“A Table Down The Street” follows Howie Southworth, author of "A Taste of Alexandria," one local barstool at a time. No reviews. Only encounters. The bartender chasing perfection, the chef with a story, the regular who swears this place was better before you found it. Food and drink may be the excuse. People are the point. A corner seat can tell you everything.
Photo by Howie Southworth
Misha's Coffee in Old Town Alexandria
Taylor walks in. His drink is already brewing. I don’t know him beyond line proximity, but we talk. He works from home. Dubs this his “simulated commute.” Still needs the small ritual of leaving the house, heading somewhere, arriving with a purpose before the workday begins. The walk clears the cobwebs from his head. The coffee signals his opening bell.
By the time he reaches the end of the counter, the orange cup is already there. This is how mornings unfold at Misha’s Coffee.
Before the restaurants fill and before the bars begin their clinks and hum, Alexandria gathers quietly over its first cup of joe. The room becomes a small ecosystem of familiar habits. People performing the same tiny steps they performed yesterday and will likely perform tomorrow.
Photo by Howie Southworth
Misha's Coffee in Old Town Alexandria
Someone opens a laptop with the quiet seriousness of a morning spreadsheet. Someone greets the barista by name. Someone studies the pastry case like it holds the morning’s first executive decision. A stroller wheel bumps awkwardly through the doorway. They always do. Someone peels off a jacket and wraps both hands around a hot cup before taking a sip.
Outside, the city is still deciding how quickly to wake up. Inside, caffeine does its quiet work.
At the espresso machine, Ambar practices latte art. “It’s harder with nondairy milk,” she says while pouring carefully into the cup. “Soy milk. Oat. It’s not the same.” Turns out milkfat equals art. Not something you think about until you see it.
Photo by Howie Southworth
Misha's Coffee in Old Town Alexandria
She finishes the swirly flower and studies the foam for a moment. I admire latte art in a takeout cup. The barista knows a lid is about to go on. They do it anyway. Pretty petals. Then the lid goes on. Ephemeral beauty, but that’s not really the point.
Somewhere beside the counter, Michael is doing his own quiet rehearsal. He pulls practice shots whenever he can, adjusting his pour and technique between orders. “No customer is getting mine,” he says, “until it’s good enough.” Panache in latte art, apparently, is not native.
Misha’s has been part of Alexandria’s morning rhythm for decades. One of Old Town’s original independent temples to caffeine, it roasts its own beans and somehow manages to feel both constant and evolving at the same time.
The crowd shifts over the years. The tempo does not. We used to walk here with our dogs as morning sojourn. Later it was the dogs and the kids. Then, morning chaos and a Nespresso machine. Don’t judge. Coffee out is still an event.
Photo by Howie Southworth
Misha's Coffee in Old Town Alexandria
These days there are new faces here, but the pattern looks familiar: dogs tied to patio chairs, strollers parked by the door, Macbooks opening slowly across wooden tables. Coffee first. Everything else follows.
My latte’s morning companion is a plain cake donut. Plain. Clean. True craft. Plain donuts are the test. Nothing to hide behind. Flour, sugar, salt, oil, and whether someone cared when they made it. It’s the kind of donut that reminds you what donuts are supposed to be. fried dough, properly done. Elemental. If they offered an old-fashioned here, that would be my target, but this close cousin satisfies just fine.
I carry my load up to the rooftop terrace. Great point of view up here. The Potomac is almost completely gone this morning, swallowed by fog. The river is somewhere out there. You just have to trust it. The fog softens everything. The parks, the traffic, even the sound of footsteps on the brick below. A cyclist passes then doubles back with a coffee itch to scratch.
Photo by Howie Southworth
Misha's Coffee in Old Town Alexandria
She stretches a moment before stepping inside. Soon after, a guy walks in carrying his own mug from home. That’s the story right there. Misha’s isn’t just a coffee shop. It’s an extension of people’s cabinets.
Lori arrives with her own mug as well and joins on the top floor. She’s been coming to Misha’s since the days of the Patrick Street location. She’s a fellow writer, and this is where most of it gets done. “Best office in the world,” she says. I believe her. Occasionally she experiments with working somewhere else. But she always ends up back here. “Misha’s has the soul,” she says.
Ages ago at the original joint, the walls inside were lined a kind of informal travel gallery: printed photos brought in by regulars. They’re holding the unmistakable orange Misha’s cup at iconic spots around the world. Eiffel Tower. Meiji Shrine. The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. That one was Jessica and me. The emblematic orange cup had become a kind of passport. Alexandria carried quietly into the background of adventure.
There are rumors that wine sometimes appears up here in the evenings. For now the espresso engines remain the humming stars of the show. Though some in Spain might argue that wine is another reasonable morning option. Alexandria, we’re not there just yet.
Downstairs the line gets long and shifts forward with the steady pulse of Ambar and Michael pouring the promise of a new day. Another orange cup lands on the counter. Somewhere in the room a zoom begins. Outside, a patient dog shakes off the morning walk. A burgeoning artist studies the surface of a cup just long enough to decide his latte art is good enough for prime time.
The lid goes on anyway. The day starts.
Photo courtesy of Howie Southworth
Author Howie Southworth
Howie Southworth is a seasoned denizen of Old Town Alexandria and the best-selling author behind "A Taste of Alexandria: Modern Restaurant Recipes That Echo Our City's Past," published by Alexandria Living Magazine.
Southworth is also the author of a new book, Hemingway’s Spanish Table (Insight Editions), released March 17.
Past works include "Chinese Street Food," "One Pan to Rule Them All," "Kiss My Casserole!" and "How to Cook Anything in Your Dutch Oven." Howie is also a regular essayist for Salon.com.
