After another long day out in D.C. with Peter and Bow Wow, we arrived promptly (though pooped) at Vidalia in Dupont Circle area, AND we found free street parking YAYYY
Vidalia's "24" course tasting menu was my 2nd Birthday Trifecta surprise and I knew I'd be in for LOADS of food as I barely survived all the food at our recent dining experiences at Volt's Table 21, Restaurant Eve and Poste. Peter was regulating what we ate before Vidalia, making sure I didn't try to sneak in any food when he wasn't looking hehe =)
I have to say though that I was a bit unsure about dining at Vidalia for the 24 course tasting as I have been 3 times in the past 5 years and would have to say each experience was terrible in both the food and service, but Peter had done all the research for selecting the 3 places for my Birthday Trifecta and I figured we'd give it another shot at feeding us--this time with 24 bites.
Upon Arrival @ Vidalia
Me--Fur Bolero, Hanii Y Bow Top, Chasely Denim Leggings in Black, Prada Studded Suede Platform Heels, Prada Sequins Clutch
Inside Vidalia's Waiting Area
The meal began promptly at 7:30pm, and the Chef introduced himself. RJ Cooper is one of the best chefs in the area -- having claimed a James Beard award in 2007. His personality is a fun one to have around the dinner table because he fills the guests with not just food, but sumptuous stories about his life.
sterling caviar / egg / creme fraiche--we all popped this whole in our mouth and found it quite yummy...we got a nice dollop of the caviar too!
madai / cucumber / wasabi--we both didn't think too much of this dish at all...sad cos we're usually such fans of the sashimi plates...the gelee was once again too mushy and watery in texture
truffle 3 mediums--peter was very happy with this fried truffle ball, i loved it too but didn't love the truffle gelee at the bottom...
distillation / caribbean flavors--this was a blast of flavor...LOVED LOVED the tropical passion fruit flavors in this ice cream which melted into a yummy smoothie like drink...
langostine / heart of palm / lime--i was looking forward to this but didn't like the crunchy heart of palm and felt like i could hardly distinguish the ingredients inside the roll, the lobster bisque was a bit underwhelming too, not nearly rich enough
black cherry fizz sweetened with homemade grenadine - "24" is priced at $150 with a wine pairing. this is a pretty fantastic deal, but since we're not drinkers, we were given three non-alcoholic drinks that went with our meal. although this will probably only interest 1% of the population of foodies, the drinks were delicious, and it does knock your total bill down to $120!
octopus / green garbanzo / mint--very nicely done octopus, not chewy at all, perfect texture, nicely charred/grilled
liquid chicken / favas / morels--initially i was confused, since i popped the fried chicken ball into my mouth and all i tasted was liquid...sad, i thought i missed out on the chicken and my fried ball was empty...now seeing the menu, i realize it was meant to be liquid chicken...wished it was just fried chicken meat in there though haha...
ricotta / honey comb / black pepper--this was a surprisingly yummy ricotta cheese with honey and the nicely toasted bread piece went very well with everything else
tuna / crab / seaweed--while i like creative rolls, ultimately i'm a traditionalist at heart when it comes to sashimi and having this crab (which i didn't love) in my big eye tuna just didn't cut it for me...and then little green gelatin was a bit too mushy and watery in texture
pea agnolotti / guanciale / pea tendrils--i think i'm starting to appreciate peas more...nice fresh peas really are so much more delicious than the canned or mushy peas you get at poopy places...the pea tendrils were flavorful too!
piglet belly / peanut / rye--I LOVED this piglet belly and i think we were told this piglet is special in that it's taken from his/her mommy at a young age and fed just milk until ready to be "meat"...and this was very yummy piglet belly meat
shad / roe/ bacon / apple--i just remember the apple bits being yummy but nothing else notable about this dish
white asparagus / hot mayo / orange--we were very sad to see this dish as we both do not like asparagus and also the saucing and even the oranges couldn't make us love it
taz trout / roe / creme fraiche--we initially thought this was salmon, then arctic char, only to find it was tazmanian trout with roe--unlike salmon roe, these roes were much harder to pop in your mouth hehe...Peter actually liked this roe and started eyeing mine!
