The Bank Food and Drink

Date
6/6/2013

Location
Downtown Pearisburg
101 North Main Street

What I ate
Sweet potato soup with chipotle peppers and maple cream
Crispy duck breast with sauteed broccolini and creamy chipotle grits
Carrot cake with ginger cream cheese frosting and ginger chocolate sauce

What I drank
Dr. Cocktail's Old Fashioned
Zinfandel (Cline California '11, assuming the wine list hasn't changed in the past few days)

Who came
Chris, Elizabeth, Jess, Bill, Ben, Julia, Matt, Cassie

Website
The Bank Food and Drink

Thoughts
On occasional Thursday nights, The Bank brings in local artists and lets people grab a drink while they meet the artists and see their work.  Check the website to see when the next event is and who will be there.  We saw a room full of impressive pottery and another one with some interesting paintings.  One of the artists had a book full of custom business cards - art and a phrase on one side and contact information (her website) on the back.  Mine doesn't translate literally to English that well, but the message is apparently along the lines of "que sera, sera".  It's really a nice little event, definitely worth checking out some time.

My lacking art vocabulary is part of what prevents me from doing the art justice here, but I was certainly distracted by my excellent Old Fashioned.  It was so smooth that two unnamed non-bourbon fans in the group preferred it to their drink.  Angostura bitters will be on my grocery list so I can try my hand at making something half as delicious.  I heard good things about the Dark and Stormy and Pimm's Cup, too.  Hopefully my fellow tipplers will chime in with their comments.

I started with a chipotle sweet potato soup that was finished with a maple cream sauce.  The soup was rich and earthy, and the background smokiness from the peppers kept it from being too heavy.  The sauce offered a really nice counterpoint, but this was somewhat muted as it was more mixed into the soup; in retrospect, I guess that's my fault.  My entree was quite tasty.  The duck was well-cooked and the crust gave just a hint of sweetness.  The grits continued the smoky trend for the evening, playing a good complement to the meat.  I don't know that they made for a solid "everything on the plate in one bite" forkful, but the saltiness and overall "green" taste of broccolini helped maintain balance.  Many thanks to Ben for sharing his wine.  My wine-describing vocabulary is about as barren as my art-describing one, but this had a soft smokiness that blended well with the meal.  I was too full for dessert, but between the offerings and the sell job, I couldn't possibly decline.  If you're a slave to tradition and you want Carrot Cake, you might not enjoy what I had.  But then you would be going about your life in a sad, boring manner.  Don't do that.  Eat this delicious cake.  Ginger was probably the predominant taste, but cream from the frosting and carrot from the cake made strong showings, too.

I don't know where they put the other diners, but we had a nice little room all to ourselves.  Our waitress was very helpful, answering questions about the menu and even participating in discussions of cultural touchstones like Blenheim red cap ginger beer or Voyage of the Mimi.  The chef came out to meet us after the meal; we had a nice conversation with him, too.  Both he and our waitress remembered Jess and Bill, who had been there the week prior.

I'm having trouble coming up with any negatives from the experience.  They did run out of bread which, while tasty, seemed more important as a vehicle for the scrumptious house-made butter.  I think I heard some rumblings from those who didn't order an appetizer that it seemed like their entree was a long time coming, but I was fine and it's the kind of place that fosters good conversation.  We only stopped talking when dinner arrived which, as our waitress astutely observed, meant we were happily munching.  Don't come here expecting cheap eats, but they don't purport to be that kind of restaurant.  For the quality and amount of food I had, the price felt appropriate.

Recap
Pros - Delicious food.  Great cocktails.  Comfortable atmosphere and friendly service.  What more could you want?
Cons - Other than being a half-hour drive away, nothing really.
Overall - This was easily one of the best dinners I've had since I moved to Blacksburg.  It's a great place for a night out and one that I'll visit again.