Dining Out: Ukrops for Dinner

All right, so maybe eating at the Ukrops deli and salad might seem to fall a little short of dining out to some, but consider this: I've seen Chinese buffets with much less selection. While running errands, my wife and I lost steam to go home and cook (well, she lost steam, since I don't do much cooking).

Hark, close by loomed Ukrops and a tasty salad bar with plenty of extras, not to mention the grazing along the way. My watch read a little after 7pm, though I gave the time no notice. But then, heading in to see what sorts of muscle-building goodies the bakery offered as samples, we came across three different samplers, each of which was far larger than you might expect.

Admittedly, I had already stuffed my face with a spice cake and a little pound cake before getting to the salad bar.

When you get heavy extras, like tuna salad or noodles, you have to expect the price to shoot up. It's not exactly spinach leaves. Even so, I figured mine wouldn't be too bad, since I'd grown accustomed to around $5 - $6 a pound for salad.

And yet, ringing up with two huge salads and a dessert (as if the cake weren't enough) was just over $8.

What's going on here? I wondered, though of course I just quickly paid as if I were getting away with something that I didn't want the cashier to notice.

I guess the salad bar and select other items are 33% off after 7pm. I'm sure the hour was also the reason for such generous grazing at the bakery.

And sitting upstairs overlooking Franklin Rd is kinda nice, too. It was quiet, and the well-stocked accouterments upstairs leaves little to be desired.

So, lessen learned: if you want some good, cheap eats after 7pm, but don't want to go for the whole sit-down restaurant with the wait and the tip, then give Ukrops a shot.

Dining Out: Kabuki doesn't disappoint

Of course I've been to Kabuki's before: I've been in Roanoke long enough to have such an occasion come up. However, I hadn't been there in about two years when my wife and I went prior to seeing Star Trek as a part of our date night.

Anyone who's been to more than a couple hibachi grills knows that they are not all one in the same, despite inevitable similarities. The important part for me was that the portions remained large and the prices remained reasonable, and - in that regard - Kabuki certainly comes through.

With a drink, our final bill was a little under forty dollars before tip, which I think is pretty good for that sort of dining experience.

The taste - as I remembered it - was quite good. Our chef was a little on the taciturn side, which wasn't lost on another couple at our table. Albeit, it didn't help matters that three of the most docile little girls I've ever seen sat between equally docile parents. Even the pyramid of fire solicited only the most arbitrarily of smiles. (I think maybe there was some cough syrup or medication involved).

Though I was driving and couldn't partake to much of a degree, the array and originality of the alcoholic beverage menu intrigued me; when I return, I hope it's with a designated driver.

All things considered, while so many other restaurants are cutting portions while upping prices, it was nice to see Kabuki still packs on the good food and fun while not breaking the bank.

Dining Out: Trio Bistro

Despite the recent closure of so many places - restaurants in particular - countrywide, there's still a great variety in downtown Roanoke. This weekend, while taking a lunch break from the Birthing and Baby Expo on Saturday, we headed down to Trio Bistro for what my wife assured me was a delicious spinach and artichoke dip made with brie.

The soup and salad bar were open, and since the day was rainy and cold, I opted for the tomato bisque soup while we waited for the spinach dip.

We were two of maybe half a dozen on one side, with some others at the bar side. I wondered as I filled my bowl if refills were free, though I didn't end up needing anything else to sate me. The soup was good. Not heart-stopping, but worth coming back for at a future time.

The spinach and artichoke dip was as sinful as it sounded, with garlic toasties for dipping - the brie making the dip as creamy as butter. While my "lying in wait" love handles would appreciate if I ate this dip more often, it will have to be one of those occasional indulgences like Cadbury Eggs or a good Tequila.

The staff was very nice, though it was largely in self-service mode. All told, I'm sure I will find myself at Trio again, if only for soup or salad with a lunch date or back for more dip after a late-night coffee.

Subway fixes what ain't broken

While there are far more exotic places to eat in Roanoke, my diet and budget often take me to Subway, the health-conscious man's answer to fast food. I'm no Jared: I can grow sick of Subway as easily as I can any other food I've had too many times, but I find myself there twice a week, I'd say, usually the one at Towers Mall, since the one downtown has been mediocre for some time (I guess when you have so much business, being good isn't mandated).

However, while I love the trend of having nutritional information posted on Web sites for even the most dietary egregious locales such as McDonald's and Wendy's, I was a little surprised to find something out about Subway's menu.

Pitched to the even more health conscious, there are two alternatives to the various types of bread at Subway: the wrap and the flat bread. I remember the wrap coming around when the Atkin's fad diet was in full swing and everyone was swearing off carbs. The flat bread is newish, pitched in particular for certain signature sandwiches.

However, checking the stats on the site, both the wrap and the flat bread have more calories and lower fiber than the wheat bread. Sure, I understand that any restaurant wanting business needs to appeal to the current diet trends and miscalculated fears, but hopefully someone choosing these bread alternatives are aware of the higher calories and less fiber (not to mention the fact that they would likely fill you up far less considering they both have less mass).

It's kind of ironic to want an alternative to something that's already healthy. I mean, you wouldn’t figure that a McDonald's hamburger was fatty because of the kinds of pickles or mustard they use. When my fellow Subway patrons get a good quarter cup of mayonnaise on an otherwise healthy sandwich, I'm thinking that bread is not the culprit here.

Dining Out: Hollywood's Restaurant and Bakery

While this may have little to do with new Hollins-area restaurant Hollywood's, I just need to say that our going there was an accident. We were headed to a local place that will remain nameless. Small, quiet, earthy, and utterly closed. Why the hell small business is surprised that it has no customers when it spends half the time closed is a riddle that baffles me.

Anyway, Hollywood's was a decent second choice, to be sure. The environment was pretty typical: plenty of room, good lighting, and the bakery wares calling to customers from just left of the entrance.

We'd planned on only dessert and coffee, but my wife ordered the cheese fries as an app with dessert to follow, forgetting to check ingredients. Alas, the fries came out with bacon bits, but the waitress was very nice about taking them back for some "vegetarian" fries (potatoes is a vegetable, right?).

I had the peanut butter pie, which was good. My wife had a cake called "Better Than Sex" that I liked a little better (though perhaps not quite as much as advertised, given the name).
The service was good and the prices were very reasonable.

We ate with friends who had full meals that were well portioned, and looked good, though we resisted asking for bites just to have something for the review.

For a Friday night, the place had a good draw, though not on a wait or anything. While Hollins is a little outta my hood, I could see returning to try some of the other desserts, of which there are plenty.