Lemony Zest :: Kim Lewandowski » Tapas

Dinner at Bardo

KimL — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 19:16:05 +0000

Bardo is another favorite. It’s an Asian-inspired tapas place, so we get to have lots of little nibbles there. Great food. Here’s what Liz and I had a week or two ago:

Buddha buns – ground pork and veggies steamed in won ton skins, with a soy -based dipping sauce
Panko-crusted fried shrimp with sweet chili sauce
Crab rangoon – fried won ton skins with a filling of what seemed like crab and cream cheese. Not one of my favorites, but something I’ve wanted to try.
Edamame – soybeans steamed and sprinkled with sea salt.
Chicken satay (Thai chicken grilled on a stick) with three sauces.
Doughnut “dip sum” – three fried doughnuts with three dipping sauces – chocolate, peanut butter, and (if I remember right) raspberry. Dee-lish!

Dinner at Bodega

KimL — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:47:47 +0000

It’s time to catch up on a few Tuesday dinners out that I’ve missed writing about. Since we decided to just go to some favorite places, rather than following the alphabet, we’ve had some really good meals lately, since, well, we’re going to some favorite places

Some time back, Barbara and I went to Bodega on Granby in Norfolk. Here’s what we had:

Heart of palm salad with romaine, tomatoes, and white truffle vinaigrette – very good
Sliced baguette with a sweet compound butter
Tempura-fried chicken – light and delicious
Crab and spinach gnocchi – wonderful. This was gnocchi with spinach and lump blue crab in a creamy Alfredo-style sauce. Yum
Warm mini-chocolate cake with vanilla gelato and strawberry compote – this was a lava-type cake with a molten center, served with the gelato on the side and the compote on the top – fabulous

We would definitely recommend Bodega. It’s one of our faves.

Dinner at Bodega

KimL — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 01:54:28 +0000

Last Wednesday, our dinner group went to Bodega , one of our favorite tapas places. It was outstanding, as usual. Barbara and I were the only ones at dinner that evening; we had a great time sharing a variety of yummy plates:

We started with a Hearts of Palm salad with romaine, tomatoes, and white truffle vinaigrette. It was as good as it sounds.
Then we had tempura-fried chicken. Oh my. It was tender and crunchy, with a light sauce that reminded me of Thai sweet chili sauce. Good stuff.
Next we ordered Crab and Spinach Gnocchi. Again, perfection. Soft potato gnocchi with lump blue crab in a dreamy cream sauce, topped with spinach and chopped tomato. We had this once before, and I’ve been thinking a lot about going back for it. Finally we did.
For dessert, it was a no-brainer. The only chocolate item on the menu was a warm mini chocolate cake (really a lava cake, with a liquid chocolate interior) with vanilla gelato and strawberry compote. That and a cup of coffee and we were absolutely satisfied with a wonderful meal. If you’re ever in Norfolk, Bodega is a must-have.

Gnocchi with Blue Crab in Cream Sauce

Dinner at Bodega

KimL — Thu, 24 May 2007 14:21:15 +0000

This was from a couple of weeks ago. We always love Bodega, a tapas restaurant in downtown Norfolk. Here’s what we had, that I remember. It was all great

Antipasto – salami, fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, drizzled with evoo and balsamic vinegar
French baguette with roasted tomato hummus
Sesame-seed encrusted seared sashimi tuna over seaweed salad
Fried calamari with fresh marinara sauce
Sauteed tiger shrimp with crab and orange basil cream sauce
Potato gnocchi with cheese sauce and tomato

I was so taken with the potato gnocchi I bought some in a vacuum-packed package to have with homemade marinara. Haven’t had it yet, but soon… soon…