Review: Dumplings make a lovely, quick lunch at Marco & Luca in Blacksburg

At University Mall in Blacksburg, in a space once occupied by a sandwich chain, a new cuisine is being served. Marco & Luca is an Asian restaurant that, because of its simplicity and affordability , makes for a pleasant stop for a quick lunch or dinner.

Owners Da Sun and Dragana Katalina-Sun came to Charlottesville in 1999; he is from China and she from Bosnia. After opening the first two Marco & Luca locations in Charlottesville, they recently opened the one in Blacksburg and are preparing to open another inside the Roanoke City Market Building.

The interior setup of the Blacksburg store is similar to that of the previous business, but with Asian embellishments hanging on the walls. The dining area is clean and more comfortable than most fast food establishments. Tables and chairs replace the booths, and the menu hangs over the counter.

Marco & Luca offers a mere six items on the menu: dumplings, spicy noodles, sesame noodles, steamed hot buns (pork or vegetarian) and hot and sour soup. It is the only restaurant we have reviewed where we ate everything on the menu, some twice. We enjoyed every item.

All dishes are served in a disposable plastic foam or cardboard tray for dine-in or carry-out. Some dishes are served with chopsticks, but plastic forks and knives are readily available. Every item arrived quickly after we ordered, while the staff was friendly and was obviously interested in making guests comfortable.

Fried dumplings (six for $3.50) are served with Marco & Luca soy sauce. Crisp on the outside with tender pork, leeks and ginger inside, the dumplings are delicious. The Marco & Luca soy sauce is reminiscent of teriyaki but a little sweeter and thicker than soy sauce , a nice condiment for the dumplings.

Two cold noodle dishes are available, each for $4. The sesame noodles have a peanut sauce and are topped with shredded cucumber. If it’s a hot day and you want something cool with a distinctive, mild Asian flavor, this is a great choice. The portion is so generous we found ourselves ordering this each time we visited. The sweet and sour spicy noodles feature the house soy sauce with a chili sauce added along with cilantro and scallions. It is topped with crisp apple shreds that add a sweet relief from the heat of the chili sauce.

Steamed hot buns are cute white yeast buns stuffed with your choice of barbecued pork or a combination of cabbage, carrots, and string beans ($2.50 each). We thought both fillings were flavorful, though a little skimpy. They are also served with the Marco & Luca soy sauce.

The last item on the menu board is hot and sour soup ($2), a vegetarian soup containing tofu, egg and seaweed. Served in a large plastic foam cup with a spoon; it lived up to its name. It had a bold flavor but was not too sour; we found ourselves drinking it down while peeking to make sure no other diners were seeing our bad manners.

Marco & Luca will find many fans in a college town who will appreciate its speed of service, simplicity, distinctive Asian flavors and reasonable prices. If the Roanoke location is comparable, it will no doubt attract the downtown lunch crowd.

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