Apartment Showcase Blog

Penne for your thoughts: Bellissimo offers a delicious range of Italian victuals. In a rush? The full menu is available for takeout. (dbgg1979 via Flickr)

When I was a kid, the only semi-fancy restaurant I’d ever go to was an Italian place in Edgewood, Md., called Giovanni’s. It was a bit of a drive, but as any spaghetti lover will tell you, it was worth it.

In Fairfax, Va., I’m sure there’s some 14-year-old kid having a similar experience at Bellissimo Restaurant.

Bellissimo is kinda fancy (a bit more than Giovanni’s, judging by the pricing), serves Italian food and, according to the reviews, really knows how to cook its linguine.

It has been feted more than once by Northern Virginia Magazine, and both times its food rated an eight or higher. Just as impressive, it’s currently averaging four stars on Yelp.com. For further culinary kudos, check out some patron comments.

[ Related: Dupont Circle's Ruth's Chris a Prime Location for Steak Lovers ]

Like I said, Bellissimo can get pricey. A look at the dinner menu shows appetizers running from $9.95 to $11.95, while pastas go for $19.95 to $25.95. Chicken, veal, beef, seafood, they serve it all here. And yes, some of these entrees can get pricier still. If you want cheap, there’s always McDonald’s.

OK, maybe this is date night, like, first-date-impress-her-night, or even anniversary night. The lunch menu is much cheaper, but with a place like this, I think dinner rings truer. This is the type of food you want to savor and possibly supplement with a glass of wine or two.

The restaurant can also host larger events like wedding receptions, and office and holiday parties.

Lunch is served Tuesday-Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and you can have dinner there Monday-Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Fairfax-area apartment renters who fancy themselves Italian food connoisseurs should really check out Bellissimo Restaurant.

While you’re there, you may want to stroll around the city’s historic district. After all, you’ll be right in the thick of it.

I’m betting a lot of you out there like chocolate. Chocolate candy bars, chocolate ice cream, chocolate mousse, chocolate Easter bunnies, hot chocolate, chocolate anything.

Women are supposed to have a particular jones for this sweet substance from Theobroma cacao, Latin for the cacao tree (see, you learn something new every day at ApartmentShowcase.com, even Latin). In fact, it’s said that women who regularly indulge their chocolaty sweet tooth have fulfilled sex lives.

Well, I wouldn’t know about that one, but this is the kinda stuff you always hear.

So, without further ado, I give you Chocolate Lovers Festival 2011 in Fairfax, Va. Yes, all you chocolate lovers – men, women and children – from March 5-6 you get to indulge your little hearts out. Admission is free, but many of the events charge a fee.

The Chocolate Lovers Festival gives patrons many ways to enjoy chocolate, such as the Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast featuring chocolate chip pancakes; the Chocolate Challenge, which is a gallery of art and cakes made entirely of chocolate; and the main reason for any of this: the Taste of Chocolate. Here is where you get to purchase chocolate goodies from area confectioners. Indulge in fudge, cakes, candies, brownies, ice cream and who knows what else.

Again, on both days, the Taste of Chocolate is free, but to taste the goodies you’ll need to buy pogs, which cost a buck each. A list of festival vendors can be found here.

The event, which usually draws around 10,000 festival goers for the weekend, does have some star power in the guise of Warren Brown of Cake Love, and Norman R. Davis and Zane Beg of The Sweet Life, who’ll take part in a Q&A. The former was the host of “Sugar Rush” on the Food Network, while the latter two have been seen on the same network and TLC’s “Ultimate Cake Off” as well. The best part may be the price: $1 for adults.

What is rather surprising is the number of events that have just a tangential relation to chocolate – or none at all. For instance, the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office offers free fingerprinting for children. Or, you can listen to glass harpist Jamey Turner, who’s oddly sweet sounds will probably go pretty well with chocolate.

There’s even “The Chocolate Caper Mock Trial” put on by the Fairfax Bar Association. The trial, based on the nursery rhyme “Little Miss Muffet,” is used to explain the justice system to both kids and grown-ups.

The festival’s roots go back to 1992, making it almost old enough to drink … almost.

The Chocolate Lovers Festival Committee consists of many organizations in the City of Fairfax, including the Friends of Fairfax, who sponsor the Taste of Chocolate. The event takes place all over Old Town Fairfax, and for those with mobility issues, or those who are just plain lazy, the festival offers you the “Chocolate Express,” a free shuttle service between event locations.

And each year, the Chocolate Lovers Festival Committee spreads the sweetness around by donating a portion of the proceeds to a charitable organization in the form of a grant. This year’s winner is the Kiwanis Club of Fairfax.

So, whether you’re an apartment renter in Fairfax or somewhere else in the metro area, get off your duff and enjoy some chocolate!

If you rent an apartment in the City of Fairfax, be ready for July 4th (a day early), because Fairfax claims to have the biggest and best hometown parade and celebration in the Washington, D.C., area. Those are big words, so let’s take a look back at the particulars of the 2010 event.

This year’s Independence Day Celebration, the 44th in the town’s history, was themed “Fairfax Salutes America.” Simple enough. The city decided to hold the celebration on Saturday the 3rd, given the 4th landed on a Sunday. That’s a curious start, but we’ll keep going. The Fairfax Museum & Visitor Center Open House began festivities at 9 a.m. Next came the Independence Day Parade from 10 a.m. to noon, and it was a huge one with more 120 people and/or groups marching. Tours were available at the Ratcliffe-Allison House, one of the city’s oldest residences, through 1 p.m.

