Restaurant Review #1: Molasses Grill in Halifax, VA

I know all of you faithful readers (who am I kidding, Mom, Dad, and Marguerite) have been waiting on pins and needles for a restaurant review, after all, this is a forum for me to write about delicious and/or innovative and/or memorable dishes and places I have eaten.  

Had I conjured this genius blog idea before December, I would have nothing but restaurant reviews on here. I do nothing but eat out in some of the most unique, sometimes hole-in-the-wall, sometimes extravagant restaurants for twelve straight weeks, and then, the travel stops cold turkey before the Christmas holiday. Aaaaaaaand the rest of the year, I live in a in a village (of sorts) in southern Virginia. The two best restaurants are 45 minutes away, and I do my grocery shopping at...I'm embarrassed to say.

I love my job; I love my life; I'm just trying to justify my lack of restaurant reviews until this point. I have made an executive decision to randomly surprise you with posts from restaurants from my traveling days. I will have to include pictures from the web, but it's better that than you not knowing these places exist until I return in the fall and take my own pictures.

We will start off in my hometown of Halifax, VA for the inaugural restaurant review. (I actually went here this past weekend and took some of my own pictures.)

This gem of a restaurant is located in what used to be in the Courthouse Cafe, a little diner connected to the old pharmacy the lawyers frequented for both breakfast and lunch. As a kid, my grandmother and I would go there; I'd always order the bacon grilled cheese, and we'd go to the grocery after that and I'd get banana pudding from the deli to eat while we walked around the store. Man, life was simple back then! Anyway, this building is old and adorable. Picture a small town downtown with quaint store fronts, and you've got the setting for Molasses Grill.


The first thing you see when you walk inside is the list of specials written on a chalkboard, and then the host greets you from behind an antique credenza. Look up, and you notice they have kept the original tin ceiling tiles.  Local art spots the walls and the atmosphere is very warm and inviting. The bar is straight ahead and loaded with a great selection of beer, both domestic and imported. The wine selection is great if you're buying a bottle; if you're sticking to a glass, they have great wines, but only a handful of choices. There are always seasonal cocktails!



This isn't a bar review, so on to the food. Molasses' cuisine is southern inspired, so think gourmet barbecue, cole slaw, grits, collards, black-eyed peas, and sweet potatoes. And bourbon, how could I forget the bourbon? I know that's a hard concept for you non-southerners (and maybe some of you southerners) to wrap your head around. If you need to see it to believe it, come visit. I'm happy to accompany you.

Calamari, GET IN MY BELLY!

On this particular night, we started off with two orders of the calamari. Actually, that's no different from any other night we go there. There is no other calamari like it out there. I cannot figure out if it has cornmeal on it; the batter seems more coarse than most batters, so I'm thinking yes. It also has a little heat to it reminiscent of cayenne pepper. The real star of this dish is not necessarily the calamari itself, but the lemon butter sauce with capers, diced tomatoes, red onion, and scallions is the kicker. Half the time, I'm tempted to ask for a bowl of this and a basket of bread. If there's any lemony goodness left on the plate after the calamari is gone, people start to fight over who gets to sop it up with the complimentary French bread--so good, chewy AND crusty.

The special appetizer was a green bean soup topped with applewood smoked bacon and spiced pecans. It was much like split-pea soup, but needed a bit of salt (and I'm typically not one to over salt) or another layer of depth. I am glad I tried it, because a) I love beans, and b) I would have wondered if I hadn't.



The featured entrées were North Carolina flounder panko fried, served with sweet potato fries, crab-filled hush puppies, and coleslaw and rack of lamb with a raspberry port demi-glace served with caramelized onion grits and rosemary roasted vegetables.

Cross section of the hush puppy.

Talk about a plate of fried goodness, the fish had a light, crispy crust (thank you, panko) and was moist inside. The hush puppies were herb-y and good. They could have used more crab, but I feel that way about any dish that has crab and isn't 90+% meat. I have not had lamb in...since I don't know when...but served medium-rare, it was extremely juicy and flavorful. You could detect notes of rosemary in the meat, and I love, love rosemary. It was also extremely tender. Dad ate the grits before I had a chance to snag a bite, so they must not have been too bad.

Dad's lamb

These were specials, and they were good, but if you go, you must try the sweet-potato wrapped salmon--pan seared, the potato is crispy and salty, and the salmon inside is just as moist as can be. It's served over a white wine butter sauce--get out of my way! The bourbon marinated pork tenderloin is also a good option, and that comes mashed sweet potatoes. All of the sauces are made in house; I truly respect places that make everything in house, because it takes a lot of time and resources--but makes a huge difference. They cater!

We had to skip dessert this time for lack of room, but if you go, you have to try the bourbon pecan pie--it's got chocolate chips and is served with a scoop of bourbon ice cream--hold the phone! There's also an ice cream trio--bourbon, caramel, and ginger--I was surprised by how much I liked the ginger one, as it's not typically one of my first choices, but the spiciness of the ginger mixed with the coolness of the ice cream is a great combo.

The food is out of this county, the atmosphere is warm, and the service is pretty good. It is hard to get well-trained wait staff in this area, and sometimes we have waited a while for our food, but the quality of food never disappoints and is consistent. I also think we may have been a bit rowdy one too many times, never mind four too many times, so that could have something to do with it. I forgot to note that this restaurant is only a half mile from my parents' house--perfect for when we've indulged just a bit too much and Mom, the DD, gets fed up with us and leaves...like Joy's birthday.

**The first three pictures hail from http://www.molassesgrill.com/