Before you can even think about the food at Splitsville, you have to take in the setting. Wow! Splitsville took elements of vintage bowling alleys and lounges and updated them to make them feel cool.
My husband and I loved how the traditional leather booths were big enough to hold a family or a bunch of friends.
Two things you won’t find at Splitsville are hot dogs and pitchers of beer. There are no beers on tap. What you will find is a diverse selection of fun food like sliders and pizza made from scratch, plus sushi and heavier entrees–a huge taste improvement over typical bowling alley food.
The food at Splitsville comes out when it’s ready, period. The waitress said the goal is to serve the food at its best.
We found ourselves with a table full of appetizers and entrees at the same time. This might sound unappealing for someone just having dinner, but if you are there to bowl, it’s nice to have plates on the table for everyone to pick from in between turns.
My husband, Billy, started with the chef’s choice sushi roll ($5), which that night turned out to be a very generous portion of California rolls. He said it was fresh and light, and he liked the ample wasabi and ginger.
I ordered voodoo shrimp ($9) for an appetizer. The perfectly cooked shrimp were fried in a light batter and tossed with just the right mix of a spicy and sweet honey sauce on a bed of shredded lettuce. It really was fantastic.
For my main course, I went with cheeseburger sliders ($6 for two). The nicely sized burgers seemed to be hand-formed and were served topped with crispy onion strips on a soft warm bun.
The patties themselves could have had a little more flavor, and no fries were served with them–but the overall effect was of a lovingly homemade burger.
Billy picked the mahi mahi with voodoo shrimp ($15) with a salad and potatoes au gratin. We’ve tried many side salads, and most seem to be afterthoughts. This one was surprisingly pleasant with lovely diced veggies.
Curiously, the voodoo shrimp that comes with the mahi mahi is not the same voodoo shrimp that is served as an appetizer. This shrimp is not battered and is butterflied, according to our waitress, to pick up more of the flavor of the sauce.
But, ahh, that sauce! Billy described it as trying to eat a delicate fish–with a sledgehammer. Billy loves spicy stuff, but says this sauce was similar to a hot wings sauce, and was too overwhelming for the fish.
The cheesy, savory potatoes au gratin did a valiant job of trying to balance the heat of the sauce.
Happily, the hot sauce was forgotten when we dipped into the brownie topped with ice cream ($5). It was a great deal–the brownie was literally half the size of a pan of brownies and tasty to boot.
Another choice we didn’t try but would love to in the future is the plate of homemade cookies for $6.
Like many of its neighbors in the Village area behind the mall, Splitsville is something new and different. I see it as a great place for families on weeknights or early afternoon, and a super place for adults to go out and bowl and have a good dinner.
[LINK: Fredericksburg.com, August 5, 2010 by Shannon Howell]