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Charlottesville Metropolitain Tops on most lists of local dining favorites is this establishment that moved from its former downtown diner quarters into fancy mod digs in a onetime hardware store a couple of blocks away. The decor is minimalist in pale yellow and black, with high ceiling, well-spaced tables and black banquettes. Great food emanates from the open grill and deep
fryer installed by owners Vincent Derquenne, a young Frenchman, and
partner Tim Burgess from Good sliced bread, a plain salad of Boston lettuce with a mustardy vinaigrette and a simple muscadet from a wide-ranging wine list were mere preambles to the triumphs that were ahead the night we dined. Among entrées, a paillard of plate-cooked (and barely cooked) salmon with basil puree, diced tomatoes and shoestring vegetables was a masterpiece, magnificently presented on an oversize plate speckled with parsley flakes. Equally presented was the grilled pork loin with spring onion puree, absolutely delicious fried cilantro wontons and cabbage slaw, the dish so ample that even two of us could not finish. We had to save room for dessert. Good thing, because the champagne granité with fresh citrus and mint goes down as one of the most refreshing finales we’ve had. A close runner-up was the grilled banana bread with homemade honey vanilla ice cream and warm praline sauce. The descriptions hardly do justice to the presentations, again on oversize plates – one with a rainbow of strawberries, peaches and grapefruit; the other surrounded by squiggles of caramel and powdered sugar. The two young innovators are equally at home with starters. How could one choose among sautéed shrimp with lump crab and creamy grits, seared venison carpaccio with red shiso and blackberry vinaigrette, duck quesadilla with adzuki bean salsa and chipotle cream, and rabbit livers with caramelized onions and toasted brioche? Every menu gets more interesting, and dinner has become such a success that weekday lunches have been terminated. Lunch and more casual dinners continue at Bizou,
the owners’ high-style diner restaurant in the deco space at In 2002, they opened Bang, an Asian fusion
eatery in the former Memory & Co. restaurant space around the corner
at (434) 977-1043. Entrées, $20.50 to $25.50.
Dinner nightly, OXO Restaurant A former chef from the country house hotel Keswick
Hall, John Haywood from The couple wanted a short name and christened it Oxo
for a maker of bouillon cubes in The modern French fare is as exotic as can be. Consider a cauliflower soup with a crab-gruyère fritter. Other spring starters range from almond-crusted soft-shell crab with tobiko vinaigrette to pan-seared foie gras with duck rillette and frisée salad. The pea risotto with sautéed morels and carrot coulis is to die for. A sorbet clears the palate for main courses, perhaps pan-seared snapper wrapped in a potato crêpe with roasted garlic cloves, roasted local chicken stuffed with crab or a tasting of tuna: seared rare with salad niçoise, tempura with shiitake mushrooms and salad of sashimi and pickled carrots with orange-vanilla beurre blanc. The grilled angus beef tenderloin might come with a mushroom duxelle and foie gras jus; the grilled veal loin with ratatouille marmalade and grain mustard jus. (434) 977-8111. Entrées, $25 to $29. Dinner
nightly,
Some of the most innovative food in town is served up at this corner storefront, a high-ceilinged space with tall windows onto the street. Long, narrow and mod, the place seats 60 against a backdrop of rust-colored walls with cobalt blue accents and more outside on the Downtown Mall sidewalk. Chef-owner Bill Hamilton, who’s also involved locally in Gearhart’s Chocolates, and his wife Kate oversee a contemporary American menu crafted by chef de cuisine Gail Hobbs-Page. Her exotic fare includes the likes of grilled sashimi tuna on lobster risotto with tomato-tarragon relish, pan-roasted halibut with cilantro-lime beurre blanc, smoked duck breast on vidalia onion bread pudding with a port-cherry demi-glace, and a duo of New Zealand baby lamb – grilled loin with sausage and spinach cannelloni baked in a parmesan velouté topped with a red onion-balsamico relish. Start with a warm apple and leek tart with chèvre or a smoked Norwegian salmon and scallop spring roll with apricot-sherry and ginger-soy sauces. Finish with grand marnier crème brûlée, a trio of fruit sorbets in a brandysnap cup or “chocolate many ways.” (434) 295-6649. Entrées, $19.95 to $28.50.
Lunch, Monday-Saturday
A new chef-owner and his wife updated this landmark
traditionally favored by sedate types on the outskirts of town. Angelo
Vangelopoulos, an American whose father was born in Angelo’s modern American fare appeals to the sophisticated tastes of a younger clientele. Trained in classical French style with northern Italian overtones, he features local product on a dinner menu that changes nightly. A typical autumn night offered a dozen entrées. Among them were sautéed local mountain trout with shellfish emulsion , pumpkin seed-crusted grouper with garlic-vermouth sauce, grilled duck breast with spiced apple demi-glace, fricassee of rabbit with chanterelles in pommery cream, and mustard-crusted rack of lamb with cabernet sauce. Starters included a seafood pesto soup, marinated shrimp with cheese grits and creole tomato sauce, and a smoked salmon and potato napoleon with horseradish cream. Among desserts were a Southern pecan tartlet with Wild Turkey ice cream and caramel sauce, warm apple cobbler with homemade cinnamon ice cream, and profiteroles with cappuccino-kahlua ice cream. (434) 977-1222. Entrées, $22 to $28. Dinner by
reservation, Monday-Saturday 5 to 9:30.
Positively idyllic is this intimate French charmer that opened in 2001 in a former pottery shop just off the Downtown Mall. Chef-owner Brian Helleberg wows patrons with contemporary fare in a stylish setting of brick and pale yellow walls. Start with poached foie gras poached served with toasted brioche and fig purée or a gratin of oysters, sea scallops and sea urchin with caramelized endive. Or how about salmon tartare topped with quail egg and ossetra caviar? The lobster consommé with ginger and fava beans is an exotic little delicacy. Among main courses, the soft-shell crabs, the sautéed skate wing beurre noisettes and the quail stuffed with pistachio, chicken mousse and foie gras come highly recommended. Ditto for the pan-roasted veal strip loin with morel cream sauce and the domestic lamb loin with red wine sauce and a thin potato and Swiss chard gratin. The lamb melts in your mouth, as do the cookies and chocolates that come piled on a plate when coffee is served. (434) 971-7800. Entrées, $23 to $29. Dinner,
Monday-Saturday
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