Tasting Room By David Hagedorn The moment you cross the threshold for your dinner reservation in the Chef’s Tasting Room at Restaurant Eve, you sense indulgence, graciousness and attention to detail. Every employee you encounter on your short walk to the Tasting Room will greet you and mean it, looking at you instead of through you, as is sadly the custom elsewhere. The 46-seat space consists of two rooms separated by a wall of French doors. The smaller Sunflower Room is often used for (semi)private parties.  The main room features a brick fireplace and a long, marble-topped rectangular wine table in the center of the room, from which the staff deftly attends to your every need.  Tables are spaced very far apart and set with double layers of crisply ironed damask linen, napkins captured by glittering butterfly napkin rings, colorful porcelain show plates and crystal. Whimsically ornate and exaggerated high-backed banquettes upholstered in lush teal and adobe paisley catch the eye. You choose from tasting menus of 5, 7, or 9 courses, with or without wine pairings, then sit back and let the staff quietly pamper you as you go from the first course (Creation) to fish (Ocean), meat, game, or bird (Earth and Sky), composed cheese (Age) and dessert (Eden). It comes at a cost, $500 per couple (tip included) and up, but what would you expect of paradise? The menu, painstakingly chosen from the finest local sources, changes daily, except for OOO, a creamy, dreamy oyster Creation, nestled in a vol-au-vent with onions and osetra caviar. I started with that on my last visit and then proceeded to poached Maine lobster with lobster mushrooms and gremolata, venison loin with Beluga lentils and chèvre coulis, Point Reyes blue cheese with fried pork belly rillettes and coffee-cardamom cheesecake with salted caramel and spiced cookie crumble. The complements along the way, including a cocktail and wine pairings from mixologist/sommelier extraordinaire Todd Thrasher. Bistro By Cynthia Hacinli Restaurant Eve was the first eatery in Cathal Armstrong's mini empire in Old Town, Alexandria, and in many ways it is the most endearing.  For one thing, it is probably one of the more comfortable places you will ever dine. Flickering lanterns lining the brick walkway of this historic building – a former private residence -- set the mood. Inside, both the bistro and tasting room are intimate without being poky, stylish without being hard-edged, and convivial without being brash. In other words, just right for a meal a deux, though it's a fine spot to dine with friends too.  Mixologist-sommelier Todd Thrasher was one of the pioneers of the nouveau craft cocktail movement, so a pale orange mash-up of Ketel One vodka, house-made grapefruit bitters and Sauvignon Blanc known as A Pleasantly Bitter Beginning indeed lives up to its name. Armstrong has his amusing moments too. Crispy tuna rolls, a play on sushi with tiny squares of pickled watermelon filling in for red caviar, are mouthfuls of silken chopped tuna wrapped in crunchy pastry.  In a nod to the South, pork belly rillettes are paired with fried green tomatoes and a squiggle of fusion-y Harissa aioli.  Corn pudding with Irish bacon is the backdrop for perfectly-cooked halibut. Order bouillabaisse, and enjoy a beautiful array of mussels, clams, whole shrimp, and fish nestled in fragrant broth with dabs of aioli. Risotto is another example of Armstrong's attention to detail, suitably soupy, but with just right bite to each grain of rice. The pink-frosted mini birthday cake is hard to resist for dessert, but save room for the plate of cookies the kitchen sends out as a final salvo.    

Tasting Room By David Hagedorn The moment you cross the threshold for your dinner reservation in the Chef’s Tasting Room at Restaurant Eve, you sense indulgence, graciousness and attention to detail. Every employee you encounter on your short walk to the Tasting Room will greet you and mean it, looking at you instead of through you, as is sadly the custom elsewhere. The 46-seat space consists of two rooms separated by a wall of French doors. The smaller Sunflower Room is often used for (semi)private parties.  The main room features a brick fireplace and a long, marble-topped rectangular wine table in the center of the room, from which the staff deftly attends to your every need.  Tables are spaced very far apart and set with double layers of crisply ironed damask linen, napkins captured by glittering butterfly napkin rings, colorful porcelain show plates and crystal. Whimsically ornate and exaggerated high-backed banquettes upholstered in lush teal and adobe paisley catch the eye. You choose from tasting menus of 5, 7, or 9 courses, with or without wine pairings, then sit back and let the staff quietly pamper you as you go from the first course (Creation) to fish (Ocean), meat, game, or bird (Earth and Sky), composed cheese (Age) and dessert (Eden). It comes at a cost, $500 per couple (tip included) and up, but what would you expect of paradise? The menu, painstakingly chosen from the finest local sources, changes daily, except for OOO, a creamy, dreamy oyster Creation, nestled in a vol-au-vent with onions and osetra caviar. I started with that on my last visit and then proceeded to poached Maine lobster with lobster mushrooms and gremolata, venison loin with Beluga lentils and chèvre coulis, Point Reyes blue cheese with fried pork belly rillettes and coffee-cardamom cheesecake with salted caramel and spiced cookie crumble. The complements along the way, including a cocktail and wine pairings from mixologist/sommelier extraordinaire Todd Thrasher. Bistro By Cynthia Hacinli Restaurant Eve was the first eatery in Cathal Armstrong's mini empire in Old Town, Alexandria, and in many ways it is the most endearing.  For one thing, it is probably one of the more comfortable places you will ever dine. Flickering lanterns lining the brick walkway of this historic building – a former private residence -- set the mood. Inside, both the bistro and tasting room are intimate without being poky, stylish without being hard-edged, and convivial without being brash. In other words, just right for a meal a deux, though it's a fine spot to dine with friends too.  Mixologist-sommelier Todd Thrasher was one of the pioneers of the nouveau craft cocktail movement, so a pale orange mash-up of Ketel One vodka, house-made grapefruit bitters and Sauvignon Blanc known as A Pleasantly Bitter Beginning indeed lives up to its name. Armstrong has his amusing moments too. Crispy tuna rolls, a play on sushi with tiny squares of pickled watermelon filling in for red caviar, are mouthfuls of silken chopped tuna wrapped in crunchy pastry.  In a nod to the South, pork belly rillettes are paired with fried green tomatoes and a squiggle of fusion-y Harissa aioli.  Corn pudding with Irish bacon is the backdrop for perfectly-cooked halibut. Order bouillabaisse, and enjoy a beautiful array of mussels, clams, whole shrimp, and fish nestled in fragrant broth with dabs of aioli. Risotto is another example of Armstrong's attention to detail, suitably soupy, but with just right bite to each grain of rice. The pink-frosted mini birthday cake is hard to resist for dessert, but save room for the plate of cookies the kitchen sends out as a final salvo.