VIRTUE FEED & GRAIN
ADDRESS: 106 S Union Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
WEBSITE: https://virtuefeedgrain.com/
My friend Mario and I decided to meet up ahead of when the rest of our friends were going to be arriving into town for our high school group reunion. He lives in the Old Town Alexandria area, so he’s pretty familiar with the restaurants down there and suggested that we hit up Virtue Feed & Grain for lunch. Mario mentioned that it was one of his go-to spots in Old Town, and as the resident DC area socialite, I trusted his recommendation.
Their full menu offered a hefty range of different options, from sandwiches to salads, tacos to meat and seafood plates. There were also a variety of different options for starter plates as well; it definitely made it very difficult to choose, since I think at least five different things on the menu caught my eye.
Mario recommended the Scotch Eggs for a starter, so we put that onto the list. The Semolina Fried Calamari caught my attention, and Mario was open to splitting that as well. For my main dish, I decided to balance it out from the two appetizers by going with the VFG Steak Salad (although the Tuna Poke Salad was a close 2nd, but I was thinking I probably needed more greens).
The restaurant itself is pretty big, with a first floor dining area that is a mix between tables, booths, high-tops, and bar seating. On nicer days, there is also the outdoor seating available as well. There is also a second floor to the restaurant, which has some more private room spaces for larger crowds, a bar area, along with more tables that have a bit more of a lounge feel to it.
Our calamari and Scotch egg appetizers arrived out of the kitchen, and they definitely looked like they were going to be good. Then it was time to see if the taste was going to back it up. I started with the calamari first, which also had a mixture of artichoke hearts, cherry peppers, and olives, in addition to the squid. Using the Semolina flour for the breading definitely provided more texture, kind of reminiscent of cornmeal. I thought that the crispiness of the calamari and other vegetables was done really well, and the charred lemon aioli complemented each piece, especially with the squeeze of the fresh lemon juice on top of the entire plate.
I had always heard of Scotch eggs, but this was my first time actually eating one. For these, the hard-boiled eggs were wrapped with chicken chorizo sausage, served with a chipotle-lime sauce for dipping. It was definitely really solid as well, with the smoky flavor from the chorizo complementing the egg flavor. The chipotle-lime sauce was a nice addition to help give each bite a bit more moisture.
That steak salad though, when it was first dropped off at the table, that was definitely quite the sight. Mixed greens tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette, topped with dried cranberries, candied hazelnuts, and grilled beef tenderloin. It typically came with smoked blue cheese, but I substituted it out for feta cheese instead. A balsamic glaze drizzle over the plate completed what still looked to be a pretty hefty plate of food as well. The steak was grilled to the medium-rare that I requested, and the mix of savory, sweet, tangy, acidic, and umami flavors really helped to make the salad shine as a whole. I did get my greens in, but the steak hit the spot at the same time as well.
Virtue was definitely a solid spot, and I now know why Mario said that it is one of his go-to spots in the Old Town area. Funny enough, we actually came back as a whole group the immediate next morning for brunch, and we’re pretty sure the hostesses recognized us from our prior visit. The atmosphere felt relaxed and casual, but yet had a bit of an industrial chic vibe from the décor. That, coupled with a really solid array of choices and quality of the food, definitely makes this restaurant one you should consider stopping by if you are looking for a meal in Old Town Alexandria.
Let’s now take a look at the Virtue Feed & Grain Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
** Scotch Eggs **
Hard-boiled cage free eggs, wrapped with chicken chorizo sausage, and fried. Served with chipotle-lime sauce.
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** Semolina Fried Calamari **
Squid, artichoke hearts, cherry peppers, and olives tossed with Semolina flour and fried. Served with charred lemon aioli.
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** VFG Steak Salad **
Mixed greens tossed with balsamic vinaigrette, dried cranberries, and candied hazelnuts. Topped with grilled beef tenderloin and balsamic glaze drizzle. Pictured with feta cheese.
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** Chesapeake Benedict **
Old Bay seasoned blue crab cake with poached eggs, avocado spread, and hollandaise sauce. Served with home fries.
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And finally, here are my rankings for Virtue Feed & Grain:
Food: 5 / 5
Delicious flavors and a great variety of options really helped to seal the deal. If I had the stomach capacity, I probably would have ordered at least four other plates from the menu for other things I wanted to try.
Atmosphere: 4.75 / 5
With the wood, brick, and open ceilings that showed the electrical conduits and HVAC, the place definitely had that industrial chic vibe to it. But I also liked how relaxed and casual it felt at the same time as well.
Service: 4.25 / 5
Our waiter, Antonio, did a good job with coming around to our table multiple times during our meal to see how we were doing. The food itself also made it out of the kitchen in a pretty quick timeframe as well.
Price: 4.75 / 5
Given the prime location of the restaurant near the waterfront as well as the quality of the food itself, I thought that the price points of things were definitely worth it.
Overall:
18.75 / 20
(94%)
Categories: Restaurants, Virginia
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