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Oldest Restaurants in the Washington, DC Area


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What about Al's Steakhouse in Alexandria? 1956 according to their website. When we first moved to the area, a coworker raved about it (1990). Apparently it was quite the lunch/after school spot for the kids in her time.

http://www.alssteak.com/

Also, relatives who grew up on the hill still fondly remember going to Mangialardos as kids. Did I miss seeing that?

http://www.jonlhussey.com/blog/2011/02/05/mangialardos-57-years-on-capitol-hill/

Yes to both - See the original post (1953) for the explanation about Mangialardo & Sons (and thank you).

I can confirm that Far East is owned by the same family.  When they moved to the area they were my parent's neighbors.  My dad used to help them fix things around their house.  After one such time, they asked my dad what they could do to repay him.  Jokingly, my dad said make me a meal.  My parents keep their own style of Kosher.  Mom was embarrassed by my dad's request.  Never-the-less, the Wong's sent their chef with my mom to the Kosher supermarket to pick out ingredients and the chef prepared a banquet  in their house.  We still occasionally go to Far East, and now it is run by the children, but still the same family.

I was actually making a joke to Dave - he had his wedding party there (I was in attendance). Great story about your parents! Far East has indeed been open since 1974.

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Today's Washington Post referenced Trattoria Alberto on Barracks Row on 8th Street.  It has some local fame/notoriety as being the favorite local restaurant of current Speaker of the House, John Boehner.   Among the various points and references was that the restaurant was over 3 decades old.  Now...does that make it pre 1980 or not...?  I'm not sure.  But it has been around for a danged long time.   Article

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Today's Washington Post referenced Trattoria Alberto on Barracks Row on 8th Street.  It has some local fame/notoriety as being the favorite local restaurant of current Speaker of the House, John Boehner.   Among the various points and references was that the restaurant was over 3 decades old.  Now...does that make it pre 1980 or not...?  I'm not sure.  But it has been around for a danged long time.  Article

As you noticed, Trattoria Alberto's website says it has been open "for over 30 years," so that winds back to 1984, at least, but I'll need firm evidence that it opened pre-1980 before it moves onto our Oldest Restaurants list.

However, notice that they have half-priced wines Sat-Mon (including Saturday night!), so they make it onto our Half-Priced Wine Nights list maintained in the Dining Guide forum (you need ten posts to view these links, so they may not come up for some people).

post-2-0-19891400-1421325815_thumb.png

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Here's another that wasn't on the list (until today). 
 
Of note: the "Live Music Room" on the left is a new space - they apparently just got the space next door (either that, or this is a new sign because I'm certain that wasn't up a year ago).
 
post-2-0-58355900-1423777482_thumb.jpg

In case you don't know where this is, it's in the same strip shopping center as Present, at the intersection of Route 50 and Annandale Road.

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Here's a cool little point to ponder: This post (and this list) was started in 2005, nearly 10 years ago, and includes restaurants that opened in 1979 and before. It also includes all restaurants that were open in 2005, and subsequently closed during the past 10 years, so, every single restaurant that we know of that was was 25-years-old in 2005.

If we were starting it now (and including restaurants that are 25-years-old and older), it would include restaurants that opened in 1989 and before.

It would be a lot more extensive, don't you think? Nearly ten years later, the restaurants on this list that are still open are an endangered species, and a dying breed.

I was talking to a friend today that considers this website primarily a resource; I consider it primarily a historical document. The difference is minimal, but there is a slight difference in the approach taken.

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According to its website, PJ Skidoos in Fairfax opened on February 1, 1978. This is the sort of place I never would have stumbled into on my own, but my mother, who lives fairly nearby, started going there a few years ago, and I've been with her and other family several times. Plain American fare, but pretty good food at very reasonable prices, and a very friendly atmosphere. Good crabcakes. Their crabcake sandwich is $13.95, including fries and slaw, and if you don't eat the bun it's just one very nice, large broiled crabcake with not much in it but crab. I'm sure it's southeast Asian crabmeat, but it's really very nice, and offered at a very friendly price. (Skip the "bistro sauce" they give you on the side. It's Russian dressing. On a crabcake?)

