Thursday, August 28, 2008
Red Clay discovered in Rocky Mount
Larry Bly
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Red Clay discovered in Rocky Mount
No, this is not an article about the type of soil you'll find in Rocky Mount. Nope, it's about a fine restaurant I was treated to recently while in that area: The Red Clay restaurant.
At first glance, it seems mighty fancy for a restaurant in blue-collar Rocky Mount, not that they don't deserve something nice. You won't find kinder, gentler souls. The owners have really spiffied-up the building; fancy oversized carved doors welcome you, a nice bar area immediately greets you, and then you're seated in a very large and ornate dining room. I like the decor and especially love the oversized booths for dining privacy. I had no idea that they had a room full of people until I got up to leave at the end of my meal. The walls take advantage of rich and full colors; and there are soothing waterfall sconces as well.
But the food is the star here. I'm told by regulars that it can be hit or miss, but on one recent dining experience there it was a hit all the way.
We started with fried green beans served with zesty ancho aioli sauce. This is often a pre-packaged food product, but we felt that this was the real thing -- lightly breaded and deep-fried to perfection. The sauce was a perfect match. Under appetizers, you may choose the mundane:
fried mozzarella, jalapeno poppers, spinach and artichoke dip. But there are very special offerings as well: hickory smoked spare ribs (had 'em, loved 'em), crab spring rolls with a teriyaki sauce, and sea scallops that are fat, tender and delicious, especially when paired with a tropical fiery fruit salsa.
While the Red Clay is Asian-inspired, the menu runs 10 pages and includes American-baked spaghetti with meatballs. subs, quesadillas, green sandwiches, Italian cold cuts, and steak and potatoes. And they manage to pull most of it off pretty well with few disappointments.
The shrimp scampi is a bit different in presentation than usual: large sautéed shrimp served on a bed of homemade pasta (and it IS homemade and
fresh) with shredded parmesan and diced tomatoes, served with basil. Nice presentation and a nice portion.
Under the heading "Clay Comfort," I tried the chicken stir-fry and it was, of the three meals, a real winner. Everyone had to try a bite. Tender juicy chicken tossed with an Asian vegetable medley and a wonderful teriyaki glaze, served over saffron rice (the real thing) and topped with crunchy fried noodles and toasted almonds. At a modest $7.50, you would be hard-pressed to choose a better entree for lunch or dinner.
By the way, the wait-person was very attentive and pleasant; and the fresh, hot bread arrived right off and just kept coming through the entire meal.
A fellow diner ordered the stuffed pork loin, and while it was prepared perfectly, to say that it's "stuffed" may be a stretch. Oddly, it's sort of layered, but still quite delicious. It's served with something called "Clay gravy" and a choice of two sides. The gravy is a perfect addition, though the savory homemade cranberry stuffing took a little getting used to. We Southerners are just so picky about our stuffings.
We ordered some additional sides, including the roasted corn. It's not on the cob but prepared stove-top (we suppose) and served in a bowl. Nice flavor. There are Clay chips (they really work the clay thing for a fare-thee-well), cole slaw, saffron cranberry almond rice, clay potatoes and steamed veggies.
The meat and potatoes crowd will find some fine entrees, all reasonably priced in the $11-24 range. These include sirloin steaks, rib-eyes, filets, prime rib (available on Friday and Saturday for dinners only), filet kebob, filet beef tips (in gravy), spare ribs, pork chops, rack of lamb, and petite file and lobster tail. You can even add rock lobster to any entree for $11.
There are chicken dishes galore: stuffed, shish kabobs, lime chicken, bbq chicken; and pasta dishes too----alfredo, chicken saltimbocca, chicken parmesan, pasta rosa (which usually denotes a creamy pink sauce--often vodka though it doesn't say that), chicken and shrimp and lobster and shrimp.
And as if all of that weren't enough, choose from burgers, subs, rollups, French dip and a few more I won't bother to mention here.
It's a menu for everyone. Why the kitchen would put itself under this laundry list of items is beyond me. But my experience is that they do most of it well. Desserts are announced table-side. There is full ABC service, as well as some signature teas and house blends.
I would probably consider driving down to Rocky Mount just to enjoy this restaurant again. It's huge and there are even meeting/banquet facilities downstairs.
Red Clay restaurant
Uptown/Rocky Mount
Main Street
(
540) 482-0020
