Good Food... Calorie Free?

We tried a "new" restaurant on Friday that was great. Really great. It isn't really new (2 years old?) but it's new to us. Bazin's on Church is located in Vienna, Virginia on Church Street. While this is technically outside of the beltway, it really isn't too far of a drive - 15 minutes without traffic.

We arrived and the architecture of the building was very welcoming. While its a new building, the style is traditional but new. We were seated promptly (which I love - I hate having to wait for a reservation) and were instantly greeted by our waiter. He was very knowledgeable about the wine and pointed us to a great pinot noir.

After looking over the menu about 10 times, we finally decided on our meal. All of the options sounded yummy and it was really a tough choice!

We started our meal splitting the:
1. Potato & Onion Ravioli with lobster sauce (all house made; 6 tender pasta dumplings topped with large chunks of lobster!)
2. Chopped Salad (which included green beans, chick peas, tomatoes, and a VERY light lemon vinaigrette)

I ordered the Seared Tuna (which I ordered rear), which came with sesames noodles and bok choy (my favorite!). Jeff ordered the braised lamb shank, which came with mashed potatoes and spinach. Both were delicious, and I have to admit my portion control didn't come into play. The portions we were served were generous (approximately 8-9 ounces of meat and fish each), but there were plenty of vegetables involved as well - I had a whole 1/2 bok choy on my plate!

When dessert time came, we ended up sharing 2 desserts with the couple at the table next to us, who happen to know the owners / chef of Bazin's and were able to recommend 2 perfect desserts. We all took about 2 bites of each and were stuffed and satisfied.

I can't wait to come back to this restaurant and try some of the other delicious sounding dishes available. The menu changes seasonally, and this was the first day our menu was available. We'll have to come back in the winter to find out what's new.

Needless to say, we paid our dues at the gym the next day to try to burn off some of the calories...if only good food was calorie free:)