A friend and I had lunch today at one of OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA'S most revered restaurants, THE MAJESTIC. Founded in 1949, it still sports its highly recognizable Art Deco facade, terrazzo floor and tin ceiling. Closed for several years, it reopened in 2001 and then again reincarnated in 2007 under the skillful eye of the folks who brought us the wonderful Restaurant Eve and Eamon's.
But back to why I couldn't wait to get out of this wonderful restaurant and out of my jeans...simple, the dessert did me in.
Although I wavered for a few moments between the Beignets - oh, and these aren't just deep-fried dough sprinkled with confectioner's sugar, of course, these are deep-fried dough sprinkled with confectioner's sugar drenched in a bourbon sauce AND chocolate sauce - and the Vanilla Creme Brulee.
The Vanilla Creme Brulee, was so rich, so creamy, so divinely decadent, I could not stop eating...the accompanying dark chocolate wafer just raised the delish bar to the ceiling. And I could not begin to finish the homemade vanilla wafers, although I tried. I did manage to eat all the raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, though.
Of course, before indulging in dessert, we did have a proper lunch. My friend Carol had the Chesapeake Bay Stew, which was loaded with shellfish, blue crab, bluefish, potatoes, fennel and saffron broth with an Old Bay aioli. She said it was as delicious as it looked.
I went for the Chicken Salad Sandwich, with herb roasted chicken salad, grapes and almonds, served on thick, grilled (and buttered) homemade bread, accompanied by homemade potato chips. Frankly, I should have stopped at half a sandwich, but I could not stop. It was too good.
All the breads, chips, pickles and pasta are made in house; the butter isn't, but it's made locally by the Amish. They even filter their own water and serve it in re-usable bottles made from 100% recycled glass.
But it's the service....the attentive-without-being-overly-obsequious service that is cherry on the top of a wonderful dining experience. Our server, Mike, was friendly (but not all "Hi, I'm Heather and I'm SO excited to be your server today friendly!!!) and professional; my friend let it slip it was my birthday (well, technically, on Friday), so Mike sent me home with a small bag of homemade chocolate brownies. You gotta love it.
If you're looking for a good meal in OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA, we have a lot of terrific restaurants from which to choose. Same with houses, so if you'd like to see a few, just let me know. Maybe we'll stop by The Majestic for dessert and coffee. After all, I did pass up the Beignets.
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