Fat Canary - Williamsburg VA

My husband and I ventured out to the Fat Canary this past Saturday. It was a cold day of drizzling rain, and not much seemed to be happening up and down Duke of Gloucester Street, but the restaurant was hopping. The interior of the restaurant is funky, and it is not as large as you might expect. The tables are close together, and Saturday there were several large parties versus a lot of couples dining. The atmosphere was festive and loud. The open kitchen and hard floors/ceiling/walls are volume maximizers. There was a lady at the table across from us who was literally yelling through the entire meal. I am sure the wine had something to do with that as well. So wear your party shoes, and leave your secrets at home.

Dinner was fantastic from start to finish. Our server Nicholas really steered me in the right directions when I was stuck between two entrees and two desserts. He was also very helpful with wine accompaniments. The staff is well trained on wines and I recommend you take their suggestions and try something new. He was so right about the dessert too!

Here is what we ordered

Arugula and Frisée with Pears, Old Chatham Camembert and Aged Balsamic

Free-Range Guinea with Gnocchi
Charred Tomatoes, Tuscan Kale, Melted Onions and Fresh Thyme

Pan Seared Sea Scallops, Freekeh with Oyster Mushrooms

Huckleberry Amish Cake with homemade Goat Cheese Ice Cream

Pecan Pie ( I think the Ice Cream was Cappuccino)

_Laine
Fat Canary
410 W Duke of Gloucester St, Williamsburg, VA 23185-3603
(757) 229-3333

Downtown Delectables - Norfolk Restaurant Week Cookbook

Introducing a new feature of Restaurant Week – Downtown Delectables! The cookbook features recipes from Downtown Norfolk chefs and friends. You can view the cookbook on your computer, print it out as a hard copy or print the recipes that you like best. Downtown Delectables also includes biographies from the contributors.

I think this is a great idea. As part of Restaurant Week, Downtown Norfolk is sponsoring an online cookbook featuring select recipes from featured restaurants. You can view it online HERE, download and save the pdf or even print it if you are into killing trees. I might have to try that Chili recipe from Byrd & Baldwin, it sounds interesting. Thanks to all the restaurants for sharing.

_Laine

Norfolk Restaurant Week

Alex and I always look forward to restaurant week. Per the usual we will be trying out some of our old favorites and some we haven't explored yet. I'm not seeing a huge amount of creativity with lunch menu's, which is not a big surprise. Considering the number of people who regularly dine out for lunch downtown I think they are missing a great opportunity to introduce new customers to their specialties. For example, soup and a turkey sandwich is not going to keep me coming back to your restaurant!. I am a bit disappointed to see that Todd Jurich's Bistro has the same menu as last restaurant week, but we will probably go there regardless, because everything was so phenomenal last time. Check out the menu here and plan your week. Look for some new reviews from Alex and Laine soon!