We ventured out last night to check out the new Kora Restaurant.  We had been big fans of Farrah Olivia in Old Town, Alexandria and were excited to see a less expensive venue Morou created with brother/partner Chef Amadou Quarttara.  If you go to Kora expecting a similar experience to Farrah Olivia, you will be disappointed.  Not only is the chef different, the service won’t be the same. With all the hype, people were lead to believe Chef Morou would be at the culinary helm here, but that is obviously not the case.

Pizza oven at Kora

This is a great place for quick bites out with their low cost pizzas or for special occasion date nights with the Foodie Feast 12 course tasting menu.  This tasting menu comes in a series of 3 with 4 dishes in each series.  At first glance I didn’t think it was enough food but like Farrah Olivia, it is most filling.  For the most part, the plates were excellent but it was certainly hit or miss.  Going with 4 tappas sized options per plate, you are sure to like at least 2 of the four.    After the first two series came and went we were suprised at the length of wait for our 3rd series giving us the impression we were forgotten.

The wait staff could use some polish and we found it a bit peculiar that the individuals who brought out our food from the kitchen explained each item versus our server.  With Chef Morou’s Farrah Olivia the staff made sure to be attentive to your every need without you having to ask.  The staff at Kora are not at that level but then again, neither are the prices.  

Kora will see me with some frequency, but I’ll probably sit at the bar and order pizza.

I had visited Alexandria’s Grape + Bean during their opening week and thought hmmmm, this may be OK.  Small place off the main Old Town path where you could get a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.  It looked promising at the time.  That was some time ago and I’ve ventured in a few times here and there to grab a bottle of wine.  Yesterday I visited and wanted to give the “bean” portion of their name a try.  Unfortunately I was was disappointed by the lack of properly trained staff and the coffee itself.  I paid just under $5.00 for a 14oz cup of coffee that lacked any substance or unique flavor.  Throw an “organic” or “fair trade” label on something and double the price regardless of taste appears to be the motto here.  I make better single cup coffee at the PNC bank across the street using their Keurig machine.  For more than half the price, Starbucks provides a better more consistent cup of joe.  For an establishment that puts coffee at the top of their sales pitch, I would have hoped for better results. 

Tell me about your experiences at coffee shops around the world.

This past weekend I had the pleasure to review the Old Town Alexandria Wine and Food Festival. Like many I went for the wine more than the food. The event was headquartered at both the Holiday Inn and Crown Plaza hotels on the north end of Old Town. Both were equally jammed packed with people without stretched arms with wine glasses at the ready. These wine fests always appear to be over crowded and that is partly the reason I love to go. The crowd makes the scene and this inaugural event was no let down. After visiting each vineyards wine station several of us tasters headed down to King Street where we visited a few art galleries to again enjoy the taste of Virginia wines and see some fine art. We ended up at an Irish Pub where we consumed an assortment of burgers, chips, and lamb dishes.

Looking for something different, fresh, exciting, and kind of not well known? Check out Bastille, located at the north end of Royal Street in Old Town Alexandria, VA. Reservations are recommended unless you get there early and don’t mind waiting 7 minutes to order. The only thing I have negative to say about Bastille is about the host, who stated he could sit us at a table but could not provide menus for 7 minutes because the kitchen was currently really busy and they wouldn’t be able to place an order at this point. I understand production schedules and appreciate the effort it takes to keep things moving to accommodate the varying number of dinners, however, 7 minutes? I asked if he was sure it was 7 minutes and not 6 and a half or could it actually go for a whole 8 minutes. I am not sure he enjoyed my humor. It would have taken me longer to figure out which wine to start with, or the wait staff could have just taken a little extra time getting to the table. A host like this will most definitely prevent Bastille from earning any extra stars by any critics. Again, the only negative thing to say, so go there, and enjoy a great meal. We chose to eat at the bar, as I was under dressed in jeans and a polo while Rachel was appropriately dressed, as she described, to the Nines! Perhaps this was the reason for the 7 minute delay, me and my jeans, but I digress… I’m gonna try and let this go… We had the Bistro Menu which consists of 3 courses for $35 and we opted for the wine pairings for an additional $20 each. I highly recommend the pairings and $55 for this meal is well worth it. I was aptly full after starting with the goat cheese cromesqui with baby lettuces, the grilled hanger steak with frites, and finishing off with a warm apple tatin. The wine pairings are perfectly matched for each course. This is a real bargain and perfect for special occasions or daily lunches.

If living or visiting the Washington DC area, one Restaurant will always float to the surface of discussions of where to eat, and that is Restaurant Eve located in Old Town Alexandria a half block off King Street. Eve, as the locals call it, has been rated 4 Stars by Tom Seitsema, the Washington Post food critic and Chef Cathal Armstrong has been named one of the 50 best new chefs by Food & Wine magazine. This is a food lovers paradise but unfortunately it is always rated $$$$, hence Lunch in this post’s title. Lunch at the Bistro at Restaurant Eve has a Lickity Split Special, from 11:30 – 4:00 PM, where any two items on the bistro menu is available for $13.50. I recently had lunch there with Rachel and a good friend. I was pretty hungry so I started with the Italian Hoagie special and followed with the Polpette, a savory semi-spicy meatball dish served with Polenta. While Rachel had a crab cake served with salad and a vinaigrette and a blue cheese & walnut infused risotto. I’ve eaten here many times over the years and recommend the Bistro if you are on a budget but want 4 star service. For those fortunate few where money is not a concern, enjoy the 5 course tasting menu with wine pairings and plan for 2-3 hours and just as many dollars.

This evening we attended a party where people were asked to bring an appetizer or dessert type of dish. We decided to bring pulled pork BBQ sliders because it would be easy to make, different from what others may bring (deviled eggs???), and probably something people would enjoy eating. We stared with 3lb pork butt, picnic style last night and placed it in a crock pot slow cooker along with a ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup ketchup, 2 tbsp of white vinegar, and some McCormick Pulled Pork BBQ mix. That cooked all night and most of the morning before I took out the bone and all the fat and allowed the remaining pork to cook on low in the sauce for another 3 hours. We used dinner rolls as our buns, cut in half, a few spoons of the BBQ, a dollop of Jack Daniels BBQ sauce, then a spoon full of homemade cole slaw to top it off. The cole slaw is a simple mix of cabbage with a ½ cup of mayo, 2 Tbsp of white vinegar, ½ Tsp of sugar, dash of salt and pepper to taste. It was certainly a hit as all 18 sliders were gone within the hour. I’ve included a picture here so you can see the production.