Tuesday night Mal and I decided to try a new (to us) restaurant, hoping to find ourselves a new special-occasion place now that 2941 is Not As It Was. And so off we went to Old Town Alexandria to try the highly rated and recommended Vermilion. We had a lovely time, but Vermilion will definitely not become our new Special Occasion Place.
The website and online menu led us to believe that the restaurant was a white-tablecloth venue. Instead, it was more rustic Colonial casual in style—cozy and attractive (especially in the bar), but not “dress up.” We snuggled on a sofa in the bar to enjoy a drink before our dinner reservation.
Vermillion has an impressive whisky menu, from which Mal chose a 15-year-old Balvenie. I decided to try some of the house cocktails. The King Street Lemonade and the Love Me Do both sounded better on the menu than they tasted in reality. But the latter blood-red concoction was worth it if only for the opportunity to toast with a glass of apparent sparkling True Blood. Mal tried the Paloma, a classic cocktail of herradura, lime, salt, and grapefruit soda, which he liked very much and I found incredibly over boozy (I don’t mind a strong cocktail, but I’ve got to have the booze taste better hidden). At this point, we paid our bar tab and moved onto our table.
At the table, Mal was impressed with the wine list. I decided to make one last attempt on the cocktail menu and ordered a hot buttered rum. Finally a win! The warm, spicy, sweet concoction not only satisfied a long-time curiosity, it was just delightful. If I had not already had two cocktails, I would have ordered a second.
And so the food: we started off with an amuse-bouche of lobster bisque served in a miniature beer mug, which even lobster-hating Mal liked very much. A basket of breads contained mild and almost sweet yeasty knotted rolls, and squares of a saltier bread, slightly seasoned (focaccia?)—both quite nice.
Starters: I went with the tasting menu ($59 for four courses) and so started with that menu’s appetizer of lobster tortelloni, which turned out to be the early peak of my meal. While the pasta was a bit thick, it was nicely textured, and the lobster was incredibly sweet and succulent. The menu described the dish as having davon crest chilies, lemon, fines herbes, and roasted shellfish broth, but I tasted no chilies and barely a hint of lemon, and the broth was replaced by a foam. Still, a nice little dish.
Mal ordered the tartare of Maryland beef, which was good, but also the first olive victim of the night. A generous portion of tartare was garnished in the center with a quail egg yolk, and a generous swipe of sauce decorated the plate. The sauce, however, turned out to be VERY strongly flavored Kalamata olive (pureed?), and an initial injudicious mixing of it into the beef resulted in the olive overwhelming the flavor of the beef.
Second course: Mal ordered the mixed local baby greens salad, which was very generous but, well, just a pile of greens with shaved parmesan. My second course was the line-caught virginia rockfish, with “orecchiette, chorizo, little neck clams, and mediterranean flavors.” While the fish itself was cooked beautifully, with a brown crispy skin and moist inside, the rest of the dish was a bit of a muddle: the chorizo was okay but appeared unexpectedly in the form of gray ground sausage. The clam was nice, the orecchiette was nice, but they didn’t really come together in any way. Unfortunately, the element that I suspect was meant to bind all the components was the “mediterranean flavors,” which turned out to be a powerful mince of olives that was not visually recognizable as olives (I initially took them to be the chorizo). The unsubtle and overgenerous portion of this “sauce” overwhelmed all other flavors, and I ended up leaving most of it on my plate. Unfortunately, that left the fish and pasta basically bare and somewhat bland.
Main course: Mal had ordered my fish a la carte and encountered the same issues I did. My main course was Maryland beef ribeye, baby potato confit, wilted mizzuna, local onions, and salsa verde—sadly, another disappointment. The slices of beef were cooked exactly to order, medium rare, but were surprisingly bland, without that delicious beefy flavor I was looking forward to. The potato “confit” turned out to be two little fingerling potatos that seemed to have been simply boiled and then hidden under a pile of (not wilted) greens. The salsa verde was another overpowering element whose over-strong flavor of parsely and olive eclipsed everything else on the plate. The one truly satisfying bite was the tiny whole carmelized onion, so dark it resembled a morel more than an onion. That was a tasty morsel.
