Tortilla West, Norfolk, Virginia (oldie but goodie)

Tortilla West is well known as one of Ghent's treasures.  Located in the back of West Ghent, T West, as many fondly call it, is a southwestern spot with great food and a plethora of tequila.  We are huge fans of T West and dine there once every other week, at least.  The cheese dip is our go-to appetizer and T West's seasoned chips are my favorite chips around town.  Tortilla does not have a cocktail menu per se but they do have a ton of liquor choices.  For the second time, the nice bartender made me a fruity concoction of mango vodka and pomegranate liquor combined with pineapple, orange and lime juices.  This is a pretty delicious drink on a hot day.  This particular night, along with the mandatory chips, I started with the gazpacho soup special.  A smoky flavor and topped with avocado, T West's version of this Spanish cold soup was well done.  I would eagerly order this again.  

Gazpacho

For my entree, I typically choose the Spinach and Goat Cheese Quesadilla or the Vegetable Quesadilla but I wanted something out of the norm.  Let's be honest, how many vegetarian quesadillas can one eat?  In my quest, I spied the Grilled 3 Cheese under the sandwich heading and decided to give it a whirl.  Feta, mixed cheese (cheddar and Monterey Jack) and Manchego with bacon and tomato on ciabatta.  The sandwich had me at Manchego (I love this cheese) and I substituted avocado for the bacon.  Sandwiches come with a side and I opted for the zucchini and squash.  The result?  This sandwich is my new staple at T West and the Manchego hoisted it into the exceptional category.  The zucchini and squash side is always dependable and gave me a vegetable to balance out the cheese dip and my cheese sandwich.  Cheese anyone?

Grilled 3 Cheese with zucchini and squash

My boyfriend loves T West's soft tacos and this day, tuna was the fish of choice.  Cooked to his liking, the tacos combined with the mac n' cheese hit the spot.  Typically, the mac n' cheese comes with jalapenos but we nix those.

Tuna Soft Tacos with beans and rice

Mac n' Cheese sans jalapenos

Last but certainly not least, dessert made it's way into my mind.  T West makes their desserts from scratch and I have always what I have ordered.  Peanut butter pie and carrot cake were our picks for the night.  The pie filling was perfectly gooey and almost had a custard consistency, making me want more.  We wanted to take a second slice to go, but I nabbed the last one.  Lucky me!  The carrot cake was of the standard variety but good nonetheless.  

Tortilla West is open Monday-Saturday 4pm-1:30am and Sundays 11am-1:30am when they also serve brunch.  Laine and I still hope for the day T West will reopen during lunch.  We understand lunch everyday might not make sense for this restaurant, but how about one day per week, Fridays?  We truly miss lunch there.

~Alex

Tortilla West
508 Orapax St  Norfolk, VA 23507
(757) 440-3777

Mother's Day Brunch - Todd Jurich's Bistro

Mother's Day should probably be renamed "Mothers Refuse to Cook Day". Based upon the masses of families heading out to eat on Mother's Day each year, I think it is pretty safe to say that everyone else in the family refuses to cook on Mother's Day too. Back in the dark ages when I waited tables, I dreaded Mother's Day. It was the busiest day of the year AND the day you made the lowest percentage of tips. Nothing like taking mom out to eat and stiffing the server!

 Now that I am a mom, I like to go out to eat too and Mother's Day for me means brunch. Even restaurants that aren't normally in the brunch game dip their toes in the water for Mother's Day. I have been going to the same places loyally now for about 8 years, and was ready for a change. It's no secret that Todd Jurich's Bistro is one of my favorite restaurants. The brunch menu looked good to me, so I booked a reservation through Open Table. I have started to use Open Table more and more. It is easy to use and has a Dining Rewards program through which you earn points which can eventually be redeemed for Open Table Dining checks. Not bad, considering it is a free service.

We arrived on time and were promptly seated in a booth located in front of the door. A great spot for people watching, and in close proximity to the salad / soup bar. I was very curious about the salad bar. The Bistro converts their bar by covering it with linens. Viola! No rocket science required. There were three soups offered: She Crab Chowder, Spring Gazpacho, Spicy Coconut Milk Lobster Bisque. The salad bar consisted of four prepared salads: Tomato and May peas, Spring mix greens, Chick Pea salad, Fresh Cucumber and Sweet onion. There was also a meat and cheese platter. I tried the Lobster Bisque (delicious with a little kick) and the Tomato and Cucumber salads. The vegetables were all fresh and nicely seasoned.

