MegO's Food & Wine

Creamed Corn and Sea Bass

2011-08-06T06:34:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I've blogged but I'm back!
The other day my husband and I wanted to cook and we were inspired by the Cooking Channel! We made creamed corn and added bacon to teh recipe. We also made sea bass with the cilantro vinagrette and added shallots. They were both rich and delicious! The recipe is below.

CILANTRO VINAIGRETTE:
2 cups fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, grated
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
FISH:
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
4 (6-ounce) Pacific cod fillets (we did sea bass)
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

CREAMED CORN:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 ears fresh corn, husks removed, kernels cut off the cob and milk scraped from the cob with the back of a knife
2 cloves garlic, grated
Creamed Corn, for serving, recipe follows

For the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, combine cilantro, garlic, lemon zest and juice and season with salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking to incorporate all the ingredients. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper, if necessary, and set aside.

For the fish: Heat the olive oil in a medium nonstick skillet placed over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the cod with salt and pepper. Once the pan is hot, sear the cod for 3 to 4 minutes on the first side. Add the butter to the pan and allow it to melt. Once the butter has melted, flip the cod and finish cooking it on the other side, 3 to 4 minutes more, or until just cooked through.

To plate: Place a spoonful of Creamed Corn onto a plate. Set a piece of fish over the corn and spoon over the cilantro vinaigrette.
In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the corn kernels and corn milk to the pan, as well as the garlic. Season the corn with salt and pepper and saute for 5 minutes. Add the cream, bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until it has reduced by half, 5 to 7 minutes. Once the cream has reduced, remove the pan from the heat. Carefully transfer half of the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Add the pureed portion back to the pan and place over heat to warm through. Season the creamed corn with salt and pepper.
To plate: Place a spoonful of Creamed Corn onto a plate. Set a piece of fish over the corn and spoon over the cilantro vinaigrette.

Red Lobster

2010-11-19T05:20:00.000-08:00

Now, I don't normally review chain restaurants but, the people at Red Lobster were kind of enough to give me a gift card to try out their newly revised menu. We were happy to oblige.
There were parts that were good and other parts that were so so. For starters, the food was good! I ordered a glass of Chardonnay that was well priced. Although, my favorite part was the biscuits! They were warm, garlicky, buttery, with cheese interspersed throughout. I must have had three of them. My salad was your average side salad with balsamic vinaigrette. My husband's Cesar salad was good and salty from the anchovies (I'm assuming). I ordered the wood-grilled talapia for my entree. This was cooked in its own juices and with a little extra lemon squeezed over it, it was delicious and healthy! My husband ordered the never ending shrimp, but one plate of that was plenty. The fried shrimp was perfectly fried but the Parmesan shrimp seemed a little too rich with all of the butter, Parmesan, and garlic. The prices were good, but it was not geared towards my demographic (which is fine). It was geared more to an older crowd going out to their weekly dinner at 6:00. The ambiance was your standard Red Lobster that you go to with your Grandparents. The food was good, but everything else seemed pretty much the same to me. One suggestion that I have is add some mussels to your menu or oysters (not fried) to the menu, that would make it a little more classy. Just my personal opinion :) Thanks Red Lobster!

Tomato Soup

2010-11-05T13:38:00.001-07:00

I totally winged this recipe with what I had...

olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1/2 an onion (I used white)
8 baby carrotts
2 cans of diced tomatoes
chicken broth
a splash of red wine
dried basil
dried oregeno

In a large non-stick pot, heat oil and add chopped garlic and chopped onion. Stir and let sit for about 5 minutes. Add carrots and stir for about 2 minutes. Add 2 cans of of diced tomatoes. Stir in a little bit of dried basil and dried oregeno. Stir and let simmer for 30 minutes. After, use a hand blender and blend the soup. Sprinkle some shredded cheese on top and enjoy!

Foods That I've Made and Love

2010-11-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

Asparagus Lasagna
Giada De Laurentiis

Yield:

6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

* 9 lasagna sheets, fresh or dried
* 1 teaspoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
* 2 (8.5-ounce) jars sun-dried tomatoes, drained
* 1 1/2 packed cups fresh basil leaves
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus 3/4 cup
* 1/4 pound pancetta, diced
* 1 medium onion, diced
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 4 bunches asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 2 cups shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese
* 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes for dried pasta or 2 to 3 minutes for fresh pasta. Drain pasta.

In a food processor combine the sun-dried tomatoes and basil. Pulse until the mixture is combined. Transfer to a small bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan. Set aside.

In a large skillet brown the pancetta until crisp. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, onion, and garlic and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Add asparagus and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the ricotta, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a 9 by 13-inch baking dish sprinkle some of the sun-dried tomato mixture on the bottom of the casserole dish. Place some lasagna sheets, then half asparagus mixture. Next sprinkle some mozzarella cheese and some of the remaining 3/4 cup Parmesan. Continue for 1 more layer. Top with lasagna sheets, some sun-dried tomato mixture, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Dot the top with butter. Bake until the ingredients are warm and the cheese is melted, about 25 minutes.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISSOTO!
Ina Garten
Yield:

4 to 6 servings

Total:
50 min

Ingredients

* 1 butternut squash (2 pounds)
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
* 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
* 2 ounces pancetta, diced
* 1/2 cup minced shallots (2 large)
* 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (10 ounces)
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 1 teaspoon saffron threads
* 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds, and cut it into 3/4-inch cubes. You should have about 6 cups. Place the squash on a sheet pan and toss it with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing once, until very tender. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock in a small covered saucepan. Leave it on low heat to simmer.

In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the pancetta and shallots on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until the shallots are translucent but not browned. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 full ladles of stock to the rice plus the saffron, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir, and simmer until the stock is absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes. Continue to add the stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry, then add more stock. Continue until the rice is cooked through, but still al dente, about 30 minutes total. Off the heat, add the roasted squash cubes and Parmesan cheese. Mix well and serve.

Vacation at Village Anchor in Louisville

2010-07-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

I felt like I was on vacation - sipping wine on a patio of The Village Anchor in Anchorage, Kentucky. The restaurant had such a calm, relaxed ambiance with wonderful service. The distinctive menu ranges from bologna sandwiches to gourmet sea bass and deviled eggs. It's unique comfort food for the southerner in all of us.

