Cow Food Critic: Bullfeathers

Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

Bullfeathers
Alexandria, Virginia

Old Town Alexandria is a wonderful place to walk around and spend an evening. There are plenty of restaurants and shops to occupy your time. We decided on Bullfeathers as the dining establishment of our choice. I’ve head the name was derived from a saying Teddy Rosevelt used to use – saying, “Bullfeathers” instead of another word beginning with “bull.”

It was prime rib night and they had some great deals posted on the sign outside. Speaking of the outside, the building doesn’t look like much. Just a small brick façade with a canvas awning crammed in between two larger buildings. Once you get inside, the dining area is long and narrow with a high sky-light ceiling. There is a spacious bar area as well as a balcony upstairs with additional dining. We were seated promptly and did not need much time to view the menu, our entire party had already been sold on the prime rib.

But first to the appetizers of which there were many to choose from, many involving seafood such as clams, and shrimp. We chose the lobster artichoke dip. The menu described it as, “Our most popular appetizer – a wonderful creamy dip of lobster and artichokes served with our homemade bread.” It was delicious! Creamy was an understatement – the dip was bursting with melted cheese. It was better than other artichoke dips I have experienced. By far.

With the appetizer down and the beer flowing, it was now time for the main course. And the prime rib was worthy of its billing. A generous portion swimming in its own juices, “hickory rubbed and slow roasted,” it was ringed with fat - as all prime rib tends to be, but very lean and meaty inside. Some prime rib has fat all the way through it and I don't like that, so this was very satisfying to me. I am naturally a fast eater, but kept telling myself to slow down and enjoy every bite. The flavor burst inside my mouth and I never wanted it to end. But alas, it did end. And I left very full, but happy.

The menu consisted mainly of steaks and seafood, including fresh Maine lobster. The also had a variety of sandwiches and a section of the menu titled, “Teddy’s Favorites” consisting of some pasta and chicken dishes. The drink menu was vast with many beers on draft and exciting mixed drinks available. After our visit I found a web site which indicated that Cosmo magazine recognized Bullfeathers as one of the top ten bars in the U.S. - I was very impressed by this fact and I wish I had paid more attention to the bar area while we were inside. The website also mentioned Bullfeathers has won numerous awards for their burgers. So don't take my word for it, but if nothing else calls to you, try a burger.

We found that it was not crowded at all when we arrived around the dinner hour on a Thursday night. However, the next night we were strolling through Old Town around midnight and there was a line out the door. So come early if you would like a nice quiet meal, and go late if you want to join up with the bar crowd.