Vermillion

Ok, last installment of our Restaurant Week January 2011 food adventures. :(   Last night we went to dinner at Vermillion, located right on King Street in the middle of Old Town Alexandria.  The night streets were lined with lighted trees dancing on the edges of the sidwalks and the nightlife traffic was bustling.  So bustling in fact that we had to circle the block several times and even call the restaurant to hold our table so we could find a place to park and not lose our reservation. Luckily we eventually found a spot not too far away from the restaurant, thankfully, because it was FREEZING outside last night!!

We finally made it inside the restaurant where it was warm and cozy.  Brick walls with a mixture of modern lamps and gas lanterns lined the cozy tables and the bar scene was bumpin!  We were seated upstairs where it was slightly quieter and we were greeted by a wall of wine bottles at the top of the stairs.

the nightlife

The food here was not particularly unique but it was very yummy!  To start, we were brought a complimentary tasting from the chef.  Miniature Greek Meatballs with a cauliflower puree.  So yumm! I wish these were bigger and more of them! They even made the cauliflower taste good! We practically licked the cute little bowls they were served in.

For the first course, I chose Rock Shrimp and Atlantic Squid.  You kinda expect squid to be a little chewy, even when cooked well.  Not this time! It was so soft and perfect! The shrimp and squid were served on top of a bed of 3 different kinds of beans mixed with salsa verde and thai chilies all piled on top of a slice of toasted focaccia drizzled with olive oil. It was nice and light and savory.

Hubby's first course was, of course, the Carpaccio of Wagyu Beef.  Its hard for him to pass up wagyu because you don't really see it very often. And it really is so succulent! This wagyu was served with tiny little pumpernickel croutons, baby watercress, a spicy mustard vinagrette, and a couple little pieces of parmesan cheese. Again, very light tasting for a beef dish.

For the second course, I chose the Wild Mushroom Ravioli. This was served with Swiss chard, fresh pomegranate seeds, chunks of roasted sweet potato, dollops of goat cheese, and a sage brown butter.  Oh sooo good!  The Swiss chard I found interesting because not long ago I had a bad experience with it and decided I didn't like or want to try it again.  But, I figured I would be brave.  Maybe I would like it in a different setting.  And surprisingly it wasn't too bad with the ravioli.  I mean, you'd be hard pressed to make mushroom ravioli with brown butter and goat cheese taste bad.  I'm a sucker for goat cheese and this did not disappoint.  It combined nicely with the other flavors and the pomegranate gave a nice sweet pop.

Hubby's second course was the Duroc Pork Loin.  It was cooked medium well so it was still slightly pink and served on top of caramelized 3 herb spatzle and pickled cabbage.  It took us a while to figure out what the spatzle was.  Hubby said it tasted like eggs and I thought it tasted like some kind of cheesy pasta.  Turns out we were both right.  Spatzle is a kind of egg noddle often served in German and Austrian cuisine.  Either way it was very tasty and worked well with the sourness of the cabbage and the sweet tender porkiness of the meat.

Then came dessert.  There were only 2 to choose from so I got one and hubby got the other.  Mine was the Bittersweet Chocolate Bombe.  Sounds decadent and amazing right? It was!  Bittersweet chocolate mousse combined with dulce de leche and topped with espresso ice cream and a couple cocoa tuilles (which we learned about from Masa 14) and the plate was shmeared with a sticky caramel sauce. I thought I might be too full already to finish such a decadent dessert but somehow my tummy found the room!

Hubby's dessert was no slouch either.  A Cider Roasted Bosc Pear.  It looked like a little steaming teepee of deliciousness when it arrived.  (There was literally steam coming out of the top!) It was served with caramelized maple ice cream, granola, cranberries, and a piece of sesame brittle for decoration.  The maple in the ice cream was pleasantly subtle and made the perfect companion to the hot juicy pear, the crunch of the granola and brittle, and the tartness of the cranberries.

Once again, an awesome meal at an awesome restaurant in the DC area.  I'm sad to see the week come to an end.  There were so many restaurants we still wanted to try! So much food and so little time. :(   I guess we'll just have to make plans for the next Restaurant Week!

Masa 14 in DC

So last night we had our first food adventure for Restaurant Week in DC.  We went to a place called Masa 14 located on 14th St NW between S and T streets.  Masa 14, only open for barely over a year, is a cool sophisticated place that serves a fusion cuisine of Asian and Mexican.  Whoever woulda thought to put those 2 things together? Well, someone did and it was genius!

can you see the snowflakes/ice pellets falling?

