virtue feed and grain

beyond the “eco-friendly” building and the great food you’re going to eat,virtueis 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 atvirtuein 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. al ordered th

this place is awesome!. came here based on a recommendation from a co-worker...just moved here from va beach.virtueis the best restaurant i've been to here in the dc area yet. beats matchbox, carmine's, le diplomate, and stoney's. the ambience, apps, service, and atmosphere were all amazing. we had the fried calamari and artichokes...and i a makers mark old fashion which the bartender made perfectly. i asked the waiter if he stole my i-pod cuz the music in there is great! they played m83, passion pit, and foster the people. however, the music wasn't annoyingly loud like it is at the fish market. i have already recommended this place to friends...trust me it's one of a kind! great for a date, cocktails, and chill music.

went tovirtuelast night. didn't realize the restaurant had changed hands until we were given the menu, although the scene was suspect with the noise and meat market atmosphere. food was inedible. this is definitely a kitchen that doesn't think highly of it's customers.

decided to tryvirtuefeed 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. we ordered the 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.

perhaps the best thing thatvirtuefeed and grain has going for it is the space itself: a former stable that has been remade as a modern rustic tavern space...the ambiance belies the food. though what ambiance it is. otherwise, it's just straightforward pub food.

we visited the oldvirtuefeed & grain many times and always enjoyed their specialty cocktails, unique menu, and incredible ambiance. when we learned that the ownership changed hands, i was definitely skeptical. but after driving by the beautiful outdoor patio almost every week all summer, we finally decided to give it a try. last week provided the perfect opportunity on one of those rare sub-80 washington nights. we scooted down tovirtuefeed & grain and had a drink at the bar while waiting for an outdoor table to free up. we only needed to wait about 10 minutes before we were able to sit down. my view of the water was incredible and jake logged some excellent people watching. it might not look like it, but behind those plants is a delightful little seating area where we enjoyed our dinner. we shared the braised short ribs rostadas. they were delicious and the perfect size for an appetizer. the flavor had lots of citrus and vinegar, which i always really appreciate in braised meat. n

delicious!. we discoveredvirtuefeed & 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, we ordered the 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, we ordered a 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 as ordered and 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. we ordered drinks that never came. some of them came over 40 minutes after we ordered them... 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 fromvirtuefeed and grain. you can do much much better.

my next experience withvirtuefeed & grain seemed very much like my first experience withvirtuefeed & grain. overall, the meal was very pleasant and more importantly, my out-of-town guests seemed to enjoy it very much and was the kind of restaurant they don't really have down where they live. i don't know if we got a meal worth of a nominee of one of the fifty best new restaurants in america. but, we weren't really looking for that. what we got was a good meal, great adult beverages, and a nice evening of good conversation. oh, and i got to write a blog post using the words, flavor elevator.

this burger was worth every penny i spent on it, and i am glad i took that path. plus, i was with great friends, and now the husband of them is going to start using a straight razor, which is exciting. so that path - the $18 cheeseburger atvirtue- is a good path to take if you can.

atmosphere-service-food. my husband and i live in the area so have visited all the similar themed restaurants in the area.virtuehas a warm cosy yet trendy feeling. however, overall looking at atmosphere, service and food/drinks i thinkvirtuehas some tough times ahead if they can not fix some issues. the atmosphere is okay but very loud. the bar area has very uncomfortable stools that are already coming apart. service on all three visits was very slow and i mean very slow. every part of the process from the server who took the order to the bar tender who prepared the drink to the cook preparing the meal was really really. the food was mediocre at best. the menu is sporting european names, but nothing is even close. the portion sizes are okay, but the description of the meal on the menu fails. on two occasions the server taking the order did not know what dishes were on the menu. arrogance - you'd think given such poor service the staff would be more personable and polite. overall, there are much better places in the area. once being the new kid on the block goes away, i believevirtuewill fade, unlessvirtuewin customers to come back again.

when it comes to dining in alexandria, it's hard to avoid cathal armstrong and his team - not that you'd want to. until recently, the only thing missing from their repertoire was a laid-back space big enough to gather with friends for a fun night out. that's wherevirtuefeed & grain comes in.