Louisville - Basa: Modern Vietnamese

After my undying love for Japanese food (blame the minor in Japanese Studies from William and Mary and the year+ I spent living there) I LOVE Vietnamese food. Though I haven't visited Vietnam, I one day hope to if only for the food. I imagine that all modern Vietnamese food tastes like that of Basa: fresh, light, flavorful. Basa uses the traditional Vietnamese ingredients of mint, Thai basil, seafood and noodles, and puts a new spin on those in both the food and the drinks in modern, bistro setting with Vietnamese flair. The restaurant was very busy on a Friday night and we didn't have reservations. (We heard later that Diane Sawyer took her mother there last weekend after she was given the ABC news anchor position, so maybe that added to the normal Friday night crowd.) Rather than wait 30+ minutes for a table, we decided to have our meal at the full-service bar.

For dinner my husband and I decided to start with an appetizer to share, opting for the Crispy Imperial Rolls ($8). Our waiter (who was also the only bartender on shift) informed us we should wrap the rolls - stuffed with shrimp, pork and mushrooms and fried - with the lettuce and mint served alongside and then dip it in the chili garlic dipping sauce. It was delicious. Though the fried roll was a bit heavy, the mint and lettuce brought a lightness to it.

The dinner menu was a decent size, though as with most good menus there were basically a few fish and seafood dishes, a chicken and steak option each, and a few vegetarian options. Off the regular menu we ordered the fried tofu with sauteed spinach and root vegetables ($15). This was topped by a sweet and salty, peanut-y sauce that was delicious. There were also a few specials, and we decided to try out the red grouper with red rice and Siam choi - basically baby bok choi - served in a light sauce ($29). The two dishes were polar opposites in flavor as the tofu was very in your face strong and the fish was very light and fresh, but both were amazing. We also ordered a side dish of garlic noodles ($4) which was delicious and everything one hopes for in this simple dish.

We also decided to each try a specialty cocktail since they had a few good options, all at $8. I went with the Basa Signature: vodka with aloe vera juice and aloe chunks as garnish. My husband decided to try the Kentucky Iced Tea which had Maker's Mark, chartreuse, ice tea, lemon juice and a mint garnish. Both were delicious and complemented our meal wonderfully.

Basa was definitely a great meal out and I would recommend it to anyone who loves Asian flavors or just trying something new. Though it is not the cheapest of Louisville restaurants, you will certainly get an amazing meal made with wonderful ingredients and it is in a great neighborhood. For a cheaper way to experience this place, you could always try out lunch ($10 entrees, $4 appetizers) which I am sure is just as good.

Terrapin

So apparently my blog is so popular people know me when I call because I got my husband and I table at Terrapin last night, even though it was booked SOLID for restaurant week. Okay, yeah, that's just a dream and no where near reality, but a girl can always hope!

So Terrapin...located down by the Oceanfront on Baltic Avenue, Terrapin a gem. It's one of the Virginia Grown restaurants in the area and it is absolutely delicious! Plus they have their own mixologist who makes amazing concoctions. We went for restaurant week so the meal was $25.09 a person (this has been extended until Tuesday January 27 for those of you have gotten here yet) and had 3 courses.

Starter: To start you could choose from a butternut squash soup with a chipotle sauce and spiced pecans, truffle oil mac & cheese, or a roasted winter vegetable salad. The soup was really amazing and I would definitely recommend it to anyone

Entree: You could choose from a half hen, seafood pasta, vegetable gnocchi or pork tenderloin meal. I had the half hen which came with brussel sprouts and the truffle mac & cheese. It was delicious. the Hen was cooked perfect and they had already taken it off the bone (thank you!). My husband had the seafood pasta was also delicious, though a fairly small portion; it had clams, shrimp and scallops in a vodka sauce.

Dessert: We had the flourless chocolate cake with chocolate sorbet and the caramelized bouchee with cider reduction and apples. Both were delicious though I think I'd have to go with the chocolate here. It had this amazing consistency and was super light - it reminded me of Nutella but of course way better.

For cocktails, there was a huge variety of great concoctions ($12-13 each). I tried both the sparking cranberry tini (house infused cranberry vodka, champagne and cranberry juice) and the Asian tini (lychee infused vodka, lemongrass syrup and something else I'm forgetting). Both were excellent. My husband had a Manhattan and said it was wonderful.

In all, you need to go to Terrapin. It was just rated #1 in Hampton Roads by Hampton Roads Magazine and I can't say I would disagree!

Price: $$$$ (expect to spend $60+/person including a few drinks not during restaurant week)

Food: 5 bowls (on a scale of 1-5)

Drinks: 2 martini glasses (out of 2)

Atmosphere: super cool

Luna Maya

Stuck in the middle of a strip mall on 21st Street in Ghent, Luna Maya is the best offering of Mexican food I've had yet in Hampton Roads. The location could be better, but it never hurts for business so clearly they have no motive to move. However, once inside you don't realize that you're next to a paint store and cheap hair salon and you become immersed in the nouveau Mexican experience.

The menu is a bit pricier than your average La Tolteca or the like, but the food, drinks and options of each make up for it. To start with, the drink list is awesome. They make their own sour mix, so the margaritas are simply delicious with no trace of frozen "fresh" margarita stuff within a block radius.

So, onto the food...since no Mexican meal is complete without some guacamole, we started with that. The guacamole is awesome...fresh made and always amazing. The platter comes with salsa too, which is a nice addition but nothing compared to the guacamole.

For entrees there are several that I usually tend towards, including the pastel de choclo con chorizo (a delicious chorizo and corn casserole), the spicy shrimp tacos or burrito, and the tamales. This time I decided to try a special: a shrimp and avocado salad. I hate to say it but my salad was decent, while certainly nothing amazing which disappointed me a bit. The shrimp was tossed with some sort of chipotle ranch dressing, while it would have been better if it had had the spicy shrimp on top instead. I love avocado on a salad, but not when the salad is mostly made of shredded cabbage. So, sadly my meal was not as good as had hoped. My husband stuck with one of the classic dishes though: the tamales. He described them as a little sweet from the masa with perfectly seasoned pork. It is served in the corn husk with a sour cream sauce on top and beans on the side. Friends of ours had the spicy shrimp tacos and the vegetarian tamales. I didn't hear any complaints, but sadly didn't inquire to get their full opinion.

So, overall here's my rating for this visit
Food: 3.5 forks (I wish it could be higher, but my salad just wasn't that great)
Price: $$ ($7-$10 for margaritas/mojitos, $10-18 for entrees)
Atmosphere: 1.5 thumbs up (love the inside, but hate having to park in a strip mall)