King Street Blues, An Alexandria-Based American Chain Serving 'Southern Comfort Food' In Several Area Locations - Original Alexandria Location Has Closed

[Jacques Gastreaux]

I'll put in a plug for King Street Blues on S. St. Asaph St. one block south of King in Old Town, Alexandria. The place has been there for years and I don't think their menu has changed one iota since it opened. When it's cold outside and you're hungry, it's hard to beat their meatloaf and chicken fried steak. Both with mashed potatoes and gravy. Either will fill and warm you up. Good beer on tap. Service and environs OK. A good neighborhood spot.

Clickety

[mdt]

I'll put in a plug for King Street Blues on S. St. Asaph St. one block south of King in Old Town, Alexandria.  The place has been there for years and I don't think their menu has changed one iota since it opened.  When it's cold outside and your hungry, it's hard to beat their meatloaf and chicken fried steak.  Both with mashed potatoes and gravy.  Either will fill and warm you up.  Good beer on tap.  Service and environs OK.  A good neighborhood spot.

Not to mention the Wet Willie and the stained glass likeness hanging on the wall upstairs.

[Free Wilma]

I'll put in a plug for King Street Blues on S. St. Asaph St. one block south of King in Old Town, Alexandria.  The place has been there for years and I don't think their menu has changed one iota since it opened.  When it's cold outside and your hungry, it's hard to beat their meatloaf and chicken fried steak.  Both with mashed potatoes and gravy.  Either will fill and warm you up.  Good beer on tap.  Service and environs OK.  A good neighborhood spot.

Clickety

How's the service these days? We used to go there about once a month since it was so great with the kids. But the last two times we went the service wasn't the friendly quality we had experienced in years past. As a result, we haven't been back in more than year. I'd love to add it back to the rotation.

The Six Way BBQ Pasta has always been my entree of choice.

[Sthitch]

How's the service these days?  We used to go there about once a month since it was so great with the kids.  But the last two times we went the service wasn't the friendly quality we had experienced in years past.  As a result, we haven't been back in more than year.  I'd love to add it back to the rotation.

The Six Way BBQ Pasta has always been my entree of choice.

I have never had issues with the service, but I also don't look for overly friendly service.

I have to put another vote in for the chicken fried steak, I just wish they would season the gravy a little more (it cries out for pepper). Also, I love the Crystal Fire shrimp.

[shogun]

This is great! Guess I should have tried them out earlier. Nice to have more weekend options.

[bilrus]

The Kingstowne location was a very regular stop for us when we lived in Springfield. Jambalaya Po'Boy and Crystal Fire Shrimp or chili for me.

Edited November 2, 2005 by bilrus

[DonRocks]

King Street ... BLOWS.

Cheers,

Rocks.

[Mark Slater]

King Street ... BLOWS.

Cheers,

Rocks.

Hey! The Dizz was a regular customer at Jean-Louis at the Watergate.

[monavano]

King Street ... BLOWS.

Cheers,

Rocks.

I haven't been in about 2 years for that reason. The prices are very cheap, but the food is no value. Frozen, processed, salty. I thought between the quality of the food and how fast it came out, KSB should put a drive-thru window in!

Good value for "Southern/Low Country...Southside 815 (won't "blow" you away....but it doesn't blow. Plus, it's a real neighborhood joint that you want to see survive and thrive)

[cheezepowder]

The King Street Blues in Arlington at Courthouse has closed. The sign on the door says they've sold the location, and it's going to become Velocity Grill Sports Pub and Restaurant (would that be Velocity Five?).

[DanielK]

The King Street Blues in Arlington at Courthouse has closed.

Good riddance - this place was an absolute waste of space. When my office was across the street, my boss was in here all the time, and I got dragged here at least once a week. Never had even a decent meal there.

[DaveO]

Stopped off at KSB in Crystal City the other night with a friend. For me it was a trip of nostalgia as I had been very friendly with the founder; Ralph, who passed away 2 years ago. Ralph was the best restauranteur I knew. He did generate an enormous amount of loyalty and devotion from staff. The website features a paper mache statue of him which is actually located in the Olde Towne location on N St Asaph.

We sat at the bar and split orders of BBQ brisket and Sausage and the Lousiana Gumbo. The gumbo was a bit soggy and short on sausage. The tastes of the brisket and beef were sharp and tangy. Service was professional and the bartenders had great rapport with obvious regulars. Of sides the garlic mashed potatoes were as I recalled; tasty.

The real treat is to sit in the restaurant though with its wall paintings, murals and paper mache figures. Its fun and entertaining.

KSB in Olde Towne used to be one of my go to restaurants for taking out visitors from out of town. Its fun, the setting is great, most of the service is way above board, and I always enjoyed the meals...possibly a bit more than this latest trip.

[jandres374]

Per Wash Biz Journal the Old Town location is closing this Sunday. Will reopen as an Irish Pub by March.

Correction - Kingstowne location, not Old Town.

[DaveO]

Per Wash Biz Journal the Old Town location is closing this Sunday. Will reopen as an Irish Pub by March.

Correction - Kingstowne location, not Old Town.

