

I can see plenty of board games being played in here. Maybe some light jazz music to keep it fancy? The marginal wall art near the desk makes me think it’s the location of a work-from-home set up. That area is the only reason this room is not getting a 5-out-of-5 hex wrench ranking. (Verdict: 4 out of 5 Hex Wrenches)

This room is for the DC commuter who loves spending weekends in their home with family. I’m thinking Leesburg.

Stay tuned for the third and final part of this IKEA showroom series!

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Fairfax Matthew Eng Postscripts

Offbeat Postscripts: Bunnyman is Best Shared With Friends

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat NOVA

I am always up for finding new and exciting things to do around Northern Virginia. It doesn’t matter what experience it is—shopping, dining, or entertainment—I’m not the type to do the same old thing every week. After living here for almost a decade, it always surprises me when something pops up that I haven’t heard of before.

I was following one of my favorite content creators on Youtube, Adam the Woo, as he stopped for a brief stint in the DC Metro area. After catching a Nationals-Rays baseball game, he and his friend stopped by the Bunnyman Bridge in Clifton (something we are no stranger of) before filming a short segment at a nearby brewery of the same name. 

Was this real? Bunnyman Brewing? No way.

I had to find out for myself. 

There are plenty of Northern Virginia breweries with varying degrees of interesting names: Fair Winds, Chubby Squirrel, Two Silos, Two Bears and a Goat. This one directly related to something we wrote about back when Offbeat NOVA first started, so we had to go. 

Bunnyman Brewing (Matthew T. Eng/Offbeat NOVA/Released)

After a quick internet search, I discovered that Bunnyman Brewing opened its doors in 2019. Nestled in the back of a business park in the Fairfax/Burke area near Lake Royal, Bunnyman offers “high-quality beers with an exciting rotation of unique variations.” The best part? It’s family friendly. 

We “hopped” in the car this past Saturday to have a few hare-raising beers with a couple of friends. The knowledgeable staff showed us the ropes once we got there. You are given a card that you scan near the self-serve tap. You pay by the ounce—from forty cents up to a dollar. Your standard pint, then, will only set you back about seven or eight dollars. Not bad considering how delicious everything was. 

There were glasses for pints, testers, and even flights. We had a few flights of beers amongst us and had a pint of the beers we liked best. My favorite was the German-style Altbier. If you are looking for something sweeter, I recommend the Dark Bunny almond vanilla milk stout. Moderation is everything, though. One of their beers, the Binders Barrel-Aged S’mores Milk Stout, is 12.5% ABV. That’s over three percent more than a Dogfish Head 90-Minute IPA. A couple of those in my wildest of days would have laid me out. I had one sip. That was it. 

Our sampling of beers. Hare Raiser and Altbier were amazing.

The atmosphere at our table outside was extremely relaxed. Although there was no live music that Saturday, the location is known for a regular rotation of local favorites. We sampled some food from an Indian food truck while there. The samosas were tasty. You can hear the Amtrak trains in the distance while you sip away on something and converse amongst friends and family. All-in-all, we will most definitely be back for more. 

Don’t forget to look to your left once you arrive at the location – there is a small cutout of the Bunnyman in the trees that makes for a perfect photo op. 

You could say I couldn’t “axe” for a better afternoon. 

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loudon county Matthew Eng northern virginia Postscripts

Offbeat Postscripts: YouTuber Shot in Northern Virginia Mall

By Matthew T. Eng, Offbeat Nova

Internet trends are weird. More often than not, people who perform them for online audiences toe the line between entertainment and insanity. Are followers that important?

Everything from asking strangers on the street what song’s on their phone to stopping people for obviously staged tours of their apartments, I often find myself cringing as I’m scrolling through Instagram at night. And then there are the pranks. Internet pranks range from the kitschy stuff your seven-year-old watches to the moments that spark public outreach. Say what you want about Jackass, but they were innovators.

Tanner Cook, part of the YouTube channel Classified Goons, has amassed around 40,000 subscribers. Their videos primarily feature “IRL prank videos” that Cook is filmed performing. If you wanna know what kind of people the Classified Goons are, their video with the most views is titled “Fake Target Thug Employee Prank!”

So it should come as no surprise that Mr. Cook got pranked himself last week when one of his IRL stunts went horribly wrong inside the food court of a quiet Northern Virginia shopping center. Tanner was inside the Dulles Town Center Mall last week pulling pranks on strangers using Google translate. That was when 31-year-old Alan Colie of Leesburg pulled a semiautomatic pistol and shot Cook in the Stomach inside the Sterling Mall. 

There are only two reasons you should be in this area: to go to the airport, or if you live there for some reason.

Cook was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery but survived even though he was in critical condition. The bullet pierced through his stomach and liver. Colie surrendered to the police and is in custody after the gunshot caused a mild panic inside the mall. 

Video footage on Instagram (@thisismyu5ername) showed Colie lying on the ground of the second-floor food court. Tanner, commenting after his recovery, stated that he was “playing a prank and a simple practical joke,” noting that he clearly “didn’t take it very well.” Tanner’s father also made a statement on the news: 

“They were making a video at the mall and trying to have fun with people and this guy wasn’t having fun,” added Jeramy Cook. “There was a phone that was around him and they were interviewing or talking to him, and he didn’t like it and he pulled out his gun and shot my son.”

The dad later said to ABC7 News that he forgives the man who shot his son. Despite this, Colie is still under arrest and charged with multiple felonies after the incident. It is unclear whether the YouTube influencer will also be charged for the events that led up to the incident. 

A side by side comparison of Colie being arrested and the same spot over the weekend. (Offbeat NOVA/Matthew Eng)

I went to the Dulles Town Center over the weekend to see the spot where Cook was shot. The area where Colie was taken down and arrested is near a small convenience store and a Popeyes. A few guests quietly ate their food as I walked by. Nobody really seemed to notice why I kept staring at that specific spot near the massage chairs. It’s almost as if people were minding their business and wanted to be left alone. Imagine that?