After hearing that Guy Fieri of Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives had filmed a segment of his show at Virgil’s Cafe in Bellevue, KY, we decided to head on over and check this place out for ourselves.
I wouldn’t describe Virgil’s Cafe as diner, drive-in, or dive which is OK, because many of the restaurants featured on the show don’t fall exactly in those categories either. What the show does feature are distinctive local restaurants in a city with a passion for creating food. These restaurants have dishes that stand out because of their uniqueness or the meticulousness of the preparation.
Virgil’s Cafe is a quaint little restaurant with the perfect ambiance for a dinner date. The interior is warm and cozy, though there are a couple of somewhat creepy clown paintings on the wall.
![virgilscafe2.jpg](https://morristsai.com/assets_c/2010/03/virgilscafe2-thumb-400x533-1902.jpg)
![virgilscafe3.jpg](https://morristsai.com/assets_c/2010/03/virgilscafe3-thumb-400x533-1905.jpg)
![virgilscafe7.jpg](https://morristsai.com/assets_c/2010/03/virgilscafe7-thumb-400x533-1908.jpg)
Our trip to Virgil’s Cafe was for lunch this past Saturday. I had the homemade pastrami sandwich with sweet potato fries. The sweet potato fries were delightful and I didn’t even need to use the ancho chile mayonaise that came with it. The pastrami sandwich was quite large and extremely flavorful. I’m a big fan of pastrami sandwiches and if a restaurant has it on the menu, I tend to gravitate towards it. This is probably the best one that I’ve had in the Cincinnati area.
![virgilscafe4.jpg](https://morristsai.com/assets_c/2010/03/virgilscafe4-thumb-400x300-1911.jpg)
My girlfriend had the Homemade fresh pasta with Seasonal vegetables, wild Mushrooms in Burre Blanc. A simple looking pasta dish, but you can really taste the freshness of the ingredients. It was delicious.
![virgilscafe5.jpg](https://morristsai.com/assets_c/2010/03/virgilscafe5-thumb-400x300-1914.jpg)
My sister had the Fennel, apple, gorgonzola with citrus vinaigrette and pistachios salad. I’m not a huge fan of salads, especially as meals but it looked nice and she enjoyed it.
![virgilscafe6.jpg](https://morristsai.com/assets_c/2010/03/virgilscafe6-thumb-400x533-1917.jpg)
Overall, the food is presented nicely, is tasty, and is reasonably priced. Rather than having a very unique menu, it looks like Virgil’s Cafe was chosen by Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives for the quality preparation of the food. Which ultimately is the most important thing. I’ll definitely be back to try out dinner.