hamachi / avocado / uni--sadly i've never been a fan of uni, tried countless times at Chaya in Pittsburgh to love it but i think its too strong of a taste for me...on the other hand, i LOVE hamachi but didn't feel like i could really TASTE the true flavors of the fish or even the avocado
blackberry / cracklings--this was a light munchy snack plate, the pork cracklings were a little spiced and yummy but the blackberry pieces were eh...
sonoma foie gras / cherry / whiskey cake--OMG i had started giving up hope on foie gras cos lately i hadn't LOVED any of the hudson valley foie gras or just found them a bit too strong/bitter...but this one was AMAZING, the oats in there made it sweet and the cherry and the sweet whiskey cake bites were a delicious touch to this super yummy plate!
wagyu beef / fava / mushrooms--Vidalia's take on "shabu shabu" with this wagyu beef could have been SOOOOO amazing had they not overwhelmed it SOOO much with the beef consomme broth, the wagyu beef was rated 7 (which we were told is the highest rating wagyu you can get in the U.S.) and it tasted that way too...but the beef consomme was SOOOO strong and salty it totally made everything else in the cup of goodies lose its flavor :(
elixir / mire poix--this was like a spaceship of carrot/celery juice with a frothy top...quite refreshing!
spring lamb / wild onions--no lamb or gamey meats for me (almost made our first Komi dining experience horrendous with the entree of Goat LOL) but this was quite cool, a himalayan rock salt crystal at 700 degrees we were told (do not touch!!) with lamb medallions and some spring onions...peter happily ate his and then mine!
beets / cashews / blue cheese--i think Peter and i actually liked the blue cheese here which is usually not the case, and the beets were quite yummy too...overall i'd say it was a creative success of a cheese plate :)
mango / rum / coke--this was yet another dish i thought had too much going on...it was almost like some random mix of stuff they found on the dessert table from the kitchen. Peter thought it was delightfully refreshing though.
chocolate in textures--seems like i'm the only girl i know who is NOT a fan of chocolate, especially dark chocolate or mousse...DO NOT LIKE CHOCOLATE unless its milky and very sweet...with that said though, everyone else seemed to like this chocolate plate, even Peter who is not the biggest chocolate fan himself...i don't recall the % but i think the chocolate smeared part is like 68% chocolate which i guess means super bitter too (wince hehe)
finishes touches - sour apple drop / currant berry rollup / bubblicious marshmallow--this was a welcome change to the regular "petit fours" we usually get at the end of other tastings, very creative, light and yummy!
All 8 of Us Feeling Stuffed After the Sumptuous "24" @ Vidalia. Unlike other tastings that we've been too, RJ has made this a very social affair -- and the setting forces interaction with the other guests. Even if you're not too talkative, the chef has lots of fun stories of his own.
Chef RJ autographing our menus for us--i liked the paper on these menus and although the rolled up versions from previous tastings look elegant, it's much harder to lay flat to read later hehe
Us with Chef RJ Cooper--we are soooo full and exhausted and he was still a ball of energy!
Prada Sequins Gradient Clutch
Prada Studded Black Suede Peeptoe Platform Heels
Hermes Collier de Chien Bracelet in FUSCHIA ALLIGATOR and palladium hardware
Thanks Peter for everything!!! (*smiles*)
Peter and I had a lot of fun listening to the chef talk about how he got started cooking. RJ Cooper, without the food, would be fun to listen to for four hours. When you add the yummy food, he's got a hit on his hands. With only 8 seats twice a week (Friday and Saturday), we'd recommend you check it out and hope you'll enjoy the chow and chatter as much as we did.
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