Thursday, January 10, 2008
Rockfish Grill offers lunch, retail deli
Larry Bly
Larry Bly runs an ad agency and does freelance writing in the Roanoke area.
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It didn't take Rockfish Grill very long to establish itself in Roanoke's Grandin Road neighborhood. Now they're a destination, along with the Grandin Theatre, and great music venue. I've spent many a Sunday night enjoying jazz and dinner at Rockfish. I'm not sure which I enjoy more.
Rockfish briefly entertained the idea of opening for lunch on Fridays and then thought better of it. Restaurant owner/operators quickly find themselves overextended in trying to do both. They've recently taken over the space next to them (a long-time popular movie rental store) and have expanded their offerings and their hours.
Sunday brunch, offering a host of favorites, including all kinds of Benedicts, breakfast plates (eggs, meat, home fries, grits) omelettes and frittatas, sandwiches, and shrimp and grits, began only recently and is already packing them in. The deli/lunch side was supposed to handle Sunday brunches, but now they're having to open the main dining room as well, with the deli/lunch side taking care of overflow.
I was among those few that got to enjoy the brief foray into lunches at Rockfish, so I could hardly wait to get back there again. Some of the original lunch menu is intact as new items have been offered. I've tried their gumbo, a delicious brew of seafood and sauce, thick and flavorful. It's a traditional style gumbo that seems just right for Roanoke. Anything more kicky would not do. I've eaten my way through New Orleans dozens of times and admit that I'd go for something a little more adventurous, but this gumbo's plenty fine so I'll leave it alone.
The sandwiches, made to order, use many of the fine meats and fixins offered in the deli retail area. The deli's still a work in progress. They have the shelf items sort of hidden away. Putting them closer to the refrigerated deli meats will create a look and feel more like a deli shop.
I recently tried the smoked turkey rueben with sauerkraut on rye. It was messy but plenty good. I enjoyed the Black Forest ham sandwich with Swiss, lettuce, tomato and a ton of mustard -- my personal option. The ham is bold and perfectly accompanies the cheese. They use a nice quality of rye.
A friend chose the soup of the day, which was tomato. It's always good to check -- they do
soups well and you never know what they'll offer. The soup arrived piping hot (a real issue with my friend, always)
and he assured me that it had a very pleasant aftertaste. Often,
tomato soup tends to finish too sweet or bitter.
You'll find plenty of salads, notably the Carolina cobb with blue cheese, applewood smoked bacon, and chicken breast and chopped egg. History lesson: The Cobb salad has nothing to do with corn (the cob) but rather is named for the late Chef Cobb, who developed a "chopped" salad that could be eaten easily by the movie stars who often showed at his restaurant in full costume between takes. The Cobb salad seems to have come back into vogue and is one of my favorites There's an antipasto salad with Kalamata olives, artichokes, pastrami, anchovies and your choice of mozzarella or Gouda.
Traditional sandwiches include the standard reuben with corned beef, roast beef with horseradish ailoi (a personal favorite of mine), smoked turkey, and crabcake with citrus aioli on Ciabatta. Remember when rye and whole wheat were about as exotic as bread got in these parts?
I've not tried the plates for lunch, but distinctly remember one or two from previous dinners there: Cuban black beans with rice and housemade salsa -- it's a winner and so inexpensive at $7.50; the barbecue plate in Carolina or Memphis style; or the Ciopinno with mussels, clams and calamari and shrimp in a rich tomato broth. I did the backstroke in that one once. It's worth a try.
I'm not a desserts person, but be assured that they make their own and usually have plenty of variety to offer up.
The extensive shelves of wines once in the main dining area have now moved over to the deli side and I'm told will take on an increasing amount of wall space. It's already pretty impressive. Diners often spend time perusing the shelves while waiting for their food.
Beverages in both rooms include tea, coffee, juices, mimosa, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot noir, merlot, cabernet, Miller Lite, Sam Adams, New Castle, Corona, Becks, Tupper's Hop Pocket Ale, Guinness, lager, and Magic Hat #9 (if you have to ask ...).
It's great to have another lunch option in the Grandin area and I hope many will discover the newest deli as well. The owners of Rockfish have enough experience and savvy to handle the additional operations, I'm hoping.
Rockfish is closed Mondays. One day they can rest!
ROCKFISH FOOD & WINE
1402 Grandin Road SW
Roanoke, VA 240l5
540-904-5454
