Last week was a pretty good week for food. This week I’ll be stressing out over end of semester stuff, so expect to see more fast food places compared to this week.
- Monday: Lunch at Noodle Bar: Delicious. See my previous post. This week’s winner by a long shot.
- Tuesday: Dinner at Escafe: I received a small financial windfall Tuesday morning, so we decided to splurge a little bit. I ordered the Meatloaf Sandwich and subbed an Asian Cabbage Toss for the side. She ordered the Crabcake Platter. My Meatloaf Sandwich was just okay, and the Asian Cabbage Toss was excellent as usual. I really need to stop trying entrees there and order just the Cabbage Toss. Her crabcake was very good, but a little pricy for the amount of food we got.
- Tuesday: Desert at Splendora’s Gelato: Splendora’s is my favorite addition to the downtown mall. I got a small cup with Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch and Pistachio. I usually get their Bambino cone with whatever hazelnut related flavor they had, but this was the splurge night. The pistachio was good and tasted remarkably like pistachio. The Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch is my favorite flavor they have, and I only wish they’d put more whole hazelnuts in it.
- Wednesday: Lunch at Biltmore Grill: This was my first time eating at Biltmore, and it was fantastic. For $6.50 I got an enormous Buffalo Chicken sandwich and a big pile of Sweet Potato Fries. The Buffalo Chicken sandwich was either one really big or two smaller boneless chicken breasts deep fried and spun in wing sauce on a bun with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and bleu cheese dressing. It was superb. I ate the whole thing and promptly fell into a coma. The Sweet Potato Fries on the side were also delicious. Whenever I crave “American food”, I’ve never known where to go in town that was good; Now I’ll be going to Biltmore.
- Thursday: Lunch at Mellow Mushroom: I had half a Jerk Chicken sandwich on wheat, no mayo, add jalapenos. This is one of my favorite sandwiches. It’s incredibly spicy, and they grill the jalapenos, which is awesome. I also had a slice of Sausage and Banana Peppers, which was overkill, and I left completely stuffed. My favorite thing about Mellow Mushroom is their crust, it’s sweet and chewy and oh-so-delicious. I’ve gone to great lengths trying to determine the recipe, and have had very little luck. What I have learned is that it isn’t made in the restaurant, but they receive it from the Mellow Mushroom mothership. They use molasses instead of sugar and spring water instead of tap water. Everything else is a mystery. If you manage to come across a recipe, please let me know!
- Friday: Late Night Snack at St. Maarten’s Cafe: I met up with Michael for a few drinks, and he claimed that they had the best wings in Charlottesville. He’s wrong. They were OK, but did not live up to their five chili rating in any way shape or form. Even disregarding the lack of heat, they were just run of the mill vinegar based wings. Sorry, Michael. Their fries are still some of the best in town, though!
- Saturday: Breakfast at The Tavern: I lived in Charlottesville for over two years before going to The Tavern for the first time. I’m an idiot. The Tavern is so delicious, and always hits the spot on a lazy weekend morning. I had my usual hybrid order: Pigs in a Chocolate Chip Blanket. Three enormous sausage links wrapped in chocolate chip pancakes. Despite how tasty they are, I’ve never been able to make itpast the second one. This place is awesome, but most of you probably already knew that.
- Saturday: Dinner at Michael’s Bistro: We went out with her friends to Michael Bistro, and since she was buying me dinner, I ordered the most expensive thing on the menu: Pork Tenderloin. Unfortunately, the kitchen misinterpreted our server’s handwriting, and made the Portabello, so two of us had to wait an extra fifteen minutes for our dinners while the other two ate. I understand the mistake, and my only annoyance is that the server said they’d be ready in just a minute, and then it took fifteen. They did offer us free deserts, though, so that was good. The Pork Tenderloin was tasty but nothing special, and it was only five chunks of meat served on some mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes tasted like they had more butter than potatoes in them. Definitely not a fifteen dollar meal, and I don’t think I’ll be eating dinner at Michael’s Bistro again. I do like drinking there, though.
- Saturday: Dinner at Baja Bean: After enjoying part of the Wilco show from the free seats, we decided we’d go to El Puerto for dinner. Unfortunately, it was closed, so we went to Baja Bean. Let me just say, that I don’t like Baja Bean. In fact, I pretty much hate it. I had a cancer certificate to use, though, so I decided to suck it up. First we got their tasteless watery salsa. I asked for some of their companion salsas, which are probably Baja Bean’s only redeeming qualities. The Tomatillo is nice and tangy, and the Diablo has a nice, slow, long-lasting burn. My entree was the Combo Caliente, which was a chorizo burrito, a chicken enchilada, and a jalapeno taquito, all stuffed with jalapenos and topped with some sort of hot honey glaze. It was edible, and that’s about all I can say for it. I just find their food to be completely uninteresting. There’s no boldness in their flavors, which for a Mexican restaurant, is unacceptable. Unfortunately, I still have some money left on the gift certificate, so I’ll be headed back there at least once.
Let me just reiterate how happy I am about Noodle Bar. I can’t wait to go back.
