I'm on a roll...another great place for a quick, inexpensive lunch, Jerusaleum Market and Deli

I love falafel. I could probably eat falafel every day. Finding falafel near my office (or anywhere in Richmond) has been a challenge.

And then I discovered the Jerusalem Market and Deli at the 360 West Shopping Center on Hull Street just west of Chippenham Parkway. This unassuming place tucked beside Auto Zone is a little gem. The market section has a ton of various items that peak my curiosity and overwhelm me all at the same time, so I head to the deli counter. Lots of Halah meats, hummus, a variety of Mideastern salads and standards and a very helpful gentleman behind the counter.

I order my falafel sandwich and for $4.99 it's a great deal. Freshly made falafel on a housemade 12" pita with lettuce, tomato, green pepper, tahini sauce and spices, this is true comfort food, hearty and satisfying. And I get my falafel fix.

I am anxious to try other of their items, such as the gyro and chicken shawarma sandwich as well as the hummus and grape leaves. But it's hard to get away from that falafel.

Jerusalem Market and Deli is open 7 days a week from 9:30 am - 8:00 p.m. and is definitely worth checking out.

On the other hand, this was a great deal....lunch for $5.95 at Cielito Lindo

In some ways lunch is my favorite meal of the day. It's all about me. I get what I want, when I want and where I want and I've always found a source of comfort in dining alone, especially for lunch.

Tuesday, I went to Cielito Lindo at 4702 Forest Hill Avenue for lunch. And what a lunch it was. I find I get tired of the heavy, overly sauced, uniformly spiced (or not spiced) Mexican food from most places in the area. Cielito Lindo is a refreshing change on several levels.

It's a neighborhood spot. If I lived in the Westover Hills area, I'd be there several times a week. With a patio out front, it's a great place to eat outside when the weather permits and the interior is charming with high backed booths which lend a nice bit of privacy and minimize noise from adjoining diners.

The menu is not typical of the Richmond Mexican restaurant scene. Several soups and salad, vegetarian dishes not focused solely on beans and cheese and entrees that aren't the standard combos of the same ingredients put together in various ways.

The lunch specials at $5.95 are a deal. I ordered the Cielto special with a beef and cheese chili relleno, a chicken enchilada verde and a side of rice. Other sides include refried beans, black beans and black bean and corn salad. The chips and salsa were terrific. Chips were hot and fresh and the salsa was spicy but not too hot with a hint of chipotle and a nice thick consistency.

My entree arrives and is beautiful (these are the moments I wished I took pictures for this blog). The chili relleno is lightly battered and filled with cheese and beef and topped with a dark red sauce that was flavorful but not overpowering. The most amazing thing was this relleno was not heavy at all, nor was it greasy. The chicken enchilada did not disappoint either. Filled with ground chicken that was nice and moist and well seasoned and topped with some of the best verde sauce I've had in a long time. The two elements were such a contrast that allowed each to shine. The rice was pretty standard, but brought up with the salsa on the table.

I left feeling good and satisfied and not uncomfortable like so often happens after going to most Mexican places.

Cielito Lindo is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner and on Sunday they serve brunch.

The saga of the $21 cheeseburger....dinner at Edible Garden

Saturday night, Bob and I intended to bring in some take out and stay at home. Since it turned out to be such a perfect day, we decided dinner outside would be a better choice and Edible Garden was the first place that came to mind. Others had the same idea since when I called to get a reservation for an outside table 6:00 was the latest time we could get. I'd eaten a sizable breakfast (made myself a frittata with leftover carbonara from Edo's) and skipped lunch, so that was no big deal.

We arrive and are quickly seated and I order a glass of a dry French Reisling and Bob a glass of Italian white and we review the menu and while everything looked good, it was the cheeseburger that both of us kept going back to. Bob ordered a bowl of potato and watercress bisque and we each ordered the burger.....medium rare for me, Bob told the server to have the chef cook it the way he prefers. Bob also ordered a Bitburger beer to have with the burger.

The soup arrives and is a lovely pale green and Bob seemed to enjoy it. I'm trying not to eat too much of their wonderful bread and butter since I ordered a cheeseburger.

The burgers arrive and it's time to dig in. It's a ½ Pound Beef Burger with Roasted Portobello Mushroom, Swiss Cheese & Fried Onions on a freshly made bun which had been grilled and served with homemade potato chips. Mine is cooked perfectly and it is a great burger. Bob agrees it is a very good burger and the chips are great also.

But the questioned remained, was it worth $21? Probably not. A comparable burger at Can Can (with their fries which are superior to the homemade potato chips) is $12.

Edible Garden uses local, organic ingredients. Not sure where Can Can gets their ingredients but they are of high quality (as best this customer can tell) and they are executed slightly better.

Is the use of local, organic worth an additional $9? In my opinion, no, but perhaps for other it is.

While my burger was very good at Edible Garden (and it was the least expensive entree offered that evening), I can't say it was worth $21.

But we had a lovely evening, a good meal and then headed to Flemings for another glass of wine and so Bob could tell Luke, Marc and Wade about our $21 cheeseburgers and our $80 tab for two burgers, soup, two glasses of wine and a beer.

