St. Elmo's Coffee Pub (Del Ray, Alexandria)

Ananda and Daniel are writing this post while enjoying coffee and pastries at St. Elmo's.

The Del Ray Avenue side of the building. The covered
outdoor seating area is visible on the left. 

©2015 Anandashankar Mazumdar

A.M.: St. Elmo's Coffee Pub in Del Ray is probably my favorite coffee joint for hanging out with my computer and doing some serious writing.

The drip coffee is good. Honestly, it's not spectacular like some other nearby specialty coffee houses—Swings, Killer E.S.P. (the quiche at Killer's is also better), Misha's, Grape and Bean, Peregrine, etc. But it's not too far behind—good, flavorful, smooth coffee.

It's miles better better than Buzz Bakery’s coffee, and of course we shouldn’t even mention in the same breath travesties such as Starbucks or McDonald’s or 7 Eleven or Dunkin’ Donuts coffee.

D.F.: The coffee is good; however, I don’t find it to be as strong or as delicious as the coffee served at the other places you mention. But the coffee is only a small part of the experience of St. Elmo’s. They serve a variety of tasty treats—bagels, muffins, cookies, and cakes—to go along with the the coffees and teas.  

Daniel working in the bay window in the front half of the pub.

©Anandashankar Mazumdar

A.M.: I talked to Nora Partlow, a New Jersey native who has owned St. Elmo's for almost 20 years, and she told me that most of the food sold here is made from scratch daily by Bread and Chocolate, whose wholesale operation and bakery is right here in Alexandria.

So, it's decent coffee (supplied by Chesapeake Bay Roasting Co., based in nearby Baltimore), but it's a fantastic coffee house. It's a great place to hang out. The staff and management are wonderful and friendly and they work hard. There's a lot of room to sit.

The roaster is fairly local, not too far away. I speculate that the difference might be that at the other coffee houses you and I frequent, they get beans from roasteries that use single-sourced beans, and Chesapeake uses blends.

(N.B.: Nora informed me after she read this post that only some of Chesapeake's roasts are blends. Elmo's also serves coffee made from single-source beans.)

Also, they brew their coffee in large batches, in traditional large coffee makers. They don’t do the pour-over/pour-through single-serving style of coffee that you and I enjoy at places like Killer or Swings or Peregrine.

And that’s probably okay for the circumstances here. That’s a more time-consuming way of making coffee and that probably wouldn’t work for the flow of business here. What we really have here in Alexandria is an embarrassment of options.

St. Elmo’s does what it does very well, and when you want what it has to offer, it’s the perfect place to get it. If you’re looking for something different, well, Old Town is not too far away. I’ve been known to split a day of writing between St. Elmo’s and, say, Killer or Misha’s.

Don’t get me wrong, this is good coffee. I think we’re just spoiled by how much great coffee there is available in Alexandria. But, as I said before, this is a great coffee house.

D.F.: Yes, it is. Regarding the options we have here in Alexandria for excellent coffee, I think our readers should know we plan to write about many of the coffee houses you’ve mentioned.  Perhaps all of them!

On the left is the bay window where live musicians set up.

©2015 Anandashankar Mazumdar

A.M.: Anyway, back to the things that make Elmo’s a great coffee house: On weekend evenings they have live music, so you might not get much work done then, but you can certainly relax and enjoy the performances. An evening in a coffee house is much more my speed, as opposed to a sports bar or a pub.

As a performance venue, it’s a very intimate setting, so you don’t get that distance from the musicians that you might get at a larger place or a place with a stage. They’re just right there in one of the bay windows.

During the day, St. Elmo's often reserves several tables in its back room for meetings of local clubs, and having eavesdropped on some of their conversations, I think that St. Elmo's is really helping create a vibrant intellectual community in the area. (Of course that means I might not find a place to sit!)

And the whole atmosphere invites interaction. The way the larger tables are set up, it invites sharing space, and that sets the stage for social interaction with people you haven’t met yet. That’s something that can be lacking in our society. (“A stranger’s just a friend you haven’t met,” right?)

The back room with small tables in the back and a bar counter on the
left. There's also a piano on the right.

©2015 Anandashankar Mazumdar

One warning, though, if you sit in the back of the back room (where it's often easiest to find a seat), your phone might lose its signal, and if your wife is trying to call you to tell you it's time to come home, you might be in trouble.

D.F.: You’ve captured the ingredients of what makes St. Elmo’s a great coffee house, Ananda. The environment is very welcoming, relaxed, and well-suited for computer-related work (or sitting quietly at your computer and pretending to work).

The wi-fi connection is strong and seems reliable; we’ve been here for at least an hour and have been able to get a lot done. Just ask the staff for the password.

A.M.: Well, sometimes the wi-fi is down, but I guess that happens everywhere. Like Killer, I think St. Elmo’s has recently changed providers, which has improved the reliability.

D.F.: There is a folk-music atmosphere to St. Elmo’s, which is somewhat enhanced at the moment by Bob Dylan’s "The Times They Are a Changin’"  coming through on the speakers.