Dessert at least ended the meal on a high note. While Mal decided to abstain, my tasting menu included figgy toffee pudding with sour cream ice cream and candied walnuts. The cake was like a fig newton that goes to 11, with a toffee glaze that complemented the moist figgy goodness. The sour cream ice cream was nice, although it didn’t have the tang I expected from sour cream. The dessert was quite yummy, and I was not ashamed to swipe the last bits of ice cream and cake from the plate with my finger (etiquette frowning on licking the plate in public).
Regarding service: we did a good bit of waiting between courses, with our server nowhere to be seen. However, when present our waiter was informative and gracious. No terrible complaints there.
And so we left Vermilion, sated if not completely satisfied. We will return, but with very different expectations. We’re now curious to see how the chef handles the more casual items on the bar menu, and looking forward to hanging out in the very nice bar (even if the house cocktails were uneven). Meanwhile, the search for a new Special Occasion Place continues.
Showing posts with label By Jayne. Show all posts
Showing posts with label By Jayne. Show all posts
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Also Mourning Our Favorite Restaurant
I feel like I’ve lost a good friend. Last week, Mal and I went to the newly reinvented 2941 to see whether our favorite restaurant could remain so after its transformation. Alas, the answer is no.
Until this January, 2941 features high-end French-influenced cuisine that was creative, innovative, beautiful, and just incredibly delicious. The dinner menu, apt to change any given day, consisted of an a la carte menu and a daily pre-fixe tasting menu. Every meal, every dish we had there was a revelation. In spite of our thrifty natures, we became regulars because it was simply worth every penny.
Come 2012, however, the restaurant closed temporarily for remodeling, not just of the physical restaurant but of the menu and overall mission. In place of our special occasion indulgence spot is now a high-end casual dining restaurant. And it’s fine. But no longer fine dining. And last week for the first time, we left disappointed.
The food was fine. For this restaurant where before, every dish rated WOW, that’s a huge demotion. Our “nosh” of deep-fried truffled mac n cheese was perfectly fried, but oddly bland, actually needing a taste of salt. On the plate, the bites appeared like nothing less than a gathering of tater tots, unadorned. Nothing to recommend itself visually.
Appetizers were also… fine. Mal was surprised to find his composed chicken salad appetizer was closer to a pub-sized portion than to the restaurant’s more traditional small appetizer size (we were inventing our own tasting menu by ordering and sharing from each menu category). The salad itself was more reminiscent of pub food, with large deep-friend chicken overwhelming the sprinkling of frisee and practically obscuring the poached egg (perfectly cooked) buried beneath the chicken. The chicken hunks were so dominant, in fact, that we initially thought the wrong plate had been delivered—a far cry from the delicate, balanced constructions we’d become used to here. My appetizer, a lobster and foie gras risotto, was also fine… but while the lobster pieces and (admittedly) generous chunks of foie gras were lovely, the rice itself had no special appeal, no outstanding flavor.
Mal and I shared an appetizer portion of “The Forest Delicacy,” an open-faced ravioli of chanterelle with a sauce of mascarpone and parsnip, and this one disk recaptured the flavor of The 2941 That Was: pasta parchment-thin, with the sweetness of the sauce perfectly balancing the deep earthy flavor of the mushrooms, and a lovely presentation. It was the only moment where I had to close my eyes to slowly savor each bite.
Entrees, however, were back to fine, and even a bit off. Mal 's veal was cooked perfectly to order, but was plated awkwardly and extremely oversauced. My bay scallops came in a pasta plate, several dozen sweet morsels swimming in a citrusy sauce with a scattering of diced Buddha’s hand confit, and a few microgreens on top as a garnish. It was tasty, but felt oddly unfinished.
We chose to skip dessert, but were brought one anyway (unexpected gratis treats appearing to carry over to the new 2941 from the old). It was… fine: the pistacio “milkshake” with granita was quite tasty, as was the yoghurt panna cotta, but the accompaning dry baklava was begging for honey. The sweets that came with the bill—formerly rich homemade chocolates, delicate one-bite tarts, and the like—were two warm glaze beignets that looked like nothing less than two honey-dipped doughnut holes. I found them tasty, but far from exciting, and Mal declared he’d just as soon get his Munchkins from Dunkin’ Donuts.
The bar, at least, gave us no cause for complaint. 2941 has instituted a new happy hour and added a TV tuned to sports television, and the bar has become noisy and crowded, making it harder to find a seat. But the bartenders are as friendly and attentive as ever, and still inventing new cocktails that tempt even this mostly teetotaling customer to drink.
