WV Gourmet

Much as I dislike the constant, nigh-insufferable mockney banter of my compatriot Jamie Oliver, I have immense respect for the man in a way that I don’t have for any other celebrity chef.

He’s a fine and (broadly) well-respected chef, proven by a successful set of restaurants, a clutch of TV shows that offer a real sense of delight in good ingredients and an appealingly slapdash approach to prep, and a decent collection of books. He makes Real Food.

But folks like that are ten a penny nowadays. Even just taking the Brit pack, there’s Nigel Slater, Nigella Lawson, and Rick Stein, all of whom boast comparable credentials and are less insufferable (to varying degrees). No, that’s not why Jamie Oliver has a special place in my affections.

It’s because of a TV series he made for the Beeb called Jamie’s School Dinners. Oliver, disgusted by the appalling crap that is shoveled into the waiting maws of British schoolchildren day after day, set out to reform the way school meals were supplied in Britain. He introduced local produce, fresh vegetables, ditched the pre-processed shit, retrained the school staff — and retrained the kids, too, when they turned their noses up at the vegetables he tried to feed them. Watch him take a boy of maybe twelve from point-blank refusing anything that’s not chips (that’s fries to you) to happily chowing down on greenery, and you’ll understand: he’s a great communicator, really cares about food, and has an infectious commitment to health and wellness that’s clearly genuine.

When I finished watching Jamie’s School Dinners, I moaned to my family for weeks. “Why can’t he come and do that here?” I said, wringing my hands at my stepdaughter’s tales of her struggles to find anything remotely healthy at school. Now, in a twist of fate that I’m still having trouble believing, he is.

Most of the folks I’ve been talking to about this show are worried that it’ll just be a flimsy attempt to laugh at all the great fat Huntingtonians, wobbling like great blancmanges from Hillbilly Hot Dogs to Fat Pattys, randomly shedding forgotten cheeseburgers from between their immense rolls of flab. Perhaps I’m naive, but I don’t think that’s his style.

School Dinners ultimately convinced Tony Blair to pour almost a third of a billion pounds into improving the quality of the horrific slop that’s served up in British schools. If Oliver can put together something even remotely like that here, it’ll be the best thing to happen to cuisine and health in the area (the state?) for years.

And if he can do that, I don’t care how much of his twaddle I have to sit through.

There is quite a lot of garlic on this burger.

Although Fat Patty’s, a relatively new burgers-and-beers joint on the corner of 20th St. and 3rd Ave. in Huntington, conjures up images of vast, dripping, slabs of meat, it’s the imaginative toppings that really make the place memorable. The garlic-slathered meatslab to the right is the “Vampire Killer,” but other offerings include a Hawaiian-themed pineapple creation, a pepper-packed patty, and a delectable cajun-blue-cheese-bacon combination.

Despite the appetizing appearance of the sandwich, it’s a shame that the garlic seemed to be of the pre-prepared, out-of-a-jar variety rather than fresh: it has none of the sharpness and aggression that characterizes quickly cooked garlic. There’s still plenty of body, but it’s lacking the bite. It’s not going to worry any vampires.

On balance, though, it was a happy enough sandwich. I enjoyed the hefty chunk of red onion, and a generous helping of the other fixings, and the bun was generic but not too understated as to be overwhelmed or soggified by everything else. Decent, but I think I’ll opt for one of their blue cheese offerings next time. (Update: I did go back, and the “Black and Blue” is indeed absolutely delicious, removing my last reservation about this joint.)

But that’s not the best thing on that plate.

No, leave this place without ordering onion rings, and the Manson family will drive to your house and molest your cat. They’re that good. Just dark enough, with a pleasantly beery batter and a tasty core: some of the best around. Perhaps they’re frozen, but I’m inclined to doubt it.

(Hey, Patty’s, if you’re out there, how about doing BK’s “Mildly Upset Whopper” right?  I think you’ve got the ingredients and the attitude to make it work.)

If you go, go early. They were packed by 12pm on a Monday, and although their wait staff were obviously overstretched, they did a creditable job keeping up with our drink refills (no, not beer, although Patty’s full bar will doubtless be happy to satisfy any cravings you have in that direction). Despite the busy-ness and our onion-ring substitution, we were in and out in well under 45 minutes; just right for lunch. I’m already plotting an early evening return for beers, wings, and rings: Fat Patty’s is an easy recommendation.

Sure, they might not have been very good at paying their rent, but I was sorry to see Pullman Square’s Moe’s Southwest Grill close last year.

Fortunately for Huntington burrito lovers, Moe’s is back. Sure, it’s called “Dos Amigos“, but it’s a carbon copy of Moe’s, even seemingly down to the appliances and tableware.

This, as I discovered at lunch today, is emphatically a good thing. I grabbed their premium-priced pork burrito, piled with a tasty cilantro-lime flavored rice, black beans, a spicy home-made salsa, olives, and a sprinkle of fresh, shredded cilantro (yum) for $5.99, and left both well fed and happy.

It came with an acceptably heaping portion of hearty, fresh tortilla chips, and free access to a salsa bar where you’ll find a very passable, well-balanced pico de gallo and an excellent corn salsa, among other things.

