A Trek to Virginia

The lovely state of Maryland has a couple of fantastic neighbors in Washington, D.C. and Virginia. Typically, we venture into D.C. for our blog because the city is hip, exciting, adventurous, and constantly adding new and delicious restaurants. But on a beautiful spring Sunday at the end of April, we decided to finally take a trip to Virginia for a Happy Tummy List adventure. We ended up in Alexandria, which like the state is well known for its charm and beauty. Our adventure took us to brunch at The Majestic, which is located on King Street in Old Town, Alexandria---a place filled with cafes, exceptional restaurants, lovely furniture stores, and fun places to visit (like an Escape Room!).

The Majestic is a unique restaurant that blends art deco architecture with contemporary artist furnishings and great food concepts. We entered the restaurant and were pleasantly surprised by the decor and overall aesthetic of the bar and dining area. The dining area is lined with booths on either side which can each seat up to four people comfortably, a handful of tables down the middle of the space, and a really cool ceiling (the ceiling may have been one of our favorite features of the space). Originally, we were seated towards the back of the restaurant (we were literally almost sitting in the kitchen with the chefs), but were later moved to a booth due to a large party having a reservation and needing our table for more space. We were happy to move, but the manager thanked us with a couple of complementary beverages for agreeing to move, which was really nice.

We were both starving when we arrived to The Majestic; hence we ordered several fun dishes to enjoy. We started our brunch with the Monkey Bread to share, the "Triple P" Mimosa for Simone, and the Floral Pear Mimosa for Damien. The Monkey Bread was tasty and had just the right amount of sweetness to it. However, it was a bit too bread-y and needed either more sauce (they used a cinnamon caramel sauce, which was tasty) or more time for the sauce to have soaked into and throughout the bread. The "Triple P" Mimosa was a sad mimosa overall and Simone regretted ordering it, but she still drank it because it was Sunday and no one is ever ready for Monday. In contrast, Damien's Floral Pear Mimosa was pretty delicious and fragrant. It was slightly bitter, but not enough to detract from the flavor of the cocktail. We would definitely recommend the Floral Pear Mimosa if you decide to brunch at The Majestic.

For our entrees, Simone ordered the Corn Flake French Toast with sides of Smoked Bacon, Potato Hash, and a scrambled egg with cheddar cheese, and Damien ordered the Fried Chicken Biscuits with a side of Potato Hash. Simone decided to be adventurous by trying the Corn Flake French Toast, and it was crispy and sweet. The syrup and Nutella fudge sauce that accompanied the French Toast were both incredibly delicious. The recommendation we would give to The Majestic would be to lightly drizzle the French Toast with a bit of the Nutella fudge sauce sauce immediately after it is finish cooking because sauce was messy at times. Also, if the sauce was drizzled over the French Toast, the look of it would be a little more appealing. Both of us had the Potato Hash---the dish was well cooked but really under seasoned. The hash could easily be improved with a small amount of kosher salt and pepper, as well as an additional seasoning like rosemary, garlic powder, and/or smoked paprika. Given that scrambled eggs are too simple to ruin, that side dish was tasty. However, in the future, Simone would not order the Smoked Bacon because it essentially tasted like it was precooked bacon. Damien's entree was the Fried Chicken Biscuits, and it was pretty good overall. The chicken was cooked perfectly and very juicy, though it could have benefited from a touch more seasoning in the coating. Luckily, the cream gravy that was drizzled over the chicken was absolutely delicious.

Overall, we would give The Majestic a 3 out of 5. Unfortunately, most of our food was good but really needed a bit more love to be great. And for the prices of the entrees on their brunch menu, The Majestic simply left us wanting better food. The service was decent and prompt overall, and we did appreciate the complementary drinks for moving tables. The restaurant would be great for a large party event such as a birthday dinner. And if you have a friend, family member, or bae who loves the art deco period, then this would be a great adventure for you, too. Until next time, we hope you go out and enjoy a delicious meal soon!