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Obrigado in downtown Louisa offers an uptown menu that features mostly Mediterranean-style cuisine Date published: 7/20/2006
By LINDA SALISBURY For THE FREE LANCE-STAR In Portuguese, "obrigado" means "Thank you." That's a word folks have been saying since Obrigado, the restaurant, opened in downtown Louisa. Long before the papers taped in the windows to conceal renovations came down, word spread that the former popular executive chef of Tanyard Country Club, Jade Lourenco, and her partner, Debbie Wollett, were Obrigado's owners. The transformation from a long-vacant storefront restaurant to an outstanding smoke-free eatery is the talk of the town. My Dining Partner and I have stopped for lunch on several occasions, and for dinner one night. We returned with two other couples for a festive evening and watched their eyes light up as they savored both the decor and the mostly Mediterranean-style cuisine. The ambience reflects the theme. The owners retained the original wood floor (giving the restaurant a noisy atmosphere), and used a color palette of rusty orange, dark teal and mustardy yellow on the walls. The tables are copper-topped and poppies fill window vases. A bar and loungelike seating area are along one wall. The experience is like leaving Louisa and landing in Europe without a passport. On each visit, the service has been friendly but without polish; perhaps that is the intent. Although the menu is uptown, the servers dress down in jeans and black shirts printed with the restaurant's name. We started with "small plates," appetizers that could pass for main courses. I ordered vegetable Napoleon ($6.50). While the temperature of the food was warm rather than hot, the stack of grilled veggies (portobello mushrooms, a piece of sweet red pepper, eggplant and zucchini, held together with melted provolone cheese and drizzled with balsamic syrup) was delicious. It, like all the dishes, had the country-club touch of excellent plate presentation. MDP ordered fried calamari ($7.50) with arrabiata (Italian for "angry") sauce. The squid was fresh and lightly battered, but it was served cold. The tomato sauce was feisty, but not angry. Everyone raved about one couple's patatas nachos ($5.25). The crisp potato rounds appeared to be roasted, then lightly blanketed with melted cheese, scallions , bacon and a creamy garlic sauce.
Date published: 7/20/2006
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