Larry Bly

Larry Bly runs an ad agency and does freelance writing in the Roanoke area.

Recent columns

• Lynchburg's Shoemakers American Grille: The menu that fits like a shoe
• Beijing Chinese Restaurant: East meets Old Southwest
• SoRo is a go
• Hobos in Rehoboth
• Collins House Inn: Eating is half the fun of staying
• Column archive

• Recipe of the day

Roanoke doesn't have a restaurant with the beauty and uniqueness of Lynchburg's Shoemakers American Grille, which I recently visited for the first time.

Located in the old Craddock-Terry Shoe Co. factory at 1312 Commerce Street, the restaurant is expansive and features the building's original exposed beams, plenty of open space and nice groupings of tables and booths spread along the first-floor area. There is even a small glass-paneled meeting room just off the main dining area. One wall features their wonderful selection of wines. There's also a long wooden bar leading into the dining area, just across from the open kitchen. The dining room is large, but the décor conveys an intimate feeling.  The walls are festooned with original "shoe" art done specifically for this property, along with famous quotations regarding footwear (in keeping with the shoe factory motif).  

The service is crisp, yet very friendly and courteous.  And the food is good; occasionally, it's exceptional. My crab cake was a bit dry and the pasta slightly overcooked, but our table of five gave the place very good marks overall.

A friend's sesame-crusted grilled tuna salad received high marks and delivered extraordinary crunch and flavor. My friend nearly swooned as he experienced a mouthful of fresh ginger. And the new potatoes and pine nuts with vinaigrette finished it off perfectly. Several of us enjoyed a starter: the wedge salad with iceberg and tomato, bacon, onion and blue cheese crumbles on the side with a fresh house-made gorgonzola dressing.
It's a big old slice of iceberg and very colorful presentation -- almost more than I could finish.

My crab cakes came with a wonderful spicy remoulade, house fries (perfectly done and crunchy) and a smallish homemade cole slaw, which I loved. In all fairness, if I really loved it that much, I could have ordered a side order of the homemade cole slaw and I'm sure there would have been enough for all. The side offerings are numerous and delicious. We shared a crispy plate of oversized onion rings. I would have preferred them served with something -- anything -- but we ate them nonetheless and I 'm sure the staff would have accommodated any wish for a saucer of ranch dressing or ketchup.

Other side offerings include a fine macaroni and cheese, caramelized onions with mushrooms, a fresh vegetable of the day, sautéed mushrooms, loaded potatoes and something called "Shoemakers fries," which we didn't order and thus cannot describe.

Two of my fellow diners enjoyed an entrée of penne pasta with chicken and shrimp, which was served swimming in a delicious pecorino cream sauce. There were ample shrimp, chicken pieces and adouille sausage in the dish. I think that a friend's complaint about overdone pasta was a bit picky, considering the quality of the presentation otherwise. She's just an old al-dente kind of person.

The New England clam chowder received high marks, as did the soup of the day. We all enjoyed the basket of freshly baked bread, which was something between a popover and a flaky yeast roll.

Sandwiches offered include burgers, French dip, a chicken salad sandwich and, surprisingly, the Monte Cristo. One of my readers wrote me a while back asking where one could find a Monte Cristo these days. They've been long gone from most menus, probably because of changes in eating habits that give one pause when it comes to eating a deep-fried sandwich. The sandwich: Bread stacked with ham, smoked turkey, Swiss, dipped in egg and sautéed until gold brown and served with maple syrup. I could hardly keep myself from ordering it, just for old time's sake.

The restaurant's salads are all numerous and beautifully presented. Steaks and prime rib, too, abound: The menu includes aged black Angus prime rib, filet mignon, aged black Angus rib eyes, New York strip sirloins, grilled pork chops and something called a Drunk Prime Rib, which is marinated in Jefferson Street Pale Ale.

There are many more entrees -- grilled salmon, Ahi tuna, Virginia trout, chicken, ribs and jumbo fried shrimp -- plus decadent desserts, like chocolate blackout cake.

The lunch and dinner menus are pretty much the same, only with larger portions at dinnertime, I'm told.

Oh yes, and while there, we were allowed to take a peek a the upstairs and downstairs rooms in the adjoining Craddock Terry Hotel.  With 20-foot ceilings, oversized furnishings and exceptional décor, it seems worth an overnight stay in Lynchburg, just an hour away.