Their menu is a lot slimmer than Moe’s, but they will make tacos or salads if you prefer, and offer ground beef, chicken, and steak in addition to the pork. The menu includes beer and margaritas, although neither are actually on sale just yet.

Moe’s Dos Amigos is brought to us, the Herald-Dispatch says, by the owners of the Hall of Fame cafe just across the road. As you’ll read in the link, they’re promising an emphasis on freshly made cuisine, and even though the staff were obviously still learning the ropes today, it’s a promise that rings pretty true. The marinated, slow-roasted pork was delicious, the range of salsas had been made with some skill, and the portion size was just right. I’ll be going back to try the chicken.

The best thing about it? There’s no embarassed-looking fool shouting “WELCOME TO MOE’S” at you when you walk through the door. That’s one Moe’s standby I am not sorry to see the back of.

Hibachi flames at Taste of Asia, Huntington

Huntington’s Hibachi restaurant on 4th Ave. is no longer the only hibachi joint in town.

It isn’t even the best hibachi joint in town, either.

It gives me no particular pleasure to say that. I’ve had a lot of good times at the 4th Ave. Hibachi. When I emigrated to the US, my wife-to-be greeted me at Charleston airport with a box full of Hibachi steak and fried rice: my first meal as an American resident.

Times change, though, and new arrival Taste of Asia on 3rd Ave, opposite the new Holiday Inn, is serving up the best Asian cuisine in town, across the board.

We checked it out last week, strolling in off the street and sitting straight down at a grill — no reservation needed. Our chef, an experienced and personable chap from the Taste of Asia restaurant in Teays Valley, put on a sterling show: all the flips, flourishes, and flames you could want, delivered with a smile and a great attitude.

But his attitude wasn’t what impressed me most about the meal. We ordered their everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink option, boasting fillet steak, chicken, shrimp, scallops and lobster. Knocking out all of that on a hibachi grill without overcooking anything is no mean feat, but our chef was a real pro: nothing was undercooked, chewy, or dry. The thought of cooking scallops on a red-hot grill brings me out in a cold sweat, let alone doing it without being able to taste one or slice one in half to check for doneness. But this chap slung them out like it was nothing, cooked to perfection. They were good quality, too: nice and fresh-tasting, and a healthy size. (Previously frozen, I doubt not, but it’s a long damn way to the sea.)

Tasty rice and vegetables, too, although we missed the beansprouts the 4th Ave. place adds. We added on a few California rolls, just for a quick impression of the sushi chef, and those were first class also, although I’ll save more detailed criticism until I’ve been back for a dedicated sushi pig-out.

I was unhappy with the service I had over on the Chinese side when I ate a lunch there a week or two back: I think I was just unlucky, because they got it just right this time. Too often the 4th Ave. place ditches you after you order, and you’re lucky if you can get your beer refilled more than once. Not so here — our waitress was well on top of the whole table.

The bad points? My pre-dinner martini was too watery: it tasted like it had been left sitting on the ice.

Yeah, that’s all I’ve got. Taste of Asia has great ingredients, they have the theatricals down pat, and chefs with real talent. Well worth the stiff $100 tab we ran up between two of us, after a few drinks and the tip. All that, and they didn’t make you feel like they were doing you a favor by finding you a table, unlike another hibachi restaurant I could mention. Full marks.

Swing by the Rio Grande on 4th Ave. in Huntington, and you might be a little disconcerted when you see the parking lot is packed with police cruisers.

Don’t be. Who knows better than the five-oh where to go for quick, cheap, and filling eats? They’re really onto something with Rio Grande, a regular lunch favorite of mine, because you can get food like the below for $6.50, and in less than five minutes.

Fajitas at Rio Grande, Huntington

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A more detailed treatment of Huntington’s new Taste of Asia eatery is going to have to wait until I get back there with a good camera (I want to do their exquisite presentation justice).

(Update: I went back for Hibachi, and was greatly impressed. Read our review.)

But here’s a few thoughts from a late lunch I took there over the weekend. It really is beautiful food, and very tasty too. You could take a lunch here for not much more than the price of a Chinese buffet, and the quality is in a completely different league.

They’ve got to work on their service, though. A touch slow, a touch stand-offish, and a touch random: our drinks got taken to the wrong table. Despite it being a Herd home game day, they weren’t busy enough to excuse that.

I hear good things about their sushi, and from what I saw of other diners, it certainly looked excellent. Their hibachi section, too, gets glowing reports. This is one restaurant that really needs three or four visits to evaluate properly.

For now, though, I think my usual favorite for Chinese/hibachi fare — the long-established place on 4th Ave. round the corner from the library — needs to look to its laurels.

Taste of Asia is on 3rd Ave., across from the new Holiday Inn and right by the Big Sandy Arena.

…in my opinion, anyway.

Go to Jimmy John’s, on 4th Ave. Order a Beach Club on wheat, no cheese, no mayo, and smile sweetly and see if they’ll double up the alfalfa.

The #12

That’ll get you a delicious turkey, avocado and alfalfa sandwich, a generous portion size, and according to their online nutritional info, a meal that’s under 500 calories. Plus it packs plenty of colorful fruits and whole grains. Not bad for fast food, and not bad for about $6. It certainly beats boring old, bland old Subway.

There’s a JJs in Charleston too, but you fortunate C-town folks have better local alternatives for lunch.