GMHS to Residents: What Kind of Principal Do We Need?

George Mason High School is asking Falls Church residents their opinions on what’s important in a new principal.  To gather the information, the school has created a short survey to get input that will help create a job description.  To participate in the survey, please visit www.fccps.org or request a printed copy from Falls Church City Public Schools General Office, (703) 248-5600.

Dining: 3 Cheers for the Red, White & Bleu!

We attended a concert on the lawn at Wolf Trap last fall and took pity on the poorly prepared diners/listeners next to us.  First we gave them thinly sliced circles of salami.  “Mmmm,” they said.

Then we fed them small chunks of a bitey yet mellow tanged cheese.  “Ooh,” they said.

And then a lovely chardonnay, treasured in small glasses.

“Where did you get this great food and wine,” asked the grateful picnickers.

“Red, White and Bleu in Falls Church,” we answered.

You, too, can appear a gourmet and enjoy the gourmet’s tasty fare simply by patronizing this new wine and cheese (and beer and salamis and artisan breads and crackers) shop at 127 Washington Street, just off Broad Street.

I never thought I’d see my husband, the beer snob with a preference for European beers and select breweries, drink beer from a can.  But RW&B has a fabulous beer in a can.

“I never thought I’d offer a beer in a can, “ noted James Roth, a co-owner.  “But once I tried it, I had to admit it was a very special beer. It’s a Colorado beer and the can allows backpackers to follow the rule to bring out what you take it.  Plus, a can be crushed and is lighter weight than glass.”  Also safer, we might add.

During the weekend afternoons, you will see a blackboard on the sidewalk outside RW&B, announcing wine tastings.  These are true tastings, with a complete run down on the winery, a short disquisition on the wine’s pedigree, and a discussion that runs as long as you like on taste, taste-related wines, etc. It is a joy to have a quiet room, three wines, and a knowledgeable host conducting the tasting.

There are two knowledgeable hosts and store founders to chat up and learn from, James Roth and Harry Silverstein.  A third owner,  Adam Roth is busily running a Falls Church favorite restaurant, Argia’s, just down the street from Red, White, and Bleu.

Co-Founder/General Manager  James Roth was formally introduced to the New York City wine scene through a group of wine enthusiasts, FUNWITHWINE, during an evening of wine and cheese pairing.  This initial wine experience would become the catalyst that would change James’ life forever.
Before long, James departed Bear Stearns and Wall Street to work in the wine industry for one of the premier family wine retailers in Manhattan, Morrell & Company.  Also, James began to make his mark as a wine auction specialist, where he would start the arduous task of learning the intricacies to further develop his appreciation and palate.

In the fall of 2006, James accepted the position of assistant to Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World wine school. Through these experiences tJames mastered the skills of approaching wine with an unpretentious attitude, and captivating and enlightening the audience without intimidation
Co-Founder Harry Silverstein brings an extensive knowledge of business and marketing practices to Red, White & Bleu. His love of wine and food has a long history and dates to a class he attended at Syracuse University in 1996.  He has spent much of his free time in the ensuing years educating himself on the intricacies of this business, and served as the co-chair of the Wine Club at the University of Chicago GSB.  In that capacity, he tripled the membership of the club to 450, doubled the number of events (to more than 20), and increased the organization’s capital by a factor of four.
He is looking forward to marrying his long history of success in the business world with his entrepreneurial spirit and love of fine wine and food.

Co-founder Adam Roth, owner of Argia’s Restaurant, also in Falls Church, is a successful business owner and restaurateur.  Argia’s has been serving Italian specialties in the City of Falls Church for eight years.  In that time, Argia’s has built an extensive following among both local and greater metropolitan Washington residents, and was chosen for the cover of the Washingtonian Magazine’s Top 100 Restaurant Issue in January, 2005. Adam, through his daily interaction with clientele at Argia’s, has a close ear to what many of the Falls Church residents are looking for in regards to a wine and gourmet food store. Adam is knowledgeable of many Italian wne varietals and is responsible for the selections of wines that compose the wine list at Argia’s.

Our advice? Don’t wait for the blackboard to appear on the sidewalk. Drop by Red, White, and Bleu for a bottle of wine for dinner this week.

Dining: Milan Bakery

Are you looking for some great donuts, or breakfast sandwiches, or some great cake? Well we have a place for you called Milan Bakery. They have a huge selection of donuts (my favorite is chocolate cake), breakfast sandwiches (my dad likes the ham, egg & cheese croissant), and great cake (including tres leches – my birthday favorite).  Come to 7167 Lee Hwy, Falls Church, Va 22046 or call at 703-532-6400.

Now with free Wi-Fi !

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PTA BBQ Scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27th

Enjoy BBQ, bluegrass and drinks at the parents-only Fall BBQ Social, Saturday, Sept. 27, 6-9pm at the historic Lawton House, 203 Lawton Street in Falls Church.   Sponsored by the Falls Church Elementary PTA, the cost is $20 per person.  Tickets may be purchased at www.fallschurchpta.org.

Jefferson Street Residents Express Concerns Re Northgate Construction

Members of the East Jefferson Street Neighborhood Association expressed their concerns about the impending construction of The Northgate during a session with City officials and the project’s developer on Wednesday night.