We had heard of the specialty drink there, which consisted of pomegranate juice and grapefruit liquor and a sprig of mint among a few other ingredients. So we got one for the table. I’m not a huge grapefruit fan, so I didn’t care for it too much. Others said it was refreshing and they enjoyed it on that hot summer night. We also had a bottle of the Benton Lane Pinot Grigio from Oregon. I loved this wine. It was perfect, cold, crisp, slightly fruity and light. It was perfect for the warm night.

For our appetizers we ordered the deviled eggs, brushetta, and two cobb rollers. Ok, so the deviled eggs were amazing! They had candied anchor bacon one with a dot of hot sauce. Another had sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese which was my least favorite. And the wild Portobello mushroom with truffle oil was luxurious. The brushetta was good – grilled crostini, goat cheese, tomatoes marinated in olive oil, roasted garlic and fresh basil. I did love how the tomatoes were finely chopped and how it was drizzled with balsamic reduction. It was good, but it was very familiar to me. The cobb rollers stole the show! They were literally fall-off-the-bone grilled applewood smoked pork marinated in brown sugar bourbon and served with bourbon barbecue dipping sauce. It was so delicious. The barbeque sauce was perfectly sweet and tangy. It was like heavenly meat melting in my mouth! I could’ve ordered three of these as my entree and had been fine. By this point, I was quite pleased with how this meal was going!

The potato and Stilton blue cheese soup was rich, elegant and comforting. It would be perfect for a cold January evening, but in the hot weather we still managed to clean the large bowl of it. The bits of bacon and the homemade sourdough crutons gave the soup nice texture. The fried goat cheese salad was full of flavor. The spring mix lettuce was drizzled with a pear champagne vinaigrette, candied walnuts, dried cranberries and fried Capriole Farmstead goat cheese. The B,L.T, & A was also very good. It had candied, thick-cut, peppered Anchor bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and chipotle mayonnaise served on sourdough bread. The avocado and chipotle mayo made the sandwich! Also served with this were the sweet potato fries served with a marshmallow fluff with cinnamon on the side. It tasted like candy. Those might have been the best sweet potato fries ever! The cast iron scallops were seared in a vanilla butter and served with grilled asparagus and cherry tomatoes. These were exceptionally tasty with the Benton Lane Pinot Grigio. The Myra’s Fried Chicken was actually the owner’s mother’s recipe – free range chicken breast and drum stick served with the house-made mashed potatoes and gravy. This dish was good, but I wouldn’t order it again. I think there are better things on the menu than this entrée. We then ordered a bottle of the Elk Cove Pinot Noir, which was complex. It had a very peppery flavor to it; it grew on me. It was a perfect wine to end the meal on. We also had to have dessert. The carrot cake was inimitable! It was double-stacked carrot cake with layered slices of cheesecake. The cream cheese frosting was sweet and mouth watering. The frosting was my favorite part! The banana pudding was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It came out with a huge meringue on top of it. It was like peeling away cotton candy to get to the banana pudding treasure at the bottom. The warm meringue topping was sticky and sweet and the banana pudding at the bottom had a subtle hint of rum. We sure cleaned that serving dish off quickly!

They have a huge beer and wine list. My fiancé tried several beers he hadn’t had there. He loved it! The Village Anchor is a new restaurant that has amazing food, wonderful friendly service, and comforting ambiance. It is one of the best restaurants I’ve been to in a long time! Definitely worth a trip to Louisville!

Palermo Viejo in the Ville

2010-07-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

The feeling of being abroad in Argentina is tangible at the neighborhood restaurant, Palermo Viejo. The small wine glasses, exposed bricks, and dimly light dinning room takes you to a foreign city. The atmosphere is casual and comfortable. The staff was friendly and recommended different foods for us to try. The menu was diverse and ensured there was something for everyone.
We started off with the Campo Negro Cabernet and Malbec blend. It was full bodied and lush. The boys ordered a Zingu beer which was sweet. It looked dark but tasted a lot lighter than it looked - quite the anomaly. We ordered the rabas which was lightly fried calamari. The rings were lightly breaded and fried, accompanied with Argentinean golf sauce. The sauce was slightly tangy and tasted like "mayokayo" (our word for mayonnaise mixed with ketchup).
I ordered the lomo steak. The fine piece of 6oz free range beef tenderloin was perfectly tender. The chimichurri sauce served with steak made it unique and mouth-watering. It came out on a small charcoal grill. This entree also came with their house salad which consisted of lettuce, tomatoes, and hearts of palm. Also simple but tasty. My fiance ordered the parrillada de mar - scallops, shrimp, salmon, and tuna grilled on a stick and served with saffron rice. You could taste the grill on the salmon. I liked this dish a lot, but preferred mine. The trio of meets was unique as well- sausage, beef, and short ribs piled on top of french fries. The sausage had a kick to it and was my favorite. To end the meal we had a warm crepe filled with sweet caramel sauce with a scoop of ice cream on top of it. We devoured in within a matter of seconds.
Palermo Viejo was authentic, well priced, and intimate. It definitely felt like Argentina in Kentucky.

Carlo and Johnny

2010-07-02T04:50:00.001-07:00

This past week we went to Carlo and Johnny for our first business dinner! We pulled up to the restaurant that looked like a house with Bentley's and Roles Royce's parked in the front. The reception area had a big wine cellar to the right. There were small glass lockers on the sides with local Cincinnatian's and their picks of drinks. One had Miller Lite in it which we found humorous.
We sat at the bar while a guitarist played mellow music, from Hootie and the Blowfish to Elton John. I had a glass of the Caposaldo Pinot Grigio from Italy. It was full flavored and fresh. We chatted about our favorite wines while we waited for our table. Our reservation was made for the following night, but they were very accommodating with fitting us in. The raw seafood bar to the left of me made me excited for the meal ahead! We were seated at a circular table. The ambiance was dim lighting with busy painting and decorations all over the walls but it still had a luxurious feel to it. A 2007 bottle of Caymus Conundrum from California was ordered. It was a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and 10 other grapes. It was sweet and crisp. We ordered the Platinum Shellfish Platter: colossal shrimp, lobster tail, king crab, oysters & trio of sauces. The horse radish and cocktail sauce with the succulent oysters were delicate and delicious. The salads came out - steakhouse tomato, fresh mozzarella and sweet onion with basil vinaigrette and balsamic reduction. This salad had fresh tomato but the mozzarella didn't taste and needed much more salt. The Caesar salad was standard, but good. Then the star of the meal came out! The steaks were fabulous! I ordered the Queen Fillet Mignon cooked perfectly pink and tender. It didn't need any extra flavoring. The Jeff Ruby's Jewel was a 24oz Chili rubbed dry aged bone-in rib, cipollini onions, and shiso peppers. It was such a unique and intriguing flavor, I just wanted to keep taking bite after bite. It was a comforting flavor. With our meat we also had a bottle Rodney Strong Alexander's Crown Cabernet Sauvignon. This full bodied, complex wine paired wonderfully with the sophisticated steaks. For dessert we had a sampler plate - four mini chocolate cakes which were like giant fancy Reese Cup's. AMAZING! It was rich and delicious. There was also key lime pie on the plate which was tart. Four spoons of creme brule with burnt sugar on top was elegant. New York style cheesecake was also good, but the giant Reese's Cup was the best! It was a wonderful meal with good company and fabulous food.

