WASHINGTON D.C, "Cafe Milano" - 3251 Prospect Street, NW

Cafe Milano is a buzzy D.C establishment with all the glamour and pizazz of the Italian city after which it's named.

The food is absolutely gorgeous! It's all about robust flavours, generous portions and lots of choice. They're usually hallmarks of food that lacks quality - but not here. The food is highly sophisticated, beautifully presented and overall just completely satisfying.

With a long list of high-profile patrons, the restauranters have no qualms branding their restaurant the "hub of diplomats, lawmakers, journalists, broadcasters, lobbyists and entertainers."

The room is enormous, stretching from a bar section (with the occasional plasma screen, unfortunately) at one end, to a formal, upscale dining section where glass panels front the streets of Georgetown. Walls and ceilings are scattered with posters and murals of fashion and its icons - a droll nod to the flamboyance and glitzy vulgarity of Milan. While it's all amusing, aim to get a table at the front of house in the Washington Room where the lighting is low and the ambience more mellow.

Pumpkin and amaretto agnolotti in a burnt butter chesnut sauce, chilli spaghetti vongole with masses of clams, and parpadelle with beef ragu and ricotta are absolutely beautiful. Succulent roast chicken legs come perched on a bed of truffled porcini mushroms sauteed with leeks and cabbage. Incredibly tender veal medallions are served with perfect saffron risotto, and roast monkfish is wrapped in crispy pancetta and served on a traditional bed of Borlotti beans with mussels.

Dessert was hit and miss. The individual apple crumble tart with white truffle gelato was a strangely wonderful combination, but the pumpkin and amaretti torte with dark chocolate sauce was dry, heavy and bland. It definitely needed something refreshing, like a citrus or icecream addition, to lift it.

Starters and pastas are $15-$30, while mains range from about $30 to $45. This price range is very reasonable for the calibre of the food and the size of the servings.

It's a bustling, authentic institution that you absolutely cannot miss!

VIRGINIA, "Fleurie" - 108 3rd Street, Charlottesville.

Off the main pedestrian boulevard in Charlottesville sits Fleurie - a charming culinary gem with all the quaintness and elegance of a provincial French restaurant.

Rustic brick walls, white tablecloths and candlelight make for a warm, graceful atmosphere which is a delightful change of scenery from its downtown surrounds.

The food is totally exquisite. Softly spoken, enchanting Parisian chef, Rhys, fuses the best of American produce with refined French cookery technique so that every dish on the menu sounds better than the last.

Things like homemade gnocchi with rich truffle marscarpone sauce, warm duck confit salad with cherries and pistachios, wine braised beef short ribs with truffled parsnip purée, and seared sea scallops with Celery Root, Red Onion Marmalade and shellfish cream are perfectly cooked and served in elegant portions. Appetizers are $9-$18 while mains are $27-$36.




The desserts were just as glorious. For me, the quality of a restaurant's dessert is often a good indication of the calibre of the entire menu. It's the part of the meal that too often is treated as an afterthought - just something sweet to finish things off. A good dessert shows a real dedication to quality, and the desserts at Fleurie are almost highlights.

The lightest passionfruit souffle comes freestanding, like an airy pillow, with tangy passionfruit curd. Warm chocolate pudding is served with homemade blueberry sorbet, and wafer thin, crisp apple flan is complemented by rich, intense vanilla bean ice-cream.

A beautiful, joyous foodie heaven!