Vermilion in Alexandria - August 19, 2012

I have wanted to dine at Vermilion for a while and made sure I had reservations during Restaurant Week. The building is great and so is the enterer. For a medium sized space, it’s being utilized very well.

We arrived a bit early and were escorted to the bar until we were ready to be seated. We sat upstairs and I really liked the space. The service was impeccable. The staff is friendly and professional; they must sample all the dishes because our server knew exactly what we would like and not like. She made excellent recommendations.

Appetizer:

I ordered the crispy pork keftedes with shaved zucchini “carpaccio,” house made yogurt, almonds & torn spearmint. Wonderful is all I can say. A bit more salty than I thought it would be but it was really good. I could have eaten another plate full.

I also sampled the squid ink fettuccini, I’m not a fan of squid ink but if you like squid ink then you will really like this dish. It wasn’t overall powerful just a subtle flavor.

Entrée:

My entrée was the faroe island atlantic salmon with grilled butter crunch lettuce, local filet beans & everything “niçoise”. I ordered the salmon medium instead of medium rare. Which may not be the chef’s choice but I loved it. The enter entrée was wonderful. Loved it.

I tried my friends fresh goat cheese tortelloni roasted baby beets & their greens, poppy seeds & toasted walnut froth.

I’m not a goat cheese person or even a cheese person but I believe you should always try things from different restaurants. The chef’s put their own spin on the food and you never know what you will enjoy. This was better than I had anticipated. This dish it was really rich and flavorful, I have to admit, I did like it.

Dessert:

I ordered the warm ricotta fritters with whipped vanilla pudding, pecans & raspberry sorbet. I’m a huge fan of fritters and anything raspberry, so I was thrilled with my dessert, very good.

I also sampled the chocolate cheesecake - candied hazelnuts & sour cherries 2 ways.

I have never liked cheesecake and usually I can’t even handle the smell but this was wonderful. I couldn’t stop eating it, thankfully my friend need assistance with her dessert!

Overall, if you haven’t been to Vermilion, I think you will really enjoy the food and the service.