The Charlottesville 29

Where to eat in Charlottesville

Tag: Orzo

07/12/2013

Five Finds on Friday: Tim Burgess

TheSpace-99

On Fridays, we feature five finds selected by local chefs and personalities.  This week’s picks come from Tim Burgess, co-owner of Bang, Bizou, and The Space.  Be sure to check out Burgess’s great blog where he shares some of his favorite recipes, or follow along on Facebook or Twitter.  Also be on the lookout for pop-up dinners at The Space starting this fall, with food by Burgess and co-owner Vincent Derquenne.  We expect the duo may recreate some of the magic of their much-missed Metropolitain, which was a standard-bearer among Charlottesville restaurants.  Burgess’s picks:

1)  Tofu Steak at Now & Zen.  “Toshi is a master sushi chef who came back to the kitchen after a long hiatus.  Incredible value.  Oddly enough, I get the tofu steak every time I go.”

2)  Pastrami and Swiss on an Everything Bagel at Bodo’s.  “Am I exaggerating by saying we might have the world’s greatest high volume fast food restaurant (3) here in Cville?  Think about it.”

3)  Octopus at Orzo.  “Tommy Lasley is a talent.  His enthusiasm for cooking bleeds into his dishes.  Go during a weeknight when he’s cooking.  His bitter green ravioli with chicken sausage was awesome, but it’s his octopus, whichever way he does it, that is off the charts.”

4)  Da Vinci Sandwich at Mona Lisa (three-seed baton with genoa salami, sopresatta, provolone cheese, tomato, mixed greens, house dressing and sun-dried tomato pesto).  “I love Mona Lisa.  I can’t put my finger on it, but there is such a pleasant vibe in that place.  Great pizza, sandwiches, little freebies, and a pasta zip line, what’s not to love?”

5)  Belly Q at BBQ Exchange.  “You have to love what Craig is doing at the BBQ Exchange in Gordonsville.  The BBQ is great, the bacon stupid (in a good way), and then bacon brownies?  This is a guy who is talented and loving what he is doing.  It shows.  It’s already a destination BBQ place.”

01/29/2013

Two for Tuesday: Mussels at Orzo and Wow Cow at Arch’s

Food 225

1)  Mussels at Orzo.  On a very short list of dishes we would consider for our last meal on Earth is moules frites – the brilliant Belgian invention of mussels, broth, and french fries.  Orzo’s Greek-influenced riff on the dish reminds us how partial we are to bold flavors.  While our palates are gradually coming to appreciate the pleasures of subtlety and delicacy, at heart we remain suckers for big flavors.  (Give us an Epoisses, not a fresh chevre.)  Orzo’s mussels are studded with assertive ingredients like tangy feta cheese, ouzo, and crumbled house-made sausage redolent of fennel.  Once you finish the healthy portion of mussels, the crispy fries are the perfect sponge to soak up the heady broth.

2) Wow Cow at Arch’s.  If you are like us, you are chemically destined to overindulge every holiday season.  No matter how much we try to avoid it, there is something about November and December that causes us to eat like bears preparing to hibernate.  Thus, we begin each year feeling as though we are overstuffed geese waiting for their livers to be seared and served with a Sauternes.  Consequently, low-cal January has become an annual tradition, where we reintroduce ourselves to ways to reduce calories without too much pain.  While this generally means eliminating sweets altogether, if we do get a craving, a nearly guilt-free fix is a frozen dessert known as Wow Cow, available at Arch’s.  Made from extra grade A whey, and sweetened with fructose from fruit, Wow Cow weighs in at just 12 calories per ounce, which means a 4 oz serving is less than fifty calories.  Although not technically frozen yogurt or ice cream, Wow Cow is way to get that fix when counting calories.

11/06/2012

Two for Tuesday: November 6, 2012

1)  Parmigiano Crusted Farm Egg at Orzo.  Imagine an election ballot with dozens of choices.  Such is the conundrum at Orzo, where chef Tommy Lasley’s new menu includes so many options that it is difficult to know which to choose.  Among appetizers, pastas, and entrees, there are more than twenty-six dishes.  And, that doesn’t include specials!  With a menu so large, it is inevitable that some dishes will be better than others.  The trick is to hone in on the standouts.  That’s what we’re here for.  During a recent group meal at Orzo, we enjoyed nearly all of the dishes we tried, but the winner in a landslide was the Parmigiano Crusted Farm Egg with Italian Porcinis, Crispy Broccoli Rabe, Chickpeas, and Italian Pecorino.  It left some swooning, and won without running a single negative ad about the other dishes on the menu.

2)  Home-style Coleslaw at BBQ Exchange.  It was only a few years ago that we discovered how serious the subject of coleslaw can be.  We had not realized how passionate some people are about the humble dish found at almost any supermarket deli counter.  We soon learned that attention to detail is required to perfect the dish, and opinions abound as to those details.  Buttermilk or no buttermilk?  What about vinegar?  Should the cabbage be salted and rinsed before dressing?  We were converts.  Food TV personality Alton Brown devotes an entire episode to the precision required to get coleslaw right.  At BBQ Exchange, chef Craig Hartman has perfected it.  In texture and flavor, it is the Platonic ideal of Home-style coleslaw.  As with most of the food at BBQ Exchange, we wouldn’t change a thing.