Having jumped the gun on visiting uber-popular Moto Pho Co during its earliest days, I decided to wait a couple months before reviewing One Meatball Place, Moto Pho’s sister restaurant in both mien and conjoined location. On first sight, the space appears more cozy and contained than the pho restaurant to which One Meatball Place attaches, even sharing restroom facilities. The actual layout of the restaurant is relatively small, housing a long bar but only five tables. The combination of exposed brick, light wood accents, and large-screen TVs made for an elegantly simple yet comfortable atmosphere. The window booth in which my friends and I sat took in a… Read More
Posts Tagged Cuisine: Mediterranean
One Meatball Place 
Nov 12
Aromas Café
Jul 11
People have funny ways of communicating deliciousness. Our friend Rachael’s eyes bulge as she stares at you in silence, thoughtfully liquidating her food like a cow chewing its cud. My mom slaps her hand on the table so hard that the silverware clanks and jumps, and then she says, “Y’all gotta try this” in a way that suggests your very life depends on it. My wife Erin’s reaction, however, is the scariest, as I remembered during our last trip to the always delicious Aromas Café in Barracks. More about her reaction below.
Aromas participates in the tradition of “strip mall chic” that restaurants like Lime Leaf and Copacabana – not to mention every… Read More
Mykonos Cafe 
Jun 16
It’s curious that the only reason I knew Mykonos Cafe existed was from walking past it from time to time. Regardless of their advertising shortcomings, the Greek-born owners know how to make tasty Greek food. This is not a restaurant with any conspicuously trendy leanings towards organic or local food, and the chefs certainly have no formal training in texture, contrast, or artful arrangement. However, I’d like to imagine that if I had a Greek family, this is exactly the food they would make for me. Just don’t tell Michael Pollan.
The spanakopita “spinach pie” was crispy, flavorful, and huge, while my gyro… Read More
da Luca, a Vegan Review
Feb 23
Having grown a little bored with all of our usual choices in town, we recently made the trek out to Old Trail, near Crozet, to try da Luca. The restaurant’s website had us at “wine bar”, but seeing “Vegan Friendly” on their Urbanspoon page enticed us even further. For a wine bar, we felt like their wine list was a tad on the small side. However, they do make a good effort to feature several local and regional wines.
We were extremely impressed with the service. The staff was warm and friendly and quite accommodating when we asked about vegan options. Sadly… Read More
Camino
Jun 16
I remember when Erin and I discovered Il Cane Pazzo. It was a cold autumn night, and we had decided to see a movie at Vinegar Hill. In the ticket line, Erin craned her neck to take in the warm glow of the restaurant next door. “Why have we never noticed this place?” she said. I shrugged and went over to look at the menu. Just a few items, classic Italian with a twist here and there, not cheap. As it turns out, it was also fantastically delicious. Some of the best Italian either of us had ever had. When it went away and Camino took… Read More
If you’ve been to “Fridays after Five,” you’ve walked by Bashir’s Taverna. Maybe you even sloshed in for a forgettable falafel after one too many beers in a tin bottle. Under such auspicious circumstances, the food might have been good. By the light of a sober weekday lunch, however, it reveals itself to be exceedingly average.
My friend Tom and I were seduced by sound of the “award-winning” apricot-glazed ham sandwich with brie, while our significant others opted for the tarragon salad and falafel platter. Bite one of the sandwich was good, but I grew tired of it by bite four or five… Read More
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