Bluefield Edition: Key Ingredients

I saw the restaurant Key Ingredients on Urbanspoon, and I was surprised to see something close by that seemed to be a really upscale restaurant. I had no idea it existed, so of course I was so excited to try it out. Chris actually worked near this place, so it was really easy for him to find. We saw the sign out front first and pulled into the parking lot. The parking is kind of precarious because it's on a fairly steep hill, and it didn't look to have many spots. They may have more around the building that we missed, though.

This place preaches good food, good faith and good fitness. While all of those are great, I was there for the food. When we walked inside, we were greeted by our waitress. We were the only ones there, and she asked us where we'd like to sit. We took a table nearby. The dining area that we were in only had about six tables. It was beautiful inside, though, with hardwood floors, white tablecloths and a fireplace. the walls were shelved with products, like their homemade apple butter. Our waitress was very chatty, all night actually, but it was sweet. She was relating to Chris and I via her son, who is around our age.

We looked through the whole menu, and I had some difficulty deciding what I wanted. She said the salmon was their specialty, so Chris opted for a salmon wrap and I chose the crabcake. The chef came out when we were choosing. He was very kind and asked what we were interested in. I told him I was torn between the salmon and crabcake, and he said they were both delicious. He was beyond in shape. It was actually kind of intimidating, but it also made me feel like the food he was serving me will be healthy. Our waitress had been going on about their organic fries, so we put in an order of those, too.

Our plate of fries came out first. It was a pretty large portion, and we were served with two cups of ketchup. Chris really enjoyed these. The fries weren't bad, but I supposed fries aren't really my cup of tea. I'm okay with them, but they weren't much different for me than others. Salty and crispy. I felt like they tasted earthier than I would have liked.

Our entrees came out soon after. Chris's was bigger than mine. His wrap was cold, with the blackened salmon. It had some shredded veggies, like cabbage, surrounding it. It was tasty, but the menu said it would contain rice, which it did not. I was thinking it'd be more like a burrito, warm with rice, but it was a cold dish. That was a little surprising.

Mine was a decent-sized patty with a small cabbage salad garnish on the side. But for $19, I was expecting a little more. There were some lumps of crab meat, and the remoulade was tangy and tasty, but it's simply not worth that much money. Our waitress went on about how the fish was fresh, so I asked where it was from. She hesitated slightly, then mentioned a seafood store. She also kept talking about how the beef was grass-fed and responsibly raised. Okay, so it's tasty. It was golden brown on the outside, and thick and delicious on the inside. It is delicious, and if this is the only option for crab cakes in the area, I could see how it would be very popular. But I was still starving. So we ordered dessert.

Our bread pudding came out on a small plate with a small amount of caramel sauce on top. It was warm and sweet and heavy. It's a nice winter dessert because it's dense and full of spices, like cinnamon. Our total meal was $45, which is pretty pricey for not even being full when I left. In fact, I was still so hungry that we went to Kroger across the street and got some snacks. Interestingly enough, while we were in there, we saw the chef buying some meat. I wonder if the meat was grass-fed or if it was for the restaurant.

Grade: B