Second Time's the Charm

Earlier this year Topher & I ate at Todd Jurich's Bistro with our friends Bonnie & Andy during Norfolk Restaurant Week, and although we had a wonderful evening, the meal just wasn't all we had hoped for. (I have a personal theory about Restaurant Weeks: the restaurants might be less expensive than usual, but the food won't be nearly as good.)

But we kept hearing such great things about it, so we wanted to give it a second chance. Our opportunity came when Topher was given a gift certificate as a thank-you present. We finally used the gift certificate this past Saturday night, for dinner before my cousin Heidi's modern dance ensemble's performance. And I must admit, this meal totally redeemed Todd Jurich's in our estimation: it was fantastic!

What We Ate:

• amuse-bouche: thin-sliced cucumber topped with mint & melon salsa
• my starter: "Chef's Garden" iced gazpacho with lump crab meat - a perfect summer soup
• Topher's starter: Five spice seared foie gras, served atop a Peking duck roll, with damsum plum - this was the best foie gras I've ever tasted (great smoky flavor), and the plum sauce was unusual but very tasty
• my entrée: Pepper seared tuna, served over a warm quinoa salad (chick peas, cherry tomatoes, carrots), topped with eggplant "caviar" (paired with Hendry "Unoaked" Chardonnay, Napa Valley, 2007) - the tuna was seared medium-rare, and as you know, I'm a sucker for a yummy quinoa salad - this whole dish was delicious! I'm not a huge fan of chardonnays, but the Hendry was quite good: still a little buttery but, as the name suggests, without the huge oaky flavor - a nice pairing for the tuna
• Topher's entrée: summer lamb grille served on a naan "pizza" with cucumber tahini sauce (paired with Vino con Brio "Matzin" Old Vine Zinfandel, Lodi, 2005)
• dessert: Southern bourbon pecan pie topped with brown sugar cinnamon ice cream - the ice cream was amazing! the perfect consistency with the right blend of sweet & spicy

The Scoop:

Todd Jurich's Bistro is located at 150 W. Main Street, Suite 100 (the entrance is on Boush Street between Main & Plume Streets) in downtown Norfolk, VA 23510. Reservations are available online or by calling (757)622-3210. Dinner is served M-Sat 5:30-10pm; lunch is available M-F 11:30am-2pm.