Irish Eyes are Smiling at the Eat Good Food properties

From the Washington DC 41st Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade Grand Marshal, Chef Armstrong

The Majestic- 911 King Street, Alexandria, VA, 703.837.9117
At The Majestic St. Patrick’s Day will be celebrated all month long with March’s Nana’s Sunday dinner “The Saint and the Spud.” Roast leg of Spring lamb and a dessert of Irish rice pudding with whiskey pay homage to the saint and the American contribution to the Irish palate. On St. Patrick’s Day, Majestic will offer a traditional lunch of Irish Spiced Beef Sandwich; house cured corned beef and sauerkraut on house made rye bread. A dinner of House Cured Corned Beef and Boiled Potatoes with parsley, braised cabbage and mustard sauce is sure to warm the Irish soul.

Eamonn’s- 728 King Street, Alexandria, VA, 703.837.8633
The only authentic chipper in the area, Eamonn’s is the place to be on St. Patrick’s Day.  Located in the heart of Old Town Alexandria, come by to feast on fish and chips and drink a Guinness or Smithwicks.  No fighting Irish allowed, but for those looking for a delicious fry—Fish, bananas, Milkyway bar and yes even a ‘burgher’—Eamonn’s welcomes you. Resident mixologist Clinton Terry gives props to his boss, Irish native Chef Cathal Armstrong, with the Eamonn’s Sour Irish made with Irish red lemonade and Powers Irish Whiskey. These special Irish offerings will be offered all week leading up to St. Patrick’s Day.

Restaurant Eve- 110 South Pitt Street, Alexandria, VA, 703.706.0450
Banish the stereotypical Irish myths. The elegant Restaurant Eve will be offering its signature, annual, seven courses, aptly named  ‘An Irish Feast.’  The celebration dinner is signature to the Tasting Room, and includes Chef Armstrong’s refined twist on traditional Irish favorites using key ingredients such as Cashel Blue Cheese, Guinness, White Pudding, Irish Whiskey, Salmon, Wild Flowers, and Dublin Spice.  $ 125 per person for seven courses.

For those in the truly festive mood, celebrate St. Patrick’s day like the original Irish Celts with the Ancient Celtic Lunch special, available the week leading up to St. Patrick’s Day. The three course menu offers a union of old and new; traditional Irish food inspired by ingredients available to the original Celts of Ireland. Smoked Mackerel Salad with Heirloom Beets, Bitter Greens, Young Flowers and Horseradish Vinaigrette, Corned Beef Sandwich on Potato Roll with Housemade Sauerkraut, and Guinness and Treacle Cake with Lyle's Salted Cream and Jameson's White Chocolate Ganache, are paired with Mixologist Todd Thrasher’s St. Patrick’s Whey Cocktail for $35.

Virtue Feed and Grain- 110 South Union Street, Alexandria, VA, 571.970.3669
Follow the leprechaun, he’s sure to bring you to Virtue’s gold, where “gastro” Irish pub grub and over 80 domestic and imported beers await you. As Irish dancers dance throughout the restaurant, Chef Ryan Wheeler will serve Irish Feast Specials paired with featured Irish whisky and beers. Pastry chef Rebekka Baltzell will feature desserts using Irish ingredients, such as the Side Car Cupcake made with Jameson frosting and a Guinness pastry filling. Specials available for the Alexandria St. Patrick’s Day Parade, as well as the entire week leading up to St. Patrick’s Day.

Society Fair- 277 South Washington Street, Alexandria, VA, 703.683.3247
The newest addition to Eat Good Food Group will offer imported Irish market and butchery items to allow diners to recreate their own taste of Ireland at home. Wake up to a traditional Irish breakfast on Saint Patrick’s special day, with Society Fair’s Irish Breakfast in a Bag, including Irish Scone Mix, jam and Kerrygold butter, with Irish Breakfast Tea. Irish Oats with house made Granola and Irish Tea are staples in the cabinets of Society Fair, and would do well to make any sleepy eye smile like the Irish.

Survive in Demand: Randall Linebacks

In 2002, the Randall Lineback, the last remaining American breed of cattle, was on the brink of extinction. In fact, the American Livestock Breed Conservancy listed them as critically endangered, with only about 100 left in the world.

The original Randall Linebacks were bred for three purposes in the New World: as sources of meat, dairy and oxen power. The breed became popular throughout New England in the late 1600s, before anyone had ever heard of feeding antibiotics (or grain) to a cow, and to this day, the cattle have maintained their clean body mass: hormone free and sustained purely on grass, as nature intended.

