Author: Marjie Riordan
The Southwest Neighborhood House
May Day Celebration circa 1956. The adorable little girl at the end of the line on the back side of the picture is Marjie Riordan. (the Author).
T’was a Snazzy Yankee
Jack and Jean Riordan join Driver-trainer Bib Roberts in the Winner’s Circle. Marjie Riordan, their youngest daughter, was the groom of 3yo filly Snazzy Yankee. Snazzy Yankee was a three year old filly bred and owned by Charlie Keller, former member the the “Murderer’s Row” Yankee baseball team. Charlie had the third largest breeding operation in America for standardbred horses…
Whitey the Crab Man
When Jack and Jean Riordan bought The Half Shell in 1968 they inherited a restaurant with a twelve seat bar, liquor store, a dining room with 8 booths, 8 tables and a back room for private parties. Most of the staff stayed with the change of ownership and management. And the most fascinating was the friends and customers that included…
The CrabCake Recipe
Riordan’s Restaurant and Raw Bar was a neighborhood seafood house that was famous for its crab cakes. Here is the recipe. Patty Riordan Hutchinson, my brilliant sister, had a copy. Please let know how your crab cakes turn out. Ingredients 1lb Crabmeat. Drain and pick out shells. 4 to 6 slices of white bread. Remove crust. Cube and allow to…
Jack at the Race Track
updated 2/20/21 by Marjie Riordan Jack Riordan worked 7 days a week in his restaurant/bar/liquor store. It was a labor of love as are many small, family run businesses. Needing to destress, Jack began taking Thursdays off. On this day he would get up a little earlier than usual and meet his mates at his bar about 11 am and…
Danny Boy
Oct 10, 2020 This is Danny and Helen Riordan in front of the original Riordan’s Restaurant at 4th and O St., SW, Washington DC. Circa 1951. The baby in the carriage is Patty Riordan. Now Patty Hutchinson. The bird on Danny’s shoulder is a parrot named Polly. Danny’s father, Patrick, was tending bar at this local pub near the waterfront…
Happy Birthday
October 16, 2020 Heavenly birthday greetings to Jack (1924-2014) and his twin brother, Bobby (1924-2003) who would be 96 years old today. Born at home in Washington DC to Helen and Danny Riordan, the twins had an older sister, Patsy and a brother, Billy (known to non-family members as Dan). One more brother was added to the young family in…
The FAA in Riordan’s
In the late seventies employees of the Federal Aeronautics Administration (FAA) represented a large majority of the lunchtime crowd that filled the tables and booths at Riordan’s Restaurant and Raw Bar. They were genuine G-Men in their suits. The cultural fashions of the sixties had finally seeped into the Greatest Generation.The hair was longer, sideburns were past the ear lobe…
Charlie Brickley
The fun of coming from a family of restauranteurs is remembering the legion of characters that came through the doors over the years. One my favorites would be Charlie Brickley. He was the middle-aged AT&T, soon to retire, guy. A member of the Greatest Generation that went home late one night. He tries to be quiet opening and shutting the…