Anyway, it should be on the list.

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PJ Skidoos brings back a memorable night! My first date with my later to be wife ended with an Irish coffee and a multiple quarters in the stand up Pac Man machine at PJ's. it was run  by the Thomas Brothers and Pip was a friend from college days. They also have Kilroys in Springfield.

Many a late night sipping Amarettos (for her) and everything else for me and wasting quarters watching those little monsters chase across the screen.

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And does UMd's Turner Lab qualify, dishing out ice cream since 1924? (I still miss the little parking area out front facing Rt 1, removed probably in the 1970s.)

Well, this one might test Don's ship-of-Theseus guidelines a smidge.  After 90 years of operation, most of them in the Turner Lab, they relocated the Dairy Salesroom to the Student Union building in April 2014 and also renamed it the "Maryland Dairy".

Looks like they've discontinued Chesapeake Wild Berry Ripple (no relation to the, uh, wine beverage), the special flavor concocted to commemorate the state's 350th birthday in 1984.  Has the administration no sense of history?  Damn...that was a really good ice cream.

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Well, this one might test Don's ship-of-Theseus guidelines a smidge.  After 90 years of operation, most of them in the Turner Lab, they relocated the Dairy Salesroom to the Student Union building in April 2014 and also renamed it the "Maryland Dairy".

Looks like they've discontinued Chesapeake Wild Berry Ripple (no relation to the, uh, wine beverage), the special flavor concocted to commemorate the state's 350th birthday in 1984.  Has the administration no sense of history?  Damn...that was a really good ice cream.

Take a closer look at the list. :)

So what does it cost to replace a Honda Civic with replacement parts?

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Frozen Dairy Bar no longer exists. It has changed ownership, retired the ElectroFreeze, and now goes by the name "Frozen Dairy Bar and Boardwalk Pizza," serving such authentic 1950 ElectroFreeze delights as (ready for this?)

Beach Fries, Jalapeno Poppers, Mozzarella Sticks, Corn Dog Nuggets, Greek Salad, Chicken Marsala, and of course the Specialty Pizzas: Popeye's Favorite, Surf & Turf, and BBQ Chicken.

Shall I stop here? Those two farmer-looking dudes in their baseball caps should be rolling over in their graves right now, but assuming they're still alive and well (which I hope and suspect they are), I hope they're rolling in dough from having sold their business to these new owners.

Best of luck to all, I say, but Frozen Dairy Bar and Boardwalk Pizza is not one of the oldest restaurants in the area, as it was just founded several years ago.

Cheers,

Rocks.

And just to stay current (we do *not* have a thread on this establishment), "Frozen Dairy Bar and Boardwalk Pizza" is now operating as "FDB Eatery" with the Electro-Freeze machine - if it's stil there at all - in retirement, so the ownership, name, *and* location have all changed, but its origins as "the two guys" running the Electro-Freeze machine at the original "Frozen Dairy Bar" remains intact, albeit in the distant past, a great, great uncle thrice removed. I *hate* that we don't have a thread on either the new (FDB Eatery) or the old-old (Frozen Dairy Bar), but we don't. I've been in Northern Virginia since 1994, and don't remember the timeline on this restaurant, but it really *was* a great, classic place to get frozen custard. I may not remember the timeline, but I'll never forget the product - it lives on, in a sense, at The Dairy Godmother. where Liz Davis has been working on her feet for thirty years. How much longer can that possibly go on? Liz, it may ring hollow to hear me say this, but I'm going to say it anyway: Thank you.

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Table Talk in Olde Towne on Duke Street was recently sold  There is no reference in that article whether the seller was the original restaurateur or not.

I reference this post from this thread back in 2005

Posted 27 July 2005 - 02:10 AM

Table Talk in Alexandria - 1976 or so
(also soon to be a victim of development) 

Guess the owner never got around to selling.

Hmmm...Table Talk  brings back memories...haven't been there for decades.

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On 6/29/2015 at 3:35 PM, DaveO said:

Table Talk in Olde Towne on Duke Street was recently sold  There is no reference in that article whether the seller was the original restaurateur or not.

