Jay M.'s Profile

From the moment we first read a local newspaper review of One Block West, we were quite intrigued by the restaurant. Once we investigated the website, we knew we had to experience it. The welcoming nature of the website is carried through at the restaurant. The owner and chef, Ed Matthews states on the home page that he "likes having his friends over for dinner." With such a quaint statement you may not realize just how good of a meal that friend of yours can cook!

Ed's passion is evident in the restaurant's very concept. Menus are created each day and posted on the website by 4pm. Those menus are driven by what Ed finds in local markets and are the freshest ingredients available. He uses as many local ingredients as he can for all of his dishes. If it isn't local, you can rest assured that it will be exotic and of the highest quality.

One Block West (OBW) is the best meal in Winchester that we have found. It is not at all pretentious. Perhaps a person will look at the prices and expect something different. I assure you the prices are there for the quality. If OBW were in Fairfax, the prices would easily be quite a bit higher. Personally I'm glad the prices are reasonable compared to what I am used to in Fairfax!

If you know us, you know that we are as about as far from pretentious as you can get. We've felt welcomed every time we've been to OBW. While I do understand that a nice meal for a special occasion can call for dressing up, generally when we go out for dinner we're there for the food and the drink and the flavors and satisfaction that they bring. OBW is a place where it really is about enjoying an excellent meal; not showing off your accomplishments. I'm sure a few patrons views things differently, but that's the beauty we can all be different and still love great food.

It seems every night Ed has somewhat exotic proteins on the menu. We've had wild boar, elk, venison, and ostrich just to name a few. We can't imagine you'll be disappointed by trying something new; we haven't at least. Ed will also prepare a vegetarian meal if asked, so if that is what you are seeking, just speak up!

I know I like good wine. I know nothing about wines though. I have tried to learn more in the past, but I didn't have the passion for it and have forgotten the very little I knew. On the OBW menu, each entree has a suggested wine. We often take the recommendations and while I could not describe why, I can certainly say that they always pair very nicely with my meal.

One of my favorite first courses available has been the prosciutto wrapped scallops. Last night I had pulled pork in wontons in ham hock broth. It was sort of a South meets Far East food. It was incredible and I will get it every time it is on the menu from now on!

The best second course I've had was the ostrich. It really wasn't what I was expected at all, but was very pleasing. I've had the filet mignon and it was an excellent cut of beef. I do like my filet extremely rare though and it came closer to medium rare even though I ordered rare. You may want to stress extra-rare just to make sure it is cooked where you'd like it. After all it easy to send back for just a little more cooking if needed.

A couple of visits now, we've had the Virginia Cheese Tray before dessert. Wow! We really didn't realize Virginia had such tasty cheese. Served with a date and crackers they have made an excellent transition to dessert.

As for desserts, I get the same thing every time. Perhaps I should venture out but the chocolate bread pudding is simply so very perfect, I want nothing else! I've had the bananas foster the first night which was very tasty as well.

I can't recommend OBW enough!

Was very happy to see Gander Mountain open here in Winchester. They carry all the items I need to enjoy my outdoor experiences. They also have a quite a decent selection of used handguns that I was happy to take one of off their hands. They have a room for use by organizations as well that has lots of their comfy backwoods furniture in, and when not in use they often have videos playing on various outdoor subjects. A good selection, and while the focus is on hunting and fishing more than anything else, they have most of your outdoor needs covered.

We've been waiting for Mimosa to open for many months now. They finally opened five days ago. Before I dig into the guts of the place... I'll say that everyone needs a little time to work the kinks out, and they are still in that phase. We'll revisit in a month and I'll update the review if it is warranted.

The look of the restaurant is quite modern; fish tanks, patio, black and red colors. So, looks and atmosphere looks great. Unfortunately you then sit down and try and talk to the other members of your dinner party. This is the first bad thing. Really bad acoustics, extremely loud in the restaurant with the open ceiling, which looks modern and industrial but reflects noise like you won't believe. We couldn't hear each other through the whole meal and were yelling to get some communication going.

Service, this is where I'm sure the kinks will be worked out... I hope. Everyone is extremely slow, but they are definitely trying to find their groove. To summarize the service it was very friendly, slow and not nearly attentive enough.

Food, this is why I hope you came to a restaurant. I will say all of the ingredients were of top quality and very fresh. The tastes though were very hit or miss. The Hot n' Sour soup was some of the best I've ever had... that was the highlight of the meal.

We started with their Fried Jalapeno Calamari. It was ok. Calamari was fresh at least. They had a bit too much breading and not enough Jalapeno's for me. The Wasabi Mayo sauce was good, but not great. Overall, the starter was just ok; the tastes didn't knock our socks off like I was hoping for.

Did I mention the Hot n' Sour soup? Mmmmm. Yummy! :)

We tried a Sushi roll to see how things were in the Sushi department. We ordered a Rainbow roll which is a nice sampling of several fishes over a basic California Roll. All the fish was fresh and tasty (but I would expect that as they just opened). The roll's construction wasn't great though, the nori wasn't wide enough to fit around the California roll, so the bottom of the roll opened up when trying to pick it up. No complaints on the Sushi and it was as good as the one other Sushi bar in town that is edible if not great.

For the entrees we went different routes. My wife had a Mongolian Beef sandwich. I thought it was ok, but my wife didn't care for it because it was impossible to eat as the sandwich it was presented as. It came with some very tasty (but COLD) fried Zucchini strips. The Sichuan Style Stir Fried Beef that I ordered was just ok.

Like I said, we'll return, Winchester very much needs this kind of restaurant. I only hope that they can work the kinks out and get it right. I certainly recommend others giving them a try and posting their thoughts. I hope I haven't turned anyone off, because this place deserves to get a chance to get it right.