Met up with my friend Stephanie tonight and we went wandering about Old Town Alexandria for dinner. As we approached the Majestic Cafe, she asked if I’d ever been there. Nope. I’ve walked or driven by it countless times, but never been inside. (And honestly thought it was a diner.) She said, “It’s pricey, but good.”
Well, when it comes to good food, I am totally OK with pricey, so in we went.
And it kicks ass. To start off with, the water is awesome. I know how totally bizarre that sounds, because it sounded a bit strange to me when she said, “Get the still water – it is incredible!” But it was also a million degrees out and I wanted water – and as much as I love sparkling water, at $4.50 for sparkling vs. $0.00 for still with a very emphatic recommendation – I went with the still water. I have no idea what filtration/water softening system they use at the restaurant, but it makes water actually TASTY. And from me, that is actually saying something, because I really am not much of a water drinker at all. I downed 2 LARGE glasses of this water without even blinking an eye. In the normal course of a day, I have to *force* myself to down 8 to 16 ounces of water.
As humid and sticky as it was, I wanted an icy cocktail, but wasn’t quite in the mood for one of their many tiki-rum drinks, and the Salty Dog I ordered was top-notch, but the “Missionary’s Downfall” in the awesomely goofy tiki-glass that Steph ordered seemed to perfectly fit the bill for her. (I have to be in a certain mindset for rum drinks. I have no idea why.)
For dinner, I got the sauteed soft shell crabs. Outstanding. They were smothered in perfectly ripe off-the-vine-this-morning tomatoes, sweet corn and lima beans. (And I SO love lima beans! My only argument would be that they need *more* lima beans in it!) Steph had the Amish chicken, which she definitely seemed to enjoy and took the rest home for tomorrow’s lunch. (Bonus: When you get a to-go box, they put the date on it. However, I can’t imagine anything from this restaurant lasting in the fridge more than 24 hours.)
By the time the dessert menu came around, I was perfectly stuffed and felt I couldn’t really avail myself of their selections (though I was tempted by the chocolate & bourbon beignets, as was Steph!) but I couldn’t resist their Irish Coffee. I **love** Irish Coffee and if someone is bold enough to include it as a menu item, I have to see how it stacks up to the rest. And the Majestic indicated that it “looked like a Guinness!” Well, I love Guinness, too, so I had to check this out. It’s coffee, Irish Whiskey and brown sugar, topped with their homemade whipped cream. And it really does look like a Guinness! And is very, very tasty.
The cherry on the top was chocolate truffles rolled in coconut that came with the check. Beats a peppermint any day of the week.
Seriously, if you want an un-fussy place to eat with spectacular food – hit the Majestic.