Zola Pub and Grill

2010-05-05T14:12:00.001-07:00

My fiancé had heard of a burger joint where they reportedly had $5.00 burgers and fries on Wednesdays, so naturally we had to check this out. A couple friends and I drove to Mainstrass and walked into Zola’s.
It’s a neighborhood hole in the wall with delicious, juicy burgers. The seating area inside was small and crowded so we sat at the bar until someone outside moved. Unfortunately, they have raised their prices to $6.00 for the burger (with up to five toppings). The burgers are perfectly cooked with browns and pinks scattered throughout the patty. They're juicy, but not messy (a very important quality in my opinion). The fries were nothing special, but you can’t go wrong with burgers, fries, and beer. You could also substitute fries for cole slaw, which was similar to a Japanese cole slaw. It was delicious and light. We all ordered different burgers, I think my favorite was the jerk spiced burger. The spices just enhanced the flavorful of the perfectly cooked burger. It’s a great place to go for a casual Wednesday night for BURGER MAINIA!!

Gordo's Pub and Grill

2010-04-12T14:35:00.001-07:00

It’s hard to believe that five years ago I was in this same building singing karaoke and drinking beers slightly underage in college. Today, I am 24 eating a delicious burger and legally drinking a Miller Light.

My friend and I decided to go to Gordo’s Pub and Grill in Norwood, right by Xavier University for lunch. When I attended undergrad there we would go to this bar called “The Tropical,” which has now been turned into Gordo’s. The décor went from a trashy bar to a cute classy bar/ bistro vibe. It’s owned by Raymond Gordo, who was a member of the Jean-Robert Restaurant Group. They serve upscale bar food and your standard quesadillas, loaded cheese fries, mozzarella sticks, and chicken wings. They also have a hefty beer selection.

Erin ordered the Jean-Robert burger, which is a half-pound of lean ground beef topped with lettuce, blue cheese, goat cheese, mayo, and grape compote (which is what makes the burger). It really did taste grapy! It wasn’t my favorite but Erin loves it! Based on a recommendation from another friend I had the Blackened burger which was topped with smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo and blue cheese crumbles. It was messy and mouth-watering. The burger was perfectly juicy too! The steak fries that accompanied the burgers were good as well. And of course I loved the free pickle spear that came with it.

Although the service was a little slow, the food was great and worth my waiting time!

My Friends At Five Star Foodies

2010-03-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, I was looking in the dining issue of the Cincinnati Magazine and Donna Covrett told me to try Five Star Foodies Ginger Cider. So, I ordered it online and was excited to see what all the hype was about! While I waited for it to arrive I saw it at Whole Foods; had I known I would’ve just bought it there. But, I patiently waited for my order. A couple weeks went by and I kind of forgot about it.
So, last night a young man showed up at my door saying holding a big cardboard box saying that he was from Five Star Foodies. He went on to tell me his name was Grayson and how sorry they were that it took so long to get my order. It was great customer service! I was so impressed that they had a representative personally deliver, not just my one bottle of Cider that I ordered, but a whole case of them! I immediately went to my kitchen and tried the Ginger Cider. It was like my childhood apple cider with an adult twist! It was delicious and unique! I loved how you could taste the ginger, but it didn’t take away from the apple flavor. I look forward to trying their Artichoke Burgers, their Sloppy Joe and many more! Five Star Foodies is yet another example of the high quality local companies that we have here in Cincinnati.

Clarksville Seafood

2010-03-16T13:29:00.001-07:00

Right across the river from Louisville lies a little house-turned-restaurant in Clarksville, Indiana. The fried seafood establishment is called Clarksville Seafood or better known by the owner’s family as Codder. Clarksville is owned by two brothers Bobby and Donny, who started their business in 1965. Although they open and close when they want to (often times when a UK game is on) it is well worth the trip!
We pulled into the parking lot where three cop cars were parked- little did I know, the police eat at Clarksville for free! The moment I stepped out of the car, scents of fried fish tingled my nose. Inside there are limited decorations, standard cafeteria tables with red vinyl chairs from the seventies, white and light blue walls with metal seagulls to add a little flair. In the twenty-five years my fiancé and his family have been coming here the place hasn’t changed one bit. Although the decorations are nothing to write home about – their food is. The menu is simple – fish, shrimp, oysters, scallops, clams all fried,devils crab, chicken fingers, a fried hamburger, sides of potatoes, slaw, French fries, onion rings and the hush puppies for 15 cents. The hush puppies are non-greasy and more peppery than the usual sweet hush puppies. The salty fried white fish and the fried shrimp are perfectly tasty in the tarter sauce they serve. It’s just a great place to go if you want pure and simple, delicious fried fish. And if you’re a VIP of Clarksville Seafood you just might be able to get your hands on their tangy fried pickles!

Corbett's WineSkellar in Louisville

2010-03-11T10:06:00.000-08:00

We drove up and saw a beautiful white Kentucky cottage with a large porch and a Costco behind it. It would’ve been a perfect place if it were located around trees instead of a Wholesale store.

Inside Corbett’s there was beige walls, white table clothes, big wine glasses and white plates are screamed classy to me. We waited in the bar for a while and I ordered a glass of the Stanford Chardonnay from the friendly bar tender. It was crisp with fruit undertones and paired well with my scallops I had later.

