Sunday: Dinner at Michael’s Bistro: After regretting not ordering the meatloaf at Bizou last week, I sprung for it at Michael’s. What came out was a huge chunk of meatloaf on mashed potatoes topped with some sauteed vegetables. The mashed potatoes were boring and forgettable. They consisted of overcooked potatoes, butter, and sour cream, and their texture was starchy, not creamy, fluffy, or whipped, which are all much better consistencies for mashed potatoes in my book. The vegetables were bits of peas, onion, corn, and tomatoes, and they tasted kind of like a stew. They worked really well with the meatloaf. The meatloaf itself was not as good as Bizou, but it held it’s own. It was much meatier and denser, which made me feel like I was eating a hamburger patty at times. While I’d order it again, if I were ever in the mood for meatloaf, I’d head to Bizou.
Tuesday: Lunch at Just Curry: It’s been a long, long time since I’ve had another hole punched in my Curry Card. I ordered the beef curry. I was thrilled to see that they’d given up on the little plastic containers of the pepper sauce and now have a self-serve squeeze bottle. I was not thrilled with the quality of the food. The plantain was undercooked and had obviously been sitting around for awhile. Either the rice or the curry was watery, and by the time I made it to the lawn to sit down and eat, I was able to pour the water out of the bowl. Finally, the new Jamaican Ginger Beer is pretty gross compared to what I had the last time I was there. I’m hoping that the curry was just an anomaly, and things will be back to normal next time. I won’t be getting that Ginger Beer again.
Wednesday: Lunch at Christian’s Pizza: In December, we went to a party that had some pizzas from the Christian’s up 29. It was absolutely disgusting. The biggest problem was the crust, which tasted like warmed over cardboard. I’m not the only person who’s noticed that the other Christian’s Pizza locations aren’t up to expectations. I decided to give the downtown location a go for lunch today and had a slice of spicy chicken. I’m glad to say that at least today, the downtown location’s quality hasn’t suffered. Hopefully they can get the other locations up to where they should be.
Wednesday: Cookies at Feast: I’d been wanting to swing by Feast and try a cookie after reading the Great Charlottesville Cookie Roundup. The trolley made a courtesy stop for some kids right in front of Main Street Market today, so I took that as a sign as it was time. I grabbed their last two cookies: Molasses and Double Chocolate Chunk. These were not my type of cookies at all, although I can see how someone with different cookie preferences would enjoy them. I like my cookies thin with a crispy outer layer. These cookies were two to three times thicker than I would’ve liked and were very cake-like. In fact, two of the molasses cookies stacked with some frosting may be able to pass for cake. This disappointing cookie experience has really cast a shadow on the rest of my day.
Thursday: Lunch at Revolutionary Soup: Despite the fact that I work in the same building as it, I’ve avoided the downtown location of Revolutionary Soup due to a few less than stellar experiences when compared to the Corner location. I didn’t feel like going outside today, so I ventured down the hallway and picked up a Gulf Coast Shrimp Salad. This time around I remembered to ask for the dressing on the side because they normally drown it in the stuff. The salad was excellent today. The last time, I was disappointed by the wilted lettuce and meager toppings. This time around there was plenty of crunchy lettuce, avocado, and roasted red peppers. The shrimp were hot off the grill, and it reminded me of why I love this salad. I’m guessing you’ll be seeing more RevSoup next week.
Friday: Lunch at Lee’s Grill: For the love of all that is holy to you, if you have not had the Teriyaki Chicken at Lee’s Grill, please go. You can’t spend a better $5.95 in this town.
Friday: Dinner at South Street: I decided to get the flank steak salad, and boy was it delicious. South Street’s sesame-soy vinaigrette may be my favorite salad dressing in town. I asked for rare because South Street consistently overcooks their beef. It came out medium, which was what I was going for. I only wish I’d remembered to ask for the dressing on the side, because they put entirely too much on the salad. Finally, I remembered to take a picture since I wanted to include more of them on the blog, but didn’t remember until after I’d started eating. In any case, here you go:
