Mas to Millers

Food Find: Enoteca’s Fig, Ricotta, and Honey Bruschette

Erin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:51:11 +0000

Enoteca is made for girls nights out and men in need of a first date destination. The wine bar’s sleek communal tables and slim servings on small plates definitely draw in more of the ladies than the men. My favorite menu item, however, should appeal to all types and genders – or at least provide an added lure for the men.

The Fig, Ricotta, and Honey Bruschette perfects a sweet and salty flavor combo. Enoteca starts with a crunchy bread base covered with the creamiest ricotta cheese you can imagine. Next they pile on sweetly soaked sliced figs that are drizzled with honey. But the best touch is the spicy sprinkle of black pepper on top. It’s creamy decadent goodness with an unexpected bite. It’s a perfect after work snack with a glass of cool white wine and a lovely dessert at the end of evening with a bottle of red. Or go ahead and order 3 at $2 a pop and make it a dinner.

Cucumber Margarita at Ventana

Erin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 03:24:52 +0000

A margarita at Ventana is an entirely different and superior species than the frozen neon green concoctions in salt-crusted glasses you see in chains across America. The delicious and sophisticated flavors include tangerine, habanero, jalapeño, and seafoam, but I think the cucumber margarita is the cream of the tequila crop.

It’s the rare tequila drink that makes you feel refreshed, but this Ventana concoction is the alcoholic equivalent of a cucumber eye mask at a spa. The flavor is fresh and tangy with the breezy cucumber flavor balancing perfectly with the tequila zing. It’s topped off with Ventana’s sea foam, which should be patented and served with margaritas worldwide. The frothy foam with citrus zest and subtle saltiness is the perfect alternative to a salt crusted glass, which makes the drinker feel like a deer at a salt lick in comparison. Served up by Mike, one of the best bartenders in town, my only complaint about the cucumber margarita is how quickly it goes down.

Food Find: Duck with Sweet Potato Hash at Camino

Jed — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:16:10 +0000

Every now and then we encounter a dish so flavorful and harmonious that it is as if the ingredients were separated at birth, only to be reunited at long last on the plate. In the case of Camino’s duck dish, the earthy sweetness of figs is balanced by tangy stripes of balsamic vinegar, with a body of salty-sweet potato hash underneath. The duck meat itself is appealingly mild, with a subtle note of gaminess giving it character.

Our overall experience at Camino was mixed, but this masterful dish will make regulars of us.

Bashir’s Taverna for Lunch

Jed — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:36:52 +0000

If you’ve been to “Fridays after Five,” you’ve walked by Bashir’s Taverna. Maybe you even sloshed in for a forgettable falafel after one too many beers in a tin bottle. Under such auspicious circumstances, the food might have been good. By the light of a sober weekday lunch, however, it reveals itself to be exceedingly average.

My friend Tom and I were seduced by sound of the “award-winning” apricot-glazed ham sandwich with brie, while our significant others opted for the tarragon salad and falafel platter. Bite one of the sandwich was good, but I grew tired of it by bite four or five. The slice of ham was too big and imposing, while the brie and sweet apricot together were too rich. It may have been a great sandwich when it won the (New York Times?) award in the mid-90’s, but something has gone missing in the years since. The other dishes looked delicious, but the results were equally blah.

It’s amazing how many times we have to learn this lesson, but if there’s no one else eating there during the lunch rush hour – and there was literally not one other customer for the first twenty minutes – it’s not going to be worth your time and money. If you’re looking for Mediterranean food, go Moroccan at Al Hamraa or Aromas.

Erin says: “Meh.”

Rating: Erin: [rating=2.5] Jed: [rating=2]

Pros: Large portions.

Cons: Mediocre food.

Price: Sandwiches and salads $7-$9.

Parking: None, but the Market Street garage is just around the corner.

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Aberdeen Barn

Erin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:32:39 +0000

Sometimes you can only take so many organic vodka drinks and fusion tapas at swanky places downtown. You need something different for date night. You need the Aberdeen Barn. The Barn is a Charlottesville classic that takes you back to the days when the drinks were strong, the steak was red, the lettuce was iceberg, and one only heard rumors about people called vegetarians that lived in California.

On our recent visit, we got gussied up and headed to the red barn off Rt. 29. The hostess led us into the dimly lit room that was awash with white hair patrons and bow-tied waiters. We tucked into our cozy booth and took a look at the simple and short menu: meat with some seafood as an afterthought, and vegetables meant only to add a color balance to the dripping red on your plate. The most complicated part of ordering was deciding between the four potato varieties.

