It was a pretty disappointing last week in food. I only had good experiences at the places I already loved: Cafe Europa and Five Guys. St. Maarten’s could have been up there if it weren’t for their price gouging on that drink.
- Wednesday: Lunch at Cafe Europa: Had another Majorca, this time with no provolone and extra hot peppers. This is one of the best sandwiches ever. When I ate the second half at home later in the week, I gave it a few dashes of Tabasco and then grilled it in the Foreman. It was even better this way.
- Tuesday: Dinner at Chipotle: I don’t plan on reviewing many big chains, but since we’re getting a Chipotle in front of Harris Teeter, I figured I’d go ahead and list it. This particular Chipotle was in Fredericksburg. Michael and Elizabeth were kind enough to think of us when their friends had extra tickets to Death Cab/Franz Ferdinand in DC. We met up with them in Fredericksburg at Chipotle and drove up together. I got the four tacos with shredded beef, and they let me put each of their four salsas on each of my four tacos. That made me happy. It’s tasty food… maybe better than Qdoba. Qdoba is just so much more convenient for me, I doubt I’ll be going to Chipotle much when they finish it.
- Thursday: Late night snack at Starr Hill: We ended up in the restaurant portion of Starr Hill after the Ween show waiting for the Peen show to start. I wasn’t hungry, but their late night menu listed an item I couldn’t pass up: Habanero-Lime Chicken Wings. Two of my favorite flavors on one of my favorite foods! I ordered them and giddily anticipated their arrival. I was sorely disappointed. There was no lime and no habanero. In fact, they tasted like some lame honey barbecue or something.
- Friday: Lunch at West Main: This is technically the third time I’ve walked into West Main. The first time was right after they opened. We walked in, stopped at the “Please Wait to be Seated” sign and waited ten minutes. Nobody came by, so we left, thinking they were still working the kinks out. But a few months later, the same thing happened. I’m not sure what compelled me to go back Friday, but we did, and now we only stood around for about three minutes before someone told us to just go into the dining area and the server would seat us. We go in, wait another few minutes to get seated, and then look at the menu. While their dinner entrees are crazy expensive, their lunch menu is somewhat reasonable. I settle on the Roast Beef Sandwich: roast beef, provolone, and grilled onions on ciabatta. I get a side of horseradish for the sandwich. Sandwich was good, but nothing spectacular. The cole slaw was just cole slaw, the fries were microwaved, and the Coke was flat. The service was atrocious, and it was obviously not the server’s fault. She’d been put in charge of nearly 10 tables as well as working the bar. I’m really surprised this place is run by the same people that run the Virginian, because I’ve had good experiences there. In any case, I’m never going back.
- Friday: Afternoon snack at Five Guys: I decided to tag along with Michael to Five Guys only a few hours after West Main. I absolutely love their burgers, but since I’d already eaten lunch, I thought I’d try something different. I ordered a hot dog with grilled onions, sauteed mushrooms, jalapenos, hot sauce, and mustard. It was fantastic. I love that they split the hot dogs to cook them on the griddle. I also got some cajun fries, which are always delicious. Throw in the free peanuts, and we have this week’s winner.
- Saturday: Dinner at St. Maarten’s Cafe and Desert at Milano: I won some gift certificates to a few restaurants on the Corner and Milano in a silent auction for the American Cancer Society, so tonight we decided to burn two of them. First, at Maarten’s, where I ordered the Mojo Chicken Sandwich, which is a habanero and honey marinated grilled chicken breast, pepper jack cheese, and jalapenos on a kaiser roll. I also got a side of cajun fries. The sandwich was good with mustard, but adding a little Tabasco made it phenomenal. Their waffle-cut fries are always good. Great meal altogether except for one problem. Maarten’s has a variety of shots and drinks on their menu, and lpk ordered one called “Key Lime Pie”, which is Absolut Citron, Rose’s Lime, Triple Sec, and Sours. It came in a small martini glass with a good half inch of it unfilled at the top. When we got the check it turned out to cost $8.75!!! WTF?!?!! I asked our server, and she confirmed it. It boggles my mind that any place in Charlottesville could justify an $8.75 martini, especially one with just one liquor. The dinner was good, but the cost of that drink really soured the whole experience. I’ll go back, but I’ll definitely be weary of the cost of beverages.
After Maarten’s, we used another gift certificate to Milano. We went for some gelato and a chocolate chip brownie. Their gelato is good, but it’s definitely no Splendora. The brownie was pretty stale, definitely older than a day. Overall, I was disappointed. I hear their coffee is good, so it may be best to stick with that.
That’s it for last week. I’m having lunch at the new noodle shop on the corner. I’m crossing my fingers for it to be awesome.
