THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Virginia's Restaurant & Bar

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Virginia's Restaurant & Bar Restaurant Review:

One of the city's more imaginatively-designed spaces is this now-decade-old institution, originally established in Virginia-Highland. The new space is lush with uplit potted ficus trees, brick walls lined with flea-market oil paintings, fringed red velvet swag drapes, and sheltered outdoor seating that can do business even in iffy weather. That's not all that's changed: Gone is the Brie 'n' baguette kind of menu, and in its place is a more adventurous line-up of dishes with plenty of choices (marked with a red V) to please the many resident vegetarians. One of these is a rice croquette---like arancini---but huge. It's crisp and tasty on the outside, set on a bed of mushrooms and perfumed with truffle oil, but would have a better interior texture (less mushy) if done in smaller sizes. House-made wild mushroom ravioli is a good choice, with plump pillows of dough and a creamy sauce. The panzanella is a total disappointment, lacks greens and enough tomato, and is based almost entirely on croutons, but they're rendered mush by being drenched in overly acidic dressing. Lamb comes rare as ordered on a bed of luscious, crisp greens. Best choice, however, may be the pheasant on a bed of confit and green onion-flecked polenta. The confit is just a touch too salty, but bites that merge all three flavors are perfect. Chef Claudia Nesbit once worked at Bacchanalia, so brings with her the warm chocolate cake dessert she used to do there. This wine list is smartly organized and offers lots of good choices by the glass. Most sections lead with a house choice that changes depending on availability. The Penfolds Bin 2 (Shiraz and Mourvèdre blend) is perfect with the duck, and the King Estate Vin Gris speaks to many of the menu's vegetarian dishes.