I’ve been wanting to keep news a little lighter this week, so a good review for Eppie’s is in order.
While potentially isolated negative experiences are hard to go from, I sympathized with Yupster’s recent salad woes. Being told you can’t have exactly what you’re there for is news that’s hard to swallow, and it’s happened to everyone at some point. I’m under the impression she was more surprised with the downtown lunch culture. I’d say regulars are kind of a big deal.
But I digress. After all, it sounded like she loved the meal she ate. Not surprising, there.
Eppie’s is great. Soup, salads, pastas, chicken, and southern-style vegetable plates are all for the taking for under $10. Diners order at the cash register, wait about five minutes, then pick up their tray or to-go bag. It’s a smooth operation. The space feels cozy but open, and the patio is one of the mall’s summertime see-and-be-seen locales, with its location between 4th and 5th east. It’s so family-friendly, too, that I want to order like a munchkin and have a PB, marshmallow, and banana sandwich. And one of these days, I will.
Not long ago, Eppie’s launched its daily specials menu, and I’ve tried to memorize it so as not to be too conspicuous. Dan, if I’m wrong, correct me!
I’m a salad kind of person myself (if you hadn’t noticed) and make a strong case for the Santa Monica with chicken. I couldn’t believe myself, because I’ve never before endorsed a salad with tomatos and dried fruit. It’s just the contrast of the acidity and sweetness. In my naive mind, it was the equivalent of wearing striped pants with a plaid shirt. So Dan, you’re expanding my salad horizons. Nice.
Ingredients are as fresh as they come. For example, the chopped dates in the S.M. are really whole dates to begin with, not the pre-chopped kind coated in sugar. (Puh-lease. They’re already sweet.) More importantly, we’ve yet to have a “best chicken in town” thread, but my vote will go to Eppie’s. (Wayside regulars, please go to Eppie’s before speaking up!) It’s roasted, which is a great way to prepare chicken anyway, and then the trick is to steam it. Ask them about it. Their chicken is as moist as it can be, without emitting a spoonful of oil when you slice into it. It’s pleasant. And it restores my faith in chicken. (I had lost the faith, too– I grew up on chicken so overcooked that it could induce what I later learned to be cottonmouth. IloveyoumomI’msorry! Andyesshereadsthis.)
My last plug goes to the Thursday happy hour. For $2 (including tax), you can have any beer, “even the fancy stuff.” Their words, not mine. And just the kind of attitude I like to see.
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Tagged as: Charlottesville, Downtown Mall, Raves, Restaurants, Restaurants/Bars, Reviews
It’s a simple thing, but I LOVE their broccoli. It always comes out crisp and tasty, not soggy and bland and old tasting like at so many other places. How can so many places screw up something so basic? It’s also a ridiculously bright shade of green…almost a little too perfect looking! Chicken is also excellent, especially the jerk, which isn’t too overpowering.
My one gripe: corn in the cornbread. I want my cornbread to be bread only…I don’t like veggies trying to butt their way in. It weirds me out.
Thanks for the kind words lilith (and Tim). Glad you like the Santa Monica. Small story about that salad (spinach, toms, dates, corn off the cob, and goat cheese).
Before we opened, when we were putting the menu together, that was far and away my favorite salad. I tried forever to get my wife to try it, but she didn’t want to. She was a Daily Salad person, and she was loyal to her salad (spinach, toms, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, and bleu cheese - that salad is called the Daily because when we lived up in DC we ate it almost every night for dinner. “What are we having for dinner tonight? That salad, and…”.) So after about a year, she finally tries the Santa Monica. Now it’s all she eats. And of course I’m back to the Daily, but variety is good.
Our Monday special is actually a “burrito bowl” or a burrito sans tortilla, but otherwise you got our specials exactly right.
Lastly, as a Wayside regular, let me highly endorse their fried chicken livers. I think they’re $.33 a piece, which is a huge deal, especially considering “1 liver” is actually 2 or 3. So you order 4 or 5 livers, and you’ve got a good bit of great food for under $2. Give it a try next time you’re there. Livers aren’t for everybody, but if you eat them, Wayside’s are awesome. And I can’t think of anything more 4th of July than a box from Wayside.
Regarding moist chicken (or meat of any kind), I think the “secret” is really just not overcooking it. And we cook at high heat for a short period of time to lock in moisture.
