By Michael Ford, Alexandria
(Stock Image)

To the editor:

Dear whoever may be thinking about opening a restaurant in Alexandria:

We have many fine eateries here, in Old Town in particular. We have coffee shops, hamburger joints, fast casual places and fast food spots. You can get good pasta and barbecue as well as patronize restaurants offering Italian, Mexican, French, Thai, Chinese, English and Southern cuisines. What we don’t have is a biergarten, where you can sit outside on the first day of spring, drink a beer and eat sausage and strudel.

Did you know that the Norwegians even have a special word for a beer enjoyed outside on a sunny day? It’s “utepils.” I think Alexandrians deserve a beer outside, under a shady tree or just under the sky.

Oom-pah music is optional, of course.

Someone pick up the challenge. Right now, we have two spots — the former Pat Troy’s Ireland’s Own and the defunct Notting Hill — that would make perfect biergartens.

There are several fine biergartens that are giant successes elsewhere: the Bierstube in Philadelphia, the Old Stein Inn in Edgewater, to name but a few. There are five biergartens in D.C.!

Hear my plea: We pride ourselves on being international in Alexandria, so bring a biergarten in to complete the food scene. That is all.