virtue feed and grain

beyond the “eco-friendly” building and the great food you’re going to eat, virtue is going to make you feel pretty cool. the building is located in an old feed house on south union street, and stresses using recycled materials. as their website points out, their stools, tabletops, bar, and floors all have carefully selected wood showing their unique past. there is a chance you might miss this restaurant, since it’s not located on king street, but there is no doubt you should seek it out. al and i made reservations at virtue in the early fall, after being more than intrigued by the exterior of the building. after stopping by the union street pub for a cocktail beforehand, we walked across the street and were seated downstairs. there are several amazing appetizers, though we were immediately drawn to the grilled asparagus and truffles to have with our drinks. alorderedth

decided to try virtue feed and grain for dinner. the crab dip appetizer was very good. they serve it with tortilla chips, which, if it was paired with a cracker or crostini would make it even more enjoyable. weorderedthe roasted pork shank and fish tacos. the pork shank was very tasty and is extremely hearty. perfect for a cold winter night. the fish tacos were ok but nothing to jump up and down about. over all i would definitely come back to feed & grain again and i would recommend it to anyone looking for something new.

iorderedthe lobster roll that was a different interpretation that what is typically found in new england. here, chunks of brown butter lobster was mixed with stone ground mustard, celery, shaved onions,cara cara orange dressing, and placed on top of shredded bibb lettuce on a roll. i liked the tang from the dressing and the crunch from the celery and onions. my sandwich was served with fries, and though it was filling, i would have liked a bit more lobster meat.

delicious!. we discovered virtue feed & grain during a walking food tour we took around old town alexandria and finally had a chance to go back for a full meal. we did not leave disappointed! we made reservations and were easily accommodated. our party of 4 arrived and were promptly seated at a table over looking the patio. a server came up and took our drink order, but informed us that another server would be taking care of us (though he continued to check on us through our meal to make sure we were well taken care of).

for starters, weorderedthe nachos and poutine. both were extraordinary. the poutine was loaded with gooey, melty cheese curds and the gravy the put on it was the best i've ever tasted. the fries were crisp and fresh. the nachos were topped with wonderful, fresh ingredients and we ate every bit of both appetizers.

for entrees, weordereda rack of ribs and 2 greek burgers. the ribs were very tender and the combination of dry rub and savory sauce was spot on. the greek burgers were cooked exactly asorderedand the tzatziki sauce was perfect. the bun was very brioche-like and the fries were the same delicious fries we got with the poutine.

service was really good. not only was our server prompt and helpful, but we had other servers and a manager check on us periodically. we enjoyed our experience and can't wait to go back!

deceptive manager and rude staff. came here for my 25th birthday on a saturday night in a group of about 7. we were told by the host to go on upstrairs and find a place to sit. it was about 11pm so we were hoping to order some drinks and food to share and just hang out. the atmosphere was great until a server came over and gave us such an attitude, telling us that we couldn't sit at the table because it was only for people who wanted to order food. we explained that we were planning on ordering food and he was still rude. finally we just moved because no one was serving us. after waiting another 15 minutes for someone to take notice of us, we were told we could order at the bar by another rude server who acted like we were an inconvenience to her night of hanging around. we finally decided enough was enough and we should just leave and find some where else to eat. we ended up talking to the manager (mumtaz rauf) on the way out, explaining how disappointed we were in the very bad service. he immediately apologized, told us to wait there and he'd find us a table, bring us out some food and comp a round of drinks for the group. we decided to stay since he was going to give us some free drinks and food. the service was still terrible. weordereddrinks that never came. some of them came over 40 minutes after weorderedthem... i should mention the place was not that busy, yet the waiters seemed to just be hanging around. finally we got our bill to discover nothing had been comped and that we had even been charged for more drinks than we had ordered. we called over the same manager that had persuaded us to stay based on the promise of free drinks, to have him tell us that he "never said that". we could not believe that a manager could make an offer to get us to stay just to lie to our faces and refuse to back it up. even when we all pointed out that we had heard him say it and that's the only reason we stayed... he refused. safe to say we will never ever be going back there. i have never received such terrible service in my life. stay away from virtue feed and grain. you can do much much better.

swing and a miss. i live in the area and have been here many times, mostly because i have to entertain clients, and it seems this is where they want to go. the last time i went there was a tuesday night, and my mom was in town and i took here (because my sister wanted to go). we were informed (after ordering) that all 4 things weorderedwere out. then they forgot one of the parties meals, the manager had no idea what he was doing and was very disrespectful. the food was ok but not worth the price they charge, and i have no problem waiting for good food, but to wait for alright food and then have one person's food not even show up....come on. i have worked in the hospitality industry for over 13 years and this is a prime example of a place getting to big for their britches. upper management needs to come into this place and retrain their staff. if they don't it will go back to a warehouse housing restaurant equipment.

to think i almost had my rehearsal dinner here....close one there. this restaurant has lost a lot of business from me, and i will continue to make sure anyone who asks me is informed about what this place is, a whole lot of cool decor and not much else.