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Details
(Area code: 703)
• Crystal City Shops, South 15th Street and Jefferson
Davis Highway (U.S. 1), Arlington, 922-4636: Record Town, 412-0166;
B. Dalton Books, 413-0558; Cosmetic Center, 418-4815; Dress
Barn Woman, 412-6086; American Phone Shops, 413-7175; La
Marionette, 418-2196; Ship's Hatch, 413-6289; Geppi's,
413-0618; Commuter Store, 413-4287; Ruth's Chris Steak House,
979-7275; San Antonio Grill, 415-0126; Hamburger Hamlet,
413-0422; Crystal Food Court, 413-0930
• Team Sports Bar, Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700
Jefferson Davis Hwy., 920-3230
• Crystal City Sports Pub, 529 S. 23rd St., 521-8215
• Transcendental Meditation Group, 2320 S. Eads St.,
486-2222
• Crystal City Toastmasters Club, Aurora Hills Public
Library, 735 S. 18th St., 308-2061; meets first and third Tuesday of month
from 7:15 to 8:40 p.m.
• Washington Shakespeare Company, Clark Street Playhouse,
601 Clark St. S., 418-4807
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By
Theodore Fischer, Sidewalk
Crystal
City Shops is
the collective name for disconnected clusters of underground businesses
that sprawl along a nine-block network of tunnels and walkways. The
complex consists of more than 125 shops, cafes and restaurants; some 50
doctors' and dentists' offices; and banks, travel agencies, the Crystal
Forum conference center, a post office, a Virginia ABC (liquor) store, a
campus of George Washington University and an underground Safeway. (A word
to the wise: Grab a green directory and map at the earliest opportunity or
you might never be heard from again.) Most of the enterprises are grouped
into five clusters – Plaza Shops, Park Building Shops, Crystal Mall
Arcade, Crystal Gateway and Underground Shops – but the latter, right
beside the Crystal City Metro station, is where most of the action
is.
While the Underground Shops has its share of standard-issue shopping
options – Record Town, B. Dalton Books, Cosmetic Center, Dress Barn
Woman – the winding subterranean corridors produce a lot of cozy
crannies that lend themselves to occupancy by cute little specialty
stores. American Phone Shops carries every imaginable type of phone
and phone accessory. A cubbyhole called La Marionette dangles
puppets on a string (but absolutely nothing of the hand-in-sock variety)
and decorative masks.
The Ship's
Hatch is a shipshape space that carries official U.S. Navy
ships' caps and other clothing, ships' bells and chronometers, model ships
and other nautical accessories. It probably doesn't get many of the same
customers as Geppi's Comic World (above left), a comic-book
superstore that also stocks plenty of trading cards and plastic models.
Along with giving away bus and train schedules and maps, the Commuter
Store sells bus- and rail-fare cards for local transit systems and
runs a matching service for car- or van-pooling Virginians.
There are plenty of places to eat within the Crystal City matrix. Top of
the line – in both altitude and price – is Ruth's Chris Steak House
on the 11th floor of Crystal Park 3, where prime beef plays second fiddle
to the dramatic airport and river view. Prices and location are more down
to earth at the San Antonio Grill, where the Tex-Mex dishes
and decor both have good taste. Hamburger Hamlet, which advertises
this location as "The Hamlet Bar and Grille," is still best for
charcoal burgers gussied up with avocado or Thousand Island dressing.
The Team Sports Bar in the Crystal City Marriott promises (warns?)
diners "all burgers cooked well done." Order the steak salad if
you have a problem with deep frying. The Crystal City Sports Pub, not connected to the tunnel system, has 27 televisions to amuse a
clientele of local regulars and business travelers. The Crystal Food
Court in the Underground Shops has a mix-and-match setup – you pay
for food from any of the stalls at central cash registers – for Burger
King, Manchu Wok, Morrison's, Pizza Hut, Subway, Taco Bell and Yanni's
Greek Express.
For evening entertainment you may have to wander away from the Crystal
City underground reservation. Chill out at the Transcendental
Meditation Group Program Facility a few blocks away. Or drop by a
meeting of the Crystal City Toastmasters Club, a friendly bunch
that convenes on first and third Tuesdays to practice speaking in public.
But seriously, folks, Crystal City's premier cultural institution is the Washington
Shakespeare Company, an accomplished troupe that occupies the Clark
Street Playhouse, a malleable converted warehouse. WSC specializes in
engaging theater and innovative productions of second-string Shakespeare
– The Winter's Tale as the McCarthy hearings meet Beach
Blanket Bingo this season – plus classics by Ibsen, Shaw and Chekhov.
Avid Arlington government and community support keeps the ticket prices on
the low side and theatrical risk taking on the bold side.
See also: Crystal City and the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Museum
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