Edible Garden is located on River Road just west of the Henrico/Goochland line. Their website is ediblegarden.org.

Hands down the most underrated and unrecognized restaurant in Richmond...another wonderful dinner at Sensi

Sensi is hands down the most forgotten gem in the Richmond restaurant scene. There is no better restaurant experience in our area from ambiance to food to service. It never makes the lists of the "places to go" in Richmond and that has always baffled me. When I see places who fall short on many levels being given a plethora of unearned accolades, it's places like Sensi I think of.....they do it right, do it consistently and for some reason rarely receive the praise it deserves.

Paolo Randazzo is a genius in the kitchen and a heck of a nice guy when he's in the front of the house. One of the many things I love about Sensi they are always kind, accommodating and completely gracious. Our original party of 12 dwindled to a party of 6 and they could not have been nicer about the constant changes.

I wish I had been better about getting the details on the food and wine, but was having such a good time with Bob, Luke, Cathy, Wes and Sarah and was too busy indulging happily to record the details. Wes was in charge of the wine and is a master at selecting something I like, so I have no idea what I drank, but it was good.

Before being seated, we shared a bottle of bubbly at the bar. When we were seated an assortment of appetizers arrived along with an oyster shooter for each of us. The appetizers included calamari, poached shrimp (which are a rare treat and I have not had anything like it anywhere else in Richmond), eggplant bruscetta, crab cakes and a couple of items I have since forgotten. Wes ordered red and white wine and after we finished our appetizers, Dwight (our wonderful server for the evening) served us a small plate or risotto topped with a seared scallop compliments of the chef. The risotto was creamy and the large scallop was cooked to perfection.

Bob and I decided to share an order of penne vodka and a veal chop. The kitchen was kind enough to split the plates for us. I always have pasta in some form at Sensi, but the veal chop is the best in Richmond and is hard to pass up, so sharing works well here. The large, bone in chop was as wonderful as always and the pasta was a great accompainment. We also had sides of assorted vegetables including asparagus, green beans, roasted potatoes and their outstanding twice baked potatoes.

Everyone was pleased and the food and service could not have been better. Sensi is one of those places where I always have a great time and am always anxious to return. Sensi is located at 2222 East Cary Street and has plenty of parking available. Whether you want a great meal and great experience for yourself or looking to impress someone else, Sensi fits the bill.

Daffodils, a major disappointment

There's a new dessert and sandwich place called Daffodils located in the new shopping center just west of Short Pump Towne Center behind the new Ethan Allen. I heard about this place on Lite 98 and was anxious to check it out.

In this case I took one for the team and you all can thank me later or buy me a drink or at least a cupcake.

I walked in about 11:20 and the place was empty. It's shiny and new but has a sterile feel to it. The case had an assortment of desserts....cookies, parfaits, tiramisu, and some cakes and cupcakes. None of these looked remarkable and the cakes appeared to be directly from a Wilton class. Not dissing on Wilton for the home bunny cake, but I expect more from a professional bakery. The desserts at Krogers and Ukrops have much more eye appeal.

At this point my instincts are telling me to leave. Always listen to your instincts.

I review the ambitious sandwich menu and decide on the Speckfest sandwich. This sandwich is described as a panini with speck, Gruyere and caramelized onions. I am asked by the owner if I know what speck it. I say I know it's a ham similar to proscuitto but have never had it and jokingly comment I like all things pig, so me and speck should be just fine. I order iced tea. The tea machine is broken. Okay, I'll have iced coffee. It appears not to be made so after a few minutes I request a Diet Coke. The kind young man who takes my order is wearing a hair net...odd, especially since his hair is cut to the scalp. This young man also is making my sandwich and I quickly assess that this may be the first sandwich he has ever made and I'm nervous because the owner is helping a nice woman and her daughter with some cupcakes. I hear comments made to him such as "The speck has to be sliced" and "Add more sugar".

The sandwich arrives and is nicely grilled and has approximately 1/2 pound of speck sliced to a medium thickness. I cannot bite through the speck. I take off over half of the speck and now can bite through it and it's a lot like proscuitto and that is fine. I also imagine that speck is pricey and I could see the owner's pained expression as she watched me pull half of it off the sandwich. The Gruyere was mostly melted but the rind had been left on one end and I pulled that off since it did not melt at all. I would describe the onions as candied, not caramelized. These were cloying and sweet and the melted sugar dripped out and had been grilled onto the bread forming a crust much like a brulee would have. Of course being the only patron, my every move is being watched and I feel unusual pressure to appear as if I'm enjoying this more than I am.

When I left, the owner asked me if the sandwich had too much meat and I told her it did. But I didn't not have the heart (or nerve or something) to tell her how dreadful the experience was and I had mixed emotions about writing this review, but in the end decided it was the right thing to do. She also gave me a card for 15% off my next sandwich. :::sigh::

Sadly, I do not recommend Daffodils for lunch. I hope the baked goods are better than the sandwiches.