So here is restaurant review #2. Angela's at 425 N Ridge Rd. Richmond, VA 23229 (right near Tuckahoe Elementary). I have to say that I really WANT to like this place. Its practically in my backyard, the atmosphere is quaint, the service is acceptable and I would really like to frequently patronize a local family-oriented place in the neighborhood. But I have to say that after getting the bill this evening it may be while before I go back. Now to be fair, none of what I am about to say has anything to do with their Pizza which is quite good and reasonably priced. Perhaps we'll blog about that another time. This evening I would like to chat about pasta.
Paddy and I both ordered off the specials menu. I got a wild mushroom ravioli which was quite good. It was light and flavorful with ample mushrooms. The serving was huge and more than enough for two. Paddy ordered a dish called "Money Bags" which was pasta purses filled with cheese in a champagne sauce, topped with lump crab meat. This was also quite tasty and he brought more than enough home for lunch tomorrow. The bread was warm, the wine was good (Fioni Chianti) and the service was decent.
Now for the rest: We brought our 2 boys with us, even though the clientele suggests Angela's may not be a family-oriented restaurant. They don't have a children's menu, per se, but they do offer a "build your own pasta" option for kids under 12. This is a fantastic idea in theory. However the execution in this particular case didn't work. None of the options in terms of pasta, sauce, toppings, etc. are listed in the menu so it is necessary to engage your server to see what is available. The pastas available for this "build your own pasta" were spaghetti, penne or ravioli (a little limiting). My son (5 yrs old) chose cheese ravioli. Rather than offering different sauces to continue down this "build your own" theme we were informed that the ravioli comes in a marinara sauce. My son was bold enough to request pepperoni with this pasta which they were able to accommodate. Although the lack of choices was a little off-putting for me, he seemed to be comfortable with what he had ordered. Until, that is, it arrived at the table. His plate was so hot that I burned my finger brushing past it to pick up a knife. The plate was also enormous. I seriously thought about sending it back and asking them to put it in the freezer or bringing us back a portion of it in a smaller, cooler plate. What we ended up doing was using one of our bread plates for him, putting a few ravioli on that and pushing the hot, hot, hot plate out of his reach. Thank god he didn't try to touch it because we would have had a screaming child on our hands.
Our older son (10 yrs old) ordered calamari a la something or other. It has calamari, tomatoes, spinach and linguine in a nice light broth. Everything about this dish was fine except for the calamari. It was overcooked and chewy. The portion size was insane. We brought enough home to serve us all for dinner one night this week. I will however, swap out the calamari for some sauteed shrimp or chicken when I serve the leftovers. I think if Angela's has a desire to be kid friendly (even a little) they would benefit from offering anything on the menu half-size for kids.
Next comes the most shocking part of the meal: the bill. This is pasta and yes, we had some crab and calamari but when the bill came in at $130 ($150 with tip) I have to admit I was floored. I might expect that at a 4-star place. I might expect that if all four of us ordered appetizers and dessert. But we didn't. We got three adult pasta entrees, one children's pasta and a bottle of wine. No apps, no dessert, no coffee you get the picture.
So my conclusion regarding Angela's is to stick with the Pizza. Carry out during the week, dining room only on weekends.
Just down the street at Melitos we can feed a family of four quite well for under $60. Details on that we'll leave for another day.
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