We requested to be seated in the less formal, lower level the WineSkellar. We walked from the bright upstairs to the dark lower level with original stone floors and walls. It felt like we were in a basement but the candles on the tables added some ambiance to the room. There were two TV’s with ESPN on which took away from the ambiance of the dining area.

The Coppola Director’s Cut Zinfandel was delicious. It was decadent with its small amount of Petite Syrah, berries, and hints of vanilla. I even liked the bottle with several black and white pictures of a couple dancing around the label.

The Baby Spinach Salad from the WineSkellar menu was the best that I tried. The bits of bacon, the red onion, hard boiled egg from Waterworks Farms all tied together with the warm cider-bacon vinaigrette was flavorful. The Artichoke Salad with Kentucky Bibb lettuce, crispy goat cheese (which was basically lightly fried goat cheese), red onion topped with tangy roasted pepper vinaigrette was good as well. The Trio of Beets was the most interesting. The presentation consisted of beautifully stacked different types of beets. The beets were incorporated with tarragon, feta cheese, marinated red onions and micro greens. There were chopped light pink pickled crunchy beets, chopped purple beets and yellow beets. The Diver Scallops was my favorite thing I had! Perfectly light brown seared scallops were on top of Weisenberger Grits with bits of country ham and herb butter. The flavors paired perfectly! Usually I don’t like the texture of grits but these were cheesy, salty, buttery and tasty. It was also the perfect portion size – two tender scallops, green beans, and grits. The Prime Beef Slides were delicious as well. Baby burgers with good quality, tender meat and cheese sandwiched between a sesame buns. The sweet potato fries that accompanied the burger were salty and scrumptious – not a fry was left on the plate. On the side was some spicy mustard with horseradish that intrigued me. The fish tacos were pretty standard. I wish the shredded cheese had been melted instead of little strings of cheese around fried chunks of white fish. The pico de gallo, guacamole and hot sauce all gave some essence to the typical fish taco.

Overall it was a good restaurant, but the restaurant does not match its location. I would love to try the upper level and see the difference between the ambiance and food.

Dojo gelato

2010-03-01T14:23:00.001-08:00

I FINALLY found Nutella gelato!! After about three years of searching, I was in gelato heaven for about five minutes in the middle of Findlay Market. I was taken back to the warm summer nights in the streets of Rome.
A couple months ago, I had contacted the owner of Dojo Gelato, via twitter, telling him that they should make Nutella gelato. And low and behold they did! There was some miscommunication so I didn't know that they actually had it. So Sunday, my friend and I stopped by Dojo and saw the Nutella flavor. Needless to say, I was overly excited. We chatted with the owner, Mike. He even remembered my request and my twitter picture. I was impressed! He said that this Nutella gelato has been waiting for me for months now. Had I known, I would've been there much sooner! I sampled the bourbon gelato, which tasted like vanilla with a subtle hint of bourbon - very tasty and original. The pomegranate sorbet was refreshing. It'll be perfect for those humid Cincinnati summer days. The thin mint was also delicious and perfect for Girl Scout season! I reluctantly stopped tasting so other customers could get their gelato fix. Dojo is great for a cold cup of gelato, hot coffee, ice cream cakes, or just some friendly customer service! Thank you Dojo Gelato, for giving me what I have been looking for, for three years!

Valentine's Day Dinner @ The Palace

2010-02-20T10:48:00.000-08:00

For Valentine’s dinner my fiancé and I decided to have a fancy, romantic meal at The Palace in the Cincinnatian Hotel. The minute we walked into the restaurant, it seemed hectic. Two people were franticly trying to decide who would seat us. We were seated right next to the door to the kitchen. The ambiance was nice-dim lighting, mirrors and scenic paintings from Europe on the walls, cream leather chairs, white table clothes, and a basket of little colored candy hearts on the table. Aside from all of the commotion and the army of servers around us, it had a wonderful ambiance.
I enquired about the French Red Wine on their list. Our waitress explained that the Beaujolais was more like a Pinot Noir and the Bourgogne was similar to a Merlot. Eventually we decided on the 2006 bottle of Drouhin Chorey-Les-Beaune. We both agreed that it was indeed a more lighter bodied than a Merlot. I wish it had had more boldness to it. Nevertheless, the $70 bottle of wine had to be drunk.
The appetizers were what saved the meal. We did the Three Course Prix Fixe meal, which includes two savory and one sweet course for $44. My Forest Mushroom Soup was my favorite part of the meal! Ya know how sometimes a particular taste can take you somewhere? This soup took me to the middle of a forest; it was earthy, warm and delicious. The creamy based soup was served with roasted oyster mushrooms, tapioca pearls (which kind of popped in your mouth), pequillo peppers, and rosemary oil. It was superb! The way they deconstructed the soup was brilliant. The server brought me a bow with only mushrooms, pearls, and peppers. I was very confused until he brought the cream base and poured it on top. My fiancé had the Nove Scotia Sea Scallop. This was good as well. A perfectly rich scallop with sweet carrots, celery, pearl onions, bacon lardoons, heirloom potatoes, little neck clams, and drizzled with clam chowder sauce. The bacon really enhanced the flavors of the course. In my opinion, bacon makes almost everything better.
Eventually Matt’s Pellegrino water got low and after about ten minutes of it not being refilled by one of the server-army members, I asked our waitress. After the incident, Matt heard her screaming at the staff in the kitchen, for not refilling the water. We had warm bread and room temperature butter with sea salt on top.
For the main course, I ordered the Braised Lamb Shank. This was good, but tasted just like braised beef. It was tender falling off the bone, but not what I was anticipating. It was served with crushed chickpeas, eggplant croquettes (fried eggplant which I didn’t care for, but Matt loved), meyer lemon, alepo chili oil, and lamb juice. My fiancé had the Black Angus Sirloin Steak with celeriac puree, root vegetables (which happened to be the exact same vegetables in the scallops), roasted bone marrow, and bordelaise sauce. His steak was also fairly average. It was a nice cut of meat, but had not sauce or anything to really make it stand out the way I thought it should’ve.
The Valentine’s Day special, the Chocolate Bread Pudding was warm, moist, and had creamy chocolate drizzled over the top. The plate had little hearts of red sauce and a little scoop of raspberry sorbet. The strawberry mouse cake was not as tasty. It was served with a strawberry sorbet that was delicious as well.
All in all it was a nice night with my fiancé but in between the average food (besides the Forest Mushroom Soup), the seating, and the mass amounts of servers running around, I was a little let down with what the Palace seemed to offer. It was nothing awful, but I hope if I return I have a better experience.