For most restaurants who celebrate Restaurant Week, they have a special prefixe menu specifically for this particular week.  And most menus have 3 or 4 courses for about $35 a person.  And in each course you usually have several items to choose from.

For our first course I chose the Tom Yum Soup...a sweet and spicy concoction of coconut milk, chicken adobado, masa dumplings, thai basil, bean sprouts, and some kind of spicy red peppers. Absolutely delicious and amazing how all those flavors work together.

Tom Yum Soup

For Hubby's first course, he chose Shrimp Ceviche...which contained juicy shrimp, yuzu (an Asian citrus fruit), melon, orange slices, cilantro, lime, and serrano chilis. For those who have never had ceviche, its essentially raw but then "cooked" in the acid of lime juice.  Its amazing how science can make food so yummy!  It was light and sweet and spicy all at once.

Shrimp Ceviche

For the second course, I chose the Country Ham Flatbread...a flat piece of bread (as the name implies) toasted crispy topped with salty very thin sliced ham, goat cheese, slices of cantaloupe (yes, you read correctly...cantaloupe), arugula, truffle, and lime.  Such a pantheon of flavors I never imagined together.  You could experience just about every flavor sensation in one bite.  Salty, sweet, crunchy, slight bitterness from the greens.  It was awesome.

Country Ham Flatbread

check out those slices of cantaloupe under the greens!

Hubby's second course was Pork Belly Steamed Buns...soft squishy doughy buns wrapped like a taco around the sweet shredded bits of pork belly topped with achiote (a paste made from annato seeds), hoisin sauce, pineapple, red fresno peppers, lime, cilantro, and pickled onions.  Again this combination of sweet, savory, and spicy was beautiful.

Pork Belly Steamed Buns

Third course...I picked Salt and Pepper Calamari...slightly crispy fried squid rings with flavors of madras curry, cilantro, mint, scallions, and a sweet and spicy chili sauce.  Fairly simple, not extremely unique but delicious and lovely all the same.

Salt and Pepper Calamari

Hubby's third course...Smoked Wagyu Beef Brisket Medallions...sweet and smokey shredded wagyu beef shaped into a lovely medallion, so soft and sumptuous you could eat it with a spoon!  It also was served with a wasabi parsnip puree, tat soi (a type of Asian green), hot and sour sauce, and truffled huitlacoche (which is actually a kind of fungus that grows on corn...sounds weird but was yummy).  There was definitely a little heat with this dish so proceed with caution if you're heat-sensitive as I am.

Wagyu Brisket Medallions

Our last course was dessert of course.  I chose a Molten Spicy Chocolate Cake...not your average molten chocolate cake here as there was definitely a hint of something spicy in that wonderful gooey melted chocolate pouring out of the center of the cake.  And next to the cake was served an orange tapioca/strawberry sorbet and gingered strawberries.  The heat from the cake (both temperature and flavor) mixed with the light fruity coolness of the strawberries and sorbet were a perfect combination of yumminess!

Left: mango panna cotta; Right: chocolate cake and sorbet

Hubby's dessert course was Mango Panna Cotta...something neither one of us had ever had and weren't even 100% sure what it was exactly.  Panna Cotta is traditionally an Italian dish kinda of like a creamy pudding type thing but with a bready texture to it.  This panna cotta was mango flavored which gave it a bright citrusy orange color.  It was topped with diced mangos, sake blackberry sauce, and a coconut tuille (which is a crispy cookie decoration on top).  Very unique for us.  It was odd and yet delicious.

the aftermath

Needless to say, our bellies were full to the brim and our plates scraped clean when we left!  Unfortunately we had a long drive home in the middle of a freezing rain downpour!! But we eventually made it home in one piece and very pleased with our food adventure.  We can't wait for Thursdays dinner now!  Stay tuned...

Its Restaurant Week 2011 in DC!!

This week DC and surrounding areas celebrate food with Restaurant Week.  Many restaurants in the area participate and have special menus specifically for the week.  Spots fill up fast so its a good idea to make reservations.

Hubby and I have scheduled 3 dinners this week.  Tonight we go to Masa 14 in DC.  Thursday we go to Bastille in Alexandria. And Saturday we go to Vermillion also in Alexandria.  Stay tuned to hear all about our unique and delicious food adventures this week!