If you’re ever in D.C.. you definitely have to take some time to wander around Old Town Alexandria. Pete and I enjoy going to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings, then roaming in and out of shops on King Street or checking out the old row homes on the neighboring roads.
Over the years, we I have compiled a list of restaurants to try in the area. Anytime we’re in the area, we try to stop into one for brunch, lunch, or even dinner.
Last weekend, we just so happened to be walking by 219 Restaurant when both of our stomachs rumbled. The restaurants beautiful patio was what originally drew us to it the first time we saw it. After we pa-roused their menu, we decided to give it a shot.
The patio was empty, so we took a seat under a fan near an open window to cool off.
Sadly, that was about the only pleasurable part of our lunch date.
Pete ordered the European Omelet (Mushroom Asparagus, Green & Red Peppers, and Onion) with Lobster Bisque to start and I ordered the Crab Cake Avocado Sandwich which came with steak fries.
The soup came out first with a basket of hot bread. The bread was very tasty, but the soup was extremely salty.
While waiting for our entrees, the restaurant began filling up rather quickly with everyone coming in for a late lunch. Although our food order had already been put in, it took a while for it to be delivered to our table.
When it finally arrived, I was a tad disappointed to see the bun of my sandwich was more than twice the size of my crab cake, but I smashed the crab cake out with my fork to make it fit. Despite these efforts, the bun overwhelmed the flavor of the crab cake, so I ended up taking it off the bun to eat it plain. This didn’t help much since the crab cake was very salty. Pete didn’t enjoy his omelet either because, as you might have guessed, it was extremely salty.
I’m usually not one to complain about food service since I spent many years as a waitress myself. However, this was probably some of the worst service I’ve had in a while. We didn’t see our waitress for at least 20 minutes and none of the other servers even helped her out by clearing our dishes or giving us a refill on water while we waited for her to bring our check. I feel like a snob saying that, but as a server, you help out your fellow servers if they’re busy. We had to flag someone down to ask them for our check, then waited another 5-10 minutes for it.
When she finally rang our check up, she flew by the table, tossing the check presenter at us and scooted on out without so much as an apology for the slow service.
I’m sure you can guess that I wouldn’t recommend 219 Restaurant for your next meal in Old Town. If you’re in the area and only have one shot, I would highly recommend Union Street Public House near the Torpedo Factory. I’ve been there a couple of times and have always been impressed. They have a great atmosphere and amazing food.
