First, the weird things. Because it was a Friday night and this place has received lots of raves, it was packed. The inside was very loud, so we chose to dine on the plastic encased patio, which was much more peaceful. Not a problem, the night was warm. But the placement and sizing of the patio tables and benches left no room for either the diners or the wait staff to maneuver. The menu was of the chalkboard variety and was presented table by table. But the wait staff had trouble figuring out where to place the boards. And the patio menus did not have prices. We had to go inside to look at the giant board to figure out how much anything cost.
We got past this and ordered wine. Our first choice of a Le Volte Super Tuscan turned out to not be available. But our very pleassant waitress apologized and also let us know that all of the other reds on the list were available. Very seldom have I experienced a wait person go to the trouble of seeing what else might be missing from a wine list. Kudos to her! So, we decided to order something we had not seen before - 2005 Lapis Luna Romanza Zinfandel from Lodi, California ($33). Very nice choice (87% Zin and 13% Sangiovese) - silky with vanilla and cherry overtones. A versatile wine that paired well with our varied meal.
Mezzanine's menu featured appetizers, salads, small plates, and entrees. Our dinner consisted of a cup of Butternut Squash Soup topped with crab ($6) and an extraodinary Thai Salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, duck confit, and shaved root vegetable slivers in a hot vinegary dressing ($9) to peak our tastebuds. Both were excellent. We followed with Roasted Chicken stuffed with goat cheese and served with green beans and celery root puree ($20) and Duck Confit with sweet potato fritters, braised chard, and mushrooms ($22). The celery root puree was a smash hit. I will definitely try this at home in the near future. The chicken was decent. I loved the duck. It was very tender and I ended up nibbling the good bits straight off the bone. My hubby liked the fritters and he thought it was a good touch to add a bit of anise flavoring to the chard.
The consensus was favorable and we would consider returning to check out some of the other offerings. All of the wait personnel were very nice and welcoming despite us being dressed down and not having a reservation. I would definitely suggest using a printed menu for patio diners, though.
10 comments:
Lodi? Gross, what is wrong with this city and their terrible wine lists. Mezzanine goes out of their way to be local, sustainable, organic, family owned etc... why such crappy wine. You can judge a place on their wine list. If they don't care about their wine list then they don't care about their food.
Any suggestions on what Mezzanine or any other sustainable-focused establishment should carry? Should it be Virginia wines or a particular type, such as organic?
Hi Sav-
Not sure why Lodi isn't your cup of hemlock, but I'm sure you have a good reason. This area is known for its zinfandel and the Lapis Luna zin is far from "crappy"--I've had it.
And, I don't mean to pick on you, but you can't judge the wine list from this review, which only mentions one wine. But, maybe you've been and seen the list for yourself? If so, I'd love to hear your reasoning for dubbing it a poor list, please.
Is there no local wine on the list, pj?
Mezzanine has great food but like so many of our local restaurants things get a little dumbed down in beverages and food. Like Le Volte from Ornalliea which is another Robert Parker fruit bomb that is produced from purchased grapes. Ornalliea was Wine Spectators wine of the year so people want it because of a high rating. Lodi is the same, made from purchased grapes. These huge beefed up fake wines made from un-natural technologies like reverse osmosis, oak chips, prepared yeasts. These wines are MADE not GROWN. I don't think you need to focus more on Virginia wines (some are decent) or all organic. But definitely naturally made, meaning a guy or girl grew the grapes and made the wine with native yeasts in an honest fashion. Look for wines that say Estate Bottled, or Azienda Agricola, or Mis en Bouteille au Domaine (put in bottle at the Domaine or chateau or property). If someone is taking responsibility for their farming then they stand behind their finished wine. There are millions of handcrafted wines out there from artisan producers, at good prices that respect and show off the land they come from. I want our city to be know for the foodist colony that it is and can be. We have more farms than anywhere else in the country and can beat anyone in the farm to table game. Hear that Charlotte North Carolina! By the way I love your blog and love your photos...
