Sona

I can't sufficiently extol the virtues of Sona. If you like great Indian food and service that is quite possibly the best service I have ever had, go to Sona. The owner (Shiv) makes everyone feel as if they are dining in his home and treats everyone like family. No, that's not true... I've got too many relatives I wouldn't treat nearly as well as he treats his customers.

The food at Sona is authentic Indian food. Shiv tweaks each dish to suit the individual customer's needs. Indian food is usually spicy by design, but Shiv allows you to control the level of heat that you want on a scale of one (mild) to ten (oh my god I can't see! I'm blind from the pain!). I usually like my food spicy... and by spicy, I mean I like my hot wings to cook themselves under the heat of their own spices and I prefer my jalapenos with hot sauce. At Sona, I usually only order a 4 or 5 on the 1-10 heat scale. If you order higher than that and actually enjoy it, you are probably a frequent recreational visitor to dominatrices and dentists. If you make the grave miscalculation of overestimating your pain threshold, Shiv will tweak your meal down for you. If you under estimate, he'll add some curry or napalm or whatever it is that he adds to get that perfect mix of pleasure and pain.

As I said, the service here is beyond reproach. I won't comment beyond that except to say that I highly doubt that you will find any better in the Shenandoah Valley. The only place that compares so far is the one reviewed below... but I've only been there once since it came under new management so I will hold off on rating these two on par with each other. So far, Sona noses ahead.

Drinks. I love good beer and wine. Hell, I make my own beer so I know what is good and what is, um, crap. Sona has a fair selection of your usual American mass produced lagers (Bud, et al) but what makes them different is their selection of Indian beer. Big flavor, big bottles. I like these beers because they have a unique, Indian flare added to the traditional beer profile. I can almost imagine the British troops in India back in the day sitting back and enjoying one of these monster brews while fending off malaria and tigers and insurrections... eh, forget them and just enjoy the beer. If you don't like beer, their wine selection is small but nice... but the cocktail is where it's at. The Sona cocktail is a mix of god knows what that looks like a sunset, tastes like Heaven, and is dangerous as hell. The sweet taste belies an alcohol content intended for wooing ladies with the same built-up alcohol resistance of WC Fields. The wife likes this cocktail. I love the wife liking this cocktail. Enough said.

Overall, Sona is a monster. Great food, great service, and a homey atmosphere combine to make this the perfect "great first impression" first date restaurant... especially at prices that won't make you get second mortgage.

Sona

2900 Valley Ave

Winchester, VA

22601

(540) 662-9299

Food quality: 5

Price: $$$ (good value, reasonable price)

Ambiance: 5

Health Factor: 4 (tons of veggie dishes but a some of them fried... painfully hot dishes that clear the sinuses when you're sick... no kidding)

Fun factor: 3

Beer and wine selection: pretty good (limited domestic beer, unique imported beer, cocktails)

Overall rating: 4.5 stars (out of five)

New World Tavern

Okay, I’ve been to this place a few times when it was the New World Café, but since January it’s been under new management and the changes are staggering but ultimately refreshing. The wife and I went there tonight looking for a light meal and found a gold mine. Our waiter (also one of the managers) was Kevin. Kevin is not only a very knowledgeable waiter, but a flamboyant, entertaining, and indispensible asset who adds exponentially to the worth of your dining experience.

We started out with stuffed mushrooms and horseradish sauce for an appetizer that really whetted our appetites for more. I’ll get to the drinks when we tackle the main courses. As for the mushrooms, they were well beyond expectations… and the expectations were high.

She had the vegetable beef barley soup (homemade this morning) accompanied by a glass of surprisingly nice 2006 Argentinean Malbec by Gascon suggested Kevin. This was an amazing red that complimented the soup so well that it almost made me regret ordering the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale that I ordered to accompany my jalapeno quiche… almost. As for the quiche, it was the perfect mix of sweet and spicy. The jalapenos mixed well with the egg and cheese for a surprisingly fulfilling meal (especially when they threw in a side salad and bread).

The Malbec ran out early due to its extreme popularity so Kevin gave us the rest of the bottle gratis. He also bought another glass of wine for the wife out of his own pocket to go with our dessert which was an apple turnover. The turnover would have gone better with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream but it was good and Kevin did a great job with it (he also made the quiche) as well as his insistence that I have a New Castle Brown ale to accompany it. Good call Kevin.

The owner of New World Tavern is a Londoner by the name of Trevor. Trevor is personable and hell bound to make his restaurant the crown jewel of the Winchester eateries. He has no problem sitting at your table for a friendly chat or slaving away at redecorating and renovating his restaurant. The décor in New World is light and airy during the day and warm and inviting after four pm due to many renovations and initiatives by Trevor. Trevor is a class act and insists that all his new customers get a “cuddle” on the way out and that no one leaves unsatisfied.

As long as Trevor keeps plugging away at making his customers happy, no one will leave his restaurant unsatisfied.

New World Tavern
147 N. Loudoun St (the Old Town Mall)
Winchester, VA
(540)667-3168
Tues-Sat: 11:00 am to 10:00 pm
Sunday: noon-6:00 pm

Food quality: 4

Price: $$$ (six drinks, two entrees, one appetizer=$50.00)

Ambiance: 4

Health Factor: 5 (tons of veggie dishes and fresh, home made foods with a wide range of styles)

Fun factor: 4.5

Beer and wine selection: quite good

Overall rating: 4 stars (out of five)

Innaugural Post

Okay folks, here's the skinny. I love food and drink. I've eaten some of the best and worst food in the world. I've also managed to quaff just about any and every beverage known to man. My wife is also an aficionado of fine food and beverage and usually accompanies me on my little excursions to different food venues. Sometimes we are very pleased with our experiments... sometimes we are disappointed like a kid getting underwear on Christmas morning.

The bottom line is this: I think it's important and valuable for people to know where the best food and drink is for three reasons...

1. It helps people make educated choices. People tend to take good advice only when the person giving the advice has actual, first-hand experience. and we want to earn the public trust by guiding them to restaurants and bars that will give them the best dining and drinking experiences possible. We will only advise on eating and drinking venues which we have actually visited.

2. It helps the businesses. Businesses that work harder and go the extra mile deserve the credit.

3. It helps me. Of course I stand to gain from this if restaurants that I like prosper and flourish. These establishments will more likely stay open and operating if a lot of people visit them... and therefore my favorites will stay open and afford me the opportunity to enjoy them for a long, long time.

Well, that's about it. If I'm wrong on my estimates of these eateries and drinkeries, please let me know in the comments section. Hell, if you just want to add your two cents, please feel free to do so. All polite comments are welcome.