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Cha Cha • 5130 Kingston Pike • 766-0902

by Hugh Jeter

Let’s be blunt—good food ain’t cheap. By good food, I don’t mean the plentiful platters of sub-standard seafood or Salisbury steak that populate the plates of a plethora of economical eateries. By “good food” I mean interesting offerings that are well prepared and attractively arranged. Lest I be lost in obfuscation, allow me to clarify and specify by saying that Cha Cha cannot be cheap. I mention that because when I mention Cha Cha to some folk, I am often confronted with the complaint that it is an easy place to spend a lot of money for little food. Faith, if you, as I, have enjoyed a number of their small tapas plates, then it is very easy to part with mucho dinero for those small, though delightful dishes. Lamentably, it is the price you must pay. Honestly, I might be able to get two double cheeseburgers for the price of Cha Cha’s flank steak with oyster mushrooms—but I’m not sure that that would be a fair trade. Cha Cha doesn’t give me gas.

To be honest, I have a bias where Cha Cha is concerned. I am inclined to food that edges toward the exotic, hence I gravitate to tapas. But if your concern is achieving maximum pleasure for minimum price, I counsel that you limit the tapas to a first course and sit down to dinner. Chefs Cardiff Creasy and Jason McNeill offer a menu that is generous and very good.

Our tapas choices were equally lovely. The duck confit with black pepper cream cheese warranted ravaging, though we followed the lead of a neighboring diner and ate the duck separately—it was tender to the point of melting in the mouth and so deserved individual attention. The escargot Romescu suffered only because of a mutual prejudice for the traditional Bourguignon presentation—you know, all garlic and butter. Still, one might argue that snails are the canvas and the sauce the paint, in which case the Romescu, a rich tomato sauce with almonds was a success. We loved the bread that accompanied both tapas for being toothsome and substantial. Actually, the bread, a chewy peasant style, kicks arse.

Entrees are preceded by an option of soup or “side-salad” (a misnomer—the salad was a significant course that the name indicates not). My dining companion, Lillian, chose a white peach vinaigrette that demonstrated the chefs’ mastery of sweet elements as it captured the essence of fruit without making the dressing cloying like so many goopy fruit vinaigrettes that infect the restaurant world. I ate it with a spoon—really, I did. An equally impressive seafood bisque rivaled any I’ve ever tasted. The distinction was a full-bodied flavor of the briny deep that evoked thoughts of a painstaking shellfish emulsion without reliance on cream to cover a parsimonious fish broth. Lillian, whose seafood expertise comes of a lifetime of visits to the Carolina coast, dubbed it deliciously feisty.

Our main courses, however, raised questions about balance. Lillian’s perfectly seared and seasoned duck breast, complemented by a sweet potato green onion salsa, and sautéed spinach, was all but overwhelmed by a thick port wine balsamic reduction in the same fashion that it nearly dwarfed my rack of lamb. Individually the elements were delicious (even if the chef’s conception of medium rare lamb is some degrees colder than mine), but altogether the reduction dominated in both cases. I ate most of Lillian’s duck, salsa and spinach without the reduction, and I was in heaven.

Dessert put me in an awkward position. Normally I am not much undone by phallic food, I am an adult after all; but the banana tempura tested me to the point of laughter. The combination of tempura batter and banana didn’t much impress, but Lillian’s Spanish chocolate cake inspired nearly coital moans of pleasure owing to a crisp, brownie-like exterior, and a moist, fudge-like center. Both desserts came with two scoops of ethereal ice cream that alone would easily satisfy my sweet tooth.

In toto, Cha Cha remains one of my premiere favorites and recommendations. Little else offers the diversity and affordability of exotic bites that you’ll find in its amiable air. Furthermore, an aggressive wine program, which puts a host of interesting offerings on offer by the glass, is laudable—all in all it’s an elegant place to look elegant and to sup elegantly as well.

A word to the wise—word on the street has it that Cha Cha will revamp its menu soon—so hurry to enjoy your favorites now.