Geaux Balliceaux!
Written by Matt Sadler on August 27, 2009 – 8:00 am -It took a few weeks but I finally made it over to Balliceaux. I’ve been anticipating this opening for about 6 months and yet I somehow missed it. Oh well. It really doesn’t matter. Really, it’s one of my favorite chefs running the kitchen so I just needed to get over there and enjoy some amazing food.
BTW, don’t expect an unbiased review here. I’m a huge fan of Russell Cook and so I have a hard time being objective.
I was so desperate to eat there, that I took lil’marinara. I figured it would be a good test on how friendly and gracious their staff could be. I requested to sit in the back because it seemed a bit more low-key.
The Genius- Russell Cook
The staff was very engaging. Russell came by and I ordered “something low carb” and “something for kids.” I also ordered a bowl of their golden gazpacho, which was light, fresh and seasoned with a nice cayenne kick. The “something low carb” showed up and it was crispy pork belly on top of a cabbage salad and served with grilled veggies and au-jus. The “something for kids” was a heritage cheeseburger made with a Flour Garden roll, artisan cheese and local, grass-fed beef and fries.
Both dishes were great. Lil’ marinara tore up the fries and the burger, not before I was able to take a few bites. I dug into the pork belly, which Tony Bourdain refers to as the 5 layers of heaven. It was crispy and tasty on the outside. The inside was rich and tender. The au-jus was only really necessary for the inside pieces. The pieces with skin were perfect.
What I appreciated about the restaurant was that the prices were not outrageous. The pork was $16 and the burger was $10. With reasonable prices, it was amazing how well they were able to stay local, organic, and/or sustainable with the ingredients and wine.
I can’t wait to go back but I think I’ll leave the 2 year old at home and take the wife for a nice night out.
Posted in RVA, Restaurant Review | 15 Comments »
August 27th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
your son is always welcome at balliceaux. i was really impressed with his willingness to try everything and his manner of conduct for a 2 year old. what a charmer!
August 28th, 2009 at 5:49 am
Being that he came into the restaurant determined that he wanted a hot dog, I thought we were in for a long night. But the quick delivery of lemonade and bread with dip (evoo). he was set. you all were very gracious to us as opposed to being acting annoyed that I had brought them. Very cool!
August 28th, 2009 at 9:22 am
has anyone else been to Balliceaux? Thoughts? Are you going soon?
August 28th, 2009 at 11:00 am
The space is absolutely beautiful and certainly unlike anything in Richmond. The food is just okay, we started with the tuna crudo with alici, preserved lemon and cerignola olives and roasted garlic. It was gross. Crudely cut tuna, with lemon zest grated on a box grater (“preserved lemon”) piled in the center of two dried up alici. The kicker was they put nicoise olives, not cerignola(which are green) and get this a half head of garlic in the center of the plate. There was maybe 2 oz of tuna on that plate. Tuna was the last thing you tasted, probably better because it was not the best quality.
Continuing on we had the “forest” mushroom tart which consisted of cremini mushrooms, it was a hot mess in bowl. It tasted okay but news flash to the “genius”- you are cheating people by telling them you are serving one thing and actually giving them a cheaper product.
Then there were the two soups we had: gazpacho-it should have been called chunky salsa, because that’s exactly what it was and the mussel tom yum was devoid of all flavor and full of shells. I don’t know about you but soup should not have shells in it. Take the mussels out of there shell and then put them in the soup, duh.
The last atrocity was the hamburger, ordered medium it came out well done. No frills burger, bun, ketchup, half cooked frozen fries. Even though Russell may be genius by Richmond standards, he has no finesse and would never make it in a real city.
August 29th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
While I did not have the same items Joshua ordered, I was quite impressed by the food last night. Both myself and my dining partner raved over the Chickpea Salad. The Tandori Fried Cauliflower had excellent flavor and consistency, and the Cocoa Roasted Beats were a delight. My friend also spoke very highly of the mussles, although they were oddly served in their shells as Joshua highlighted.
The only misstep I encountered the entire evening was one of their cocktails, the Girlfriend’s Nightstand, which had way too much melon in it, and despite the vigorous grinding by the bartender, never got to the proper consistency. The Sazerac cocktail and Torrontes were excellent though.
I think all need to keep in mind it’s still a very new restaurant, working out its kinks. It’s not the best restaurant in Richmond (as some are getting carried away in the moment and claiming) but it is a very, very good one, and I look forward to repeated visits. Now if only the charlatan cancer of the Richmond music scene, Chris Bopst, wasn’t attached to the place, it’d score even higher.
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:17 am
Hey Joshua:
“get this a half head of garlic in the center of the plate” – This is a widely accepted way of serving roasted garlic.
Oh, and, FYI: cerignola olives can be black…
Finally, news flash: lots of seafood soups/stews have shells in them…ever heard of ciopinno, boullabaise?
Or maybe you’ve never eaten in a real city??