I had read a lot of good things about Mezzanine, so my husband and I made reservations to go there for our anniversary. We got all dressed up and anticipated having a wonderful evening. Wish I could say it was wonderful. It wasn't. Primarily, this was the fault of our server, who opened and poured(!) our wine while we were still drinking our pre-dinner cocktails. He also plopped a water pitcher down on our table in the middle of our meal and left it sitting there so he could attend to other diners. And he never offered/brought us any bread though we noticed other tables all had bread. By then, our meal was almost over, so there was no point in asking. I know waiting tables can be a rotten job, but if you are working in a place with a menu that purports to be high-end, it's nice when the waitstaff at least makes an effort. Perhaps they were short-staffed, though this didn't appear to be the case, with what appeared to be three servers working the small upstairs where we ate. An apology--"I'm sorry, we are incredibly busy this evening," or something along those lines--would have gone a long way, but our waiter never offered one to us. He hardly acknowledged that we were there. The food? It was okay. Nothing wonderful, nothing terrible. A little bland and uninventive overall. I love it when Richmond gets a new and exciting restaurant, but unfortunately Mezzanine just isn't all it's been reviewed to be.
Great discussion. I did not notice any Virginia wines on the list. As far as what is made vs. what is grown, I'm not very savvy. I know what I like and Lapis Luna satisfied our tastebuds. I'll have to pay more attention to estate bottles items when I shop for wine to consume at home.
Foust - Sorry about your service experience. The patio experience was much better for us on the night we went, I'm glad to say. But, as stated, the place still needs to work out a few quirks and kinks.
Foust...we were underwhelmed by Mezzanine also. It's the new Richmond darling and I don't get the appeal of it...at all.
The whole place seems gimicky for the sake of being gimicky. The thing with no menus is stupid and awkward and while the food is okay, it certainly isn't outstanding or memorable. I don't remember what wine as had but I agree that the wine list is an afterthought.
There are many places in Richmond with good wine lists, but that often isn't acknowledged by the consumers or critics. Mediterraneo, which recently opened in Midlothian, has a GREAT wine list. The new Acacia has a good and thoughtful wine list. Comfort has always had a good list as does CanCan and Millie's.
And I am all for local, organic, etc. but it doesn't necessarily make for a better meal. Especially when a place puts little love into their food. I also don't recall them stating where the ingredients come from (as Edible Garden does, which I love).
My husband and I go to mezzanine a lot and to be honest the Lapis Luna is one of our favorite wine choices (i hope that doesn't discredit the rest of what i am about to say). We have always had great food and great service. There are a few "quirks" that need to worked out (primarily the lack of paper menus) but let me point out what we love.
We LOVE that the menu changes so often. we go about every 2-3 weeks and get excited to see what new creations the chef will come up with. We have been pleased with all of our dishes. A few weeks ago I had the best hoisen glazed short ribs with grits and 5 spice chards..... ummm yummmy and i dont even usually like grits. My husband is partial to the steak with lobster mashed potatoes (with huge chunks of fresh lobster) ummm yummm again. and although i am not a rock fish eater, our friend had tom yum rock fish served over spaghetti squash. What a brilliant, creative idea. The other night i saw a whole fried fish on someones table, i almost walked over to ask for a taste it looked so good! so as you can see we have become big fans. Lets remember it is much harder for a restaurant that constantly changes, then one that keeps everything the same. I give 'em props for that!
The other reason that we are so found of Mezzanine is that we have been there on several occasions with 'high maintenance' eaters. Vegans, veggies, glutton allergies, old ladies etc. and all times the waiter, and more importantly the chef (i think tom is his name), has been more then accommodating. And on a side noter, have you seen the size of that kitchen... my bathroom is bigger!
I am sorry for posting this anonymously... i know how you bloggers hate that, but i have no 'identity' that allows me to post with my name. Thanks for listening!
Anon-
I respect Sav's opinion on "natural" wine, but everyone has their own taste, and often the wine is preferred does not fall into this definition. Drink what you like and if you have a wine salesperson that you trust, ask them to suggest something outside of your comfort zone that they like and explore.
Sav, to discredit a wine simply because it is from purchased grapes is like saying the restaurant should have raised its own cow, chicken, veggies, etc. Certainly there are restaurants that purchase their food and do a great job of preparing their dishes, so it is with many wine makers. If someone finds a wine to be great and they enjoy it, that is all that matters.
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