I think old town is owned by the widow of the person who first opened it, Ralph Capobianco.

I stopped off at the Olde Towne location a few weeks ago. Nostalgic for me. I introduced myself to the owner, I think her name is Lisa, the widow of the man who opened it so many years ago. We had a great visit. I knew her late husband before they were married.

KS Blues in my mind is an excellent neighborhood place; warm, familiar, etc. I still enjoy the food; comfort food. Admittedly they probably haven't changed the menu in years. There is a very dedicated staff, some of whom have been there for decades, let alone just years.

One other thing about this location: It always worked great for dining out with folks from out of town, especially with kids. Everyone enjoyed the very very funky look of the place, especially on the 2nd floor. Kids were enthralled. Parents appreciated it. Several folks specifically wanted to return there upon their return visits.

[Kibbee Nayee]

Per Wash Biz Journal the Old Town location is closing this Sunday. Will reopen as an Irish Pub by March.

Correction - Kingstowne location, not Old Town.

 

My daughter worked at the Kingstowne location about 10 years ago. Although we won't miss it for the food, the thought of another one of those fake Irish pubs coming to Kingstowne is gruesome.

[DaveO]

Of all the sources for takeout lunches that my office uses, my absolute favorite meal is the fried shrimp po boy from King Street Blues.  Lightly battered tasty shrimp with lemon sprinkled over the shrimp.  All the other ingredients can be banished...but I do like those shrimp and pick through them.

Are the shrimp frozen, as suggested above?  I don't know, but I love the end product.   Probably need to go out and get this elsewhere and then work to replicate that batter.  

me thinks I'm on a mission for lightly battered fried shrimp and there are quite a few places to investigate in the near future.

 

 

[MsDiPesto]

I'll admit to being fond of the Six-Way BBQ Noodles, but don't think I've eaten there since 1995, before I moved to the Falls Church area. 

[DaveO]

On 11/2/2005 at 11:09 AM, Jacques Gastreaux said:

I'll put in a plug for King Street Blues on S. St. Asaph St. one block south of King in Old Town, Alexandria. The place has been there for years and I don't think their menu has changed one iota since it opened. When it's cold outside and you're hungry, it's hard to beat their meatloaf and chicken fried steak. Both with mashed potatoes and gravy. Either will fill and warm you up. Good beer on tap. Service and environs OK. A good neighborhood spot.

Evidently KSB in Olde Towne has closed.  Per their FB page they had closed last December for renovations and reopening in February.  It hasn’t occurred.   

Sad loss imho.  I was very friendly at one point with the person who opened KSB plus Portners plus Union Street, plus took over the food operations at the Birchmere in the 90’s, plus all the local Hamburger Hamlets plus a couple of places with shorter life spans including Stella’s at the King Street Metro and Gaffney’s in Ballston.  He was better at concepts than at back of the house wizardry.  He left his mark in Olde Towne though developing restaurant bars that were locally popular and had a Cheers nature with an upscale Olde  Towne ambiance.  

KSB Alexandria was my constant dining destination for families from out of town with kids.   Everyone loved the design and there were menu items that satisfied every guest.   End of an era.

[Kibbee Nayee]

10 hours ago, DaveO said:

Evidently KSB in Olde Towne has closed.  Per their FB page they had closed last December for renovations and reopening in February.  It hasn’t occurred.   

Sad loss imho.  I was very friendly at one point with the person who opened KSB plus Portners plus Union Street, plus took over the food operations at the Birchmere in the 90’s, plus all the local Hamburger Hamlets plus a couple of places with shorter life spans including Stella’s at the King Street Metro and Gaffney’s in Ballston.  He was better at concepts than at back of the house wizardry.  He left his mark in Olde Towne though developing restaurant bars that were locally popular and had a Cheers nature with an upscale Olde  Towne ambiance.  

KSB Alexandria was my constant dining destination for families from out of town with kids.   Everyone loved the design and there were menu items that satisfied every guest.   End of an era.

I always had a soft spot in my heart for Union Street. In the days before the ubiquitous brewpubs, Union Street provided decent fare with beer that actually tasted like beer. It was ahead of its time.

Portner's was in the beautiful venue that is now the uneven Columbia Firehouse. Someone needs to maximize that venue.

I wish someone would take over the food operations at the Birchmere now, and aim for something above barely edible.

[ktmoomau]

Union Street is still there!  The food is still decent.

[DonRocks]

And you know what? None of these Old Town closures are being rented to other restaurants, including Restaurant Eve.

Restaurant openings and closings are a leading economic indicator.

I see the bad moon rising.

 

[ktmoomau]

King Street Blues was a LONG time coming though... But I agree a lot of closures of restaurants, there is a lot of new stuff opening and moving around though (Chop Shop, Urbano, the German place I haven't tried yet, Misha's moved to King, etc).  My personal theory is that if you think about it 2009-2010 the rents likely were very low as that was major recession, I can see a lot of rent negotiations during recession years being quite difficult to hammer out.  

[JBag57]

Reported a little over a week ago:

https://www.alxnow.com/2020/02/13/old-hat-gastropub-is-official-at-former-king-street-blues-in-old-town/