Food.Fun.Stuff: Shining Star...

It's amazing how you can go from the chaos that is Chinatown D.C. into the most serene setting by just crossing one bridge. That's the thoughts that crossed our minds as we entered the Commonwealth of Virginia to taste the creations of Evening Star Cafe's Executive Chef, Will Artley. Now typically we would just float around the District to find all the local ingredients we need in our daily dish, but when we recieved the buzz about a new "farm table" launching at Evening Star's sister winery, Planet Wine, we hopped in the car and took a trip south on Route 1. Planet Wine's new farm table is a private dining space for about 12-14 guests and caters to the diner who is looking for simple, but specially crafted menus with local and seasonal ingredients (*We say: This is an awesome way to spend a night celebrating such as a birthday, promotion or just because you have 12 friends who like to eat good food...:-).

Now this guy knows his stuff. After spending a small stint under the direction of Jean George of New York amongst many other acclaimed restaurant establishments, Will has mastered a major key to serving up the good stuff to patrons: Seasoning. Everything was seasoned to perfection and we probably put on about 10 extra pounds as we tried to down every dish that came our way (*Vida will definitely see us this weekend...) The dinner was intimate with a table set up in the middle of the wine shop (*Wine all around us decorating the walls...Now that's what we call living;-), candles provided the right touch to the dim lighting and of course you can't go wrong with a little Aretha playing softly in the background.

The food was delicious with everything ranging from Pancetta Deviled Eggs (*We are trying this one at home...soon.), fried soft shell crabs (*which were served with the most sapid lemon-basil vinaigrette...we're not gonna be able to shake that one for awhile...) and Ricotta Gnocchi (*Definitely the best we've had on this side of the Potomac). Sound good?? Well, we do have to put out the disclaimer that this may not be what you will get when you visit because the Chef Artley has made it clear all menu items are based on what's in season at that moment so the food for the farm table is subject to change. This, however, is a great thing because we are more than sure the customers who enter those doors in the next week or so will be more than pleased with whatever dishes Chef Artley produces with the fresh halibut they just recieved overnight from Alaska...Speaking of that, we need to make another trip down Route 1...

Locate: 2004 Mt. Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22301
Touch Base: (703) 549-3444 and get more info on price details here.

Picture source: http://www.planetwineshop.com/farmtable.html