A new restaurant this week! Kyoto in Rio Hill Shopping Center.
Monday: Dinner at Kyoto: I’ve seen this place for the last four years I’ve been in Charlottesville and heard excellent things. As soon as we walked in, I was beginning to be disappointed. It was completely empty. We chalked it up to a Monday and persevered. I ordered a Teriyaki Steak and Tempura Shrimp combo. The shrimp did not much like tempura and much more like Captain D’s. It was the only truly disappointing part of the meal. The steak was well cooked and the teriyaki sauce was rich without being overly sweet like most places. For an appetizer we had the dumplings, which were excellent.
Thursday: Lunch at Eppie’s: I ordered the usual: quarter dark of jerk chicken, sweet potato, and mac & cheese. They’ve really nailed the jerk chicken. When they first opened, I was underwhelmed, but for the last few visits, they have been consistently good. The seasoning is fresh and spicy and the chicken is juicy and tender. They have a unique mac & cheese, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. As for desert, their cornbread is so sweet and moist, it qualifies.
Thursday: Dinner at St. Maarten’s: Michael and Elizabeth came to town for Girl Talk. I felt lucky because they had the frizzled onion special again today, which I loved last time I was here. Elizabeth ordered the buffalo shrimp, and I had a few of those too. Maarten’s is damn good at frying stuff.
Friday: Lunch at Lee’s Grill: I have something negative to say! The delicious chicken teriyaki lunch special has gone up from $4.95 to $5.95. It is still delicious, though.
Friday: Dinner at Amigo’s (on Seminole): We usually go to the Amigo’s on 5th, but we were headed up 29 for a party, so we stopped by the Seminole location. The Chili Verde is not the same. It has much less verde sauce resulting in much weaker flavor. I was disappointed. Amigo’s on 5th FTW!