Tim, glad you like the broccoli. The secret there is we’ve got a broccoli steamer that turns raw broccoli florets into steamed broccoli in about 2 minutes. But that’s all that machine does. We literally use it only to steam broccoli. On one hand, it’s a sweet machine, but on the other, it can only handle three-four orders at once, and each batch takes about 2 minutes. So if you’re 5 deep in line, and you hear a 1/2 jerk plate with double broccoli, and then a penne alfredo with broccoli, and the a couple of veggie plates with broccoli, it’ll be a minute for anything with broccoli. Regarding the cornbread - some people don’t like the corn, but generally speaking, people really like it, so the corn’s gotta stay. However, there are no pieces of pumpkin in the pumpkin bread, so feel free to sub pumpkin for corn next time.
Lastly, I’m sure some of you cVillains are regulars, but I’ve yet to meet any of you. First five cVillains to tell me they’re a cVillain get a free cookie. I’ll be working expo (the pickup area) today at lunch.
Also, if anybody else has any other questions about our menu or the food, I’m happy to try to answer them here.
Dan
Do not change the cornbread. I rarely get it, since I always order the same thing now (cheese ravioli, marinara, turkey meatballs), but when I had it it was fantastic.
Only other better cornbread is Boston Market. And while they don’t have corn in it, yours is fine as is. There is *so much* bad cornbread out there.
I’m unusually passionate about my cornbread.
they have the finest jerk chicken north of negril.
I have a question for Dan.
I always feel bad using a credit card for orders under $5 at Eppie’s (and other locally owned establishments). Is this fear well placed? Do you hate me when I pull out my card for two a la carte sides that cost $4?
Just curious.
I don’t want to put words in Dan’s mouth, but I have a general idea of merchant costs.. they are probably paying in the realm of 3% and .30 per transaction. So on a $4 purchase, they pay .42 to the processor. Doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up.
Dan might not hate you Dave, but I do.
Well not really, but it is kinda annoying. Despite what the VISA commercials that reduce human beings to extremely efficient cogs in in some sort of vast orwellian machine of ’soma’tically happy consumption have lead you to believe, cash is still faster. Especially so if the register that you are paying at has a modem connection. And why are people so opposed to carrying ten or twenty bucks around? Does it all have to do with record keeping? Fear of theft? Fear of scoliosis induced by a costanza sized wallet? I mean, what?
Nothing personal. Its just one of my pet peeves.
/the comforts and conveniences you’ve demanded are now mandatory..
1) I hate going to the ATM.
2) I like racking up rewards points due to credit purchases.
It’s more the latter than anything else. If I can get 5% cash back, I’m going to use that card until the stripe wears off.
Being on the other side of things though (processing payments), I try not to do it for purchases under $5 or so, due to what the merchant gets hit with.
Well, rack on then, Chad! Its not that big a deal. I can wait.
I hate going to the ATM, and if I carry around cash, I’m more inclined to spend it (usually on especially useless stuff). Therefore, I am “that guy” always using a card.
Re: cards for small purchases.
Does it cost me more when you use an ATM card instead of cash. Yes.
Would I rather you went somewhere else? No.
Feel free to use cards for small purchases without regret on my account. And FYI, Chad’s def. in the ballpark on costs.
Eppie’s cornbread rules!! Even if the corn gets stuck in my teeth. I love it. Their mac & cheese with cornbread is my favorite afternoon snack/bad day picker-upper/special treat!
I’ll have to emerge from lurkage to comment on Eppies. One very fine reason to patronize Eppies is because Dan is truly a good guy. Don’t get me wrong, the food’s great, but I sure love it when nice folks come out on top.
Caveat: Dan used to work for me a million years ago. I have fond memories of our listening to music on the box in the kitchen (Sigur Ros was a highlight. That godawful Grateful Dead/Phish shite he tormented me with from time to time was a definite lowlight). Had no idea back then that restaurant ownership was in his future. So I was incredibly proud and happy when I set foot in Eppies and tasted the food for the first time.
Okay, enough of the mushy stuff. Just go eat there and see for yourself. And the cornbread’s delicious enough that I can almost forgive the Dead/Phish… almost.
Thanks V,
Sorry for making you listen to all that crunchy music.
Sweet sweet disco dead…
Remember that time I burnt out the disposal? Good times.
See you soon, I hope.
Dan
Thanks V,
Sorry for making you listen to all that crunchy music.
Sweet sweet disco dead…
Remember that time I burnt out the disposal? Good times.
Believe it or not, we’re actually catering two frats now.
See you soon, I hope.
Dan
Dan, I updated the Monday special for you. I almost called y’all on Friday to ask if you had any leftover meatloaf. I was devastated that I missed it, knowing I couldn’t get it this upcoming week– meetings! So you have to let me know if you want me to introduce myself as lilith when I come in on some now distant Thursday. You have my email address!