Dating in DC: Frickles for the Fourth of July

In the summer of 2008, while I was living/working in DC, Topher & I celebrated the 4th of July by renting bikes from a marina near my apartment in Arlington, VA, and riding the Mount Vernon Trail. The trail goes along the Potomac River, through the city of Alexandria, all the way to Mount Vernon Estate - a 24-mile round-trip route from where we started.

The weather that day was gorgeous; we could see clear across the river to Fort Washington in Maryland. We packed a picnic lunch, which we ate at the estate, and we stopped for ice cream at Ben & Jerry's in Alexandria on our way back.

That evening we both were exhausted and starving. In honor of Independence Day we decided to eat American: upscale Southern comfort food at Del Merei Grille in Alexandria.

What I Ate:

• frickles: lightly fried pickle chips with spiced remoulade
• shrimp and grits: andouille sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms, scallions, and cajun cream served over garlic cheese grits

The Scoop:

Del Merei Grille is located at 3106 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22305. Their dinner hours are M-R 5-9:30pm, F-Sat 5-10:30pm, Sun 5-9pm. They're also open for lunch T-F 11:30am-2pm. Reservations are recommended but not required and can be made by calling (703)739-4335.

Note: This place doesn't look like much from the outside - it's located in a nondescript shopping center and not in the cute downtown part of Alexandria - but the food is great, the atmosphere is relaxed, and the prices are pretty reasonable (for the DC area). The Indian place next door - Bombay Curry Company - is also excellent and offers an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet on Sundays.