bazin's on church

She began her culinary career bussing tables at Bazin's on Church in Vienna, Virginia. A series of unfortunate events; ripping off a nickel sized piece of skin from her index finer and sipping wine on her shift, and her lack of upper body strength, cut her employment short. But she was not discouraged, she picked herself up to continue working in the food industry as the world's best jalapeno dicer...And so my biography will go. Funny thing, this wasn't my shortest "paid" job. I recall a three-week stint as a contractor with a large IT company a few years back, but I digress.

Located on the Historic Church Street in Vienna, Bazin's is a quaint but chic neighborhood restaurant offering good food and great wine. For a pre-concert dinner, Court and I feasted on a roasted beet salad, pan-roasted black cod, and wild mushroom risotto paired with a glass of red. Court's a zinfandel and mine a malbec. Duo-colored beets came dressed in a passion fruit vinaigrette on a bed of arugula sprinkled with candied orange zest and dollops of goat cheese; a classic combination. Maple-miso glazed the black cod which was served with wasabi mashed potatoes, sauteed baby spinach, and tamari cream. I would have been satisfied with less cream. The risotto was perfectly cooked (I have a tendency of being served undercooked risotto) topped off with punchy parmesan. One caveat, the onions could have been chopped a finer, but that's just a technicality. They would just need to hire me as their prep cook. For dessert, we had the Peanut Butter Mousse tarte; the chocolate sorbet tasted like chocolate flavored water. I like the cream version better. Personally, I prefer my food "bland" and Bazin's doesn't skimp on seasoning. Delicious nonetheless and will suit most American palates.

Now would be a great time to visit, Chef Patrick is planning to give the menu a make-over later this week. I foresee another visit sooner than later.