July 28, 2009

BilVil – A Beaches Cafe

Posted in Journal tagged food, friend, garden, local, restaurant at 2:52 am by Jenn

This weekend I had the pleasure of dining at BilVil in North Beach, Maryland. I had the pleasure of working for Bil while I was in college.  First at Neptune’s and then at Vic’s Italia by the Bay.  He’s an awesome chef and a pretty good guy too.

BilVil opened when I was living in Belarus, but I watched the progress via pictures online.  I couldn’t wait to get home to pay him a visit.

I had taken a peak at BilVil’s menu online about a month ago and had been thinking about the Eggplant Parmigiana ever since.  I couldn’t wait to try it.  Local produce (some from his own edible garden) +  local ingredients + Bil Shockley cooking = far out flavor!

BilVil has a great atmosphere for lunch or dinner and you can dine inside or out.  We chose to dine in and were seated in what I’m going to call the sunroom.  A great room on the front of the restaurant with windows all around.

Our waitress was very polite and presented us with the menus, beer and wine lists and specials.  I decided on a glass of the house Pinot Grigio and an ice water to start, then I picked up the menu.

I’m going to have to go back at least 5 times to try everything that I want to try, but I just couldn’t get the Eggplant Parm out of my mind.  I had also decided on the Spinach with Onions, Mushrooms & Warm Bacon Dressing, but at the last minute changed my mind to the Tuna Carpaccio app.  I was not disappointed at all, in fact I was pleasantly surprised.  This was served on a bed of greens so I had my veggie after all.  The portion size was generous and definitely way more than I could eat on my own.  Michelle and I should have shared.

The entree came and all I could do was smile….it looked wonderful.  Eggplant Parmigiana with a side of pasta.  YUM.  From bite one til the last bite I was in heaven.  I absolutely LOVE Eggplant Parmigiana and NO ONE makes it quite like Bil.

We had already decided on ice cream for dessert at the Dairy Freeze up the street- however next time around I’m trying the Warm Fudge Cake at Bil’s….or the Carrot Cake….or BOTH!

So, that being said, if you are in North Beach and want a great meal cooked by a great guy (his wife Sandi ain’t bad either) stop by BilVil .  Tell him Jenn sent you.  You won’t be disappointed.

Oh, Basignani Winery’s Reisling – yeah, get a bottle!

And, just in case you don’t want to take my word for it, you can read a real newspaper review here, here, or here.

Congratulations Bil and Sandi on your success at BilVil!  I’ll be back.

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