Driving down Industrial Road in Springfield, you pass a rock quarry and an Amazon fulfillment center. Are you really on your way to the snazzy new mega-sports and health complex, The St. James? Yep. In addition to its 450,000 square feet of hockey rinks and soccer fields under its roof, you'll also find a cool new restaurant that opened last week, Vim & Victor.
The bright and airy eatery, located just to the left of the entrance, is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and includes a full bar.
A play on the expression "vim and vigor," the restaurant is the brainchild of celebrity chef Spike Mendelsohn, who said he created a menu based on three buzzwords.
"Healthy, hearty and hydration — those are the three common things," he said. "We tried to split the menu up with that notion ... have some things that are indulgent, some things that are a little on the healthier side with more of a West Coast menu."
The California vibe on the menu includes a variety of
Vim & Victor restaurant at The St. James
toasts: Truffled Wild Mushrooms and Filene, Avocado and Multi-Grain, Broccolini and Multigrain and Lobster Salad and Pullman.
Other standouts include Cauliflower Nachos, Braised Beef Shortrib and a Lavender Latte (made with lavender, vanilla, maple and almond milk). Healthy choices include the Beyond Meat Burger and the Country Kale Caesar, which you can top with your choice of chicken, steak, shrimp, salmon or crispy sesame tofu.
Dessert selections include Apple Spice Cake (with whipped Earl Grey cream, apple pure and brown sugar streusel) and Carrot Cake (made with maple cream cheese, carrot pineapple puree, gourmet granola and Dolcezza vanilla gelato.
There are plenty of healthy choices including "grab 'n go" items for those heading out after a workout.
The health aspect of Vim & Victor and The St. James plays into Mendelsohn's advocacy work with CARE, DC Central Kitchen and the DC Food Policy Council. "It's great to be in an environment where health is being promoted," he said.
A Montreal native, where he grew up in a restaurant family, Mendelsohn makes his home in Arlington. He initially resisted joining the family business, seeing the long work hours and on weekends but realized his love for it and studied in formal training and with chefs at top restaurants around the world.
Today his other restaurants, in DC, include Good Stuff Eatery (where you can choose burgers named for the Obamas, who were frequent customers), We the Pizza, Santa Rosa Taqueria and The Morris American Bar. "DC has caught up with other major cities as far as the restaurant scene," the "Top Chef" alum said, and noted how much he enjoys living in the DC area.
"I've kind of fallen in love with this area," he said. He loves hanging out fishing and boating at the Occoquan River and visiting Great Falls and Annapolis, he said.
