Restaurant Eve, Vermilion Slip Off Washington Post Critic's Annual 'Best' List

Some foodies may have choked on their amuse-bouches earlier this month when The Washington Post Fall Dining Guide came out with its top restaurants list (37 eateries made it). Nary an Alexandria restaurant was found.

Two that didn’t crack the list that apparently took some by surprise: Restaurant Eve, which in May received 3½ stars (restaurants with just 2½ stars were on the list) and Vermilion, with 2½ stars, and which recently spruced up its interior. (One 4-star restaurant from last year, CityZen, didn’t make the list at all this year.)

Critic Tom Sietsema addressed the Alexandria restaurants’ omissions in yesterday’s Post Sunday Magazine. About Restaurant Eve, Sietsema aired his complaints about his dinner in detail and also...the cocktails served, the size of the table for two, the background music and even the lackluster attitude of the servers. (And the bill for two as well, which he noted was nearly $300.) What did he like? The dessert: Figs and mascarpone.

At Vermilion, Sietsema gave a nod to the restaurant’s new look as well as appetizers but wasn’t so thrilled with the entrees, and service that was slow to get wine and bread delivered to his table. Again, his highlight of the meal was dessert: A miniature blueberry tart with lemon ice cream.

The two restaurants have earned culinary kudos through the years and likely will continue to do so; they’ve also been favorites of President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. The first couple celebrated Valentine’s Day at Vermilion, 1120 King St., in 2012 and an anniversary at Restaurant Eve, 110 S. Pitt St., in 2011.

Take heart. While most of the top restaurants are in DC, only one restaurant from Maryland made the list. Virginia did better than that, with four from Northern Virginia and one — enduring winner — from tiny Washington, Va.:

• Green Pig Bistro (Clarendon)
• The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm (Loudoun County)
• Thai Square (Arlington)
• Water & Wall (Arlington)
• The Inn at Little Washington (Washington, Va.)