Thursday, January 29, 2009
Norberto's for lunch once again
Larry Bly
Larry Bly runs an ad agency and does freelance writing in the Roanoke area.
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This is not the first time that Norberto's has served lunch in its Grandin Village location. But in this economy, a lot of restaurants are expanding hours and opening extra days in order to maximize business and improve the bottom line.
Hardly anything ever changes at Norberto's, and that's a good thing. The menu selfom changes, the dishes arrive piping hot and done exactly as you remember them from one visit to another over the decades they've been in business. Even the staff is consistent. Reynaldo, who's worked various kitchens around Roanoke, including his own, was waiting tables the day I was there. He's always pleasant but not overly talkative.
Unlike the old days, lunch entrees no longer come with the standard house salad, which was always fresh and served the same way. No wonder! Food costs are going through the roof, so in order to avoid downscaling the entrees, they simply dropped the salad. But it's still available a la carte for little extra.
My entree, chicken parmegiana, came with steaming veggies on the side, served over a mound of pasta. They use a breaded chicken cutlet, but the red sauce and the fresh veggies save this dish.
My dining partner had a chicken breast with tons of artichokes in an extraordinarily delicious cream sauce, served with pasta and steamed veggies. Except for veal and seafood dishes, the lunch entrees are kept below $9; pasta dishes like manicotti or fettuccini alfredo are in the $7-8 range.
My friend also had the seafood bisque. This creamy concoction never fails to please. I had the pasta fagioli: a lovely combination of white beans and macaroni swimming in a garlicky broth. The black bean soup here is always thick and delicious. Consistency is a given at Norberto's.
Some slightly pricier (and larger) specials have been added to the lunch menu for those not watching their billfolds or their waistlines: beef acebolado, a New York strip with onions, served with rice, black beans and veggies. Or grilled salmon with rice, black beans and veggies. If you're really are hungry, there's the Moqueca Brasileira (seafood combo) with fish, scallops, shrimp, clams with rice, black beans and veggies. At nearly $13, it's the most expensive thing on the menu. Do people still eat like that for lunch?
I found the standard menu items to be just right for a luncheon portion. Of course, I did add all of those other sides plus a house red wine, which at less than five bucks, was pretty respectable.
As lunch menus go, this one offers a great variety: everything from linguini with clam sauce to veal francese or scaloppini to shrimp with scallops and flounder francese. I'm not sure who could get to dessert -- though some ladies seemed to have just skipped over the entrees and went directly there -- but Norberto's offers the standard fare of New York style cheesecake, chocolate raspberry cake, tiramisu, and Italian spumonti ice cream. The only homemade item is the flan, a customer favorite at this restaurant.
There's full bar service and reservations on weekends are recommended as the intimate dining room fills up quite fast during the dinner hours.
Norberto Silva's restaurant has long been a perennial favorite for those of us visiting or shopping in the Grandin area. It's like visiting an old friend you had forgotten for a while.
NORBERTO'S ITALIAN RISTORANTE
1908 Memorial Ave.
Roanoke, VA 24015
540-342-1611