[ Related: Fairfax: Well-Regarded Town Boasts Rich History, Bright Future ]

From there, it was on to the Old-Fashioned Fireman’s Day, a firefighter competition at 4081 University Drive, which also featured food, beverages and games. And finally, what everyone really came for, the fireworks! The Evening Show & Fireworks was held at Fairfax High School at 7:00 p.m., with the fireworks exploding in the sky at 9:20 p.m. Still Surfin’, a Beach Boys tribute band (who else?), took to the stage before and after the fireworks.

That does sound like a full July 4th celebration – albeit a day early – for one town. If you’re considering a move to Fairfax, you can look forward to similar festivities when the town kicks off its 45th bash next summer.

The year: 2006. The venue: Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The stakes: A chance to go to the Final Four of the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship. Somehow, unheralded George Mason University, totally devoid of national basketball cachet, pulls off one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history, beating powerhouse and two-time NCAA champion Connecticut. They were going to the Final Four … where they promptly got stomped by the University of Florida, ending their Cinderella story. Still, here was this little-known school from Fairfax, Va., that made the leap to which every program, let alone a lowly mid-major, aspires. Wow. That’s an accomplishment.

It shown a bright light on George Mason University, giving it some of the best exposure the school has ever had. Today, I doubt anyone involved with the team, or its fans, can forget that ride, but there’s more to Mason than that magical succession of games in the 2006 tournament.

George Mason University was founded a relatively short time ago in 1972 and since then has grown into a respected Virginia institution, offering a combined 186 degrees (71 undergraduate, 114 graduate and one law degree). Though the main campus is in Fairfax, the school has three others – Arlington, Prince William County and Loudoun County. If you go to school or work here, renting in Fairfax would be ideal.

As of the fall semester in 2008, the school had a full-time enrollment of 17,996 and a total enrollment (including part-time students) of 32,067. In fact, The Princeton Review ranked it one of America’s 100 “Best Value” public colleges for 2009. The renter in Fairfax would do well to keep an eye out for the national and international entertainment acts that perform at the school’s Patriot Center. In fact, I saw Liz Phair there back in the late-’90s during her tour for the underrated “Whitechocolatespaceegg” album, opening for, well, let’s just not get into that right now.

All the write moves: Looking for a little inspiration to jump start your writing career? The Fall for the Book Festival could be just what you need.

The Fall for the Book Festival, organized by George Mason University and the Fairfax Public Library, started off small in 1999 and has grown into a week-long, multiple-venue regional event, giving the Washington, D.C., area another excuse to get literary. It is Northern Virginia’s oldest and largest annual literary festival.

Better yet, this event in Fairfax is free.

The 2010 event is scheduled for six days in late September and features a whopping 150 authors, who will participate in readings, presentations and meet-and-greets with fans.

This year’s lineup offers some big names, including Rick Moody (“The Ice Storm,” “The Diviners”) and Jennifer Egan (“The Keep,” “Look at Me”). Also on hand will be Greg Mortenson (“Three Cups of Tea”), who will accept the Mason Award, and Ann Patchett (“Bel Canto,” “Run”), who will be awarded the Fairfax Prize. Sponsors for the event include Barnes & Noble, the city of Fairfax and NOVEC.

There will also be storytelling, and dance and theatrical performances. The festival, in partnership with the Northern Virginia Writing Project and Dominion, even publishes an anthology of student writing.

If you’re looking for apartments in Fairfax and have an interest in writing or just books in general, your brain can’t afford to miss this event.

The sweet life: Fairfax hosts a number of community events, including an annual, two-day chocolate lovers' festival.

Fairfax, Va., is a unique place. It’s both the county seat of Fairfax County and an independent city, and generally has its own vibe and feeling.

With a population of 23,281 (according to the 2006-08 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimate), Fairfax is a small city in a sea of suburbia. But it stands out among the green lawns, football teams, screaming and dreaming teenagers, burdened parents, and shopping malls. In 2009, the folks at Forbes.com ranked it third on their list of “America’s Top 25 Towns to Live Well” in.

They ranked it so because, of their 25 listed cities, it has the highest number of start-ups per capita. And, yes, I must confess that even I was involved in a failed Internet venture here during the halcyon days of ’99-’00, when everyone thought the sky rained venture capital money. Well, let’s just say we had ourselves a drought (a little hint: choose your future business partners wisely).

But that doesn’t have to happen to you if you rent an apartment in Fairfax. After all, Fairfax is still doing great some 10 years later.

And, really, Fairfax has been doing great since being settled in the 1700s. In fact, you can learn all about its history at the Fairfax Museum & Visitor Center.

Fairfax is located 20 minutes from Washington, D.C., and even closer to Alexandria and Arlington, so commuting is pretty easy for the renter. In addition, Fairfax has one WMATA Metrorail station on the Orange Line. But you may not even need to use it, as the city boasts some 29,000 business and government employees: So, you know jobs are here. That, or maybe you’ll catch that entrepreneurial spirit Forbes.com was raving about.

Of course, many other people pass through and even live in Fairfax for four-plus years by attending George Mason University. Continuing on the education kick, there are three public high schools in Fairfax and several private ones.

You have Fair Oaks Mall for shopping, and if that’s not enough, you have many, many other shopping choices within driving distance. You’ll find no shortage of parks in which to enjoy yourself, and there are several town-wide events to occupy your weekends.

If you want convenience, location and a prolific history, Fairfax would make a great home.