On April 2, Barbara and I went to Imperio Inca, a Peruvian restaurant on 21st Street in the Ghent neighborhood of Norfolk. I love that place. It’s the only restaurant I know of in this area that serves ceviche as an entree.

Barbara had Lenguado a lo Macho: Grilled flounder topped with a Peruvian pepper sauce along with shrimp, calamari, mussels, and clams, and served with white rice. It was good, but a bit bland, so Barbara asked for some hot sauce. They have a green Peruvian sauce to spice things up - that helped a lot.

I put together a plate from three a la carte dishes: Leche de Tigre, a Peruvian fish ceviche cocktail; Papa a la Huancaina, or halved boiled potatoes served on lettuce and covered in a spicy Peruvian cheese sauce garnished with olive and a slice of boiled egg; and half a roasted chicken, marinated in Peruvian spices.

The ceviche was excellent - spicy-hot and tangy.

I liked the potatoes, too. They’re served cold with the spicy sauce on top - very good.

Didn’t get a good shot of the chicken. It tasted good, but I didn’t get any flavor of the Peruvian spices it was supposed to be marinated in.

Last Wednesday, our TNT dinner group went to a new Mexican place that just opened in November - Plaza del Sol, at 22nd Street and Colonial Avenue in Ghent.

It’s an interesting space. There’s a large patio up front, with tables for dining al fresco, and a bar and dining room inside. It has a two-story ceiling and attractive Mexican decorations on the walls.

The food was just okay, though. Barbara, Susan and I all had the chicken fajitas with a side of refried beans. Nothing special there. I like the beans better at San Antonio Sam’s because they mix in lime juice and top with cheese to give more flavor.

Jane had a bowl of chicken tortilla soup. It looked good, and had lots of chicken in it, but it was not hot when it was served. The manager took care of that right away - we appreciated that. We’ll probably go back and try something else, but right now it’s just - so so.

We went to see a Bobby Flay cooking demonstration in early March, which was lots of fun (I have a post about it in my drafts, I just haven’t finished it yet). The day before the demo, he challenged the owner of Wood Chicks BBQ, Lee Ann Whippen, to a BBQ Throwdown. So of course, we have to try the BBQ there. This is a reminder of where the place is, so we can check it out later this spring.

• Directions

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!

Rajput is a very good Indian restaurant on 21st Street in the Ghent section of Norfolk. Four of us went there recently. We all enjoy Indian food, but we’re not very familiar with the flavors, so we each ordered something different and tried each other’s entrees. So now I know I like chicken biryani better than chicken vindaloo

• Kim - chicken vindaloo - okay
• Susan - chicken tikka masala - better than vindaloo, not as good as biryani
• Barbara - chicken biryani - very good. It contained nuts and raisins and came with raita, a cucumber/yogurt sauce
• Liz - chicken jalfrezi - okay. Interesting - I couldn’t find this recipe on the Indian food site I linked to for the other three; the one I did find says it’s a Pakistani recipe.

All the entrees were served with basmati rice, and we ordered two kinds of naan bread - one plain and one garlic-flavored. Both were quite good.

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.

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

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…

I still go out to dinner with friends most Wednesdays, so I’m going to start keeping track again of where we go, what we have, and how we like it. Last Wednesday, April 25, we went to Zio’s, an Italian restaurant on Colley Avenue in the Ghent section of Norfolk. Good food, reasonable prices. Here’s what we had:

• Barbara had one of her favorite Italian meals: chicken Marsala. It was quite good and a large enough portion that she took half home.
• Keith had the lasagna - he also enjoyed it, but ate it all up
• I ordered the veal parmesan - it too was a large portion, plenty to take half home, especially with the side of spaghetti with marinara sauce. Very tasty. I also ordered crostini with roasted red peppers and fresh mozzarella - yummy.

(This one’s for you, Eric )

My friend Barbara and I had dinner at Azar’s tonight, our favorite Middle Eastern restaurant with the attached market. Need some fabulous feta? Terrific tabouli? The best baklava? This is the place to find them.

I had a kefte wrap - a hotdog-shaped piece of hamburger mixed with spices, cooked, and wrapped in a pita with pickles, hummus, tomato, and Azar’s famous Mama Lina Sauce. I also ordered an appetizer of stuffed grape leaves, to bring home to Dan for his dinner, along with half of my sandwich (they’re huge!). Barbara had seafood kebab, beautifully grilled and served with saffron rice. Great meal. We skipped the baklava, since I, at least, overindulged a bit during our vacation to Michigan last week.

Eating there reminds me of my trip to Turkey in 2001, with my mom, aunt, uncle, and two couples who are friends of theirs. Our tour guide in Istanbul said that, because the Ottoman Empire covered practically all of the Middle East and parts of Europe and Africa, for hundreds of years, most modern-day countries in those areas claim lots of the same recipes, such as hummus and tabouli, as their own. In fact, the recipes came from the Sultan’s kitchen and were spread by the Ottoman army throughout its territory. For example, stuffed grape leaves in southern Europe became stuffed cabbage.