Sea Pearl

We went to the Sea Pearl restaurant this past weekend because one of our friends had recommended.  It’s out in Merrifield, VA.  I thought it was an Asian Fusion cuisine, but apparently I can’t read.  The website clearly says that Sea Pearl serves modern American cuisine with a California flare.  More important than all of this is what’s on the menu.

I ordered the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes … simply amazing.  They weren’t too heavy, but were pretty rich and deliciously sweet with the distinct lemon flavor that made me eat the whole stack.  Marjie ordered an Egg’s Benedict with smoked salmon over a bagel.  Um, delicious doesn’t really go far enough to describe it.  The eggs had the perfect amount of run and mixed deliciously with the salmon and bagel.

I highly recommend the place and look forward to going back for another round of pancakes.

Salmon Benedict

She Eats!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Slow as(s) Chocolate

Today, Marjie and I went to Artfully Chocolate, Kingsbury Cafe for brunch with some friends.  I had heard about this place from someone in our dance class last year, as in last December or so.  They have two places, one in DC and one in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, VA.

What sold us on the DC location was the bottomless mimosa for brunch.  Only, I’m not a huge mimosa fan and it cost $10, not including the brunch.  Ah well.  We arrived around 11.15am, were told it would be a half-hour wait for a table of four, then waited for about an hour and fifteen minutes for a table to open up.  Why double the time?  First, the cafe is tiny and there are only a few tables for groups larger than two.  That’s not terribly conducive to Sunday morning brunch.  Second, the kitchen staff was either super slow, short-staffed, or an optimal combination of both that allows for maximum hunger to set in with potential diners.

We got lucky in only having to wait an hour plus for our table.  If our friend hadn’t been diligent, the baffled host would have given away our table to a group that arrived about twenty minutes after us.  As soon as we sat down, we ordered.  Starving!  Thankfully that killer combo of a slow, understaffed kitchen gave us plenty of time to think about how hungry we were because it took another thirty or forty minutes for eggs, french toast, potatoes, and sausage to show up.

All told, it took over two hours to get basic food.  Not my ideal Sunday brunch.

How was the food when it showed up?  It was absolutely fine.  I ordered the Lavender Chocolate french toast.  Though I know there are few places that make french toast the way I like it, I thought I’d try this.  The thought of lavender and chocolate was too much to resist.  It’s a fine dish.  I thoroughly enjoyed the hint of lavender, but I can’t I loved it.  I certainly would never wait an hour and a half for it.  Everyone else’s food was thoroughly enjoyable, but none of it worth the long wait, either.

At least the person looking after our table was very attentive.  In all, I would return for one of their delicious hot chocolates, to go, but I would not do a brunch.  It seems like a cool afternoon coffee or hot chocolate hang out, not a thoroughly thought through brunch place.