My first time dining at Blue Light Grill & Raw Bar was two summers ago. After finishing First-Year Orientation, my mom and I perused the Downtown Mall in search of a bite to eat before heading home. Stopping inside Blue Light, we glanced at the menu. Just a few moments later, we were seated outside, enjoying great weather, a relaxed atmosphere and a good meal.
After sampling a veritable pantheon of appetizers — from crispy calamari to fresh shrimp spring rolls — we left Charlottesville that day feeling full and content. Since then, I have never had a bad experience at the restaurant — and my most recent trip did not disappoint, either.
As hinted at by my brief mention of the appetizers listed above, Blue Light Grill’s specialty is seafood with Asian undertones. Depending on the time of the year you choose to visit the bar and grill, both the menu and seating arrangements shift. After all, the seasons dictate when fish is freshest as well as when it is practical to eat outdoors.
Outside, the energy of the Mall combined with the balmy weather of spring and summer create a unique eating experience. Admittedly, scatterbrained service and uncomfortable cast-iron chairs may detract from the atmosphere.
Inside, the restaurant’s soft lighting, upscale décor and comfortable seating are beckoning, though it can get loud during peak dining hours.
My friend and I last visited Blue Light late one Thursday night — hardly what you would call a peak time. To our surprise, it took a few minutes for us to be seated in the near-empty restaurant. It turned out the lone waitress was pulling double duty and also serving as hostess — a bit of an ominous start to our meal. But to her credit, she proved to be very attentive throughout the course of the night, even when a few more patrons filed through the door.
After being seated at a booth, we looked through the menu, which is divided into starters, salads and entrees. All of the choices appeared mouthwatering. Appetizers included the aforementioned Flash Fried Calamari ($8) and Rock Shrimp & Cabbage Spring Roll ($5), as well as some items that I had not seen before. These additions were both tame and adventurous. For $7 was the Flatbread Trio, a serving of grilled flatbread accompanied by Asian hummus, spinach, artichoke and apple dip as well as bacon and brie. The Spicy Tuna Tempura Roll, stuffed with Chesapeake lump crab, scallions and wasabi cream cheese was $10. Prince Edward Island mussels($9) included oysters three ways as well as house-made citrus gravlax — which in layman’s terms is uncooked, salt-cured salmon. Also headlining the appetizer selection was a soup du jour, which, during our visit, was French onion.
The salad selection, not as diverse or intriguing as its precursor, can be spiced up with some hefty add-ons. For instance, throw in some chicken with the Caesar — hearts of romaine, house-made croutons, Parmesan cheese and a classic dressing — for a combined total of $12. Or add lump blue crab to the Blue Light house salad for a total of $13. A bibb lettuce salad with green goddess dressing also is on the menu, as is a baby spinach salad replete with chevre, blueberries, red onion and balsamic vinaigrette. Crispy tofu, shrimp and seared tuna also can enhance any of the choices.
By far the priciest options appear on the entree menu. With each meal hovering around $20, a trip to the restaurant may put a sizable dent in any college kid’s wallet. But it’s worth every cent, especially if you’re a seafood enthusiast. As a lover of almost every fish, I decide to go out on a limb and try one that I was unfamiliar with — monkfish — hoping that my personal taste as well as executive chef Jeff Achterhoff’s skills in the kitchen wouldn’t let me down.
They didn’t. The pan roasted monkfish ($22) was, to put it simply, incredible. Cooked to perfection, it had a succulent, meaty, juicy flesh that was enhanced perfectly by potato hash and a balsamic reduction. The crumbly texture of the potatoes paired with the tenderness of the fish played off each other well, and by the end of the meal I had used the potatoes to soak up nearly all of the reduction. As a person not overly fond of balsamic vinegar, I was surprised to find that the chefs at Blue Light made me think twice about it. But the fish is excellent with or without the accompaniment.
Upon my urging, my friend also ventured into unknown taste bud territory and ordered the sauteed red snapper ($21) — a fish that, personally, I really enjoy. Once again, the fish was prepared flawlessly. Crispy, tasty and augmented by a delicious — though slightly overpowering — caper brown butter sauce, the meal disappeared quickly off my friend’s plate. Trying a bite of each other’s dishes, we concurred that both were delicious, but that of the two, mine was slightly more satisfying.
For those who aren’t the biggest seafood fans, the restaurant also offers up a pan-seared hanger steak with brocollini and shoestring potatoes ($20) or a fantastic rosemary and citrus glazed grilled chicken breast ($17), which is served with asparagus and wild rice. Only one vegetarian entrée is featured on the menu, the wild rice and mushroom bowl ($15), served with zucchini, squash and hazelnuts. There is, however, a disclaimer at the bottom of the menu that denotes tofu can be substituted in any of the dishes.
The dessert selection also teems with interesting fare. I chose to finish my meal with the Jack Daniels brioche bread pudding ($7) with Jack Daniels apple glaze — an innovative twist on a conventional treat. The plate came heaped with two large chunks of brioche, lightly grilled on the outside with a warm, soft interior that featured subtle undertones of the Tennessee whiskey. Mine, however, was served with vanilla ice cream instead of the glaze, so I asked the waitress about it. She said they were most likely out and that’s why the kitchen made a substitution, but still brought me a side of caramel sauce nonetheless. It worked wonders. The trio of the caramel, vanilla and delicate sweetness of the bread proved to be an excellent end to the night.
On my next trip to Blue Light, I might have to try the intriguing — yet expensive — raw bar. Offerings include crab legs and steamed spiced gulf shrimp (half pounds retail for $15 and $8, respectively), Pacific and Atlantic oysters (anywhere from $1.10 to $2.50 each) and a variety of caviar (for you big spenders, the Iranian Imperial Ossetra goes for $190 an ounce). So maybe that will be on my parents’ tab; considering it’s location, high-end cuisine and relatively pricey menu, Blue Light Grill is a great place to take your parents or a date. But sometimes, it’s downright liberating to treat yourself to a great meal. So take a night off, go downtown and indulge in some fresh and innovative cooking. It’s worth it.
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