For that matter, the entire staff remains attentive, friendly, and knowledgable, and we at least were glad to greet the faces we have become familiar with.
In general, the new 2941 is not bad, nor is it fine dining. It’s… fine. The restaurant clearly has a different diner in mind with its new menu. They will hopefully be very successful with the new direction. However, this old regular hopes that they don’t completely give up on their loyal old fans, and that after the awkwardness of the first few months of NEW, that they find a way to accommodate both old and new fans on their menu.
Until this January, 2941 features high-end French-influenced cuisine that was creative, innovative, beautiful, and just incredibly delicious. The dinner menu, apt to change any given day, consisted of an a la carte menu and a daily pre-fixe tasting menu. Every meal, every dish we had there was a revelation. In spite of our thrifty natures, we became regulars because it was simply worth every penny.
Come 2012, however, the restaurant closed temporarily for remodeling, not just of the physical restaurant but of the menu and overall mission. In place of our special occasion indulgence spot is now a high-end casual dining restaurant. And it’s fine. But no longer fine dining. And last week for the first time, we left disappointed.
The food was fine. For this restaurant where before, every dish rated WOW, that’s a huge demotion. Our “nosh” of deep-fried truffled mac n cheese was perfectly fried, but oddly bland, actually needing a taste of salt. On the plate, the bites appeared like nothing less than a gathering of tater tots, unadorned. Nothing to recommend itself visually.
Appetizers were also… fine. Mal was surprised to find his composed chicken salad appetizer was closer to a pub-sized portion than to the restaurant’s more traditional small appetizer size (we were inventing our own tasting menu by ordering and sharing from each menu category). The salad itself was more reminiscent of pub food, with large deep-friend chicken overwhelming the sprinkling of frisee and practically obscuring the poached egg (perfectly cooked) buried beneath the chicken. The chicken hunks were so dominant, in fact, that we initially thought the wrong plate had been delivered—a far cry from the delicate, balanced constructions we’d become used to here. My appetizer, a lobster and foie gras risotto, was also fine… but while the lobster pieces and (admittedly) generous chunks of foie gras were lovely, the rice itself had no special appeal, no outstanding flavor.
Mal and I shared an appetizer portion of “The Forest Delicacy,” an open-faced ravioli of chanterelle with a sauce of mascarpone and parsnip, and this one disk recaptured the flavor of The 2941 That Was: pasta parchment-thin, with the sweetness of the sauce perfectly balancing the deep earthy flavor of the mushrooms, and a lovely presentation. It was the only moment where I had to close my eyes to slowly savor each bite.
Entrees, however, were back to fine, and even a bit off. Mal 's veal was cooked perfectly to order, but was plated awkwardly and extremely oversauced. My bay scallops came in a pasta plate, several dozen sweet morsels swimming in a citrusy sauce with a scattering of diced Buddha’s hand confit, and a few microgreens on top as a garnish. It was tasty, but felt oddly unfinished.
We chose to skip dessert, but were brought one anyway (unexpected gratis treats appearing to carry over to the new 2941 from the old). It was… fine: the pistacio “milkshake” with granita was quite tasty, as was the yoghurt panna cotta, but the accompaning dry baklava was begging for honey. The sweets that came with the bill—formerly rich homemade chocolates, delicate one-bite tarts, and the like—were two warm glaze beignets that looked like nothing less than two honey-dipped doughnut holes. I found them tasty, but far from exciting, and Mal declared he’d just as soon get his Munchkins from Dunkin’ Donuts.
The bar, at least, gave us no cause for complaint. 2941 has instituted a new happy hour and added a TV tuned to sports television, and the bar has become noisy and crowded, making it harder to find a seat. But the bartenders are as friendly and attentive as ever, and still inventing new cocktails that tempt even this mostly teetotaling customer to drink.
For that matter, the entire staff remains attentive, friendly, and knowledgable, and we at least were glad to greet the faces we have become familiar with.
In general, the new 2941 is not bad, nor is it fine dining. It’s… fine. The restaurant clearly has a different diner in mind with its new menu. They will hopefully be very successful with the new direction. However, this old regular hopes that they don’t completely give up on their loyal old fans, and that after the awkwardness of the first few months of NEW, that they find a way to accommodate both old and new fans on their menu.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Monday, October 19, 2009
Who was looking good yesterday?
Friday, September 4, 2009
Oh Soap Opera Stars, Will You Ever Win?