My favorite part of the Aberdeen experience is the tub of cheese spread and breadsticks that arrives at the table after you give your order. Delicious and disgusting at the same time. The tub of fattening things is a theme of Aberdeen, as our salads were accompanied by three giant tubs of dressing. No fancy Sesame-Ginger Vinaigrette here: just the classics of Ranch, Blue Cheese, and Thousand Island.

The main course could only offer more tubs. Along with our nicely charred tenderloins, dinner came with an industrial-sized vat of sour cream and an entire tub of bacon bits for our potatoes. After polishing off our steaks, we headed to the Barn’s “Sportsmen’s Lounge,” which, incidentally, is the only sportsmen’s lounge I’ve ever seen with a piano bar. Swept up in the moment, we ordered a couple rounds of White Russians and bopped our heads along to the Barry Manilow tunes. True, the steak isn’t the best in town, but the food is classic and the setting is a little slice of retro heaven.

Jed says: “No better place in town to celebrate old-fashioned disregard for vascular health.”

Rating: Erin: [rating=3.5] Jed: [rating=3.5]

Pros: Piano bar, old school food and class.

Cons: Your wallet and arteries will take a hit, vegetarians need not apply.

Price: Entrées $26-46, Sides $3-6.

Parking: Lot.

Contact Info

2018 Holiday Drive
Charlottesville, VA 22901-2893
(434) 296-4630
aberdeenbarn.com

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Restaurant Week

Jed — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:03:10 +0000

(Image from http://cvilleyum.com)

As we receive reports from diners about restaurant week experiences, we will post them here. Send your thoughts to food@mastomillers.com, or post them in the comments. If you send them via email, be sure to say if you want to be anonymous.

Boar’s Head

“Lunch was just okay, though the fried green tomatoes were excellent. I’ll definitely stick with the buffet in the future.”

“My palate was ecstatic…The restaurant was packed, had a delightful atmosphere, and paid attention to the details. Our waitress and the other wait staff were top-notch!” Read the full review here.

“It was amazing…We went after the lunch crowd at 1 pm and it was still pretty crowded.” More here.

C & O

“The Pate was a nice experience, but something we will probably never order again…One of the best Cordon Bleu’s I’ve had…All in all it was a lovely meal and we are both glad we went.” Read full review here.

Camino

“Very interesting and delicious menu with great service! Great job Sean!” — Debbie Shick

Carmello’s

“Excellent service, but the food was not good. Subpar Italian.”

Cassis

“I have never been there and was pleasantly surprised…Everyone enjoyed their dishes. The waitstaff seemed a bit mixed up about 5-6 times, but it was sort of busy.” Read the whole review here.

Bloody Mary Bar at Fellini’s

Erin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:19:10 +0000

Maybe I just like my Bloody Marys swimming in Worcestershire, but something about the make-your-own approach makes any brunch more festive. I’m not sure how it took us so long to discover that Fellini’s has a make your own Bloody Mary bar on Sundays, but it’s far too many weekends missed.

First, you’ll be served a great mix that’s hearty, nicely seasoned, and with just the right hair-of-the-dog balance. Then you walk over to the bar and the real fun begins. All the fixings are there: eight different kinds of hot sauce, horseradish, A-1, bbq sauce, Worcestershire, Tabasco, lemons, limes, carrots, olives, celery, pickles, and (my favorite touch) pickle juice in a squeeze bottle. Pretty much everything you could want, although it’s easy to let your mind run wild about other toppings for Fellini’s consideration… celery salt, shrimp, maybe some beef jerky for a swizzle stick?

The Local

Jed — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:44:42 +0000

The local food movement has come a long way in two years. When we heard, in February of 2008, that there would soon be a restaurant in Belmont serving dishes made from Virginia farm ingredients, we thought it was a novel and brilliant idea. The Local opened a month later, and we were one of the first in line. That first meal was everything we hoped it would be – rustic and fresh, simple but whimsical. Unfortunately, all of the meals we’ve had there since have failed to live up to the promise of that first one, and our last visit was the worst.

Things didn’t start well when the waitress told us that their specials were an Australian Barramundi and oysters from Oregon. She asked if we had any questions, and our friend Shawn said, “I’m trying to figure out why a restaurant called ‘The Local’ would be featuring food from thousands of miles away.” She didn’t have an answer for that – in all fairness, The Local doesn’t claim to be exclusively local – but I was hoping she meant that these otherwise exotic foods had locally farmed relatives.

Regardless of where our food was from, it was all a little disappointing. The chicken with truffle, mushroom, and pea ragout was overwhelmingly brown to look at and dry inside. The Spaghetti Carbonara had excellent fresh pasta from Mona Lisa, but the flavor was flat – a difficult feat for egg, pancetta, parmesan, and coarsely ground peppercorns. The Rag Mountain trout was decent, though also lacking on presentation, and the sesame-crusted tuna was nicely seasoned but too thick to be so raw. A good tuna steak should be rare, but it shouldn’t turn into sashimi after a few bites. The fries that came with the Tuna Steak Frites were delicious, if slightly overcooked.

