Skip to main content

Zofia's Kitchen

Another new entry to the Ballston Quarter Food Hall is Zofia's Kitchen.  First and foremost, I like me a good pierogi.  I was thrilled when French Creperie Oby Lee added them earlier this year.  Zofia's gets major snaps for their unique creations and wide selection of dipping sauces and prep style.  They have two veggie and two vegan offerings.  On the vegan side there is Mushroom Herb or Beet/Ginger/Lemon Zest.  The two veggie choices are Spinach Feta or Everything Bagel.  One can order the pierogis "crispy", sauteed, steamed or "made for sauteeing at home" (I was sent specific directions for this last one but nearly burned the pierogies trying to follow it.)  Other offerings for veggies include their one-of-a-kind Latke Doughnut and usually a soup (the selections change frequently).  The good news -- these are quite good.  The strongest offering was the Beet, which was surprising, even refreshing.  Combined with a number of the dipping sauces it was hands-down my favorite.  The Everything Bagel was good -- deeply creamy, but less seasoned than expected.  The Spinach was also good but beyond the Feta there wasn't really any seasoning I could detect.  Again, the dipping sauce made a palpable difference.  The Latke Doughnut was fun but a little undercooked -- after reheating I found it to be great with the Horseradish sauce.  I also tried the Lemon Dill which was subtle -- perhaps a bit too subtle -- and the Mustard Cream, which was so good I nearly ate it out of the container with a spoon.  The best prep, in my mind, was the sauteed style.  It gave a little crunch but kept that nice slippery pasta feel.  The crunchy style left any sense of pasta behind, although it worked well for dipping things.  

Now the bad news.  It took two tries to get my order selections.  The first time I ordered online, went to pick up, order wasn't ready as promised and when I got it home it was ~~completely~~ wrong.  I didn't get what I ordered, I got things I didn't order, including a Lobster Bisque (major issue!).  The owner, who packed my order, must have realized the mistake and an email was waiting before I unpacked the bags.  He was very apologetic, talked about how they had gotten busy, offered me a number of options.  Since I wasn't interested in trekking out again (the order came after hours of running errands) he ended up comping the entire thing.  I gave the inappropriate options to neighbors.  So, the second time, I thought I would just go in person.  This didn't result in better service.  The young man who took my order couldn't get it straight.  It took repeating my request four times and a helping hand by someone else behind the counter to get it right.  (For the record, he was wearing a mask -- improperly -- which was covered with marijuana leaves.  I'm just saying ...)  While waiting, I went to another establishment, ordered a few things there, got my order there and returned.  The order still wasn't ready.  When I did get it, I checked it thoroughly before leaving.

Bottom line.  I like the food but the hassle in trying to get the order right might be a tipping point.  The Oby Lee pierogies don't have as many options but they are bigger and they've never messed up my order.  So, I don't know.  If I'm at Ballston for something else I might pick some up but two strikes in order issues so far is not a good sign. 

Food Hall Pierogis, Traditional and Innovative
Ballston Quarter Mall Food Court
http://zofiaskitchen.com/

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Afghan Bistro

With family members moving to Springfield, it has been a struggle to find good places to eat so far afield.  After flirting with some chain restaurants near the mall, we tried a Pakistani restaurant (there are many, many Pakistani restaurants there), but it fell flat.  Finally, someone suggested this amazing place.  It's a little hole-in-the-wall in a strip mall.  With oilcloth table coverings, the vibe seems questionable.  For about a minute.  Then you are warmly greeted and given menus with a plethora of choices.  My party ordered a great number of items and every dish rose above expectations.  The staff are eager to please and checked in to make sure everything was okay, from food to drink needs.  When a member of my party dropped a piece of silverware on the floor one of the waiters swooped in with a replacement before we could even ask.   But onto the food.  We ordered the Potato and Leek turnovers, the Aushak (leek and sc...

First Watch

Meant to invite some family members here but a friend beat me to the punch.  We compromised and went together.  Unfortunately, this is a place where it looks better than it is.  Across the board.  The funky design scheme makes it an echo chamber and, with the pumping music, very loud.  Conversation was difficult.  The menu is covered in glossy photos and descriptions of the food but ... I started with the Morning Meditation Fresh Juice, a pretty blend of citrus and beet.  Or I tried to.  Took three reminders to the waiter and when it finally arrived, halfway into the meal, it was 90% ice and 10% juice.  My companions opted for coffee.  It was ice cold.  Another long wait (about 20 minutes) to get new coffee -- and included a reminder to staff that they wanted fresh cups as well.  I ordered the Vegetarian Quinoa Bowl, which was described as having up to 12 ingredients.  It had three.  The quinoa, an egg, maybe two teen...

RASA

The popular grain bowl trend gets a twist with this Indian-inspired takeout bowl place.  Same concept -- a base, greens, toppings, etc., but the options are mostly Indian inspired and the majority of offerings are vegetarian (although not vegan, given the heavy use of Ghee in cooking).  My take is mixed.  Some of the items were outstanding, some less so.  I got the Lemon Tumeric Rice, which was delightful.  Fresh and tangy, with a little bite, it was one of the best rice dishes I've ever tried.  On top of this I got the Tofu/Cauliflower protein.  It was half and half.  The cauliflower was perfectly roasted, the roasted onions delightful, and the nuts were a beautiful added crunch.  The tofu, however, was watery, and the green and red peppers well past prime.  Next, I added sauteed spinach, which was incredibly bland, and the peanut sesame sauce, which was "okay" but forgettable.  I didn't do additional toppings, although there were ...