Fall Forays and Dining Discoveries

September 24, 2013 – Fall Forays and Dining Discoveries

Taking advantage of the change in season, we’ve made a few mini road trips within the past week.  First of all, we took a drive out to Manassas, best known for the pair of Civil War battles that took place just outside of this town.  In Yankee-Land, where I grew up, we learned about the Battles of Bull Run.  In Virginia and the rest of the Confederacy, these battles are called the Battles of Manassas.  In fact, the Civil War is still referred to by many Southerners as The War of Northern Aggression.  There are roads, parks, schools, statues, etc. memorializing Confederate victories and military heroes.  It’s not unusual to see Confederate flags in certain parts of the state, although not in our little corner of northern Virginia.  No wonder we’re still dealing with the legacy of the Civil War.  As a Northerner, I find all of this pretty amazing.  I realize that Southerners are proud of their history, but why would people choose to glorify a culture that perpetuated human rights abuses?  It would be like the Germans today still having Hitler’s name on a major square or airport.

In any case, we didn’t go out to Manassas to see the battlefield, but to dine at a fine Portuguese restaurant in the center of the old town.  Most of the historic brick buildings, which date back to the early 1900s, were built after fire destroyed the earlier wooden structures.  The old railroad station is still in use by the daily commuter trains that provide service to DC’s Union Station.  After a quick walking tour of the main street, we settled into the romantic gold-toned candlelit dining room at Carmello’s for a wonderful meal.  Warm marinated olives, sweet potato soup, arugula salad, cataplana of bacalahu (a typical Portuguese preparation of salted cod, pumpkin, corn, zucchini and peppers over tomato rice, served in a copper dish) were all delicious.  Desserts were equally satisfying: almond tart with vanilla ice cream, and a plate of roasted apricots with mascarpone mousse and toasted walnuts.  It took less than an hour to drive out to Manassas, so we’ll definitely return.  

Elliott in Manassas

Cataplana de bacalahu at Carmello's

 

Sunday’s road trip was in the opposite direction.  Elliott wanted to show Marshall the area where he and his sisters grew up in Southeast DC.  He showed us the house on Potomac Avenue (near 15^th Street) that his parents bought around 1915 and gave us a driving and walking tour of the neighborhood, pointing out where the bakery, the drugstore, and other landmarks from his childhood were located.  There were no paved roads or traffic lights at the time, and horses outnumbered cars.  After many years of decline, the area is slowly being reclaimed.  Many of the older row houses have been restored and expanded.  Although it’s relatively close to Eastern Market and the Capitol, it’s a quiet residential neighborhood.  It made me wonder briefly about relocating here with Elliott.  But there weren’t any restaurants within walking distance, and we were starving.  

Elliott and Marshall in front of his childhood home on Potomac Avenue

We got back in the car and by a great stroke of luck, found a parking place right across the street from the Smithsonian American Indian Museum.  Elliott and Marshall had never eaten in their cafeteria, Mitsitam Café, which specializes in the cuisines of the native peoples of the Americas.  Marshall headed to the Great Plains counter for an Indian taco, which featured buffalo chili.  My two vegetarian choices, from the South American section, were a light and toasty quinoa and cauliflower dish and a salad of chickpeas, grilled corn, queso fresco and lime vinaigrette.  Elliott selected roasted turkey and tart cranberries from the Northern Woodlands.  The three of us shared a sinfully rich tres leches cake for dessert.  

Indian "taco" at Mitsitam Cafe (Smithsonian American Indian Museum)

Tuesday was one of those perfect fall days, crisp and cool in the morning, warming up with the sun to the mid-70s, with a cloudless blue sky.  Marshall joined us again for a drive out to visit our friend Frank in Purcellville, about 40 or so miles west, just past Leesburg.  Once we left the traffic congestion and suburban landscape behind, we were out in the country, with horses, barns, and cornfields.  The town of Purcellville was the terminus of the old Washington and Old Dominion railroad.  Nowadays, the W&OD trail follows the old railroad tracks, and runs from Arlington to Purcellville.  The old railroad station still stands in downtown Purcellville.  Right next to the station is the old mill, which has been turned into a beautifully decorated restaurant called Magnolias at the Mill.  Their menu features creative American cuisine and everything we ordered was scrumptious, including fish tacos, steak frites, and salted caramel pot de crème.  Marshall and Elliott even raved about the locally sourced Lost Rinos root beer.  There’s a cute little downtown area, but there has been a tremendous amount of recent development which looks like Anywhere, USA. 

We will continue our exploration of destinations within a day’s drive.   Look for our next report from Winchester, Culpepper, Fredericksburg, or Watertown.