DC Füd Invasion: Vidalia

Last night, which appears to have been the last night of this mini-summer here in DC, I joined NM, Kanishka, and Richard for Restaurant Week dinner at Vidalia.

Vidalia is really all about the food; the entry is so unremarkable as to be entirely too easy to overlook, with no menu or even indication of restaurant-ness in the window. Entry is down a flight of stairs into a lovely, pale onion-colored (that *must* be intentional!) basement dining room. Not too dark, but a bit chilly for my taste. We were escorted to our table, in the far back room, with a window to the wine cellar/room. I sat closest to said window, always wanting to be as near to the wine as possible.

Drink orders were immediate. Two Gibsons, mine with Sapphire and Kanishka's with Stoli (a Martini, except with onions instead of olives or a twist. Richard had his from the bar), and a tasting portion of wine. Our server arrived shortly with two Martini glasses and two small shakers, which he shook and poured. He even knew to be more vigorous on the Sapphire than on the Stoli - gin is best well broken. Richard said he'd had better onions, but they were soaked in booze, so I at least didn't mind. We drank and chatted and munched on mostly unremarkable cornbread made divine by addition of luscious apple butter.

Many of the items on the menu had added costs ($4 for appetizers and $6 for entrees, mostly), and after some deliberation, including much discussion of Restaurant Week pricing here and at other places around town, we ordered.

I decided to go for it, and got the cost-extra Grillade with Grits to start. The plate is gorgeous, a rectangle of veal cheek over a clover-shaped mass of yellow grits, covered in a deep crimson sauce and garnished with alfalfa greens. The sauce, a compote mainly of dried tomatoes and onions, is exquisite, with what I think was a hint of chipotle. The grits were perfect, not overly sticky and with just enough, well, grit. The veal cheek was so tender it was almost jelly, but I felt like its flavor was too delicate to withstand the sauce. I would have preferred a gamier cut, but the sauce was so good I don't actually care. I abashedly admit I have no idea what my compatriots had for appetizers - mine was so engrossing. One thing noticed and discussed by all was the extreme curviness and heft of Vidalia's forks. NM and I agreed to be unsure how we felt about these, but in the end, since flatware is generally so boring, I like seeing some variety, and these were unique.

By this point in the meal, I was ready for a wine. The wine list is extensive, and expensive, full of names I don't know, which really surprises, excites and impresses me: it's rare I don't know anything about any of the wines on a list, except by varietals and year. So I picked one that looked interesting, and asked our server.

"Light and pineappley," he said.
"Not with what I'm eating," I replied, and away he went, promising to return full of ideas.

Return he did and I sampled a wine which was suggested by the restaurant's sommelier. It was lovely, so I had a glass. Our meals arrived soon thereafter.

NM had Atlantic Salmon, which she said was "OK," but reminds herself that after visiting Iceland, she ought not to order salmon ever again. Richard ordered the Southern Style Cassoulet, which looked lovely, and he said was great, a nice mix of meats and beans, well sauced. Kanishka had Fluke, a light, flakey fish that he said was again "just OK," and the anduille was not as spicy as he'd have liked, but the dish was really made by its sauce. My chicken and dumplings was really good, rich (but not heavy), and savory cream sauce. Most remarkable though was the wine pairing - while relatively light, it had enough acidity to it to break up the richness of the food, and the flavors, some fruit and mild herb, set off the food beautifully.

Then came dessert. Two of Vidalia's famous Lemon Chess Cakes, and one Pecan thingey, and an assortment of sorbets. The Pecan thing was very yummy, not too rich or molassessey. The Lemon was very good too, although not my thing, so I shan't say more. The sorbets were ... mixed. The red (presumably raspberry) one was nice, tart and smooth; the yellow (not sure what the flavor was) was earthier, sweeter, and lovely; the pale yellow (I think lemon or lime) was basically nothing.

The service was very good: timely and well-timed, gracious, helpful. The trick of restaurant week is that while your meal may be much less expensive than you normally expect at a given restaurant, drinks are not. $11 is, frighteningly, not too steep for a Sapphire in DC, but I have now fulfilled by annual quota of one glass of wine over $10, and it was well worth it!

On the whole, from what I had and heard from others at the DC Füd table, Vidalia is a sauce place and more traditionally Southern dishes do better than other types. That's fine by me, since I am (technically) a Southerner, and do love Southern food. I look forward to going back to Vidalia, especially to try the ribs, shrimp and grits, and catfish.

For those interested (and my own faulty memory), the wine I drank was this one: Argiolas Costamilno, 2003 (Italy).

Vidalia
1990 M Street, NW
Washington DC, 20036

(Editor's Note: You can read Kanishka's review of the meal on his blog, Mainly About Food. -AG)