Spring Fine Dining from first-hand witnesses: ‘I paid nine swipes for a meal at Shafer’

Nick Bonadies
Spectrum Editor

Joseph Cannella
Contributing Writer

An intricate spread of 15-some dishes flanked the curtained entrance to the Compass Room on the first floor of Shafer Dining Center last Thursday, April 14, each glistening with a laid-out-sample sheen.

On the tables were flowing white tablecloths, made of at least some percentage of real cloth; vases held delicate white and violet bouquets; place settings in black polyester held not one fork, but two.

This was clearly Shafer with class.

But the question weighed heavy on the minds of VCU meal plan subscribers everywhere, just as it had leading up to the Fall Fine Dining event last October: Is it worth the nine swipes, which in meal plan currency amounts to approximately $60? (According to VCU Dining, each swipe is equal to about $6.85.)

Is anything, indeed, served in Shafer Dining Center worth nine swipes?

With the CT’s course-by-course coverage of two brave diners’ Fine Dining experience, you can make the judgement yourself.  Names have been withheld to protect the innocent.

PRE-MEAL

Service from the wait staff, comprised of Shafer employees in black collared shirts and aprons, was prompt and friendly, with the waiter – who described his evening, with a sigh, as “All right, I guess, getting through it” – recounting the beverage menu flawlessly by heart, despite being asked to repeat himself twice.

Not-quite-stale baguette slices, lovingly bundled in black polyester, arrived alongside a plate of four individual butter servings in rose-shaped molds.

As the waiter later carried off a ruined butter bouquet, one reviewer described the experience as “probably the best butter” he had seen “in the past … while.”

COURSE 1: APPETIZER

“Fried Calamari with roasted garlic aioli; baby spinach salad with baked goat cheese crouton and honey lavender vinaigrette”

First Impressions

  • REVIEWER 1 “This is fried calamari on taco lettuce.”
  • REVIEWER 2 “Not what I expected.”

The assortment of deep-fried calamari on a bed of shredded lettuce vanished quickly, from hunger as well as from reserved portions, conjuring fond memories of “this place my dad used to take me which was, like, fried seafood,” while the honey lavender vinaigrette on the baby spinach salad  was described as “delectable.”

Drinks were refilled frequently and were adequately cold, with the ice melting at an acceptable rate.

COURSE 2: ENTREE

“Roasted beef tenderloin cooked medium, served with garlic and brandy compound butter, mashed potatoes and Broccolini; Osso Bucco – braised veal shanks served with mashed potatoes and vegetables served in Jus”

First Impressions

  • REVIEWER 1 (Having just consumed the melting pat of butter on top of his mashed potatoes) “Oh. Oh. That was not mashed potatoes. That was butter.”
  • REVIEWER 2 “Tasty so far. I have yet to find a problem.”

After reflecting briefly on the species and nature of “Broccolini,”* diners dug in to a main course whose chief inspiration, in both flavor and consistency, was gravy.

“I hope I don’t get so drunk tonight that I throw all this up,” commented one reviewer, picking at succulent bone marrow with his fork.

*According to www.mannpacking.com: “Broccolini is a registered trademark of Mann Packing Company, Inc. Its generic name is baby broccoli with product lookup number 3277.  It is also known by the names: Asparation, Asparations, Bimi, broccoletti, broccolette and Tender Stem.”

COURSE 3: DESSERT

“Fresh fruit tart; Pepperment patty chocolate layer cake”

First Impressions

  • REVIEWER 1 “I guess I shouldn’t be eating a big dessert, anyway.”
  • REVIEWER 2 “I think after this I’m going to have to unbutton the top button.”

Although somewhat tainted by an increasingly odd-tasting soda, the third course wrapped up the evening’s cuisine exquisitely, each dessert having been kept adequately refrigerated and served before the printed freshness date.

Emerging into the evening’s cool breeze, leftover tart and cake carried in plastic carry-home boxes by both reviewers proclaimed subtly yet unmistakably to the awestruck Compass crowd: “I paid nine swipes for a meal at Shafer.”


Share your own Shafer Fine Dining experience in the comment ssection!

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply