I had a business meeting last Friday evening in Bedford. Yes, Friday evening. Sigh. Anyway, the client wanted to meet at the Olde Liberty Station in town, so we had dinner and discussed business. The decor was very nice and obviously mostly new. This was confirmed when my host told me the restaurant had burned down a couple of years ago and was rebuilt, reopening only recently. Train tracks run right outside the restaurant, but are not noticeable, even when the trains come through.
They offer a full menu with delicious sounding appetizers and wines. We did not partake in any of those, and instead went straight to the dinner section. I ordered a chicken panini sandwich with American Cheese and Bacon. Instead of the normal side of fries, I ordered a side salad to start. The restuarant had a lot of other choices, ranging from the $8 I paid for the panini to $20 steak options. Some of the seafood and pasta options sounded very good as well.
The salad arrived with the requested blue cheese dressing and it was very good. They were not skimpy with the bacon pieces and hard boiled eggs, which I always appreciate. The dressing itself was fantastic, one of the best homemade blue cheese dressings I have had. All in all, terrific salad. Then the sandwich came, and I have to admit being a bit disappointed. The flavor was good, chicken grilled to perfection, but there did not appear to be any sign of the sandwich having been pressed. It looked to me like they took a whole chicken breast and grilled it (very well, with excellent lemon/herb flavor), then stuck some lettuce on it, and made a sandwich out of it. Which would have been fine, except that I ordered a panini, not a sandwich. I was not expecting a Cuban Flat Sandwich, but I like a flatter, smaller sandwich. The huge chicken breast was not sliced, and was rather difficult to eat politely, which is a bit of a problem at a business dinner.
There, I have complained enough. The taste and flavors were fantastic, I would highly recommend anyone traveling in or around Bedford (to see the D-Day Memorial, for instance) to stop in and give it a try. Here's how I rate it:
Business Use: 4 out of 5 stars: Nice atmosphere, but a little more privacy would have been great.
Romantic Dining: 5 out of 5 stars: lots of couples were there for a Valentines Day dinner, and for good reason.
Family Dining: 4 out of 5 stars: a little more expensive than we like to pay with our small kids, but for a special occasion, delightful.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wild Rose Cafe, Chester, VA
Just finished lunch up at the Wild Rose Cafe, up the street from my office. All in all, not great. Not horrible, but I would hesitate before recommending.
I had an open face roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy and onion rings. I love open faced sandwiches, but this left something to be desired. The bread appeared to be white Wonder bread, and wasn't even toasted. I generally like something a little heartier when gravy is involved. The roast beef had to have been packaged, probably in with the gravy. The mashed potatoes were clearly boxed. The gravy was almost certainly prepackaged, but did have good flavor. The onion rings were slightly over cooked, but still crisp, and fairly good. I had water to drink.
My meal for one cost $12, with tip. Not worth it, in my opinion. A comparable meal at Strawberry Street would probably cost about the same thing. For a $10 lunch, I would like to have a couple of homemade items on my plate. I know full well the kitchen has to prepare things ahead of time, but the pre-packaged stuff kills you.
There was a large bar on one side, with most of the patrons sitting there. I do not know if perhaps that is the clientele the Wild Rose is searching for; if so, that more or less eliminates the romantic and family dining options. Given my experience at lunch, I would hesitate to recommend it for any of the three categories I review.
Business Lunch: quick service helps, but can't get past the food, 3 stars out of 5
Romantic Dinner: Loud music, poor ambience, huge bar presence = 1 star out of 5
Family Dining: Bar presence is limiting, cost of food = better options, 2 stars out of 5
Map
I had an open face roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy and onion rings. I love open faced sandwiches, but this left something to be desired. The bread appeared to be white Wonder bread, and wasn't even toasted. I generally like something a little heartier when gravy is involved. The roast beef had to have been packaged, probably in with the gravy. The mashed potatoes were clearly boxed. The gravy was almost certainly prepackaged, but did have good flavor. The onion rings were slightly over cooked, but still crisp, and fairly good. I had water to drink.
My meal for one cost $12, with tip. Not worth it, in my opinion. A comparable meal at Strawberry Street would probably cost about the same thing. For a $10 lunch, I would like to have a couple of homemade items on my plate. I know full well the kitchen has to prepare things ahead of time, but the pre-packaged stuff kills you.
There was a large bar on one side, with most of the patrons sitting there. I do not know if perhaps that is the clientele the Wild Rose is searching for; if so, that more or less eliminates the romantic and family dining options. Given my experience at lunch, I would hesitate to recommend it for any of the three categories I review.