September 6th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Very good food. We came on a really busy Friday night and our food was still amazing. I had the hanger steak which was cooked to perfection. My wife had the tuna which was also very good,and had a remarkable spicy glaze on top. Knowing that it is such a fresh restaurant and I’m sure they have a lot of kinks to work out, I was definitely impressed.
September 8th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Hey Maw-
Or should I say “chef”, Cerignola olives can be black your right, but they are rarely sold that way. Look at this link- http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=v34&q=cerignola%20olives&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
The olives you put on that plate were crap and they had their stones in them. Try refining your technique a bit and thinking about texture. You have tuna(soft), Olives(mushy), Alici (soft) and a half head of roasted garlic(very soft once you work at getting it out). The only crunch was from the pith of the lemon peel:) Think texture.
Your tart was the same way, the pastry was only slightly crisp on top, then it was all more soft mushy things.
Your mussels would be fine served in the shell for an entree, but digging around in cup is cumbersome. You have to think about your diner. Of course people in Richmond think that Millie’s and Balliceaux are good, the food scene is behind in this city.
By the way I have worked in NY(jean-georges), DC(vidalia and citronelle), and LA(sona). That is why I do not cook anymore in Richmond.
September 8th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Joshua, I can appreciate that you were underwhelmed. Really, Balliceaux isn’t the greatest restaurant I have ever visited but I liked it. It was simple and affordable. I don’t think anyone is claiming this is the next great restaurant in America. God, I hope not. It’s a place where $22 was the most expensive entree. It’s a place where they are trying to deliver a decent product at a reasonable price. Are they going to make mistakes, sure. Feel free to call them out on it. But you remarks seem trite.
As for MAW, she doesn’t even live in Richmond. She freaking knows food and can be an ass about it too. She was just calling you out on your arguments.
Seriously, be smart about your arguments. Don’t complain that gazpacho tastes like salsa. It’s practically the same freaking thing as salsa other than cilantro. Also, don’t order grass fed burger- medium and complain when it comes out well-done. It’s grass fed beef for crying out loud and $10 at it. Also, complain about the dishes used is your soup, but complaining about shells seems crazy.
It seem like you have a bone to pick and whatever, but you are going to have a much better time if you grasp the reality of what Richmond has to offer instead of living in the past.
September 8th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Gazpacho is the same as salsa without cilantro? Wow, what do say to that.
I don’t like feeling “had” when I go to a restaurant, and that’s what happened, don’t claim a restaurant’s chef is a genius when only mediocre food is served. With a bottle of wine, six dishes, and tip our bill was right around a hundred for two people. The wine was only 24.
I don’t know who MAW is but anyone that defensive, appears to be related.
MAW must be stuck in the 80’s when it was okay to serve a head of garlic on the plate. MAW’s point of ciopinno and bouillabaise is irrelevant beacause they are considered stews.
Tom yum is a broth soup, do you like to dig in a cup of broth to get out mussels? Not me. With the exception of the occasional steamed crab, I don’t like to work for my food when I’m paying for someone to serve it. And that still doesn’t even address the complete lack of flavor in the soup.
How should I eat a grass fed burger, rare? Ground beef is required in many places to be cooked past med-well by state law. There is a reason for that, the bacteria on the outside of the meat contaminates the rest once ground. While I was dining there I smelled fish come to the table next of me that stunk. It was returned. If the fish is bad, how well do you think they keep that ground beef with all that oxygen that has now gotten too it??? The point still is it was over done. How is that good??
And as for being trite, are blogs not the definition of trite??
As a stay at home dad I obviously have a lot of time on my hands:) Sorry.
September 10th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
honestly – any time I have ever seen a soup that had mussels in it (from just about any type of restaurant that serves that type of stew/soup) – the mussels were still in the shells…….
September 10th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Balliceaux’s mission statement makes it clear: it seeks to offer fresh, regionally sourced, tasty food at reasonable prices. The possibility that many people could enjoy themselves there, regardless of their bank accounts, was a big part of the restaurant’s concept–and its menu design. (See prior press) Balliceaux is not trying (nor claiming) to be doing anything else, as far as I can tell. It is not serving haute cuisine. It is not pretending to serve haute cuisine. Without a doubt,constructive criticism can be useful, especially as they work out the kinks, but to compare Balliceaux to Citronelle, Jean-Georges, or other “real” reastaurants is a bit like comparing Buz and Ned’s to Balliceaux. Different genres, different intentions. They’re all real restaurants serving real people real food, and they’re all trying to do their version of real food well.
November 6th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
the charlatan cancer of the Richmond music scene…awesome…
December 22nd, 2009 at 4:22 am
hahahahaha Joshua is high larious…LA Paris my whole life, never met a more cluless douche! Thanks Richmond Virginia!
December 22nd, 2009 at 4:23 am
Bobst is CAncer!! Hahahaha stop please! oh man my sides!!! Mercy!!!