Angelle’s Diner, Salem, Virginia

No sooner were Nancy and I back from our state capital walks in Oklahoma and Arkansas than we headed down to Tuscaloosa for our annual visit to Bob and Babs McCurley. We drive down and I teach one of Bob’s Honors College classes (redistricting), and we get tickets to an Alabama football game. Then Sunday we hustle over to Birmingham to see family, but in the past there’s hardly been time for more than a wave before we have to hit the road again.

We changed things up this year. We forewent the football tickets (to the Tennessee game!) so we could spend more time with family. Taylor and young David (not my brother, old David) had seen their union blessed with issue in the form of John David Tanner, the new and even more improved John Tanner. John David is the third John Tanner after Jack and me.

We got a good early start down I-81 and my stomach started whining around Roanoke. We began to try to decide where to eat. That’s ironic, since I have a blog post on where to eat from Washington on 81 to I-40 and thence westward across the country, the counterpart to my magisterial I-95 list. The problem is that my I-81/I-40 list is a work in process, and all of the great I-81 places I’ve identified are in the northern Shenandoah Valley. We’d left them behind hours before.

Where to stop. Check Yelp and TripAdvisor, at least 4 stars on both, and checkthe type of food served. We settled on Angelle’s Diner in Salem based on the ratings, and the words, “Diner” and “Cajun.”

Angelle’s is a good-sized space with a counter on one side with a full bar at the end. Service is friendly and professional.

Nancy ordered gumbo,

and a salad.

The salad was good, fresh with a mix of ingredients, The gumbo was quite good,. Nancy praised it and I had a taste. It had a depth of flavor that shows real talent in the kitchen.

I ordered a shrimp po boy and a side of turnip greens.

It had its weaknesses. The bread was soft and characterless, and the shrimp appeared to have been battered and frozen before they got to Angelle’s. On the other hand, the remoulade was sensational. And the bread that came with Nancy’s gumbo was much higher quality. Using it definitely would have kicked the po boy up a notch   

My turnip greens were good, but with a good dose of bacon or side meat, they could have been great. I added some Texas Pete which, as always, helped.

We arrived at Angelle’s without expectations, and the meal was perfectly adequate. But it could be so much more so easily. Angelle’s just needs to pick up its game. The potential there is remarkable. The gumbo and especially the remoulade are very good. If they can get a better roll and throw a little bacon into the greens, they’ll take off. Give them a try, and let me know how they’re doing.

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