The Garden Apartment

Locally Inspired Food at Vermilion

While sampling a seasonal drink during Vermilion's happy hour last week, our bartender Laura explained the restaurants' strong commitment to supporting local farms. I knew I had to return for dinner this weekend. Our dinner was amazing: the freshest possible ingredients were combined in unusual and surprising ways, all served up by a waiter whose in-depth knowledge of every ingredient wholly impressed us.

Vermilion is located at 1120 King Street in Old Town Alexandria. 

Upon arriving at Vermilion, my husband and I couldn't resist catching the end of their very well priced happy hour (drink specials $2.75- $4.50). After enjoying two tasty King St. Lemonades, we moved to our table in the restaurant: a stylishly curved red velvet booth. Our waiter Jamie greeted us and shared that the menu had recently been changed by Chef Anthony Chittum. 

When asked specific questions about the menu, Jamie impressively explained to us exactly how local each menu item was. We were told that the pork and lamb both came from Virginia, and that the scallops had actually been harvested from the Chesapeake Bay less than twelve hours prior to the evening's dinner rush. In addition, Vermilion has a relationship with two farm co-ops in the local area whose seasonal fruits and vegetables are often featured on the menu. Of course, not everything is locally sourced. Even so, we were again given very specific explanations of where items like ocean trout and halibut came from, how they had arrived at the restaurant, and why they had been selected for the menu. The halibut, for example, had been selected for its quality and because it is a sustainable fish. Clearly, Vermilion's philosophy is to seek out the best possible quality and freshness in ingredients. This quality would be reflected in each menu item we selected.

Because we had been so well informed of the menu, we had a very difficult time deciding what to eat. Everything sounded good. We settled on the evening's tasting menu ($50, four courses; or $70 with wine pairing) and one entree: the blackened pork loin.

The tasting menu began with crispy soft shell crabs. They were served with thinly sliced root vegetables and a green goddess dressing. This surprising and unusual combination was actually very complimentary. (For those of you who are regular readers, John was surprised to discover that he actually liked the beets served on this plate. This is a true compliment to Vermilion.) 

The second taste on the menu was the ocean trout. This was served over a pearl barley "rissi bissi," Virginia ham, and a pea tendril pesto. Again, the flavor combination was fantastic. We both noted that throughout this course every bite tasted a little different depending on each ingredient's proportions on our forks. Towards the end we got a lot of the pesto, which was delicious.

The lamb kabobs arrived next. The tender lamb was a stand-alone dish. Of course, when combined with the tzatziki sauce--which popped with flavor-- it was even better.

Our dinner entree of blackened pork loin was the favorite of the evening. The pork tenderloin was crispy and flavorful on the outside, yet impressively tender and juicy on the inside. This was all served with another creative twist: fennel coleslaw. A South Carolina style pulled BBQ completed the meal.

Finally, the last item on the tasting menu was the angel food cake with strawberries three ways. The strawberry sorbet was so tasty that it inspired me to create my own sorbet at home.

We look forward to returning to Vermilion again soon. There were many enticing items on the menu which we did not try, including the chilled English pea soup and the scallops & pork belly appetizer (which was highly recommended). Though this restaurant is certainly on the more expensive side, we both felt completely satisfied with the quality, taste, and creativity of each dish. We anticipate the changes which will come with the summer, fall, and winter menus. In the meantime, my experience dining at Vermilion has inspired me to take a few more creative risks in my own kitchen. 

Drinking Virginia Wine at the Mount Vernon Wine Festival

The twice yearly Mount Vernon Wine Festival is quite possibly my favorite event in the DC area.  The $30 price tag includes tastings from sixteen award winning Virginia wineries and a tour of the mansion featuring the rarely viewed wine cellar.  For me the price tag is only truly worth it once I am relaxing on George Washington's lawn overlooking a stunning view of the Potomac River with a bottle of wine in hand. 

The view from my blanket

Did George Washington ever imagine this?

I headed down to Mount Vernon on Sunday for my third festival.  I usually attend this as a "girl's only" outing, but two of us girls dared to bring our husbands along this time.  Though they scoffed at our yuppie remarks at first, it only took a few pours to bring out the discerning palates of two macho winos who could detect bouquets of blackberry and leather with a swirl of their glass.

Now, I have to warn you that biases may have been created by increased blood alcohol levels. Miraculously, everything tasted fantastic towards the end of the night. Despite--or maybe as a result of-- our shared intoxication, we did all conclusively agree that Virginia whites are generally better than the reds.  Here are a few favorites:

Keswick Vineyards We felt that their Viognier was the best we tasted all night.  Viognier is a wine that many Virginia vineyards are trying to become known for.  We also really enjoyed Keswick's Verdejo wine.  As advertised, it would truly make a "nice warm weather wine." You can visit Keswick Vineyards in their tasting room near Charlottesville, Virginia or at many other festivals this summer.

Horton Cellars We were drawn to their booth by a banner advertising their "Sparkling Viognier." The viognier was delicious enough to be the mandatory purchased bottle for consuming on the estate's East Lawn (see image of empty bottle at beginning of this post).  Besides this special wine, Horton Cellars had some of the better red wines we tasted. Their Malbec was excellent.  You can visit Horton Cellars at their tasting room in Orange County (north of Charlottesville) or at many festivals throughout the year.

Corcoran Vineyards This vineyard is very conveniently located just north of Leesburg.  For those of us in northern Virginia, this would be an easy weekend day trip.  I plan to go sometime soon and will report back. 

Chateau Morrisette I wouldn't be a very loyal wife of a Hokie if I failed to mention this winery from southwest Virginia.  We've been anticipating a visit to their vineyard combined with a football game weekend for over a year now.  Their semi-dry red blend "The Black Dog" is a solid wine with an affordable $10 price tag.  I may be biased toward this wine since I own a black dog and because this wine was served at my wedding last summer.  Unfortunately for my readers, I cannot speak to their other offerings since I remember very little of my tasting there last night with the exception of my group asking for more generous pours from a very annoyed Chateau Morrisette volunteer. 

This is what happens when you drink and use a point and shoot camera. . . would you believe it if I told you the blurs were an intentional artistic choice?

We ended the night by enjoying the reflection of a full moon over the Potomac River. Now, if only I can find the perfect artisinal cheeses from the farmer's market to pair with those Virginia wines.