Dec10

Emilio’s of Midlothian

Emilio's

I recently had the opportunity to dine “southside” at Emilio’s, a Spanish restaurant in Midlothian. I rarely get to eat anything Spanish, unless it seems, I’m out of town or on vacation. Emilio’s was a nice surprise, and offers entrées, appetizers, and tapas.

I opted for a selection of tapas, including calamari, sliced serrano ham, garlic shrimp, and Spanish-style sausage.

Spanish ham

The ham seemed out of place by itself; over something like a small square of bread (or even cheese) would have been better. Its taste was more pronounced than that of prosciutto di parma, but was all around pretty good. It’s sliced thicker, and I could imagine it is a nice compliment to a sherry at around 6-7 PM in the balmy Spanish evening.

But this was dinner, and we had more than just ham.

Likely more a favorite were the garlic shrimp and the garlicky mayonnaise potatoes.

Garlic Shrimp

Potatoes, sausages

After dinner, I was wisked-off to the Desserterie, the so-called premier dessert shop in all of greater-Richmond. Well, that’s what it says on the sign.

Desserterie

They have cookies, gelato, and various miniature cakes and pastries. I thought the portion sizes for the cakes, etc., were a tad small. Appropriate, perhaps, but still, if I’ve committed to a dessert, give me Dessert with a capital “D.”

Pictured below, their chocolate-espresso cake:

Desserterie

All in all, combining top-quality desserts with a tasty sampling of Spanish-inspired foods made for an enjoyable night of feasting. The Desserterie has a beautiful interior, and they supposedly make excellent wedding cakes to your exacting specifications. My only beef with them were the portion sizes: perhaps venturing out with a few generous selections would ease my conscience.

For Emilio’s, I’d likely go back. The entrées that came to the table were in sensible portions that everyone could finish, with a variety of chicken dishes being the more typical type of protein available. For a Saturday night, my visit ended with a good live musician (voice/guitar, sounded like Paul Simon) and the shock of an auto-generated 20% gratuity. Yeah, for a 4-top, this isn’t necessary. I don’t like places that tack-on a gratuity, but just be warned. Make your own decision.

My rating and price are based on Emilio’s alone.


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Over a year ago, friends and I decided to produce our own cooking show. What might we call it? The Messy Chef was born, a moniker inspired by my own mother’s description of my abilities in the kitchen. “You might cook well, but you sure are messy.”

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