The Golden Bee

2010-02-11T10:01:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, my fiancé and a couple of our friends went to Colorado Springs, Colorado for a quick weekend get-a-way. The highlight of the trip was our late dinner at the Golden Bee piano bar. It’s located right next to the high-class, Broadmoor Hotel.
After watching my future sister in law play basketball (and win) at Colorado College we high tailed it back to the hotel to put our names in at the Bee. There were only a couple of other people waiting in the lobby so we didn’t think it would be too long of wait. We were wrong! Ya see, the Golden Bee does not turn tables until the people are ready to leave, they do not take reservations, and they take their time. They let people enjoy the old English-pub ambiance with a piano player singing classic songs. They allow them to slowly sip their Colorado and house made beers.
Luckily, they let you drink in the lobby while you wait. My favorite was the Honey Bee Wheat Ale. It was tasty and hop-y but still light enough to enjoy. (I also discovered a fabulous Pale Ale while I was in Colorado Springs– O’Dell’s 5 Barrel Pale Ale.) The boys opted for their traditional Colorado beer, Fat Tire. I think it’s good, but too dark for me. I did drink half of my fiancé’s yard of it though. At the Bee, they have 3 feet of beer in a long, clear glass. It is a big accomplishment to finish a whole one. People cheer, participate in friendly banter and encourage other’s drinking them. The different sizes come in yards or half yards or just standard pints. While we waited in the lobby for two hours, our friend illegally snuck crackers and their homemade cheese spread. We were eating cheese and crackers out of my Michael Kors purse so the host wouldn’t yell at us. The cheese dip is made of American cheese, sherry, Worcestershire sauce, mayo, and dry mustard, among some other things. It’s addicting.
We finally got seated after two hours of drinking pints of beer, eating crackers from my purse and cheering for the customers who were leaving. We immediately ordered our fish and chips and our chicken pot pies. The menu is traditional English pub fare. The Bee’s Authentic Fish and Chips were standard, but satisfied my large appetite. Icelandic Cod with Ale Beer Batter was sprinkled with lemon juice and a served with a side of Remoulade sauce. The white fish was flaky in the middle and slightly crunchy on the outside. The chips or French fries were perfectly salty, and drenched in vinegar they were fantastic. The English specialty, the Chicken Pot Pie was good. Carrots, turnips, celery, peas, and potatoes mixed in a creamy sauce and topped with a Golden crust was hearty and warm.
We finished our meals, sang songs such as “Sweet Caroline,” “Ob-la-di-ob-la-da,” and “Piano Man” while the boys took their last sips of their yards of Fat Tire. We made friends with the people beside us and took pictures with the piano singer. It was a great evening full of laughs, beers, and filling food--well worth the wait.

Wildflower Cafe in Mason

2010-01-25T12:49:00.000-08:00

A 100 year old quaint house turned into a café, colorful chalkboard menus on the walls, and fresh, local ingredients. The Wildflower Café in Downtown Mason was the perfect place for a dinner date with a good friend.

Walking into the restaurant, I noticed the outside had the phrase “Bon Appetite” on the side of the porch. I arrived to the café a little early and was the only person there. The friendly waitress showed me the new bar/wine shop upstairs that had an old barrel turned into a wine holder. The pictures of old sixties and seventies musicians around the bar give it a relaxed feel. Back downstairs there were chalkboards full of bright colors, tan floorboards, and gray and white flowered table cloths. The music throughout the evening went from seventies music to John Mayer, Jason Mraz, and Sublime. The mix of songs with the natural food and the charming ambiance made me feel like a fancy hippy!

The Organic Burnet Ridge Sauvignon Blanc was dry and crisp with a peach citrus and cinnamon aroma. My friend ordered one of the red wines. I don’t remember what she had, but she liked it. I also noted the eco-friendly plastic cups they used to serve water. The cheese plate was good, nothing I fell in love with, but good. Yellow sharp cheddar, Vermont medium cheddar, organic feta spread, crumbled blue cheese and warm marinated olives went well with our organic wine. The sharp cheddar was my favorite. The marinated olives were salty and warm on my tongue. The plate was beautifully presented with an edible purple flower in the middle.
Pan-seared, center-cut, organic “Berkshire” pork loin glazed with local cider jus and topped with caramelized organic apples was cooked to perfection. The meat was tender and had a perfect balance with the salty meat and the sweet, warm apples. It was served with local potatoes and sautéed squash.

Eventually another couple showed up and was greeted like long lost best friends by one of the chefs who took them upstairs for one of the best bottles of wine that they had upstairs. Since the café is so small, you feel close to the other customers and are able to talk with them about what their eating/drinking.

Wildflower Café is a friendly place with unique charisma. We were too full for one of their made from scratch desserts, but next time that’s definitely on my list. I loved the pure food, wholesome staff, and the great time with my friend.

Ruthai's Kitchen

2010-01-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

My friend Kristina (who runs a travel blog, yaybo.com – check it out)! and I went on a lunch date today at Ruthai’s Kitchen in Mt. Lookout Square. We both love trying new restaurants so I was excited to cross another one off my list.

Ruthai’s is a little hole in the wall hidden right next to Ramundo’s pizza. The restaurant was quaint, vacant (it was 2:00 in the afternoon), and looked like it had potential. In the front, they had four traditional Korean tables with floor seating. There were colorful pillows seats with dark green and light blue walls and random pieces of Eastern art. The place seemed like it needed something to spice up the ambiance. The staff was very friendly and explained the lunch menu to us. They had great deals on “lunch boxes.”

I opted for the sushi lunch box that consisted of your choice of two sushi rolls, served with a spring roll, and a salad for $10. A great deal! The salad tasted exactly like the Green Papaya ginger salad (which is my favorite ginger salad so far). The fresh iceburg lettuce with shredded carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers in creamy, somewhat sweet dressing. The spring roll was decent; the chicken inside was a little drier than I would’ve liked but still crunchy and tasty with the dipping sauce. The Cincy roll was a unique roll - cooked salmon, avocado, cucumber inside, and rice rolled in sesame seeds, and topped with a barbeque like sauce. The sauce was a little overwhelming for my liking and I don’t think I liked the salmon being cooked in the roll. I still ate all the pieces so it clearly wasn’t that bad. Ha. The California roll was average, nothing extraordinary. I definitely want to come back and try the rest of their extensive sushi list!

