Hill Thrill
Flavorful fare with "down home" flair at The Hill Cafe still earn its "urban institution" rep?

Colleen Curran
Richmond.com
Tuesday September 16, 2003

Sexy, suave neighborhood joints serving eclectic Southern fare are getting harder and harder to come by ... especially with the new crop of super-power malls and their chain restaurant minions invading Richmond this month.

Maybe that's what makes a charmer like The Hill Cafe such an urban institution. Armed with two friends, I stopped by to see if the corner cafe was still King of the Hill.

The short answer: You betcha.

Starters range from $4 to $10 and offer tasteful samplings of everything from calamari to applewood pork tenderloin. The crab dip, a fluffy blend of warm crab and artichoke hearts, was a good appetizer to share. Freshly toasted sourdough points were a nice addition to the piping hot dip, lightly flavored with lemon and chive.

Nightly blue plate specials deliver down-home comfort food like meatloaf or pork chops at a thrifty fare during the week. The prime rib au jus ($13.95) special served a generous slice of prime rib over house-mashed potatoes and asparagus. Cooked to medium-rare perfection, the prime rib melted in your mouth with its clean au jus. The taters, crushed with skins, were quite good, although I prefer something extra in my mashers, like garlic or cheese, and the Hill's basic blend tasted a little bland. But the crisp, grilled asparagus were a nice, expensive addition to the budget blue plate.

Regular specials change nightly and the Caribbean marinated tuna ($16.95) lived up to its "special" status. Now a sister restaurant to The Hard Shell, The Hill shares its sibling's "seafood know-how." The tuna steak was grilled to perfection, seared and crispy on the outside, while pink and buttery soft on the inside. Served over balsamic basmati rice and wilted spinach in a coconut reduction sauce, the tuna carried a light, tropical Thai flavor that was utterly original.

Lunch "on the Hill" shouldn't be missed either. When we returned a few days later, we enjoyed the knockout Hill burger ($7.95), which stacks a hefty beef burger with bacon, cheddar cheese and carmelized onions on a toasted onion bun. I especially appreciated the side of vinegary BBQ sauce, which also served as zesty dipping alternative for french fries.

The veggie wrap ($5.95) is a great alternative for vegetarians or visitors with light appetites. The marinated portobella mushroom, carmelized onion and roasted red pepper wrap is a graceful delight, packed with meaty mushroom flavor and the tart foil of peppers.

I'll go on the line to say that The Hill serves one of the best caesar salads ($5.95) in town. The dressing is a creamy, lemon rendition that pairs nicely with chicken or is just fine by itself. But my personal favorite? A co-worker turned me on to this trick: substitute a seared tuna steak for a few extra bucks ($10.95) for a salad that's dyn-o-mite!

No wonder people go out of their way to visit this thrill on the Hill.