The menu was slightly different than the one posted online. There were a few ommissions. I was sad to see the Southern Bourbon Pecan Pie with brown sugar-cinnamon Ice Cream was no longer an option. For the children we ordered the pasta dish of  May peas, morels, shaved aged pecorino Romano, fettuccini and Local Cage Free Farm Eggs. They really liked this. I ordered Eggs Benedict Norfolk: Homemade Black Pepper Biscuits, Surryano Ham, Local Cage Free Farm Eggs, Lump Crabmeat, Lemon Hollandaise. This was exquisite! The biscuits were special, and I loved the ham. The Mister ordered exactly what I anticipated, Chesapeake Bay Soft Shell Crabs: Crab-Bacon Slaw and Sweet Pickle Tartar Sauce. You never know what you will see when you order a soft shell. This one looked great. Lightly battered, served on top of the slaw and sauce. It recieved two thumbs up! The original menu listed Old Bay Gaufrette Potatoes, but this was changed to sliced ‘chip’ potato or croustilles (not waffled). As you can see from the pictures, the presentation on everything was lovely. We ordered dessert early as suggested to make sure it was reserved for us. All three girls went chocolate with the Dark Chocolate Pot de Crème. I added a shot of expresso to round it out. This was a rich decadence which none of us could quite finish.

We were done with our meal in a little under an hour. I believe it was due in part to the best service I have ever received at Jurich's. Our server was friendly, appropriately solicitous and seemed to always show up exactly when needed. I have no complaints. It was a fantastic meal. The Bistro brunch offered a kid's menu, which was actually half plate servings from the main menu. My only suggestion would be to perhaps add something a bit more kid friendly. I would not normally recommend bringing children to The Bistro, but it was after all Mother's Day, and everyone was dining with their family. Lucky for me, my daughter will eat just about anything with gusto and has not problem trying something new, but it was a bit more of a struggle with her friend.  I'm pretty sure the that kitchen could whip up some pretty mean chicken tenders if they wanted to!  

_Laine

Food-5

Service-5

Beverage-5

Restrooms-5

Value-4

Ambiance-4     

150 W Main Street  

Norfolk, VA 23510

(757) 622-3210

www.toddjurichsbistro.com

Som Bao Cafe, Virginia Beach, Virginia

I was delighted to try Som Bao Cafe with a good friend.  It is definitely not somewhere on my usual travel route, but I see myself journeying there again for good Thai.  She discovered Som Bao by way of Groupon and wanted to visit again so we headed out a couple weekends ago.  We were greeted by a very friendly host and seated immediately.  The decor is sparse but fits with the crisp and clean theme of the restaurant.  Everything is very, very tidy which made me feel at ease.  Clean and clutter free is never bad.  Our waitress was very helpful and knew the menu inside and out.

  

We started with the Cucumber Salad ($7.95) which had Japanese style thin noodles with cucumbers, pineapple, tomatoes, lime juice and chili peppers.  It was great, but it does have a kick to it so prepare yourself.  Thai food is always 'clean' and healthy to me since a lot of the heavier ingredients, like cheese, are vacant from the dishes.  With the salad, we ordered the Som Bao Spring Rolls ($3.75), as they were out of the vegetarian version of their Egg Rolls.  Those were also fresh and came with the familiar spicy peanut sauce, but Som Bao's was a tad spicier than the usual.  I like spicy food and this had a kick to me.

For my entree, I typically order Pad Thai with tofu when I eat Thai but I saw the Lazy Loa Noodles ($9.95) which included pineapple, so I had to ask how that was.  She said it was one of their signature dishes and the pineapple gave the dish a sweetness along with the spice from the sauce.  When I asked if they would add tofu and peanuts, she said no problem and that I could mix and match anything on the menu.  I can customize, music to my ears!  My friend ordered the Chicken Ka-Boun ($9.95), Japanese style noodles in a broth infused with lemon grass, galanga, kaffir, coconut milk, and red curry.  [I deleted the picture by accident, but it is a beautiful dish!]  She and I both love coconut milk and this might be the largest bowl of soup I have seen.  Most Thai restaurants certainly give you your money's worth and Som Boa did not disappoint.  Finally, I ordered a White Chocolate Boba Tea.  I have had Boba once before in Portland, Oregon and it reminds me of a milkshake, just lighter.  The white chocolate intrigued me and it was as good as it sounds.  The 'beads' take a bit of getting used to, but overall I like Boba.  After all that, we were finally ready to leave, stuffed.  I ordered the Chicken Paid Thai ($9.95) to go for my other half and he was very pleased with the dish.  I like to think of him as a good judge because he is a Chicken Pad Thai connoisseur. In addition to the take-out, we departed with leftovers which meant no food debacle the next day, a plus.  Prices were extremely reasonable and serve was lighting fast.  I look forward to venturing to Sam Boa again soon.

~Alex


Food-5
Service-5
Beverage-5
Restrooms-5
Value-5
Ambiance-3

http://www.sombaocafe.com

2476 Nimmo Parkway, Suite 101
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23456
(757) 430-1066