The story below is from our September/October 2022 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Lucky shakes up the status quo with a new menu of craft cocktails paired with globally inspired small plates.
John Park
The adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” doesn’t apply to Hunter Johnson, who co-owns the downtown Roanoke restaurant, Lucky, with his bandmate J.P. Powell. Perhaps being musicians opens the pair up to reinvention, makes them keenly tuned in to the right time to mix things up. Such a moment arrived for Lucky in spring 2022 when, after 12 years, it debuted a new concept featuring globally inspired small plates and craft cocktail pairings.
Part of the impetus for change reflects the pandemic’s ongoing impact on restaurants and a continued need for evolution. After running a successful restaurant for over a decade, Johnson says that he and Powell were faced with two choices: forgo resigning their lease and close or renew their lease at 18 Kirk Ave SW and try something different. “Our whole goal with that place is for it to be innovative and fun,” Johnson says. “Lucky always had a great cocktail program, the food was always good, but the two concepts never worked hand in hand as closely as it should. So, this new concept is the idea that the kitchen and the bar, they work together.”
Lucky’s globally inspired cocktail and small plates menu makes it clear that the kitchen and the bar teams are having fun riffing with new ingredients and inspiration. This experimental whimsy makes for an exciting new menu for diners, but it also sparks the kind of creativity that acts as antidote to burnout. Although Lucky staples like the fried chicken and The Cube helped the restaurant survive, chef Nick Kincaid says it left the crew feeling more like a production line than passionate chefs and bartenders. Having the freedom to evolve Lucky’s concept and collaborate on flavors and ingredients employees are excited about has reinvigorated the restaurant’s internal dynamic.
John Park
Creative, balanced craft cocktails remain a focal point.
The menu is a collaborative effort, with dishes and drinks developed in tandem. Everyone, from line cooks to servers, are invited to offer ideas and run with them. For example, Kincaid wanted to create an African-inspired dish using a gamier type of meat, composed around a salad that could be eaten at the end of a meal. Antelope fit the bill, since its spicier flavor profile suggested it’d pair well with a cooling salad. Kincaid invited Kyle Townsend, a server interested in bartending, to take on cocktail development. The resulting cocktail, called Ante Up, featured a rye whiskey base and habanero to play off the antelope’s gamey spiciness, while apricot and amaro offered a fruity, bitter contrast to the salad’s rich peanut butter balsamic dressing and accompanying shakalaka, a zippy Zimbabwean pepper relish.
Sometimes, the cocktail drives the pairing’s initial inspiration. “One thing we like to do behind the bar and in the kitchen is to research and figure out why people use the ingredient, why a flavor is prominent in recipes from this area of the world,” says Taylor Mann, who oversees the bar program. Take the Tongue Thai, a riff on Thai iced tea developed by bartender Alyssa Montgomery. The vodka-based tipple features black tea infused with a cardamom-forward spice blend, along with ginger liqueur, fresh citrus, and, in place of sweetened condensed milk, a house made coconut condensed milk (to make it vegan). In warmer climes, people often consume hot or spicy foods to cool the body down, so the kitchen dreamed up a spicy marinated eggplant dish topped with garlic panko and toasted coconut. In that same vein, the cocktail’s warming spices offer a complementary cooling component (though the chilled mason jar helps too).
John Park
Durban masala sweet potatoes pair nicely with a refreshing, fruity zero-proof cocktail called How B.azaar.
The cocktail menu lists drinks with their respective ABV percentage (alcohol by volume), including a couple excellent zero ABV libations sprinkled throughout. It’s nice to see spirit-free cocktails getting their due, with the same thoughtful attention to flavor and balance, without relegating them to a separate part of the menu. The How Bazaar, a refreshing tamarind, pineapple and coconut number, makes an excellent pre-dinner sipper, though it’s intended to pair with the curry potatoes. The dish, conceived by cook David Becampis, features sweet potatoes spruced up with a Kashmiri chili-inflected Durban masala, plated with arugula tossed in a tahini-citrus dressing, and festooned with crunchy almonds and pickled mulberries. It’s one of several vegan options, which like the zero-proof cocktails, are not singled out but are peppered into the overall offering.
Although the menu reflects the staff’s exuberance for the global pantry, it’s anchored by parallels to Roanoke’s seasonal transitions. Lucky first launched its new concept in the winter-to-spring transition, so dishes were influenced by southern India, Latin America and Korea. Peak summer turned toward countries with similarly hot climates, such as the Caribbean, parts of eastern and southern Africa, and the Philippines. When autumn hits, the menu will migrate to countries with colder conditions.
Happily, Lucky’s signature warm, attentive service is a permanent feature. The menu’s disparate influences keep servers on their toes, but their knowledge reflects the synchronicity that flows between the kitchen, bar and service staff. The menu is written in a minimalist style partly to encourage dialog between diners and servers. After years of QR codes and contactless service, it makes for a refreshing change of pace and reminds diners that service is an integral part of the dining experience. Kincaid explains that the menu spareness allows for fluctuations in preparation, as well as allowing for elements of surprise for the diner. I was indeed surprised when I ordered the octopus, which was presented as a terrine and set in agar-agar (a gelatin alternative made from algae), and not pan-seared as I had expected. Another surprise was the quail; although the jerk barbecue seasoning was spot-on, there was only one drumstick, so it wasn’t conducive to sharing, which many diners consider synonymous to small plates. All this to say, don’t be afraid to engage your server if you’re unsure about an ingredient or dish preparation or presentation.
John Park
Scallop with potato puree, spring veggies and lemon agrumato.
You’ll probably be tempted to ask what happened to Lucky’s fried chicken and The Cube (a juice-filled ice cube whose warming spices pair nicely with bourbon). You can buy The Cube at Gladheart Wine & Brews (formerly Mr. Bill’s Wine Cellar) and Lucky recently announced the return of The Cube to its menu. Although the fried chicken won’t be making a comeback, Kincaid has developed a vegan riff featuring lion’s mane mushrooms (cultivated by Bear Mountain Farms in Troutville) that are battered and fried till crispy and served with potato puree, mushroom gravy and braised greens.
Lucky hopes to continue pushing the boundaries of flavor experimentation and diner expectations with a series of regionally themed dinners; July’s focused on Caribbean and central American flavors. The limited seating events are designed to allow for more interaction between diners and the bar and kitchen staff. “The past few years took all the fun out of dining. We wanted to create a space where it’s fun and it’s an experience,” Mann says. “It’s not just, ‘you’re going out to eat to get full.’ You’re coming out to try new things, experience new flavors and break away from what your expectations are.”
It’s early days, so time will tell if the gamble on the small plates and cocktail pairing concept pays off. But with a track record like Johnson and Powell’s, a dedicated and passionate staff, and a name like Lucky, we’re betting it will.
Lucky
18 Kirk Ave SW, Roanoke, VA 24011
540-982-1249
The story above is from our September/October 2022 issue. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!