The Fug Girls bring the funny re: the Daytime Emmys.
http://www.lemondrop.com/2009/09/04/the-fug-girls-look-at-soap-star-fashion/
http://www.lemondrop.com/2009/09/04/the-fug-girls-look-at-soap-star-fashion/
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Our puppy is very responsible
Today some medications--more specifically, birth control pills--were delivered to our house through the mail slot in the front door. Our puppy, being the responsible little fellow he is, opened the package and took a dose. Despite the fact that he is male. And fixed. And not human. Still, you have to admire his sense of responsibility. And we haven't even had the sex talk with him yet!
We Love Liberty Tavern
Yesterday was a rough day at work for both me and Mal, and with the sudden realization that it was Restaurant Week here in the DC area, we decided to treat ourselves. Normally we like to use Resaturant Week to try someplace new, but as reservations were few on short notice, we ended up at our old standby, The Liberty Tavern in Arlington.
Oh, Liberty Tavern! I almost hate to sing your praises, lest it become even harder to find a reservation or a parking space nearby. Since our first visit when you were newly opened, we've had nothing but wonderful food and wonderful service. Last night was no exception. Once again, the Tavern proves that pleasing their customers is their first priority by making their entire menu available for Restaurant Week--none of this stingy only-offering-three-choices-per-course business. Mal started with a spectacular duck confit la orange with Chevre and olives, and I with the grilled octopus and clams.
Yes, that's right, squirmy, grilled octopus, and if you're remotely interested in ever trying octopus, try it here. Octopus, like calamari, can be tough and rubbery when not treated just right, but at Liberty it is tender and meaty and sweet and really really really good. This was our second time having the octopus: the first time was a recent visit where our entrees were taking a little while to make it out to us. We hadn't actually noticed a great delay or complained, but a manager came and apologized for our wait and brought us a free appetizer (the octopus) to tide us over. This is the kind of service we run into time and time again here.
For our main dishes, Mal had the tenderloin, with an amazing roasted Concord grape sauce. Sounds sweet, but it was beautifully balanced, and Mal literally swiped the plate clean with bread at the end. I had egg noodles with rabbit confit, fresh peas, carrots, onions and mushrooms with a grain mustard sauce, and it was just wonderful. Again, if you've ever had the inkling to try rabbit but were too squeamish, here's a great dish to try... Mal won the dessert competition with his three sorbets: cantaloupe, strawberry, and pineapple-basil (sounds strange, but is incredible). I got the molten chocolate cake with homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream, but the cake was a littel dry and not really molten. A small disappointment, but very much the exception at this restaurant.
When we finally rolled out after a long leisurely evening, we were both back in good spirits again. Thanks again, The Liberty Tavern! We may be back next week to try the lamb shoulder confit.
Oh, Liberty Tavern! I almost hate to sing your praises, lest it become even harder to find a reservation or a parking space nearby. Since our first visit when you were newly opened, we've had nothing but wonderful food and wonderful service. Last night was no exception. Once again, the Tavern proves that pleasing their customers is their first priority by making their entire menu available for Restaurant Week--none of this stingy only-offering-three-choices-per-course business. Mal started with a spectacular duck confit la orange with Chevre and olives, and I with the grilled octopus and clams.
Yes, that's right, squirmy, grilled octopus, and if you're remotely interested in ever trying octopus, try it here. Octopus, like calamari, can be tough and rubbery when not treated just right, but at Liberty it is tender and meaty and sweet and really really really good. This was our second time having the octopus: the first time was a recent visit where our entrees were taking a little while to make it out to us. We hadn't actually noticed a great delay or complained, but a manager came and apologized for our wait and brought us a free appetizer (the octopus) to tide us over. This is the kind of service we run into time and time again here.
For our main dishes, Mal had the tenderloin, with an amazing roasted Concord grape sauce. Sounds sweet, but it was beautifully balanced, and Mal literally swiped the plate clean with bread at the end. I had egg noodles with rabbit confit, fresh peas, carrots, onions and mushrooms with a grain mustard sauce, and it was just wonderful. Again, if you've ever had the inkling to try rabbit but were too squeamish, here's a great dish to try... Mal won the dessert competition with his three sorbets: cantaloupe, strawberry, and pineapple-basil (sounds strange, but is incredible). I got the molten chocolate cake with homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream, but the cake was a littel dry and not really molten. A small disappointment, but very much the exception at this restaurant.
