vermilion restaurant & bar

vermilion can be found on king street in alexandria which is essentially a murderer's row of reallygoodfood. from hank's oyster bar to the majestic, there isn't a shortage of places to find an enjoyable meal. vermilion (for some reason i just like typing that out) has a lunch special called the ceo where you can get a starter and a main course for a discounted price and if you add a dessert, they take a bit off of that also. um...sold! i've noticed that most of the nrg's restaurants offer similar specials and while they're not fast food joints (i think the proper term may be casual fine dining though i would hope any place i eat is fine dining...), i think i "combo" meal is a great idea for any restaurant since it gives more leeway to try bits of their menu.

my daughter and i had lunch here.. very beautiful and verygoodfood! we travel to dc often and we plan in going back soon!

we ordered pimento dip,cornmeal crusted oysters, nashville hot fried chicken sandwich and penne pasta (lamb bolognese). the pimento dip was reallygoodand was served with pita like soft bread. the oysters were ok but the fennel salad that came with the oysters was very good. i didn't enjoy the entree as much. the penne pasta was just average nothing to write about and the nashville hot fried chicken was a disappointment. i love nashville chicken and was excited to know that they have it on their menu. i was not expecting it to be as spicy as the real deal but this had no spiciness at all. also the chicken didn't seem to be marinated so it was just bland. the breading on the chicken was falling off and it was way too oily. the real nashville chicken is also topped with spiced oil but it doesn't feel oily but this chicken felt like it had been dowsed in raw oil which i didn't enjoy. they should not have named it nashville chicken because it was nothing close to the real nashville style chicken. overall the food wasgoodbut not exceptional.

excellent service,goodfood. the service staff didn't bat an eyelash asking for heavy cream in the coffee, knew the menu to a t, and were attentive without being intrusive.

the sirloin bavette was great--i had asked for "mooing" and received it with just a millimeter of sear, which was wonderful! the shrimp and grits was solid, and the desserts were hard to choose from. if you order the fritters, definitely get coffee with it, as it just works.

the house drinks are a little odd (this month's theme is the red hot chili peppers, so next month may be different) but my californication was fine. preferred the wine.

would definitely recommend, and if you have the chance to come during restaurant week, do.

for special occasions. back at vermilion for dinner, this place is slowly becoming expensive but remains very good. the service is excellent, and the dinner room upstairs looks very elegant.
i recommend the $60 four course tasting menu, as we ordered 3 courses and ended up paying the same amount. the crab salad starter ($15) was delicate and tasty, my main of rabbit sampler – rabbit done 3 ways, $33 – was very original and enjoyable, and the desserts ($10) completed perfectly the meal. we chose from the excellent wine list a 2009 burgundy pinot noir @ $48,goodbut maybe not worth the expense.

agoodmeal. tasty meal - excellent bison and polenta. wine list a bit overpriced.