Kristina ordered the Thai lunch box. It’s served with your choice of two traditional Thai dishes, steamed rice, and a spring roll for $9. This was the better end of the deal – you got more food for less money. The pad Thai was deliciously traditional – sweet and slightly spicy fried noodles with chopped peanuts, bean sprouts, chicken, and green onions. The Thai spicy dish was great as well - filled with marinated fresh vegetables and chicken.

Not only was the food and service great, the lunch boxes were so cute! I will definitely be back to try more sushi and be bringing my own wine (it’s a BYOB restaurant) for dinner.

Brugge Brasserie in Broad Ripple

2009-12-29T09:11:00.000-08:00

Over Christmas break, a couple of us went to Brugge Brasserie in Indianapolis. It’s located in Broad Ripple – a low-key, artsy area with local bars, restaurants and shops. Based on a recommendation by a college friend we decided to try Brugge.

We walked into the quaint and casual Belgian restaurant. Tables were filled with people dining on crepes, mussels, burgers, and house made beers. The table we sat at near the bar was an old vat with a copper table on top. The surface had holes at each setting, which we assumed were to put our drinks in (later our waitress told us they were for the fries).

The beers here are uniquely Belgian. They only serve six beers, four of which are made in house – we made it a goal to try most of them. The Belgian Tipple de Ripple was very hoppy with 9% alcohol, which they limited to two per customer. It was my favorite of them all. The Jever was lighter than the Triple de Ripple but had just as much flavor; this was one of the Belgian imports. The Hibernal Black was made with chocolate and coffee, our waitress described it similar to a stout but with more body to it. We also tried another in house beer which was fizzy and tasted like Kambucha tea, if you’ve ever had it. I wasn’t a fan of that one.

I loved how authentic and traditionally Belgian the beers and the food seemed. Their most popular dish is the mussels which you can order eight different ways. I opted for the two pounds of Prince Edward mussels marinated Provencal style – French butter, herbs de Provence, shallots, garlic, and French Chardonnay. The gigantic pot came out steaming with opened mussels begging to be dipped into the sauce below. The flavorful sauce soaked up my warm French bread. A cone of salty pomme frites and a choice of two sauces came with the meal. I chose their homemade ketchup with a hint of spice from the nutmeg– very unique. I also had the sea salt and sherry vinegar which I enjoyed more than the ketchup. The creamy roasted garlic aioli was probably my favorite dipping sauce for the frites. The blue cheese was good too, but not what I expected. The blue cheese flavor wasn’t as strong as I would’ve liked it to be.

The stews were also amazing and followed the rich culinary tradition of Belgian cuisine. The Waterzooi stew was described on the menu as the quintessential Belgian fish stew. We interpreted the word “quintessential” as a must try. And we were glad we did! It was made with celery root, fennel, potato, cod, and mussels. The broth was light but extremely sapid. This was also great to dip the warm French bread into. The Carbonnade Flamande is a hearty Belgian stew of dubbel (a Belgian style beer), beef and onion. This was my favorite of everything there! The thick stew was perfect with tender beef, soft onions, dark beer, and sprinkles of parsley. The taste made me imagine being in Belgium in a small, old, rustic home eating this stew on a cold winter day. I love foods that carry my imagination somewhere distant.

The chicken Mitrailette was good as well – nothing compared to the other dishes but decent. The grilled chicken breast, herb pesto, San Marzono tomato confit (a mix between a tomato spread and salsa our waitress informed us) and fresh mozzarella were sandwiched in between slices fresh baked French. There was a pile of the delicious French fries on top of the sandwich, which was slightly inconvenient. It tasted like a chicken caprese sandwich.

Everything we tried here was great and diverse. The ambiance was causal and friendly, the beers were authentic, and the service was friendly (although slightly understaffed). It was a wonderful dining experience and would recommend it to anyone looking to be taken to Belgium via the culinary road.

dinner @ Bella Luna

2009-12-21T09:21:00.000-08:00

I walked into Bella Luna and was greeted by a welcoming bar and a few tables against the wall. It was dimly lit with inviting Christmas ornaments and lights hanging above the long bar. The tables were covered with sheets of blue vinyl. The walls were yellow and red with matching blue curtains. While I waited for my friends to rescue a dog, the staff was very friendly and asked if I wanted a drink while I awkwardly waited by myself. The owner joked with me about them not showing up, asked if they could take my coat, etc – they were very hospitable.

I eventually decided to be seated by myself. The booth was private and had floral cushions and pillows on the seats with the continuing theme of reds, yellows, and blues on the walls. Kristi, our waitress, came over and explained to me their wine flights. The three miniature glasses of Italian white wines were brought out in a stand. The three wines in my flight were Galasso Pinot Grigio, Falesco EST! EST! EST!, and the Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. I honestly couldn't taste much of a difference between the three, but they were all tasty. All of their wines are either Italian or American (which is the whole theme of the restaurant).

My friends eventually showed up and we conversed about the busyness of our lives while browsing the menu. The Caprese salad was nice and refreshing – thick balsamic reduction drizzled over leaves of basil, and slices of tomato and buffalo mozzarella. Not what we experienced in Rome together, but good enough. The Bella Luna salad my friend got as an appetizer looked delightful as well.

Kristi informed us that most of the recipes were from Harry’s (the owner) Italian grandmother – lots of delicious grandma goodness in each dish. The squares of bread were perfectly soft and buttery on the inside with sprinkled salty parmesan on top. The garlic herb butter spread across the warm bread was blissful.

The seafood risotto from their seasonal regional menu was hearty and delectable. This month featured Sicily and some of its traditional foods. The little balls of noodles were surrounded by a thick creamy tomato sauce with bits of shrimp, mussels, and clams. The sweet potato gnocchi tasted like sweet potatoes with stringy, melted white cheese smothering the delicate stuffed pasta. The cushions of ravioli were quite different – filled with cheese and a hint of mint.

By the end of the meal we were so full we had to pass on the fabulous looking desserts. The owner, Harry came to each table and joked and talked with the customers, which was another nice touch of hominess.

Once again, I had a wonderful Cincinnati meal with great friends (the kind that you don’t see for a while, but when you do everything is exactly the same), superb service, good wine, and a hearty Italian home-style meal.

