Gourmet Gang, Main Street, Norfolk

For a good while, Laine and I frequented Gourmet Gang once or twice each week. I was hooked on their California Cobb salad and Laine on their Greek. Then, something happened...first, the Greek disappeared from the menu. We could not figure out why a restaurant would remove a Greek salad. Then, Laine had some caramelized walnuts in their seasonal strawberry and walnut salad that just were not crisp. For me, I was just Cobbed out! As we do every Friday, last week we drew from the magic envelope for Monday and what do you know, Gourmet Gang it was, GG for short. We journeyed over to GG on this fine, sunny day and ordered our salads. The Greek was back on the menu. They must have known Laine was coming. For once in my life, I stepped out of the box and ordered something completely different, the autumn apple and walnut salad. My salad of mixed greens, caramelized walnuts, white raisins and Granny Smith apples, was SUPER. It came with blue cheese dressing, which was the perfect flavor to add to this mixture. I'm pretty excited about this salad. I hope they keep it on the menu for a while (at least through our autumn season). I had checked the online menu before we headed over and their weekly specials are up to date. Good to know. Sometimes, I don't think restaurants update their websites in a timely fashion, but GG does. There must be a good web master there. GG is back on our list. I have a feeling we will be in there again very soon. GG has a good variety of wraps, sandwiches and salads. They also have homemade cookies on hand. GG caters to many of the Downtown businesses and you can always find a large business crowd in the Downtown location. If you are limited by time, make sure to get there before noon. Some days, the line is out the door by that time. You can call or fax your order in as well. Calling in has been a success, but the one time I tried the faxing option, GG did not receive it. They did not make me wait in line though, as I brought a copy of the fax with me (Murphy's Law – I'm always waiting for something to go wrong and like to be uber-prepared for those chaotic times). GG is good to its customers. The folks there let you dissect and recreate a salad as many ways as you want to, which is huge for me.
~Alex


Chances are, if you work somewhere downtown, your office has had a lunch catered by Gourmet Gang. They have an interesting business history, growing from a door-to-door sandwich vendor to their current restaurant/caterer/delivery service model. I like seeing an independent small business not only survive, but thrive, especially when it is headed up by a woman. Having worked in various locations throughout Norfolk and Virginia Beach, I have had lunches from several different restaurant locations. The food is consistent in presentation, preparation and freshness from each location. The Main Street location our current haunt. To be honest, I didn't even know they had restaurants until I worked downtown. As Alex mentions, they can get quite packed at lunchtime with a line out the door for ordering and a line by the soda machine for those waiting on orders. This kills the ambiance for dining in. If you are seated at a table, someone will literally be standing on top of you while you eat. The menu offers a nice variety of sandwiches, wraps and salads. I am partial to the Greek salad, but I agree with Alex that their Cobb is extraordinary. Their portions are good sized for a salad and the ingredients are always fresh. Although there is a line to order, the food comes up fairly quickly once the order is placed. My salad on Monday was great. Their twist on the Greek is using sundried tomatoes vs. regular tomatoes. Their croutons are just okay, so I usually forgo them. The employees are very friendly, and I see the same ones over and over again.This is a good sign to me. The restaurant business can be quite chaotic, so it is nice to see happy, friendly people who apparently like their jobs. The food is prepared right in front of you, and these guys are really moving. Gourmet Gang is a safe lunch bet downtown.

_Laine

Pasha Mezze - The Palace Shops, Ghent, Norfolk

Pasha. Their site reads ‘Mediterranean & Anatolian Cuisine w / American & European Influences’ and is as enticing as it sounds. Laine was not able to make it to lunch today, but we will definitely visit again so she can review.

Sasha and Leigh, my oldest and very dear friends, have been raving about Pasha. They were going in there every other day! I decided I had to get on the horn and get over there immediately. My opportunity came when Sasha and I lunched there last Saturday. Pasha has a wonderful outdoor patio and with the nice temperature, we opted for the great outdoors. I had eaten something earlier and therefore, went straight for dessert. My choices of homemade bon bons (chocolate walnut ) and bread pudding could not have been better! I truly believe this is the best bread pudding I have had to date.

