When I received an assignment to write about the George
Washington Distillery for Capitol File Magazine, one of the things that excited me the most about it was
the chance to head back to the Washington, DC area. I decided it would be fun
to combine a good foodie town with the trip and quickly settled on Alexandria. It was a great choice.
Virginia Tourism
helped me organize a trip filled with great cocktails, restaurants, and a bit
of history. I also had the bonus of
being joined on some of the trip by a friend I had recently met on my press
trip to St. Maarten, Julia Coney of All About the Pretty.
I arrived at the Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria in the early evening for my three night stay
there. I had never been there before,
but I immediately knew why it had been chosen as the suite had what I needed
and it was located within walking distance of most of the sites and venues I
was going to.
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Claire from Alexandria Tourism picked me up for dinner. I
had been looking forward to this since reading about it on the itinerary. If
you ever asked me what my favorite foods were, I could guarantee that they have
cheese in them. Whether it’s a sprinkling of parmesan or oozing cheddar, I love
cheese dishes so dinner at Cheesetique
was the perfect choice for me.
Cheesetique, located in the Del Ray neighborhood, also has a
large selection of one of my other favorite things – wine. I had a glass of
Chilean Cuvee and Claire and I tried to narrow down what we were going to
order. It seemed like an impossible task to be given a menu where absolutely
everything sounded terrific and you were only going to pick a few! Finally, the
waitress helped us narrow it down, though we still ordered way too much.
The Warm Chevre and Tomato Dip, served with crostinis, was a
wonderful start as it wasn’t heavy. We followed that with a Pear and Gorgonzola
Flatbread. That wasn’t very cheesy, but I was soon thankful for that fact.
The grilled cheeses we had ordered arrived. We had narrowed
it down to the Grown-up Grilled Cheese, the Grilled Pimiento Cheese and the ABC
Panini. The Grown-up was Prairie Breeze Cheddar melted on grilled sourdough. It
was excellent. I couldn’t imagine a better grilled cheese sandwich. As for the
Pimiento, it was made with a spicy blend of 3-year Cheddar, Dragon’s Breath and
Dubliner, with pimientos. It had quite a kick and I enjoyed the unusual taste.
The ABC Panini was quite different from the others. It was a
tasty combination of red apples, peppered bacon and Comte on a dark honey wheat
bread. I liked the combination of sweet and salty.
Fortunately, we had paced ourselves and only tasted a bit of
everything before the macaroni and cheese course (just saying “macaroni and
cheese course” makes me salivate!). The first was Mac ‘N Cheesetique, Goat
Gouda, Asiago, 30-day Pecorino and truffle-infused bread crumbs. It was a
perfect blend.
Our second macaroni and cheese was Cauliflower &
Pancetta. I was a little hesitant when ordering it, but I’m glad the waitress
convinced us as the Fontina and Parrano cheeses mixed very well with the
cauliflower florets and crispy pancetta.
I had made sure to leave room for dessert and I’m glad I did
because my anticipation was correct. The Cheesetique Cheesecake was creamy and
delicious, topped with luscious fruit. It was the perfect ending to the evening
and my start of exploring Virginia.
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