Chef Bill and Amie Dodson serve one of his favorites, Chilean sea bass pan-seared in balsamic vinaigrette over warm goat cheese and arugula with orzo pasta and sauce beurre blanc, upstairs at The Barge Gourmet. "It's like butter in your mouth," he said.
Bill and Amie Dodson are back in the kitchen, on board The Barge restaurant.
Despite the menu differences, Dodson was apprehensive about opening a restaurant that could be viewed as competition to his father-in-law's established eatery. He dreaded the conversation he planned with Sohovich, but was pleased and relieved to have his father-in-law's blessing.
"I don't think my parents view it as competition. They've been so supportive," Amie Dodson said. "My parents want us to do well and prosper. It's all because of what they provided for us."
"Our success is a reflection of them and of what they taught us," Dodson said.
Because Mediterranean comprises several dozen styles and cultures, his menu has wide parameters, but features fish, shrimp, lamb, tomatoes, artichokes and kalamata olives.
The upstairs fine casual dining room opened in mid-July with a limited menu the Dodsons plan to expand. Dodson intended a more ambitious opening menu of about 15 entrees, but his wife nudged him toward a few well-prepared items at first.
Entrees include jerk grouper casoulet, Tuscan filet mignon, herb mustard crusted lamb, Chilean sea bass, shrimp fra diavolo and Thai-peanut chicken and shrimp. Entrees are priced between $28 for the spicy shrimp pasta dish and $42 for the lamb, which includes two double chops of lamb seared and roasted over roasted potatoes and fresh Brussels' sprouts.
Salads include spinach, Caesar baguette and Greek. Tuna Noisettes, tuna medallions with a three-olive mushroom tapenade and fresh tomatoes, crab cakes, grilled portobellos and beef carpachio round out the appetizer menu.
"Some of our regulars have been coming here. I'm seeing lots of people that I know," Dodson said. "I hope we've given them another destination for dining."
The Dodsons met at a restaurant in Columbus where they both worked, and have worked together ever since, except for his teaching stint.
"This is wonderful for us because we work together so well," she said. "We went our separate ways professionally for a while, but this is where we belong."
"We complement each other," he said. "I have a strong culinary background and ability to lead. She knows the full line of services and foods. And she knows how to cook."
The Barge Gourmet, 1414 MacCorkle Ave., Trojan Landing, is open from 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and closes at 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Call 304-744-2628.
Reach Julie Robinson at jul...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1230.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Bill and Amie Dodson are back in the kitchen, on board The Barge restaurant.
The husband-and-wife team worked together for 12 years at Blossom Deli - he managed the kitchen for owner Bill Sohovich, who also happens to be Amie's stepfather, and she managed the catering.
Three years ago, he left Blossom and accepted a teaching position at Mountwest Community College in Huntington. She went to Comfort Inn in Cross Lanes, where she managed the lounge.
Although he enjoyed teaching hospitality and culinary arts, he found trying the the daily commute from their Sissonville home, where the Dodsons live with their three sons. So when John Wolfe, owner of The Barge restaurant, called in April to ask if he was happy with his teaching position, Dodson's interest piqued.
The Barge, which Wolfe intended to operate year-round, closed in December because of lack of business. People associated its riverfront location and deck with warm weather outdoor dining, but Wolfe had extensively renovated the upstairs to be a full-service, year-round restaurant.
Wolfe wanted to sell the Barge, but Dodson had a different suggestion.
"I told him to invest in me and my wife and we'll get this place where he wants it to be," Dodson said. "Our main goal is to make the Barge a year-round, profitable investment for the Wolfe family and a desirable destination for this community."
The downstairs and deck retained the bar food menu, although Dodson updated it with healthier options like wraps and salads. The May opening coincided with Dodson's students' final exams, so he was driving to Huntington daily for classes, then hustling back to the Barge to ready it for the opening date.
"It was a really difficult 14 days," he said. "We hired and trained 40 employees, got the computers up and running, proofed and printed menus and set up vendor and business accounts."
He reconfigured the kitchen, which he describes as a submarine kitchen, to serve two very different restaurants, sandwiches and burgers downstairs and a fine casual dining room upstairs.
The Dodsons expanded the children's menu downstairs, hoping to attract families. They addressed complaints of slow service by insisting that diners be seated by a staffer. Previously, customers seated themselves, confusing servers and slowing service.
They made the May 15 opening date, then concentrated on the menu for the restaurant, upstairs, called The Barge Gourmet.
"We want to establish a quality menu with innovative touches," he said. He's preparing Mediterranean and seafood dishes similar to those he developed at Blossom, but is careful not to replicate them exactly. Blossom Deli is open for dinner again, but the emphasis of his father-in-law's new menu differs from Dodson's.
Despite the menu differences, Dodson was apprehensive about opening a restaurant that could be viewed as competition to his father-in-law's established eatery. He dreaded the conversation he planned with Sohovich, but was pleased and relieved to have his father-in-law's blessing.
"I don't think my parents view it as competition. They've been so supportive," Amie Dodson said. "My parents want us to do well and prosper. It's all because of what they provided for us."
"Our success is a reflection of them and of what they taught us," Dodson said.
Because Mediterranean comprises several dozen styles and cultures, his menu has wide parameters, but features fish, shrimp, lamb, tomatoes, artichokes and kalamata olives.
The upstairs fine casual dining room opened in mid-July with a limited menu the Dodsons plan to expand. Dodson intended a more ambitious opening menu of about 15 entrees, but his wife nudged him toward a few well-prepared items at first.
Entrees include jerk grouper casoulet, Tuscan filet mignon, herb mustard crusted lamb, Chilean sea bass, shrimp fra diavolo and Thai-peanut chicken and shrimp. Entrees are priced between $28 for the spicy shrimp pasta dish and $42 for the lamb, which includes two double chops of lamb seared and roasted over roasted potatoes and fresh Brussels' sprouts.
Salads include spinach, Caesar baguette and Greek. Tuna Noisettes, tuna medallions with a three-olive mushroom tapenade and fresh tomatoes, crab cakes, grilled portobellos and beef carpachio round out the appetizer menu.
"Some of our regulars have been coming here. I'm seeing lots of people that I know," Dodson said. "I hope we've given them another destination for dining."
The Dodsons met at a restaurant in Columbus where they both worked, and have worked together ever since, except for his teaching stint.
"This is wonderful for us because we work together so well," she said. "We went our separate ways professionally for a while, but this is where we belong."
"We complement each other," he said. "I have a strong culinary background and ability to lead. She knows the full line of services and foods. And she knows how to cook."
The Barge Gourmet, 1414 MacCorkle Ave., Trojan Landing, is open from 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and closes at 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Call 304-744-2628.
Reach Julie Robinson at jul...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1230.
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