Business Lunch: quick service helps, but can't get past the food, 3 stars out of 5
Romantic Dinner: Loud music, poor ambience, huge bar presence = 1 star out of 5
Family Dining: Bar presence is limiting, cost of food = better options, 2 stars out of 5
Map
Strawberry Street Cafe, Richmond, VA
Gonna cheat a little for my first official post. I took the family out for Sunday Brunch this week to the Strawberry Street cafe in Richmond. We have been here several times, one of our favorites.
I had their Eggs Norfolk, which was essentially Eggs Benedict, but with crab cakes. The Hollandaise was perfect, the eggs were cooked precisely the way I requested, everything was divine. I had cheese grits on the side, which were a little hot with the extra pepper they threw in, but the flavor was terrific. My wife had the broccoli quiche, and said it was wonderful. The kids had chicken fingers, grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese and all enjoyed them.
The service was just OK this time, a bit disappointing. Usually, they are quick to refill our drinking glasses, but not this time. The food was delivered piping hot though. I would say based on our past experiences that this was an anomaly, and not the norm.
I would strongly recommend Strawberry Street Cafe for Business Lunch, Romantic Dinners or Family Dining. They had an advertised Valentines Day special on the wall that sounded divine!
Our total bill for 6 people was $75, including tip. We drank milk and water, no alcohol. Reviews:
Business Lunch: 4 out of 5 stars. This is what you want, there is space for a private conversation, great food and (usually) fast service.
Romantic Dinner: 5 out 5 stars.
Family Dining: 5 out of 5 stars.
Map
I had their Eggs Norfolk, which was essentially Eggs Benedict, but with crab cakes. The Hollandaise was perfect, the eggs were cooked precisely the way I requested, everything was divine. I had cheese grits on the side, which were a little hot with the extra pepper they threw in, but the flavor was terrific. My wife had the broccoli quiche, and said it was wonderful. The kids had chicken fingers, grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese and all enjoyed them.
The service was just OK this time, a bit disappointing. Usually, they are quick to refill our drinking glasses, but not this time. The food was delivered piping hot though. I would say based on our past experiences that this was an anomaly, and not the norm.
I would strongly recommend Strawberry Street Cafe for Business Lunch, Romantic Dinners or Family Dining. They had an advertised Valentines Day special on the wall that sounded divine!
Our total bill for 6 people was $75, including tip. We drank milk and water, no alcohol. Reviews:
Business Lunch: 4 out of 5 stars. This is what you want, there is space for a private conversation, great food and (usually) fast service.
Romantic Dinner: 5 out 5 stars.
Family Dining: 5 out of 5 stars.
Map
Background
A little background, first. I am a salesman, traveling across the state of Virginia. As such, I eat a lot of lunches out in various cities across the state. OK, not across the entire state, but across a large portion of it, but we'll get to that in a minute.
I love to eat good food. I hate to eat fast food. I hate to eat at chain restaurants. I love the mom and pop lunch counters, or the hot dog stands or non-chain businesses that thrive on locals eating there. So this blog will chronicle my time traveling and eating. I will let you know where I am going, where I have eaten and will review the food and service. That way, if you happen to be in one of these cities or towns, or are traveling to that area, you will have a better idea of where to eat, or where not to eat, depending.
I will be reviewing on three criteria:
a) Business Lunch - good price, good portions, good service?
b) Dinner for a family - I have a wife and four kids ranging from 4-13 years old. Would this be an appropriate, fun place to bring the family?
c) Romantic Dinner - self-explanatory, I hope.
So that's it. My sales territory covers much of the Shenandoah Valley, though we live in Richmond. I do travel over to Hampton Roads fairly often as well, and have tickets to see the Wizards twice next month (March 2011), so I will be all around. If you have recommendations or suggestions, please post them. I will do my best to oblige.
I love to eat good food. I hate to eat fast food. I hate to eat at chain restaurants. I love the mom and pop lunch counters, or the hot dog stands or non-chain businesses that thrive on locals eating there. So this blog will chronicle my time traveling and eating. I will let you know where I am going, where I have eaten and will review the food and service. That way, if you happen to be in one of these cities or towns, or are traveling to that area, you will have a better idea of where to eat, or where not to eat, depending.
I will be reviewing on three criteria:
a) Business Lunch - good price, good portions, good service?
b) Dinner for a family - I have a wife and four kids ranging from 4-13 years old. Would this be an appropriate, fun place to bring the family?
c) Romantic Dinner - self-explanatory, I hope.
So that's it. My sales territory covers much of the Shenandoah Valley, though we live in Richmond. I do travel over to Hampton Roads fairly often as well, and have tickets to see the Wizards twice next month (March 2011), so I will be all around. If you have recommendations or suggestions, please post them. I will do my best to oblige.
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