About 30 residents met with City Manager Wyatt Shields, who served as moderator, Hekemian & Company representative Chris Bell, and several members of the City staff.  Vice Mayor Hal Lippman, Councilman Dave Snyder, and Planning Commission member Melissa Teates also attended the meeting.

The Northgate, a 105 unit mixed-used project, will be erected on the former site of the Pearson Funeral Home at the corner of East Jefferson and North Washington Street. Construction most likely will begin sometime during the coming winter.

East Jefferson Street residents were concerned primarily about the traffic the project will generate. The initial phase of the construction will require that trucks enter from and exit onto East Jefferson. There will be no access off Washington Street.

The excavation phase will involve the majority of the project’s truck traffic. Estimates as to how long this would take varied from several weeks to three months.

The trucks, which will be controlled by a flag man, will not be permitted to drive down Jefferson toward Cherry Street. It was not clear where the trucks would stage before entering the site. One suggestion was that they do so on West Jefferson.

A resident with many years experience in construction stressed that it was imperative to thoroughly wash the trucks so that sediment would not be spread onto the street after they leave the lot. He recommended that a special device be placed on site for this purpose.

It was unclear where construction workers would park. However, parking will not be allowed along Cherry Street. Cantinas (food-serving trucks) will not be allowed any further down Jefferson than the site’s property line.

Under the draft traffic management plan two temporary speed humps will be installed to slow traffic on East Jefferson. Some residents felt that the humps should be permanent.

Residents also voiced their concerns about the area’s traffic patterns once the project is completed. Two traffic consultants stated that vehicles exiting the site onto Washington Street will not be allowed to turn left (i.e., toward Columbia Street). The approved design will allow only right turn exits and entries and left turn entries via a median cut.

Mr Shields stated that another session will be held with association members, most likely in late October or early November. Councilman Snyder advised the residents that it was critical that they make their views known and stay involved in the process. Judging from the strong turnout and the degree of their concern it would appear that they have every intention of doing so.

Don’t Want to Keep It. Can’t Bear to Throw It Away.

(And no ladies, I do not mean your husbands!)  What do you do with  all the “stuff” in your attic, garage, and closets that is too good to throw away, but you just don’t want any more?   The TV that still works, but you just replaced with that 60″ flat screen; the bikes the kids don’t ride any more; the single bed you don’t need because you got a nice Queen from your mother-in-law — the things that are still useful but you want out of the house.

Some people have garage sales, others lug their stuff to the curb and add a sign that says “FREE”.  A couple of websites offer another option for finding people who will appreciate the stuff you just want to get rid of.   Try your luck with one of these:

• Freecycle for Annandale-Falls Church.  Freecycle is “a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns and thus keeping good stuff out of landfills.”  To see what kinds of things people are offering or to post your own things you need to “join” the group which requires a (free) Yahoo! account.  There are a lot of area-specific Freecycle groups (e.g, Arlington,  McLean-Vienna, Fairfax City).  You have to join the ones you want to use. The Freecyle network website provides a list of groups in Virginia.
• Free stuff on Craigslist.  Craigslist, the famous classified-ads website started by Craig, has an active “free stuff” category.  After a simple, free, registration you can post a description and photo of your too-good-to-throw-away stuff.  Include some idea of where you are so people know how far they have to travel to get it.  Interested people will respond with email sent via Craigslist (to avoid spam).  Lots of people monitor this list so you are likely to get a dozen  responses within an hour for an interesting item.Here’s some of the “for free” items on the list right now – girl’s clothes 4T, free halogen light, free teapot, cover for lawn tractor.  People also list “curb alerts” when they are putting stuff on the street “for free”.

I’ve used these websites to free our garage of things like the boys’ summer camp trunk, lawn furniture, and old electronics.  If you try one of these sites, let us know how it worked in the comments below.  What did you give away?  Was it much of a hassle?  Would you do it again?

Treasure Hunting in Falls Church

With names like “Cherry Hill Micro,” “Capping Tinner Hill,” and “Brandymore Castle Cache,” there are treasure troves hidden around Falls Church.  Or,  “geocaches” more accurately.  A geocache (pronounced “geo-cash”) is something placed at a specific location, identified by its global  positioning system (GPS) coordinates, by a fellow geocacher.  The cache almost always includes a log book to record your discovery and then may be a box with trinkets (take one,  leave one), a puzzle, a letter, or special travel objects.  When you and your kids go search for these treasures you are geocaching.

To join the treasure hunt go to Geocaching.com and search for a cache in your area.  You can search by zip code, town, etc.  There are more than 34 caches around Falls Church and over 650,000 around the world.  Print out the coordinates and any directions for the cache you are after, grab your handheld GPS device, and head out the door.

Caches are ranked by “terrain” (how hard it is to get to) and “difficulty” (how hard it is to find once you get there).  For your first try, pick an easy cache.  You can often do several caches from the same area in an afternoon.   When you get back to the computer record your discoveries and make comments.  If you really get into the game, you can start creating your own caches and listing them online for others to find.

Please tell us how your geocaching adventures go in the comments below.  Who doesn’t love a treasure hunt?

[Thanks to Wikimedia Commons for the home page image.]

Ice Cream Social at TJ Tuesday September 9

Visit the Ice Cream Social and Info Fair Tuesday September 9, 6:30-8:00pm in the Thomas Jefferson Elementary gymnasium, 601 S. Oak Street in Falls Church City.  Representatives from local organizations will be there to answer your questions.

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