Saturday, May 17, 2014

Virtue Feed & Grain Review



Virtue Feed & Grain
106 S Union Street
Alexandria VA 22314
571-970-3669

Virtue Feed & Grain is a lovely restaurant situated on the edge of Old Town Alexandria.  It appears that it used to be an old barn or warehouse of some sort.  The décor is rustic with lots of brick and refurbished slabs of wood.  There are lots of benches and chairs pulled up to old wooden tables.  The upstairs seating area is a bit more trendy.  There are high top tables as well as private seating areas closed off with cream colored sheer fabric.  The farm feel of the restaurant matches the farm to table cuisine.  Virtue Feed & Grain prides itself on fresh foods brought in daily and processed each morning in house.    The food can be best described as American Fusion.  The Chef maintains an American foundation but blends in Latin and Asian flavors.  The wait staff is attentive and knowledgeable about menu.  This restaurant is a wonderful spot for hanging out with friends, date night or even a business diner.   Old Town Alexandria is very trendy and often crowded on warm days and in the evenings.  Parking can be found on the street or in local parking garages.  Overall we give Virtue Feed & Grain ♪♪♪.  

Flash Fried Calamari
These scrumptious little sea morsels were perfectly seasoned and very tender.  The charred scallion romesco dipping sauce was amazing!  The sauce was a perfect balance between smoky and herby.    The addition of picked peppers to the dish added kick and character.  Our only complaint was that the chef should have made the grease hotter in the frying process.  Our calamari was very greasy. 

Quinoa Salad
This dish was the highlight of our meal.  There were so many fun and complex additions to this dish.  Rich, earthy, fresh, herby and sweet are all adjectives we used as we savored every bite.  The use of lemon was so appropriate in this dish.  The chef also managed to toss a slight anise flavor throughout the salad.  This was an extremely well executed culinary creation; it left us licking our chops and wishing for more.

Fried Chicken & Waffles
This dish was interesting.  The chef made a bold choice by using thigh meat and not chicken breast or tenders.  Seeing as how I love dark meat, I appreciated the chef for this decision.  Dark meat is so much more flavorful and moist.  The waffles were fluffy and tender and somehow tasted like sausage.  Yes that’s right, sausage.  We could not figure that part out, but they were good.  The orange yuzu puree was both sweet and savory; we only wish they had added a little more.  Yet again with this dish the chef made the tragic mistake of greasy chicken.  Will someone please increase the heat on the fryer!

Fish Tacos
So this is when everything went straight down hill…This dish was an epic fail.  We mean a fall down the steps and break both legs, both arms and your neck kind of epic fail!   Issue number one, corn tortilla are rarely a good idea.  They are an even worse idea when they are dry, unflavored, hard and brittle.  Their poor tortillas were so bad that they put two on each taco because they were falling apart.  To add insult to injury, the chef chose not to season the fish at all..none..zero..nada.  Sigh...  The sauce used on the taco was also flavorless and season less.  Oh and the fries…tasty but let’s say it all together…GREASY!  

Peanut Butter Pie
We are so grateful for restaurant redemption though desserts.  This peanut butter pie was delicious.  The rich and creamy peanut filling was dense, rich and delicious.  The chocolate cookie crust was delightful and the macadamia nut ice cream made you wiggle in your seat with delight.  I do believe these two soul sisters engaged in some dueling spoon action as we fought for the last bite.  This desert was yummy.
 

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