Restaurants in Alexandria

Growing up, Chakra Café’s owner Monisha lived two different lives. At school, she was known by her given name and spent lunch hours twirling spaghetti on a fork. But at home, Monisha’s Bengali parents only referred to her by her nickname, Hashi–or laughter–and mealtimes meant scooping up lamb curry with a piece of luchi. The duality of Monisha’s two worlds–and the food she was exposed to–left a lasting impression and is the driving force behind the Café’s menu.

Inside Chakra Café’s kitchen, chefs marry Indian flavors with culinary traditions from around the world, using recipes adapted from Monisha’s mother, according to a Patch.com article. Traditional Bengali dishes such as begun bhartha–roasted eggplant flavored with green mango–are served solo or stuffed inside quesadillas with smoked fontina cheese, roasted pine nuts, and raitha yogurt sauce. Other Indian staples are also Americanized, from the tandoori chicken that tops flatbread pizzas to spaghetti paired with lamb meatballs and a whisper of ghee. Each item on the menu is clearly marked as halal, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free, making it easy to decipher the dishes without meat and the ones that require each bite to be chewed 32 times.

BGR The Burger Joint’s burgers start with high-quality ingredients—most importantly, all-natural beef from grain-fed cattle, free to run in the fields and given zero hormones, fillers, or antibiotics. The prime beef is dry-aged, blended, and ground fresh to form patties that are grilled over an open flame, and then placed atop buttery, locally made brioche buns delivered fresh each day. The menu focuses on the Legendary Burger, which includes gourmet toppings such as avocado, applewood bacon, and grilled jalapenos. For nonbeef eaters, the menu's selection of burgers also includes turkey and veggie varieties, as well as The Greek, a seasoned lamb patty topped with tzatziki and feta. Burgers are also available in a lettuce wrap or on a salad in a healthy salad bowl.

Diners can request all of BGR The Burger Joint's freshly made fries—from thick-cut yukon gold potatoes to asparagus fries—be topped with parmesan, rosemary, roasted garlic, or a tiny tiara. The staff hand-spins shakes with Gifford's or Breyers ice cream to create extra-thick treats for finishing off meals, and some shops curate their own selection of bottled vintage sodas and offer beer and wine.

The Grille at Morrison House sets tongues atwitter with a menu, helmed by Chef Dennis Marron, of modern American cuisine boasting a French influence. Sample the gastronomic goods with the chef's tasting menu, featuring five courses running the gamut from starter to dessert and prepped with local ingredients. Appetizing openers are yellowfin tuna sashimi with pickled red onion and seaweed salad, or soup, available in fennel-bisque, baby-carrot-puree, and fingerling-potato-cream variations. Next up is the choice of foie gras torchon or braised pork cheeks—both scrumptious segues into the third course. While a shrimp cocktail is offered as tray tres, diners may wish to opt for The Grille's signature dish, the progression of scallops. The Poseidon-preferred plates of mouthwatering mollusks begin with a diver scallops crudo —the Italian version of sushi—before delving into a cold smoked scallop and a seared day-boat sea scallop, and then ending with a coquilles St. Jacques. A lamb loin and a pork loin are the carnivore-friendly options for the fourth course, with a cheese plate or a dessert rounding out the tasting menu.

Chefs use grass-fed beef, cage-free chicken, and steroid-free pulled pork that hail from sustainable sources to craft a bounty of tortilla-wrapped treats that take their names from the likes of Caddyshack, Fletch, and Seinfeld. It's this dual mindset of serious food and irreverent attitude that tinges every one of the eatery's southwestern morsels, from the Art Vandalay burrito to the John Coctostan quesadilla. As the kitchen staff crafts their daily batch of guacamole to join the lineup of six zesty salsas, diners choose from a list of more than 20 ingredients to fill out the entree that will soon be conjured before their eyes. Because dishes are made to order, each finds easy customization for vegetarian, gluten free, and low-calorie diets, and the absence of microwaves, trans-fats, and MSG keep eats wholesome. Meanwhile, a complimentary accompaniment of chips and salsa turns portions into full meals faster than an industry-grade blow-up ray.

Even though the banquet hall at Medieval Madness is eternally stuck in the 15th century, its court isn't content to perform the same show forever. Every four months, the troupe updates its production of comedy and knightly combat, swapping out nods to politics and modern life as often as kings jail their favorite jesters for disobeying the fashion police. Each evening's reverie begins with a four-course meal served family style at long banquet tables. Like the show, the menu regularly rotates, though it always includes a succulent pear sauce crafted from an 800-year-old recipe, a perfect complement when drizzled over roasted meats or smeared on an opposing clan's coat of arms. Throughout the evening, guests watch on as the duke and duchess lob insults at each other, wenches break into tawdry songs, and knights fully clad in chain mail part the tables to challenge one another in exhilarating sword fights.

Certified surgeon Dr. Anouche M. Roberts of Liquid Facelift Centers combines surgical expertise with a passion for aesthetic medicine. Her expert knowledge of the face aids her as she wards off signs of aging with liquid facelifts and laser treatments using a laser new to the industry. A restrained aesthetic style, attention to detail, and knack for all things artistic round out Dr. Roberts’ qualifications and explain her affinity for cross-stitching all of her patients’ post-op prescriptions rather than writing them. Having performed more than 5,000 injectable procedures using the micro-cannula injection technique, Dr. Roberts has mastered performing pain-free, precise injections with little to no bruising.