AWFUL ARTHUR'S SEAFOOD COMPANY

ahh.. and this would be the reason i started this hateful blog site.

first of all, this is the place i was referring to when i said im sure people love the places i will hate. how does this place have a chain? i was ready to walk out. 

it was my girlfriends birthday, so we wanted to go some place to have a nicer dinner [without wearing a suit/dress]. little did we know, arthur's resembles the college/redneck bars we are used to in indiana. everyone was drinking from their 24oz coors cans and walking around smoking. while we were waiting for our food, guys in camo/trucker hats and cut-off t-shirts were setting up for a band. first, the description there doesnt set up for much, second, this place is not big enough for the set up they were putting together. really, do you need 4 pa speakers for a place whose maximum occupancy looked like maybe 100? luckily we left before they started. i cannot imagine what it would have been... or can i? 

anyway, back to the food. the prices were what we figured [$13-20] for entrees. she got the special, a seared ahi tuna dish that looked and sounded promising. i had the coconut shrimp entree. her dish was cooked perfectly for ahi tuna. it looked great, smelled great, but where was the taste? the dish was very bland for $20. the vegetables were drenched [understatement] in butter, but at least there was a flavor to that. 

you could tell that my shrimp had been done way before her dish. the fact that my breading was blackish-brown instead of golden-brown was a good indication that they deep-fried my shrimp, had to wait for her dish, then deep-fried my shrimp again. all i could taste was burnt breading. i was very close to complaining, but since i know how the business works, i was polite and wasted my money at their establishment. 

i guess this is one place that does live up to its name... awful. maybe next time i will just try the $6.95 appetizers. they are probably just frozen items from their food service provider. i will not pay more than that if i do eat here again.. unless its just for drinks.

ZAK'S CAFE

well, with all the great zac/h/k's in the world, i was hoping this would live up to the name. it is only open certain days/times, so we just so happened to walk by at lunch one day. very skimpy lunch crowd to start. i am still a little confused by this place. one side looks like a make-shift deli. the other side looks like a fine dining, art gallery. this may be a place i have to try for dinner, but for lunch, i wasnt all that impressed. they fancy paninis are not a bad thing. however, it is a bad thing when you cannot eat your sandwich due to the roughness of the bread cutting the roof of your mouth with every bite. flavor-wise, my sandwich was good. i cannot remember the name, but it was italian meat and a red pepper with pesto sauce. i think there was one slice of meat on my sandwich [making the red pepper ring the highlight?]. the pepper continued to slide off so i just gave up on it. the reviews are great for zak's. maybe dinner is better. if my next attempt is equal to my first, i may be subjecting myself to subway. 

BLUES BBQ CO.

i have also eaten here twice in my two weeks in roanoke. the first time i had the brisket sandwich special. it had a great taste, however the meat was slightly cold. now i understand that they cook whatever they want for the day and keep it heated [or reheated] so its kind of expected, but do not let that sway your opinions negatively. the option of three different [regional] bbq sauces is nice. i also had a bourbon barrel stout, which unfortunately made its way off the tap, which was extremely good. 

round two, i went with the special again. just a plain old cheeseburger and fries. not too bad for $6 i suppose. the seasoned fries are good. the burger seemed a little pre-packaged for my taste. it was flame-broiled and about 6 ounces. not too bad for $6 in virginia. 

i say not too bad for $6 in virginia because in indiana, specials usually run at $4.95. here places have an $8 lunch and a couple places have $6 lunches. at least the economy here is a lot better than the midwest.

also, i could not believe how many bottles of whiskey were on the wall. could someone explain to me why a place would have so much whiskey? i feel like i am missing out on something here. maybe just the fact that whiskey is a southern liquor as bbq is a southern dish?

ERNIE'S CAFE

so ill try to backtrack the past couple weeks and remember what places i have eaten at... i think the first roanoke dining experience i had was ernie's cafe. it is located in the historic marketplace of downtown roanoke. i have eaten there twice now [both times at breakfast], and it is delicious. there is nothing wrong with a fattening, greasy, and homemade breakfast. it is also very reasonably priced. the sausage biscuits are great. unfortunately, i have yet to taste the chipped beef gravy. first attempt, the cook didnt make it that day. second attempt, they were sold out. 

the only draw back to ernie's is that you can smoke inside. now, im not really used to that in restaurants, and it really wasnt that strong of a smell, but personally, that is something i do not like.

im not sure if i want to have a point, grading, or yes/no system yet... ill get back to you, but ernie's is a YES to me.

AND SO IT BEGINS..

i just moved to roanoke, virginia from indiana. fresh out of college with a bfa in visual communications and looking to start my career as a design professional. roanoke is great so far. we [my girlfriend and i] love the abundance of art and how accepting art is in such a large community. it is a beautiful city, and we have a beautiful downtown apartment [except for the 18 year old next door who violates her lease by partying and playing music extremely loud late at night].

i came from a work background in the food industry. not so glamorous i know, but it was a family owned business. hopefully now i can start my real career [if you know any hiring design firms, please let me know!]. i have six years experience working in the food service/bar industry, doing everything from being a cook, cleaner, manager, security, etc. i had to know the business inside and out. i know how to cook. one main reason for this blog is to rate the dining here in roanoke, but i will have posts not relating to food. im sure a lot of people really love the places i hate. maybe i will be nice and give those places a second chance.

this is my first blog, and by reading other blogs, message boards, communities, etc., i cannot wait for all the ridiculous comments. hopefully, not everyone who comments has the mentality of a 10 year old, but what can i do? if you disagree, please tell me [civilly]. let me know how you feel. let me know what to try at places i dislike. let me know where to go.

i know i am not perfect [my lack of capitalization and apostrophes], but if you plan on commenting, please spell everything correctly. i understand the occasional "teh" or mix ups with letters. you lose all credibility when you cannot spell or use the proper word in a sentence:

"sale/sell"
"sterio"
"padio"
"rele" = really
[source: roanoke.craigslist.org]

roanoke, wish me luck...