Vinifera Wine Bar & Bistro – Reston, VA

[ 0 ] July 15, 2014 | Collaborative Post

Being a comfortable “P.G. Countier” (new term that I recently came up with? haha), I don’t really venture out to Reston that much. Maybe for a random bite or to see a fun festival every few years but normally you can find me somewhere in DC, MD, Arlington, or Alexandria. Vinifera Wine Bar and Bistro is located in Reston and I can officially say that I now have a legit reason to go back. Not that long ago, I had the pleasure of meeting their new Executive Chef, Chef John-Michael Hamlet, and sample his personal take of modern European cuisine with some pretty exotic wines. I’m a pretty simple girl; it doesn’t take much to make me happy when it comes to food and wine. Can you say sparkling sake? It was so good that I think my brain blocked out everything else that I drank.

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From tuna tartar to sea scallop “sandwiches” with butternut squash, from duck confit cassoulets to Chef John-Michael’s signature “Foiejitas”, honey, I was in heaven and those were only the starters. As a not-so-recent culinary school graduate with a few years of cooking professionally under my belt, seeing Chef John Michael’s creativity was definitely inspiring and made me want to expand my own knowledge. Take a trip to Europe, see how I can interpret it on a plate, then go back and eat some more of his food just because. Following the starters, I tried the seared duck breast with sweet potato, fennelkraut, and a sweet blackberry duck sauce.

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Dessert consisted of a plethora of items: deconstructed black forest cake in little glasses, PB&J (PB mousse, grape ice cream and brioche), white chocolate ice cream with Grand Marnier chocolate sauce, and a warm mixed berry soup with mascarpone mousse and pastry boats.

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I’m not sure what the food was like prior to his arrival but it’s safe to assume that he upped the ante. Vinifera Wine Bar & Bistro is the perfect place for a date night, night out with friends, or work meetings. The atmosphere there is pretty much across the board: relaxing, comfortable, easy going, wine- and food-filled. What more can you ask for? Drooling yet? Yes, it’s true. This restaurant is that good.