Mark's Feed Store - Louisville

2009-12-15T11:48:00.000-08:00

The best barbeque! Matt and I are still trying to find some good barbeque here in Cincinnati that compares to the local Louisville establishment. My fiancé and his family have been coming here since they opened in 1988.

Mark’s Feed Store takes you to the down home southern life. The big barn is packed with a hundred people drinking their sweet tea, eating their fried pickles, and warming up with a hearty cup of burgoo. The barn-like restaurant has high wooden vaulted ceilings, red walls, wood chairs with blue and white checkered tablecloths. They have plastic cups and several beers on tap making it very homey. The food is brought out in plastic brown baskets lined with parchment paper-no frills here, just good southern food.

The fried pickles are addicting. The tangy mini discs are subtly fried to perfection. The pickles paired with the creamy spiced mayonnaise makes a lovely balance of flavors.

Mark’s is where I first discovered my love for burgoo. A southern dish that I was not even aware of! It’s basically a thick stew with different types of tender meats (lamb, beef, pork, chicken, etc), corn, peas, and carrots. Burgoo is southern comfort food at its finest.

The newly added cornbread on their menu is perfectly golden brown and sweet – the way I like it - perfect little round, buttered muffins in a basket just waiting to be savored.

I always order the pulled pork platter – complete with strings of pork on a bun, creamy and crunchy cole slaw and fried corn. That’s something Paula Deen would love, deep fried corn. Unfortunately for me the corn was brown and a little burnt tasting. The other times I’d been there though it was perfectly sweet and delicious. The delicate strings of pork were dying to be drizzled with Mark’s homemade “red” barbeque sauce. The sauce is smooth and tangy with a hint of honey.

Needless to say this is the best “lip smakin,” tasty barbeque I’ve ever had. If you’re in Louisville, Mark’s is a must!

Sushi @ Green Papaya

2009-12-08T12:26:00.000-08:00

My friend Brittney and I have been going to Green Papaya in Hyde Park for our bimonthly sushi dates. We went to celebrate her birthday and I decided it was time to blog about it.

We left our warm cars, safe from the cold drizzle outside and were seated in the newly finished addition to the restaurant. We drank a bottle of the Urban Uco Torrontes white wine which described as light and floral with refreshing acidity. My friend stated it perfectly, “it tastes like grape juice with a kick at the end.” I couldn’t put my finger on what that kick was, but we drank the whole bottle so it couldn’t have been that bad. The coolest part of the wine was the black and white label with two men standing at the top of a building. We agreed it looked like the Jones Soda bottles. We typically order a glass of the pinot grigio which is much tastier than this was.

The chicken noodle soup with dumplings was a perfect, comforting fit for the cold, rainy day. The ginger salad that I always get was deliciously crunch and sweet with the dressing.

The lava roll with white tuna, cucumber topped with spicy crab stick, grilled barbeque eel sauce, tempura flakes on the outside and sliced seaweed enclosed in sticky white rice. It was warm, creamy from the spicy mayo, and crunchy from the tempura that surrounded the roll. The tri-state roll was chewy and only slightly crispy from the delicate sprinkles of tempura inside the roll next to the raw fish, seaweed, and rice. The spicy tuna roll was “kicking,” said Brittney after taking a bite of the hot piece. We also ordered a standard California roll which was equally as delicious. I plan on eating that a lot when I get pregnant someday. Haha.

I love going to Green Papaya. Their sushi is somewhat pricey but magnificent! The ambiance is great with light wood paneling, a small fountain in the middle of the restaurant, and the sushi bar. My friends love the Green Papaya salad and the pad thai noodles which are good, but I go for the sushi and the endless amounts of ginger.

A Spanish dinner before an American holiday

2009-11-30T09:25:00.001-08:00

My fiancé’s family and I were perfectly happy on Thanksgiving eve- drinking our Mexican beer, munching on guacamole and fried plantains at Mojito in Louisville, Kentucky. Not quite your traditional American meal, but delicious none the less.

They don’t take reservations but they do take call ahead, if you’re seven minutes away. I’m not sure why seven, but if you’re planning on going, call if you’re on your way and they’ll put your name in. We were seated in the sheltered and heated outdoor patio right when we arrived.

Mojito is a great Spanish tapas bar with Cuban/Caribbean influences. It has a great beer and drink selection as well. My fiancé is a beer aficionado and was happy to see that there were three beers he hadn’t had before on their drink menu. He had the estrella galicia Spanish beer which tasted like Corona with a little more hops to it. All of the margaritas and mojitos looked enticing on the other diner’s tables. The piquant guacamole was chunky and got its kick from the fresh cilantro mixed within the avocados and tomatoes. In order to switch it up they serve slender strips of homemade, friend plantains instead of the tiresome corn chips.

My favorite tapas calientes was the seafood croquet – fried balls of marinated shrimp, lobster, crab meat, and white fish served with an avocado lime aioli sauce. The savory balls of seafood left my mouth watering for more. But, I had to move on – there was more food to be eaten.

The empanadas de Picadillo were another favorite at the table – stuffed pastry shells enclosed ground beef cooked with cumin, tomatoes, oregano, raisins, olives, onions and bell peppers mixed in a Creole wine sauce. It literally tasted like a barbeque pot pie or a sloppy joe inside a golden puff pastry. The mixtures of the spices and Creole wine sauce gave it a complex flavoring.

The breaded and pan friend grouper strips over a corn tortilla was topped with the homemade guacamole, fresh salsa, jalapenos, sliced red onions, cilantro and a drizzle of sour cream. The fish tacos were warm and wonderful.

The heirloom Caprese salad was pretty typical – heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil topped with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt. I thought it would’ve been more fitting to have some cilantro in place of the basil to give it more of a Spanish feel.

Since they were out of their ceviche, we ordered the gambas al Ajillo which was plump shrimp sautéed with garlic, olive oil, guindilla peppers (described as a fuller, more flavorful banana pepper), lime juice, aioli and bread from the local Blue Dog Bakery.

We left with satisfied pallets and headed home to taste wedding cake samples. It was a wonderful ethnic way to start our all-American Thanksgiving weekend.

