Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Pomegranate: a jewel in Troutville
Larry Bly
Larry Bly runs an ad agency and does freelance writing in the Roanoke area.
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A surprise visit to the all-new Pomegranate Restaurant was a recent gift to me from a friend. Located in an old Troutville warehouse, fully redecorated and tastefully festooned, it's not the easiest place to find, as it's off on a side street unfamiliar to many of us.
Turning this facility into an intimate gathering spot and restaurant was no easy task. And yet they've done so, if a bit sparsely in the main dining area. There's a full bar in the lobby area and a huge facility in the back for parties. They've installed a full walk-in wine cellar, stocked impressively.
Service was smooth, not rushed, professional. Drink service was immediate. They know how to make a dirty martini, very dry. Every table seemed to get the same level of attention, not just ours.
The menu is a quick read, but chock full of options. For instance, if your taste runs to tapas, there is a large section featuring hummus, tuna tartare, clams braised with chorizo, portobello mushroom with tomato caper relish, tequila chili shrimp, lemon garlic chicken, lamb meatballs, beef pinchos, fried olives, and potato leek and corn fritters. I'm partial to the fried olives, finished off with a delicious housemade mozzarella, unusually fine.
Appetizers include duck confit with pancetta dried-cherry risotto, shrimp stuffed with goat cheese, seared sea scallops gnocci, and calamari with tomato aioli.
I could have been more adventurous in the entree that I chose, but I was in the mood for a thick filet mignon, which was crispy dark on the outside and perfectly pink in the middle. Even better was the wild mushroom demi-glace -- so good that my fellow diners each shared a tiny bit and declared it one of the best reductions they'd ever tasted.
A fellow diner enjoyed the crab cakes, with perhaps a touch too much breading on the outside, but full of sweet crab meat, and a large serving at that.
Diner No. 3 enjoyed the halibut, seared perfectly with an accompanying Anaheim shrimp sauce. The sauce was flavorful without competing vigorously with the fish.
We decided to order up several of the a la carte sides, including brussel sprouts that are pan seared and halved, the only way to handle brussle sprouts correctly. I ordered a big old mound of fresh mashed potatoes, infused with roasted garlic. Could have been a tad more garlicky for me ... but I ate every bite. You can also order the potatoes with parmesan horseradish, chipolte pepper, or Anaheim pepper and bacon. Maybe some evening I'll go back and just do mashed potatoes -- try them all.
To any entree, you may also opt to order a la carte, add grilled shrimp, grilled scallops, crab cake or lump crabmeat.
Desserts are homemade and so you'll get those on a separate daily menu presented at the end of the meal. I had a rum cake with sauce, with what tasted like a classic burned-sugar crust just like you get in fine restaurants down South. Another pal had a superb and crunchy crème brule.
We enjoyed a fine California domestic Cabernet with the meal. The wine list is ample and the prices range from modest to moderately expensive, such as the Camus, which is worth every nickel. I have paid, by the way, upwards of $150 for a bottle of Camus at the Oceannaire Seafood Restaurant in Washington. Unfortunately, I had a chest cold and couldn't taste a thing. How stupid is that? Oh well, my friend enjoyed it. And I admired the bottle.
Pomegranate boasts an impressive kitchen and I found a few old chef/cook friends working there. Pomegranate is still fine-tuning things, but we found the place to be in harmony -- service, food, drink -- the night we were there.
POMEGRANATE
Restaurant and Gathering Place
106 Stoney Battery Road
Troutville, VA 24175
Reservations preferred but not required
Dinner only
(540) 966-6052