A.M.: And Bob Marley, and Curtis Mayfield, and Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder! It seems you and I have musical tastes in common with management.

D.F.:  I’ve also noticed that there is a little library behind the sofas in front of the register and next to the restrooms. You ever done any reading here?

The library and children's activities corner.

©2015 Anandashankar Mazumdar

A.M.: I have been known to read here, but I don’t spend much time in that corner of the joint, because it’s often occupied by small children, and as a big guy I prefer a nice firm chair rather than a sofa that sinks when I sit.

There’s a good number of books there too, which is nice. They’ve really got a perfect combination of areas for different kinds of activity.

It’s not all play here. People come here to work. I’ve seen people in here having business meetings, and of course tons of people with computers and notebooks, and textbooks studying or writing.

Really, the only real complaint I have is that it’s so popular that there’s often difficulty finding seating. But that’s not a real complaint, because so long as St. Elmo’s is thriving, it’s going to be here for me to enjoy.

D.F.: Elmo’s was one of the first places I visited in Del Ray. I remember immediately liking the area—it looks like the type of small town you might encounter in a Hollywood movie—and it hasn’t disappointed!

A.M.: Speaking of movies, I’ve occasionally noticed a sign or a poster for a classic film festival, but I’ve never quite found it at the right time. We should keep an eye out for that.

D.F.: Do you mean they show films right here at St. Elmo’s or that they advertise for festivals taking place in the area? Regardless of which it is, you’re right. We should keep an eye out.

A.M.: And, you’re right, Daniel. Really one of the best things about it is the setting. Del Ray, especially this part of it, is perfect.

Look at all the stuff that is right here: We’re across the street from the Clay Queen Pottery studio. The coffee house shares a parking lot with John Bevans, an excellent guitar teacher whom I go to for maintenance and repair on my guitar.

There’s a great pizza joint across the street. There’s a great sandwich shop next door. As you walk down the block, there’s an ice cream shop, a burger joint, and a barbecue place. And those are all things in the same block at St. Elmo’s! And those are all things we’ll address in detail in future posts, right, Daniel?

The front register and baked goods case: Cookies, muffins,
brownies, doughnuts, turnovers, quiche, sandwiches, wraps,
empanadas, oatmeal, biscotti, croissants, etc.

©2015 Anandashankar Mazumdar

D.F.: That’s right, Ananda. Del Ray is a neighborhood we often return to for its great food and inviting setting. The pizza place you mention is somewhat different from the pizzerias I frequented growing up in the northeast Bronx; they serve much more than great pizza. I know we’re planning to talk about it and many of other nearby places you mention in upcoming posts.

A.M.: And If I might be so bold, speaking of the children in the neighborhood, you have to offer a tip of the hat to the beautiful moms who are almost always walking around the streets in Del Ray when the weather is good. And whatever yoga class meets nearby draws an exceptionally attractive clientele who add something special to the neighborhood.

D.F.: Funny you should mention that, Ananda. A couple of young women, clad in yoga gear, just walked in. (I initially wrote “moms” instead of women, but it’s hard to say if these particular young women are, in fact, moms.)

Your point, however, is spot on. Young families are a fixture in Del Ray. As are pregnant women! Perhaps this is a good indication that area is both safe and, perhaps not a surprise, given its close proximity to Washington, D.C., home to many thriving young professionals, who have decided it’s time to settle down and start a family. When it becomes time for us to start a family, my fiancée and I would like to settle in Del Ray.

Patio seating under a broad awning with the music mural.

©2015 Anandashankar Mazumdar

A.M.: I love the decor of this place too. Very open and interesting and cluttered, which I love. On the Del Ray Avenue side of the building is a mural of ‘60s folk music and rock ‘n’ roll heroes—Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, and Joan Báez.

That side of the building has some outdoor seating under a broad awning. People often stop there to let their puppies have a drink from the dog bowl placed there for them. This brings up another one of the fantastic characteristics of the Del Ray and Old Town neighborhoods of Alexandria, the ubiquitous dogs on walks.

I recall one evening, the sun setting, and a summer shower cooling the sidewalks, sitting at a table under that awning with my notebook. Really, a perfect moment at Elmo’s.

On the Mount Vernon Avenue side, you have these goofy cloudy foamy sculptures winding in and out of the bay windows. I have no idea what they’re supposed to be—steam from hot coffee? foamed milk?— somehow it works.

The clouds or steam or foam flowing out from the corner
of Mount Vernon Avenue (right) and Del Ray Avenue (left).

©2015 Anandashankar Mazumdar

Everything about the place signals its localness—the art displayed on the walls for sale by local artists, the families with strollers (please leave them outside!), the bulletin board with business cards and notices for houses for rent or missing pets, the information about local events.

I don’t know how much of this is a result of intention and how much of it is just uncontrollable social and economic forces coming together to create something special. Everything comes together in the heart of Del Ray, and the cost of housing here attests to that!

Text ©2015 Anandashankar Mazumdar and Daniel Firrincili. All rights reserved.