Restaurant Review #5: Virginia Wine Week at Molasses Grill in Halifax, VA

No, you aren't suffering from deja vu, and you aren't imagining things, I have already reviewed Molasses Grill. I had to share this meal with you though. Going to school in Charlottesville, I developed an appreciation for Virginia Wine, really wine in general, but especially Virginia Wine. On spring days--prettier than the ones we've been having recently--we would always go wine tasting. Of course, we never skipped class for such an activity...never. After tasting, we would purchase a bottle, a baguette, a hunk of cheese, and some salami or some sort of cured meat and sit on the lawn and enjoy the beauty of Charlottesville, local wine, and each other's company.

Knowing how much I love wine--particularly of the Virginia persuasion--and good food, my mom let me know about Virginia Wine Week. VWW was from March 18 - 27, and restaurants, wine stores, and wineries around the state were having specials. Some were pricing specials, some were free tastings, and some were meals inspired by and paired with VA wine. The event Molasses held on March 24 was the latter--a prix fixe, four-course dinner with wine pairings. All courses for everyone partaking in the event were to be served at the same time.

I called several weeks in advance to ensure I had a seat--Molasses is not too, too large. So at 6:00 my roommate, aunt, mother, and I assembled at Molasses to claim the reserved seats. I expected wines from all over Virginia, but only one vineyard was featured...a local vineyard. I was nervous when I had that realization. The only local wine I had had until then was SWEET to say the least...saccharine probably best describes it. I don't even cook with it. Since I hadn't had anything from Hunting Creek Vineyards, I remained open minded...but skeptical. And much to my surprise and pleasure, this was, hands down, the best meal I have had at Molasses.

The first course was duck two ways paired with a viognier--a wine I don't typically like. It was not as sweet as the viogniers I have tasted before, thank goodness. It was very smooth, too, but not buttery like a chardonnay. I found myself saying liking the wine and wanting to purchase a bottle. This course was served chilled the two ways were 1) hickory grilled breast served chilled over a honey and coriander dressed arugula salad and 2) roasted and pulled duck leg served on a crostini. Both ducks was so tender, flavorful, and moist. It literally melted in my mouth. There were crispy, salty bits of skin atop the duck breast on the salad that added great texture and flavor to the dish. I wanted at least two more helpings. Even those who didn't like duck enjoyed this dish.

Second, we had the "Indulgence" merlot-petit verdot blend paired with a roasted wild striped bass. It was served over grits, braised fennel, cured lemon, country ham, bacon, and a red wine Indulgence sauce. The wine was good--fairly light,  not too sweet, with a smoky finish. The chef said he tried to make uncommon pairings--i.e. duck with white, fish with red, and by using lemon and fennel, as they normally do not pair well with wine. Period. I am not a huge bass fan, but it was alright. I wanted an entire plate of the other stuff--the ham, bacon, grits, and red wine sauce. There was also a house-made potato chip that teetered atop the fish, and it was crisp and salty and better than anything you can find in a store. Oh man. So good.

Then along came "Decadence" with the porterhouse (read: HUGE CHUNK OF) lamb. At this point, we were all feeling good--especially me. This was the first drink I had in at two weeks, since I had been preparing for a half-marathon that was the weekend before. We were also getting full, so we did not enjoy the lamb as much as we would have had we been starving and as much as we really should have. Nonetheless, it was delicious, tender, medium-rare, juicy, and I could have drunk the sauce on the place--made from the Decadence wine, 95% petit verdot and 5% viognier. This was my favorite of the two reds. It was extremely smooth, not sweet, but not rich with tanins, not too heavy--juuuust right. The lamb was served along with fingerling potatoes--used to soak up the wine sauce--and local collards. I love leafy greens, and these were cooked perfectly.

To accompany the dessert, we were served a dessert wine--imagine that! I don't drink anything with notable residual sugars. I think all dessert wines taste like fermented honey. While I like honey, the though of drinking it fermented does nothing for me. Whenever we went tasting in college, I'd pass the wines off to someone else, and tonight was no different. I slid the glass to my right for my aunt to enjoy--she loves SWEET. It did, however, have one redeeming factor--the adorable minuscule wine glass in which it was served. The dessert was a strawberry rhubarb crumble topped with green tea-cardamom ice cream. OH MAN. The crumble was tangy and tart from the rhubarb, and the ice cream was cool and refreshing, a fitting dessert after the heavy lamb dish.

The best part--all of this (four courses AND WINE) was the price tag. $29.95 plus tax and gratuity. If you want to eat like a prince on a pauper's budget, come to Southside VA. Well, maybe not a pauper's budget, but you couldn't have gotten half of this meal anywhere else for this price!

Also, you were fortunate enough to dine with the proprietors of the vineyard. You can't get a meal like this anywhere for this price. Put VWW on your calendar/radar next year if you are from VA, and if you aren't from VA, book your tickets and make your reservations now. You'd be silly not to do so.