Today’s luncheon included my lovely mother, Nikkie, Sasha and Leigh. Sasha, Leigh and I began Montessori together at the young age of three. We love to eat out, laugh and catch up together. A warning, if there is a ruckus anywhere, it is usually the three of us. Nikkie is taking some vacation days and decided to join as well. She is always up for a new restaurant outing.
And now, I’ll get to the important part, the food. The lunch menu has appetizers, such as the spinach and cheese pastry and Karavana, soups including red lentil, wraps such as the spinach spicy chicken, chicken hummus and the Mediterranean, and main courses like char grilled wild salmon and Mediterranean beef kebabs. There is also a larger dinner menu, a Sunday brunch menu and a late night menu.I ordered the tuna salad wrap, Nikkie had the spinach spicy chicken wrap and Sasha and Leigh both had the hummus chicken wrap (it is not listed on the menu, but is available to order). Everyone had the red lentil soup as their side except Nikkie, she went with the hummus. This is by far the best hummus in town and the best I have had. I am not a hummus campaigner either, so trust me, if I ate it and liked it, it is good, lots of taste and very smooth. The red lentil soup is one of the signature items on the menu and that was fantastic as well. Everything is very fresh and full of flavor. Since our last few outings have had drink issues, I must comment on the water at Pasha. It is not tap and it is not some regular bottled water. It is very clean and fresh tasting. I believe the menu tells you the way they prepare it and what they do rocks. Service was superb, even after the large lunch crowd rolled in. Everyone working there is friendly and very helpful. We did see our waiter, Quentin, helping a few ladies who were uncertain of what to order. He explained the menu item by item. I know the ladies appreciated his help. I know Quentin from the neighborhood and he is doing a great job!

The décor of Pasha is very chic and modern with an airy feel. There is a lounge-type of room in the back with couches, larger chairs and tables. I think they use this for small parties and meetings at times, but it is available for walk in patrons as well if not in use. There is also a bar and I have heard that is busy in the evening. Sasha, Leigh and I are definitely interested in checking out the late night menu and Sunday brunch. When I asked how late they serve, the answer was ‘until the last customer has finished’. Music to my ears.

Beat feet to Pasha. You will be well received.

Located in the Palace Station Shopping Center in Ghent at 350 West 22nd Street, Norfolk VA 23517, Pasha serves lunch, dinner and a late night menu daily along with Sunday brunch.

www.usapasha.com

Hell's Kitchen, Granby Street Location

I was having a serious case of the Monday morning blahs which was further exasperated when Alex drew Hell’s Kitchen out of the envelope for our weekly review. Ho-hum. Not one of my favorite places. I would describe it as tolerable, but not likable. So, I put on my kick some you-know-what hat and headed down the street with Alex to HK. Don't you know, they took all the wind out of my sails by doing everything RIGHT!

I ordered tuna bites (rare) and a side salad. Our food was on the table in less than 10 minutes. It was all good. The tuna was perfectly cooked and well seasoned. Their side salad is large. Not your typical iceberg on a 6 inch plate. It was fresh romaine, slice tomatoes, cucumber and croutons served in a regular sized salad bowl. Our server did a nice job, and kept our beverages full. We were out of there in under 45 minutes, leaving time to run a quick errand.

My only real peeve about HK is the menu. All the entrees have catchy little names, and no descriptions. You have to ask the server to tell you what’s in them. To her merit, she knew her stuff, all the way down to sauces and seasonings, but I still like to be able to read it on my own and ponder my decision. (Most likely because one minute after she tells me, I have forgotten half of what she said.) Aside from that, much to my surprise, I’d have to say that HK is back on my list of places to eat on Granby Street.

_Laine

Well, Laine and I went to hell and back...Hell's Kitchen that is. I have had two bad meals there previously and was ready to pounce on this place for my third time. Much to my initial chagrin (come on, you know the bad reviews are funnier), my food was great. I ordered the Mandarin Blu salad (mixed greens, chicken, almonds, craisins, blue cheese and mandarin oranges) and was pleasantly surprised. Our service was fantastic as well. Our food came very quickly and our waitress was attentive. A must for Laine and I. If you have never been to Hell, it is definitely a bar atmosphere, but the smoke is non-existent during lunch and you see a lot of the business folk in there munching on chicken wings and pizzas (they are known for those two items). They play rock and roll, louder than most lunch establishments, which is a nice change. There is also live music at Hell nightly and I have had pretty good experiences with that aspect of the restaurant.

~Alex

Take a journey to Hell...

Hell's Kitchen is located at 124 Granby Street in Downtown Norfolk and is open 11am-2am Monday-Friday and 5pm-2am Saturday and Sunday. There is also a Chick's Beach location, HK on the Bay.

www.hknorfolk.com/