The Isaacs

I found my new favorite restaurant.

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The Isaacs in Roanoke, VA.

Nick and I planned to meet his parents for dinner at another place, but once we found out they were closed while moving locations, we ended up here.

And it was delicious!

I know we’re missing out on most of what Roanoke has to offer – we’re an hour away, so we rarely drive into the city. I had never even heard of this place before last night, but I already want to go back and try 5-10 more things on the menu.

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Date night!

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We started out with one of their appetizer specials of the day:

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Zucchini Fritters with Bulgur Pilaf

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These weren’t flattened like most zucchini fritters I’ve had in the past, and they were full of freshly shredded zucchini. And any restaurant that serves bulgur and quinoa is my kind of place ;)

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As for my meal, I got two more appetizers – I just couldn’t decide!

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Quinoa Cakes with Avocado Crema

and

Black Bean Hummus with pita

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The quinoa cakes were full of red and white quinoa, onions, and peppers, and lightly sauteed so the outside had a bit of a crisp.

I ended up sharing the hummus, and still brought home about half of it!

Everyone else’s meals were good, too. But I think Bob’s Lamb Curry was the hit of the table. Everything about it was just about perfect – sweet and spicy curry with local lamb, raisins, apples, and brown sugar, served over fluffy couscous. We all had a bite of that and of his sauteed kale, which was amazing! I’m not sure what they cooked it in, but it was delicious.

As for dessert…

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Nick and I split the croissant and white chocolate bread pudding. Buttery, rich, and full of vanilla flavor.

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Nick’s mom and dad got the carrot cake, and it was like no other carrot cake we’d ever had.

It was one layer of thick, dense, rich and spicy cake, topped with icing. Honestly, the texture was almost like cake meets Larabar, and there were some other spices in this cake that were different than the other recipes I’ve tried, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Either way – I loved it.

It was a fun night :)

And I can’t wait to go back!

 

17 comments

  1. Isaac’s is my favorite restaurant ! I love the Grandin area. They also have a .. sister-like restaurant on Market Street downtown called Meze.
    Next time you go there, get the veggie kabobs… with sauteed kale. And… their pita fries are the most incredible taste in the entire world.

    It’s my favorite restaurant, too :)

  2. Looks like an awesome spot! All of the food looks so good. Glad you had a great time!

  3. Wowww everything looks so delish! I would love those quinoa cakes!!!

  4. White chocolate bread pudding sounds like it needs to happen. Just as soon as I get a kitchen.
    I love Roanoke – spent a bunch of time there as a kid with my relatives. We’ll be passing through on our way back from summer travels, so I might just have to check out the Isaacs myself!
    Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

  5. Looks & sounds like a wonderful dinner! I’d take some of that dessert right now! :)

  6. Now that is my kind of restaurant! Everything looks so fresh and unique. Too bad that I don’t live anywhere near VA. :(

  7. I used to live in Roanoke! It’s a great place. I’ve never been to Isaac’s but wow… that carrot cake looks divine!!

  8. The zucchini fritters and quinoa cakes look so good!! I am drooling.

  9. Glad you guys had fun.. My hubby and I are still looking for the best resturant to make be our favorite. Too bad we don’t live near VA.. we’re in NY!

  10. Oh wow! That looks like an amazing meal!! Glad you guys had such a great time at dinner!

  11. Ah, this makes me sad that we’re not moving to Roanoke. What a wonderful find! Looks like you might be making some trips back into the city :)

  12. Looks like a fantastic place!!!

  13. That place looks amazing! I wish we had something like it by me, I so long for big city living lol I need to somehow replicate those zucchini fritters yummmm!

  14. That sounds like my kind of place.

    Oh my sounds like you had great company and wonderful food.

  15. WOW. That all looks amazing!

  16. Everything looks/sounds amazing…I would definitely go back! :-)

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