I reference this post from this thread back in 2005

Guess the owner never got around to selling.

Hmmm...Table Talk  brings back memories...haven't been there for decades.

Table Talk was sold to Jeff Yates who has said that it will not be going anywhere.

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I came across a little detail a short while ago that was news to me.  Some of you might be either very aware of this and/or have already faced this limitation.

Not all old media is digitized, meaning you can't discover many old stories from many media sources.

Hence there are many old stories of restaurants in the past that are unavailable  on the web.

I was reminded of an old friend who was referenced in an article in Washingtonian in the '80's, in fact she was on the cover of an issue.  Tried to look her up.  I found WasPo references but not the Washingtonian issue where she was highlighted.  Tried a search for Washingtonian/ I Ricchi, which certainly must have been covered by Washingtonian in the early 90's.  No reference to an article from Washingtonian, but there is  NYTimes article from the early 90's that mentions that magazine and restaurant.

Washingtonian was first published in 1965 but old issues aren't digitized.  

All of which implies that there are myriad sources of media, certainly local media, that are not accessible via the web.  It does make tracking old restaurants anywhere a daunting task.

Now there is a great opportunity for someone with the time and interest........

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2 hours ago, jpbloom said:

I used to eat lunch at Mister Days frequently in the late '80s, but I really liked Captain Days, their short lived seafood restaurant.  Clearly not many other people did, because it was always pretty empty.

I also lunched, ate, drank, and hung at Mr Days at that time.  Also liked the seafood concept like you.  Maybe we were 2 of the six that liked it. :P

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On 5/25/2005 at 5:32 PM, The Hersch said:

What about the Trio, at 17th and Q? I haven't been able to find its original opening date, but I have found out that it has been operated by its current owner since 1950. It was supposedly operating in the same location under the same name when he bought it, though. Anyone have more info?

It's a bistro now.  Ha!

IMG_1512.JPG

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On 6/9/2018 at 1:40 PM, dcs said:

It's a bistro now.  Ha!

IMG_1512.JPG

On 6/10/2018 at 7:27 AM, DonRocks said:

This is one of the most amusing restaurant tidbits I've seen in awhile.

It's even on OpenTable. I lived above Trio/Fox and Hound's for 2 years when I was in law school, but I seldom patronized either place.

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Indeed. And a lovely patio. I don't know why I didn't spend more time there as a cash-strapped student.

Didn't they used to serve their gin and tonics (for example) as a glass of gin with a small bottle of tonic on the side?

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5 hours ago, dracisk said:

Indeed. And a lovely patio. I don't know why I didn't spend more time there as a cash-strapped student.

Didn't they used to serve their gin and tonics (for example) as a glass of gin with a small bottle of tonic on the side?

My hazy recollection is that yes - this is how they served me too much. It was their fault, really. 

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14 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Jan 20, 1977 - "A Weekly Guide to Family Dining" by Linda Page on washingtonpost.com

from the article:

Quote

Our bill, for the five of us, including twice as much food as we could eat, came to $19.95 plus tax and tip.

...and I bought a ticket for the Woodstock 3 day festival in 1969 for $18.  

What happened??   When did prices "inch" up???

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You can add 3 Brothers Restaurant, Greenbelt Mall to this list....

 
Quote

Posted April 12, 2018

On 4/12/2018 at 8:47 AM, MarkS said:

How does 3 Brothers pizza stack up.  They are in Laurel? I've never eaten there but have heard its reasonable and crowded.

Wow, Three Brothers - that's a blast from the past for me: I used to occasionally get a slice from Beltway Plaza Mall in Greenbelt before catching a movie at the AMC Academy 8 (is this ringing a bell with anyone?)

To answer your question, I'd say their food is about how it looks on their website:

Screenshot 2018-04-12 at 10.08.58.png

I recently spoke with one of the owners (one of the brothers).   The Greenbelt Mall location opened in '77, the original,  per his comments.  There are about 12 or 13 now, most family owned.  

A story from 2003...Washington Post. 

1977 to 2019...42 years.   Nice long haul.   Bellissimo!!

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