Chapel Hill Farm in Berryville has played a tremendous role in reviving this dying breed, starting with 25 cattle in 2002 and bringing that number up to 300 today. Joe Henderson, the owner of Chapel Hill Farm, estimates that to ensure the breed’s survival, that number needs to rise to 1,000. He’s on his way there—in an ironic twist of fate, today the breed’s survival depends on its demand. Eating the rich meat, high in Omega-3s, Vitamin E, and CLA, is actually helping the Randall Lineback survive.

Today, many top Northern Virginia restaurants offer Randall Lineback beef from Joe Henderson’s farm. In Old Town Alexandria, the beef is offered from time to time on the menu at the four star Restaurant Eve, as special Randall Lineback burgers at the American tavern Virtue Feed & Grain, and sold to prepare at home at the new Society Fair, an epicurean emporium for food lovers.

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How to “Dress” a Burger: Winning Flavor Combos
Chef Ryan Wheeler at Virtue Feed & Grain shares a few ways he’s dressed his Randall Lineback burgers:

- Aioli, avocado, and fried egg
- Caramelized onions, and Cashel blue cheese, and Guinness stout sauce
- Sauteed local mushrooms and aioli
- Blue cheese dip and pickled jalapenos

Eat Good Food Group Kitchen Love Stories

How they ‘Make it Work’

There’s more sizzling behind the scenes at the restaurants of Eat Good Food Group (Restaurant Eve, The Majestic, Virtue Feed & Grain, Eamonn’s a Dublin Chipper, PX, and newly opened Society Fair) than delicious food. It must be something about the smell of roasting garlic or the sound of clinking wine glasses, but something seems to be in the air. From co-owners Chef Cathal and Meshelle Armstrong, Todd Thrasher and Maria Chicas, to Chef de Cuisine Jeremy Hoffman and manager Michelle Hoffman, the couples in the restaurant ‘family’ are very much in love. But just how do they keep the love strong amidst the stress of orders, reservations, holidays, and long hours?

Ground Rules for Working Together:

Chef Cathal and Meshelle Armstrong (Co-Owners) 

Meshelle: “No one’s aloud to talk about anything [work related] on Sundays.”
Cathal: “She’s not allowed to torture me with anything having to do with work”
Meshelle: “That’s why, when Monday comes around, he gets an earful!”

 Chef Jeremy and Michelle Hoffman (Chef de Cuisine at Restaurant Eve and Human Resources Manager for Eat Good Food Group)
Michelle: “Trying to keep the personal relationship aside. When we were both working at Restaurant Eve, I had to remember to call Jeremy ‘chef.’ I had to remember to act professionally with him at work. One day, on Jeremy’s first night manning the kitchen, I was captain of the Tasting Room and had to request a change of order for a vegetarian dining with us. It was the only time I let my guard down under the stress of the moment, and accidentally addressed my husband as ‘Jeremy’ and not ‘Chef’ in the kitchen.”

Mixologist Todd Thrasher and Maria Chicas (Co-Owners)
Maria: “We make an effort to make our time together count as quality time—even if it's a walk up King Street mid-day on our way to the bank. When at home, we email each other work stuff so we keep work out of our personal time.”

John Wabeck and Melissa Horst (Sommelier at Restaurant Eve and Beverage Manager at Virtue Feed & Grain)
Melissa: “The key for us, is that we have a mutual respect for each other's need for quietude, and can enjoy companionable silence. We spend so much of our daily grind interacting with guests and staff that often times we're plain talked out. It's refreshing to sit quietly, read the paper, and simply enjoy one


Now make your own Love story....

Restaurant Eve- 110 South Pitt Street, Alexandria, VA, 703.706.0450, 

Who could ever resist ‘The Original Temptress’….EVE. Don’t let Restaurant Eve’s Saint Valentine Menu name fool you. Couples and others alike will surely find Chef Armstrong delicious Seven Course Menu quite naughty. 

The Bistro 3 courses - $95 per person

Tasting room-7 courses $180 per person, with 2 selections in each course

Wine pairings-$99

If you are dining at Eve, make reservations to have a cocktail at PX first!

PX- 728 King Street, Alexandria, VA, 703.837.8633

….The Provocateur! Enjoy some of Mixologist master Todd Thrasher’s steamy libations with his Romantic Cocktail Tasting Menu for Two. Couples can get cozy and share a 5 course cocktail menu, guaranteed to get their love flowing

$65 Per Couple