When we finally rolled out after a long leisurely evening, we were both back in good spirits again. Thanks again, The Liberty Tavern! We may be back next week to try the lamb shoulder confit.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
NOT Julie and Julia, but Inspired By
So Mal and I recently went to see the movie "Julie and Julia," which we both really enjoyed. My take: the Julie part was okay, although I honestly didn't find myself personally interested in the Julie character. Julia Child, on the other hand, is my personal hero: imagine, she never even started cooking until age 37! AND it turns out she was lying all these years about being a secretary in the OSS and was in fact an actual spy... Meryl Streep did an astounding job of bringing her to life, and Stanley Tucci was wonderful, as always, as her husband Paul. Theirs was truly a wonderful love story.
Anyhoo, like everyone else who saw the flick, we came out of the theater hungry and rarin' to cook. Now I have a generous collection of cookbooks, certainly more than 100, possibly close to 200; I'm honestly not sure. Inspired by the premise of the movie we just saw, Mal and I have decided that each week, one of us will select a cookbook, and the other one of us will make something from that cookbook. The recipe can be for anything--main course, appetizer, dessert--but it has to come from the selected book. Mal got first pick, and he chose The Good Home Cookbook, which we just received as a housewarming gift from our wonderful sister-in-law. This is a fun book, with very old-school, no-nonsense recipes like those from your old Better Homes and Gardens book: American Food. The special conceit, though, is that the author recruited over 1,000 home cooks from all over the country to test different versions of all these familiar recipes in order to find the best ones, which were then gathered into this volume. So no fancy-schmancy stuff, but a lot of fun nostalgia. (When's the last time you've even heard mention of a Taco Salad, much less seen a recipe for one?)
And what am I going to make? I'm not 100% decided yet. BUT there is a recipe for creating your own sourdough starter and thus your own sourdough bread that sounds very appealing. We shall see.
Jayne
Anyhoo, like everyone else who saw the flick, we came out of the theater hungry and rarin' to cook. Now I have a generous collection of cookbooks, certainly more than 100, possibly close to 200; I'm honestly not sure. Inspired by the premise of the movie we just saw, Mal and I have decided that each week, one of us will select a cookbook, and the other one of us will make something from that cookbook. The recipe can be for anything--main course, appetizer, dessert--but it has to come from the selected book. Mal got first pick, and he chose The Good Home Cookbook, which we just received as a housewarming gift from our wonderful sister-in-law. This is a fun book, with very old-school, no-nonsense recipes like those from your old Better Homes and Gardens book: American Food. The special conceit, though, is that the author recruited over 1,000 home cooks from all over the country to test different versions of all these familiar recipes in order to find the best ones, which were then gathered into this volume. So no fancy-schmancy stuff, but a lot of fun nostalgia. (When's the last time you've even heard mention of a Taco Salad, much less seen a recipe for one?)
And what am I going to make? I'm not 100% decided yet. BUT there is a recipe for creating your own sourdough starter and thus your own sourdough bread that sounds very appealing. We shall see.
Jayne
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Dear Mal
There is nothing quite so boring as listening to someone rhapsodize about their beloved and how happy they are together. This is why no one on soap operas, including Soulmates Who are Destined to Be Together (of whom there are a surprisingly large number), never actually live happily ever after. We all yearn for that happy ending, but we don't want to hear about someone else's. Why is happiness such a dull read?
Too bad. Tomorrow is our 2 year 4 month anniversary, and I wish to rhapsodize. Almost 5 years ago, I met my Mal, and my life changed in ways I never dreamed were possible. Two and a quarter years ago, I married the best friend I've ever had in life. And every day I wake up next to him is a gift whose value cannot be described.
We have our differences. We get on each others' nerves. And in our short time together, we've had to face some very painful times. But we have faced them together. And I can't imagine--don't want to imagine--any life without my Mal.
Love,
Jayne
Too bad. Tomorrow is our 2 year 4 month anniversary, and I wish to rhapsodize. Almost 5 years ago, I met my Mal, and my life changed in ways I never dreamed were possible. Two and a quarter years ago, I married the best friend I've ever had in life. And every day I wake up next to him is a gift whose value cannot be described.
We have our differences. We get on each others' nerves. And in our short time together, we've had to face some very painful times. But we have faced them together. And I can't imagine--don't want to imagine--any life without my Mal.
Love,
Jayne
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
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