Vermillion

I apologize, I have not been keeping up to date with my blogging. In the spirit of the new Restaurant Week season, I believe I need to put a placeholder in here for Vermillion in Alexandria. I went there last Restaurant Week (summer of 2008) and it was truly fantastic.

I remember that I ended up deviating from the Restaurant Week menu and was tempted by an heirloom tomato and goat cheese salad (which was spectacular even despite my dislike of goat cheese). I went for a chicken breast served in a mustard sauce with brussel sprouts and ham mixed in with it. Unfortunately, I don't remember my dessert or anything else that other people at the table got. Suffice it to say that almost all of the food was fantastic! Unfortunately, the summer menu is not online right now so I cannot refresh my memory. They did have an infusion of ham into many dishes on their summer menu if I recall, so it's not a very good place for those of you who keep kosher.

I do remember both the atmosphere (very pleasant, old fashioned, yet interesting looking, considerable space for seating and acoustics where you can hear those at your table and not too many others) as well as the service (which was some of the best service I've received in the Washington, DC area). I also noted that such service was the norm at Vermillion. I believe that my server may have been a particularly good one, but it was noticeably fantastic throughout the whole restaurant. Sometimes you can just tell.

This restaurant was good enough that I am putting in this place holder and recommendation until I am able to visit again and put out a real one. It makes my top 10 list for the Washington, DC area, although I am going off of memory at this point.

Quality: ****1/2
Value: $$$1/2