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photo by Ash Daniel
Mussels and Fried Eggplant Escabeche (photo by Ash Daniel)
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photo by Ash Daniel
Scoops of double-chocolate, coconut and pistachio gelato (photo by Ash Daniel)
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photo by Ash Daniel
Anchovy, green pepper and black olive pizza (photo by Ash Daniel)
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photo by Ash Daniel
Castanea's manager, Alex Robbins (photo by Ash Daniel)
Restaurants should live and die by the simplest items on their menu. It’s not that the palate-stunners aren’t valid and appreciated, but that the humbler dishes are better markers of how much care and attention are put into the quality of the ingredients, the preparation and the plating. Picture a locally grown, summer-scented tomato, red as a bleeding heart, sliced and fanned across a spill of spring-green olive oil. Now, picture a winter tomato, pink and anemic, hacked into mealy quarters and thrown on a naked plate. I was astonished to find that Castanea, a spot I’d been looking forward to visiting for months, leaned closer in presentation and preparation to the latter.
As simple dishes go, the Spanish tortilla is high on my list: A properly delicious, comforting rendition can be made from just eggs, potatoes, olive oil and salt. When I see it on a menu, I order it as a litmus test. Sadly, Castanea’s dense puck of egg hid an occasional flavorless potato or chunk of roasted pepper; the consistency made no culinary sense. Another deeply simplistic snack, bacon-wrapped dates, arrived small, hard, cold. I was most excited about the panisse fries: simple but exciting, as one so rarely finds the polenta-like batter made with chickpea flour here in Richmond. Unfortunately, the soggy pieces that were served tasted as though they had been pre-cooked and reheated, or made too early and left to sit too long. I did appreciate, however, the three sauces accompanying the fries: aïoli, herby zhug (similar to chimichurri) and spicy harissa.
Next up was pizza. Having originally made a bold decision to serve only whole wheat crust, Castanea opened serving a very specific pizza niche; I found that the dense crust overpowered toppings of Merguez sausage, eggplant and feta. But the staff is clearly listening to customers; as of press time, a crust revamp was in the works.
Closer, though not quite there, was a trio of dishes. The hanger steak bites with mushrooms and tender, well-seasoned steak slices were met with satisfied “mmms” and snapped up quickly. The fried eggplant with mussels offered a fresh, lemony tomato and cucumber salad beneath a colony of dainty mussels, and in fact, the battered, fried eggplant lining the sides of that dish was largely ignored. The arancini were too oily, and their cheese-to-rice ratio too heavy, to enjoy after the fried nature of everything that came before them.
The final issue with Castanea is the space itself; putting love into a dining space is crucial. Love doesn’t have to translate into dollars, either — it can be as simple as having a friend with an eye for design pick your paint colors and offer a few lighting tips, and it’s clear that neither was the case in this build-out. The dour gray-blue tones, in combination with haphazard lighting choices, impart to the dining room a submarine-like quality, as does the sparse and ill-sized art. And this is the better half of the space. I won’t go into detail about the “gelateria,” except to say that it reminds me of an empty walk-in fridge.
So there I was, thinking I knew what was what, when I tasted the pistachio gelato. I’d heard it was otherworldly, and it lived up to the hype. Buttery roasted nuttiness, a wink of salt, an airy creaminess — it may as well have started singing opera. Same with the chocolate. After so many misses from the menu, dead-on delicious gelato really threw me for a loop.
Castanea’s menu is not overly ambitious, but it still manages to suffer from an identity crisis of sorts. French, Spanish, Middle Eastern, Italian; it seems that the spot opened before it knew what it wanted to be, and that’s an honest mistake that happens often in the restaurant world. But as such, I wouldn’t go back, except for the gelato and perhaps the pizza if the new crust works out well. They could probably do very well on those two items alone; a slice n’ scoop shop would be a cohesive, serviceable concept to fall back on if all else fails, and one that could easily ride that line between simplicity and perfection.
1.5 out of 4 forks
Castanea
1814 E. Main St.
643-2312
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday: 4:30 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday: 4:30 to 11 p.m.
Prices: $5 to $19
Handicapped Accessible
