Sunday, March 15, 2009
Sal's of Radford fame comes to Blacksburg
New River Field Guide
Recent columns
- The Field Guide has led readers on five years of adventures
- New River Deli in Pembroke is still down-home
- Bridge makes a big difference in Heritage Park
- Virginia Tech athletes put their all into track challenge
Until now, I haven't rushed out to try the First & Main restaurants as they opened.
But Sal's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria is different.
It's Sal's, man! Sal's is a Radford fixture. Or perhaps I should say legend.
As I recall the legend, Sal's of Radford served great food in a rather modest atmosphere. In Blacksburg, the owners have attempted to raise the environs to the level of the menu.
You can tell that as soon as you see the arched door leading into the restaurant. Open the doors and you'll see stone lions, orchids and large, framed photos. The whole restaurant is imaginatively designed. In all the Field Guides I've done, I don't think I've ever said that a place has "great lines," but Sal's has great lines. It's very classy.
Now, my family isn't classy. Some of us are noisy and some of us are disheveled, but none of us is classy. We don't really know what to do with great lines. However, I am aware that there are many classy people in Blacksburg. Sal's is for these people to take friends, dates and business partners for a flavorful meal.
The menu is vast, with so many different pastas and sauces and burgers and salads and sausages that you'll never be able to try them all.
The pizza is very thin, very cheesy and very good. You can stick with cheese, pick your own toppings or choose one of 17 "signature pies." These include a white pizza, a vegetable chicken pie and a spicy pie with banana peppers and jalapenos.
Similarly, there are 15 specialty calzones, six types of ravioli, eight steak sandwiches and nine "pizza pops." I ordered one of these -- the chicken bruschetta pop -- largely to find out what it was. It's lots of very good ingredients, including very tasty grilled chicken, wrapped up in dough. Very nice.
Bottom line: The taste of Sal's finally comes to Blacksburg, complete with an upscale atmosphere to match the rest of First & Main.