On the other hand, they have a nice wine list, a cozy neighborhood ambience with outdoor seating in front and on the roof, and, when the kitchen is on top of its game, prices that can’t be beat for the quantity and quality of food you get, much of which is indeed locally derived. I can only hope that the competition from Tavola next door will up the ante and bring The Local back to what it was when it was fresh.

Erin says: “I loved this place when it first opened but have found it inconsistent since. The outdoor patio and cozy brick interior setting is still one of my favorites in town, though, so I hope it fights back!”

Rating: Erin: [rating=2.5] Jed: [rating=3]

Pros: Reasonable prices, emphasis on local foods, lots of outdoor seating.

Cons: Inconsistent.

Price: Pasta dishes $13-15, entrées $11-20

Parking: Street.

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Lime Leaf

Erin — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 03:05:17 +0000

I count seven Thai restaurants in the Charlottesville area, which is something to celebrate in a town of this size. But none is worth celebrating as much as Lime Leaf, the delicious gem tucked away north on Route 29 in the Rio Hill Shopping Center. I get a case of food rage every year when I read “Best of C-ville” and Thai ‘99 tops the Asian category yet again. I’m not sure how C-ville voters continue to prefer one of the least impressive Thai places instead of the obvious best, but I hope anyone who hasn’t yet visited Lime Leaf will make the trek north to give the true deserving Thai champion a try.

We eat at Lime Leaf a lot. A lot. And we’ve always been treated with flavorful and fresh food, competent service, and an enjoyable dining experience. The ambience is far superior to your standard strip mall Asian dining experience with nice lighting, attractive decorating, and an overall pleasant and sophisticated setting.

I’ve never had a bad dish at Lime Leaf, but some dishes are better than the rest. I like the tangy Tom Kha Gai soup (coconut milk coup with chicken, mushrooms, and galanga) to start and the other appetizers are usually good, but the entrées are what it’s all about so it’s hard to waste room elsewhere. Jed’s favorite order is the Ka Pao Fried Rice (rice, basil, scallions, and chicken), which is almost painfully spicy if you ask for Thai spicy. I’m a hopeless devotee of the Pad See Ew (wide rice noodles, broccoli, and egg in a soy-based brown sauce) with chicken and tofu. Often a greasy and heavy dish, Lime Leaf serves a delicious version that tastes healthier than anywhere else I’ve tasted, yet even more flavorful.

With all of their food, Lime Leaf uses quality, fresh ingredients and the best of Thai flavors. Factor in the reasonable portions and it feels like a fairly healthy indulgence. With this Thai triumph, we round out the triumvirate of Asian restaurant powerhouses. I think Lime Leaf (Thai), Korean House (Korean), and Taste of China (Chinese) would hold their own in any city in the U.S. Don’t you love our town?

Jed says: “Don’t let the strip-mall-across-from-Lowe’s location deter you. This is the best Thai in Charlottesville!”

Rating: Erin: [rating=4.5] Jed: [rating=4.5]

Pros: Best Thai food in town and most places, great ambience.

Cons: Strip mall location too far away from downtown.

Price: Appetizers $4-$7, Entrées $8-15.

Parking: Always available in the Rio Hill Shopping Center lot.

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Food Find: Aqui es Mexico’s Chori-Pollo Burrito

Erin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:27:45 +0000

For our last 2009 gorge before the cold reality of New Year’s resolutions set in, we headed to an old gorge favorite: Aqui es Mexico, which competes for the best Mexican in town yet still reminds me how much I miss Mexican food from the west coast.

My recent discovery at Aqui, which makes me pine for west coast taquerias a little less, is the Chori-Pollo burrito. It’s the perfect solution for those who don’t know whether they love chicken or chorizo more. The star of the enormously stuffed burrito is the chorizo: it’s seasoned with a hint of cinnamon and contains so little fat I’m suspicious it’s actually soy meat. But there are other hidden delights in there, such as carrots, peas, and a healthy serving of cilantro mixed in with the usual lettuce, tomato, and rice mix. Often burritos are overpowered with cheese, which can be a good thing, but I appreciate this burrito’s restraint with a subtle sprinkling of queso fresco and a Mexican sour cream drizzle on top. While the chorizo is the main attraction, the chicken sidekicks and balanced blend of fillers keep everything in delicious harmony.

Farewell for awhile, Chori-Pollo friend. I’ll see you as soon as the resolutions get kicked to the curb.