Three or five? This is the question you'll be asking yourself if you have reservations at Vidalia this week. In addition to the standard three course dinner for $35.08, Vidalia is also offering five courses for $50.08--and no upcharges. That is a mere $10 a course for a restaurant that normally charges $15 for starters and $30 for entrees. However, a Restaurant Week deal is only as good as the menu the restaurant elects to serve. Sometimes, you get what you pay for. In Vidalia's case, you get much more.

My dining companions and I decided to go on a complete Restaurant Week bender, so it did not seem prudent to stuff down five courses on a Wednesday. (We need to pace ourselves in order to make it to Sunday.) For diners who elect to do the three course meal, you choose your appetizer from course one or course two and your entree from course three or course four. Course five is dessert. Each course has four very promising-looking options. One of my companions noted that ordering was, "the most difficult decision I've made all day."

For our first course, our table ordered the coddled duck egg, chicken-fried quail, house-smoked salmon, and hamachi tuna. The duck egg was a surprise; unlike a chicken egg, the texture was much thicker and gooier, almost like pudding. It was served with some wonderfully crispy sweetbreads, making for a nice contrast in texture. Though not as beautifully presented as the other appetizers, chicken fried quail packed a wallop of complex, woodsy flavors. It was served with a flaky rosemary biscuit and drizzled with a velvety morel mushroom gravy. The execution was spot on--crunchy breading, moist bird, and not a bit greasy. Each element of the dish had a distinct taste, yet none of the flavors overpowered the others. The only downside is that it's difficult enough to eat a quail with a fork and knife, but it's doubly challenging when the shape of the bird is obscured by breading. Sadly, Vidalia isn't exactly the kind of joint where you eat with your hands.

Chicken fried quail with rosemary biscuit and morel mushroom gravy (Alicia Mazzara)

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We ordered the roasted baby goat, beef brisket, and Tasmanian sea trout for the main course. The goat was the most complex of the three. It is prepared two ways--roasted and as little meatballs--and served with a huge head of roasted garlic, baby zucchini, okra, flat bread, and a side of cucumber raita.

The brisket was falling-off-the-fork tender, with little pockets of soft, unctuous beef fat. Despite being served with a ginger beer reduction, the flavor of ginger was strangely absent from the dish. However, this allowed the natural flavor of beef to shine through and did not overwhelm the mild tasting king trumpet oyster mushrooms.

The Tasmanian sea trout, while listed as a roulade on the menu, actually arrived as a fillet, with a side of smoked salmon roe and a cube of roasted cauliflower panna cotta. The panna cotta was shot through with cauliflower flavor and topped with a few browned florets. The trout featured a crackling skin and tender pink flesh beneath. The roe added a nice brininess to the oiliness of the fish. The only anomaly was the curried raisin puree, which looked and tasted somewhat like spiced apple sauce and clashed unfortunately with the other delicate flavors. Thankfully, only a tiny dab of the puree was smeared on the plate.

We ended the meal on a strong note. Vidalia's lemon chess pie is like the best lemon bar you've ever tasted poured into a pie shell. The lemon essence is incredibly assertive but not puckeringly tart. It is sweet without being sugary and gloopy and avoids any trace of lemon dish soap flavor that sometimes plagues citrus desserts. The "whopper", a pair of meringue cookies filled with a silky chocolate-malted mousse, is also delectable.

While the ambiance in Vidalia is a little lacking (the restaurant is in a very tastefully decorated but unfortunately windowless basement), the food is absolutely top notch. Despite the Restaurant Week rush, the service was fast, efficient, and very polite. If your stomach and pocketbook are willing, it's the best Restaurant Week deal around.

Vidalia
1990 M Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-659-1990

Vidalia will be closed on Sundays in August, except for Restaurant Week.