Thursday, May 01, 2008
Another coffee shop review
Larry Bly
Larry Bly has plenty on his plate these days. He's got two TV shows on Cox Cable Roanoke. Click ahead for details and showtimes.
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If it seems like I'm purposely "doing coffee shops," it's a mere illusion, though I have eaten in plenty as of late. Just as I've done a prominent piece on the Brambleton Brew last week, I thought I'd just go ahead and check out the food offerings at the new Daily Grind at the new West Village Shopping Center in Southwest Roanoke County. This will end my java jive for the foreseeable future in this column.
I recently met a business associate and a friend at the Grind for lunch and was pleasantly surprised at two things: 1. How very busy the lunch crowd is at a coffee shop (lots of people doing power point presentations in booths all over) and 2. The quantity and quality of food offerings for lunch/dinner. My memories of the one downtown was much simpler: croissants, muffins, the usual continental-type fare. Not so anymore.
My associate's brimming cup of creamy cheesy potato soup would hold its own easily in more expensive restaurants. Served steaming hot and boasting large chunks of veggies, this "soup of the day" was an inexpensive, yet filling meal for a mere $3.50.
The kitchen is fully staffed and once you've ordered at the cash register, wait-staff promptly bring your food to the table side. My grilled vegetable pannini was a pleaser with spinach, roasted red peppers, onion, mushrooms and muenster cheese with pesto sauce. I did get some unexpected cucumbers, but gave them to my old cucumber-eating fellow diner, who enjoyed them as I wish I still could.
Another fellow diner enjoyed the "Unwind Club:" a turkey breast, ham, bacon and muenster cheese with honey-mustard dressing. It's also a panini, served piping hot and for less than $7 is satisfying and filling. Other panni offerings include a beef & cheddar and marinated chicken with roasted red peppers, served with pesto. I'm not a big pesto fan, but I like theirs and it works with these panini combinations.
The garden salads are amply topped with marinated chicken breast or with a delicious homemade chicken salad, highly recommended by the enthusiastic and helpful staff. Specialty sandwiches abound -- a salad stuffer croissant is very filling but without the guilt. The marinated chicken on focaccia bread's a winner, as is the veggie wrap in a spinach tortilla. Elvis may have left the building but he left behind an old favorite: a banana, peanut butter, honey and granola on wheat bread sandwich. Elvis skipped the granola and wheat bread part; why ruin a good thing by making it healthy?
At Daily Grind, you can get breakfast sandwiches -- bacon, egg, and cheese; ham, egg & cheese; and egg and cheese, served on grilled herb-crusted flat bread. Or choose the old favorites you'd regularly expect at a coffee house: croissants, filled croissants, cinnamon rolls, muffins, scones, bagels, cookies, dessert bars, brownies and pound cakes, and of course, gourmet pies and cakes by the slice.
Oh, and don't forget the fresh coffees. I'm partial to several of their house blends, all served up in a honkin' big steaming cup. Plus there are specialty espresso lattes -- caramel, mocha nut, and coco mocha, cappuccino and espressos -- even chai tea latte and hot chocolate and smoothies.
There's a small room off to the side for more intimate meetings, but hey, it's a coffee house and the frenetic pace of the room is part of the fun.
You can join some friends in a living-room style couch area, or just grab something and go.
DAILY GRIND
3549-A Electric Road
West Village Shopping Center
Roanoke, VA 240l8
(540) 774-2007
