Dining Out: The Empress

Considering that emperors and empresses rank above all other rulers, the title itself holds high expectations.

When Rick Lyons and Page Cassada teamed up with Melissa Barlow as silent partners in a new restaurant venture, it's not surprising that they chose to name their eatery The Empress.

It fits with the governmental theme they have going with The Republic, their other hotspot just down a few doors on West Broad Street, and sets The Empress apart as the more demure, culinarily focused sibling of The Republic's boisterous bar scene.

Does such a namesake set the bar too high? Yes and no.

Open from sunup to well past sundown, The Empress serves everything from freshly baked sourdough panini and made-from-scratch scones to what the website describes as "Love Infused Social Cuisine," small plates perfect for extended evenings of sipping and snacking with friends.

From a food perspective, my recent visit with a girlfriend was "fit for royalty," as The Empress advertises, but if you're looking for a full-fledged dining "experience," The Empress might need a little more time to fill out its
title.

Located in the former home of Enoteca Sogno, The Empress has livened up the brick-walled space with tile flooring, church pews repurposed as benches and padded window nooks perfect for gabbing and grubbing.

If you just feel like popping in while on the go, the former bar in the entryway is now a counter serving pastries and wines by the bottle. This works great in the morning and throughout the day, but in the evening, things don't run as smoothly.

With only one employee working as host and server, we were hidden by the counter and had to wait several minutes before being noticed. Once we got the wine list (reasonably priced at $20-$42 a bottle) and dinner menu, however, we couldn't have been more pleased with our server. Well, at least when he was able to check in.

It was hot outside and inside, so we were pleased with our server's informed wine recommendations, 2008 Cuvée Hortense ($34) or 2008 Ferrande Sauvignon Blanc ($24), each refreshing and fruit-forward.

The Empress' evening menu falls somewhere between tapas and entrées portion-wise, so we ordered a sampling: chilled peach soup ($5), herb-butter escargot ($13), crab quiche ($11) and grilled rosemary lamb chops ($12).

Served room temperature, the soup wasn't the refreshing start to the meal we had hoped, but the flavors were balanced between sweet and creamy.

The rest of the meal went up from there. A generous portion of snails served in the shell was drenched in a standard herb-butter concoction, but the addition of sun-dried tomatoes elevated it from usual to unique.

Three cupcake-sized quiches arrived bathed in a rich hollandaise sauce. The combination of spinach, Gruyère and crab was skillfully balanced flavor- and texture-wise, leaving us fighting over the third one.

Grilled to a perfect medium and seasoned with rosemary, the lamb chops were some of the best I've had in recent memory. Even better were the horseradish cheddar polenta cakes on which they were served. Crisp outside and creamy inside, they could have stood alone as their own dish. Roasted grape tomatoes added a touch of acidity.

We ended with the crème brûlée du jour ($5), flavored with vanilla bean imported from Mexico. Served in a deep saucer with a wonderfully thick crust, the custard was dense yet silky, a textbook execution of a sweet ending that's often messed up.

It's no small undertaking being open nearly 19 hours a day and executing equally tempting menus morning, noon and night, yet The Empress pulls this off.

However, with all the excellent new restaurants upping Richmond's culinary ante, The Empress needs to create a memorable experience if it wants to live up to its title, a prestige I feel it can achieve with time.

The Empress
Rating: 4 stars
Where: 2043 W. Broad St.
Phone: (804) 592-4000
Web site: www.theempressrva.com
Noise level: low to average
Vegetarian options: crepes, pastries, panini, pizza, salads and quiche
Hours: 6:30 a.m. - 1 a.m. daily
Prices: $3 - $13
Check for two: $51 (including four shared small plates, dessert and tax)

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Freelance writer and graphic designer Dana Craig has been reviewing restaurants for The Times-Dispatch since 2004. The Times-Dispatch pays for the meals on her unannounced visits to restaurants. Contact her at dcraig@timesdispatch.com. Follow her at http://twitter.com/danacraigrtd.