The Upstate Life

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Visions: A Second Take

If you recall, back in February during Bethesda's Restaurant Week, a few of my friends and I decided to dine at Visions as I had heard many positive things about the place. Due to an overbooked, understaffed evening that led to long waiting times and a disgruntled party, I wrote up about our negative experience only to have Chef Tony respond within 24 hours apologizing for what had transpired.

I wanted to give Visions a second chance because, honestly, the food was amazing the last time I was there. It's also been well documented that RW is perhaps not the best representation of the participating establishment due to things such as the aforementioned scenario above, so Rachel and I decided to go there for dinner last weekend and give Tony another shot.

Let me tell you, the Chef did not disappoint. When we arrived, we were seated at a nice section in the dining room exclusively for tables of two which created an intimate, private atmosphere. We split the sugar cane skewered shrimp as an appetizer and it was delicious. Accompanied with jilcama slaw and a balsamic reduction, the shrimp turned out to be a great first course (just like the mussels I had ordered during my previous visit).

For the entrée, I went with what I had originally ordered back in February but never actually got to eat, the twin filet mignon satay. Man I wish I had tried it back when it sat in front of me almost eight months ago. It was that good - incredibly succulent and full of flavor. It came with a side of fried plantains and cucumber salad which was a very nice departure from your typical vegetable and starch.

Rachel ordered the crab cakes and they too did not disappoint. In fact, she had a hard time debating where she's had better crab crakes after finishing our meal. Overall, this was a completely opposite experience than before as the service was very attentive while the food was fresh and appetizing. Given the proximity of Visions to my apartment, I'm definitely going to be eating there more often.

Posted by Brett at 4:39 PM |