Dining Out in Roanoke: Grace's Place Pizzeria

Grace's Place is within walking distance, but I still drive because that's just what we do sometimes. Parking can be a bear in Grandin Court (all the more reason to walk) but we found a spot open and perused the restaurants for dinner.

I've actual been to Grace's before, but that was before I wrote reviews, so - other than what I ate - I probably couldn't tell you much.

Last night, though, Grace's was pretty packed. Oh wait, that's pretty much any night, which is good and bad. Bad in that the place gets a little cramped, but good in that you can have a meal with the security that collective wisdom speaks to the place's finer qualities, which in Grace's case is certainly the food.

That's not to say that the wait staff isn't nice - they are - nor that the restaurant is unkempt - it's rather tidy by my reckoning. It is a little tight, though, which could make grazing the medicore saled bar a little burdensome, so I stuck with ordering some real food and sitting in a booth.

My wife and I split the spinach artichoke dip for our app and then split the vegetable primavera sub. The dip was quite good, with rugged little toast pieces in lieu of chips. It was a little oily, so this is not a diet food, to be sure.

The sub, though, stole the show. Subtleties liked the roasted red peppers and basil really set if off, and I considered pulling the whole "What's that behind you?" trick on my wife to get a bit of her half, but I figured she wouldn't fall for it anyway.

The meal was quite reasonable, our bill was $13 and change minus the tip. The service was good, and the food came out incrementally, as expected, so none of that "he's your app with your meal" stuff.

We'll definitely hit up Grace's again sometime, though - judging by the mad rush of people to fill our parking spot when we left - we'll be walking next time.

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.

Yoga Nights

Most nights, I'm the only guy in the Uttara yoga studio, which means I'm pretty taciturn, and must - as a result - look lost because I'm often asked how I am or if there's anything I need.

The studio is on the second story of a building downtown that used to be a loft apartment, with sturdy wooden floors, spacious rooms, and a nice view of downtown through huge windows. It's candlelit most nights, though there's sometimes a soft glow from low-lit lamps.

The lounge area looks straight out of India, or at least what I have in my head as India, since I've never been there. Pillow seats surround a low table; there are lots of deep oranges and reds. No one seems to linger much in the lounge, though - probably because the classes are stacked and while you're leaving your class often there's another group trickling in, and you immediately get the feeling that hanging around and talking would be rude.

Tonight, I go for what's called Integral Yoga, which is more meditative than other kinds, though I'm still sometimes sore the next day. The kinda sore you get when you helped a friend move or played too much Wii bowling: a mild ache of secondary muscles that are typically the couch potatoes of my everyday locomotion.

I'm pretty bad at yoga in general. That's not to say I'm not flexible, but in many of the poses I look a lot more like the Karate Kid than Mr. Miyagi, since it's all about balance.

Of course, you have to be flexible in another way, too, so I found out when we began chanting. Okay, so I've never chanted outside of the shower before, but it really added to the whole experience, and I'm open to new things.

By the time our hour and fifteen minute session was coming to a close with a relaxation breathing exercise while lying prone, I sorta fell asleep. My wife lightly brushed her hand on my arm and I came to, hoping I hadn't been snoring.

So if you're up for a totally different kind of exercise, and you despise running as much as I do, give yoga a try. They have lots of different kinds, a variety of times, and good parking (which says a lot considering it's downtown Roanoke).

Eating Out: Café Asia

Gratefully foregoing a Friday night with nothing more to do than sit at home on our respective computers, my wife and I except an invitation to meet friends at the new Café Asia on Valley Gateway Blvd.

The restaurant is beside Kroger's and has been open for a month or two, I gather. Our friends had been there twice before, and enjoyed it.
So, starting out with my staple - an Asahi beer - we ordered sushi for apps. My wife's a vegetarian, and I'm a pescetarian, but that still left plenty of options. We had the avocado roll, which was very good. To our delight, the owner/operator brought out some fried tuna roll for us to try, which was equally smashing.

I had the Thai rice noodles with shrimp, which was a lot like an angel-haired version of pad Thai with a little less of a peanut taste. I meant to save some, but cleaned my plate like a good, raised-in-the-'80s kid.

The bill wasn't bad: $35 with tip for two people with a drink and sushi. The menu is eclectic to say the least, with pho and stir fry as well as wanton noodles and sushi. Let's put it this way: if you like Asian food, there's something there you'll dig on.

The owner is very friendly, and there were at about 2/3rds capacity, near as my unobservant eyes could glean, so I hope they have found a solid locale.

Would any readers like to see a pic of my entrée when I eat out and write about the place? If so, please comment below or use the contact email to let me know.