Bouquet Restuarant and Wine Bar in Mainstrasse

2009-11-10T10:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry I have not blogged in a while, I have been distracted with the wedding, school, health issues, work, etc. But I do have a restaurant to tell you about – Bouquet Restaurant and Wine Bar in Mainstrasse!

After trying on Wedding dresses at Fabulous Bridal in Covington, a couple of my friends and I were in dying need of wine and food. I had looked up Bouquet online, but hadn’t heard of it before so we decided to try it. And I’m glad we did! What a hidden little jewel.

The petite restaurant had tones of deep reds, browns, and low lighting. It gave off the impression of a small European restaurant, minus the random assortment of music playing in the speakers. It was classy but relaxed. We picked a table toward the back and picked a white wine with the help of our waiter. The cheese plate with creamy brie cheese, crumbly and salty ricotta, gorgonzola which was a little tart but tasted like blue cheese, and the sharp, smoky cheddar were all unique and flavorful.

The crab cake with corn and black bean succotash and cilantro lime pesto was a little less than what I had hoped it would be. It was a little bit on the dry side from the black beans. The warm marinated olives with pita bread were good. It was a country olive mix with candied orange zest and sushi ginger. The ginger with olives were a strange mix but worked surprisingly well together. The olives were slightly peppery, very unique.

The Bouquet Croque Monsieur was good, but nothing special. The toasted French loaf baguette with Dijon mustard, and brie was a foreign taste to me. The scallops casino were pan seared and encrusted with parmesan and herbs. The field greens on the side made it a light and familiar dish.

We ordered dessert and coffee. The cold vanilla ice cream melted into puddles as we devoured the huge, warm, double chocolate brownie beneath. It was so rich. It definitely satisfied my sweet tooth and took me back to brownie fudge sundae dates with my friend when I was little. The cupcakes were also very good, coming in almost any flavor you could imagine.

Stumbling upon Bouquet in Mainstrasse was a pleasant surprise. We had a wonderfully appetizing meal with good service, ambiance, food, and wonderful friends.

A little bit of France in the middle of Indiana

2009-10-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

After trying on wedding dresses and downing a bottle of celebratory champagne in the parking lot of Clay Terrace, my sisters, Mom and I went to lunch at Petite Chou. I had passed this restaurant many times and have been dying to go (it was even written up in Bon Appetit Magazine). It is a little replica of a French café. It has the tables outside, rustic wooden tables inside, and lots of sunlight coming through the windows stamped with the fleur de lis (the symbol of France and Louisville).

Since we were waiting for my dad and brother to meet us there, we decided to keep going with the champagne and get the Petite Chou Mimosas. The bubbly Prosecco with sweet orange juice and a ripe strawberry was refreshing after a long morning of dress shopping. We browsed the menus, sipped our cocktails, and came to the conclusion that we must try the Artisanal Cheese Tasting Plate. You could choose between three or five of six house-ripened cheeses that they constantly rotate. Of course, we ordered the larger of the two – there is seven of us after all. Unfortunately, by the time the boys got there, there wasn’t very much left. The cheese was beautifully presented on a simple white plate with warm slices of a French baguette. I think my favorite was the Petite Billy cheese which was fresh goat’s milk cheese- creamy with lemon overtones from Loire Valley, France. My second favorite was the Aged Romana Gouda which tasted a lot like Parmesan cheese. It was a three-year-aged hard cheese made from cow’s milk from Holland. There was also the Cashel Blue cheese from Ireland. It was creamy and spreadable with a fairly mild blue taste. The Brie de Nangis was good, but tasted like every other Brie I’ve ever had. It was a double cream French Brie from the town of Nangis, France. The Montgomery Chedder from England was my least favorite. Although the fact that it was aged for 13 months on the Montgomery family’s 500 year old farm was pretty cool.

Dad and J.P got there and we ordered two cups of the Tomato Artichoke soup which was fabulous. It was thick and chunky; it kind of tasted like a marinara sauce.

For my lunch I had the Chicken Crepe with Asparagus and Mushrooms. When we were in France I had a Nutella crepe, but didn’t really care for it which is surprising because I am obsessed with Nutella. So I decided to give the savory crepe a go. I enjoyed the savory crepe much better than the sweet one; it might be the actual texture of the crepe I don’t like. All of their crepes are made using French flour to ensure authenticity and flavor. Mine was stuffed with organic rotisserie Indiana chicken in a light, creamy sauce with asparagus tips and sautéed mushrooms. My dad ordered the “Everyone’s Favorite” omelet with bacon, hash brown potatoes, and cheddar cheese. It was a hearty, heavenly breakfast dish. My MOH (maid of honor) sister ordered the Caprese Tartine open faced French sandwich- thinly sliced toasted country bread with ripe red tomatoes, mozerella, basil, topped with pesto and olive oil. This was also very good, but the mozerella could've been better quality.

And my other sister ordered a Nutella crepe for dessert, which again I didn’t care for. The manager came over and made sure we enjoyed our lunch. He informed us that Petite Chou, in French, means my little cabbage. Apparently, it is a common term of endearment that the French use. I should start calling my fiancé “my little cabbage!” Haha. Also, I think our family was so loud that we made the table next to us move across the restaurant. They were probably just jealous of how much fun we were having at the little French café in Carmel, Indiana – you can’t go wrong with a loving (but loud) family, European food, and cocktails.

"Start of Wedding Season" at Napa River Grill

2009-10-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

My parents met us in Louisville to do a bunch of wedding stuff. In order to kick off the start of wedding planning we went out for a celebratory dinner at Napa River Grill. My fiancé’s parents were considering it for a rehearsal dinner venue so we thought we’d give it a try. I had heard lots of good things about their food and wine so I was looking forward to going!

We walked into the restaurant hidden amongst the outdoor mall in Westport Village. They had an outdoor patio with individual fire pits in the middle of the tables and white lights strung through the trees. It looked very romantic. We were seated in the dark dining area in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the busy staff.

While chatting about the wedding in a year we decided on two wines – a white and a red. My fiancé’s mother picked out the Molly Dooker the Boxer Shiraz South Australia red wine. This wine definitely “knocked you out”- it was full bodied and big with complex sweet and seductive flavors. The wine with the Popeye looking man and big boxing gloves on the label was awarded 90 points by the Wine Spectator. Apparently this is a very difficult type of wine to buy (but I found it at Hyde Park Gourmet Food and Wine the next day). It’s sold in limited quantities. Clearly, I thoroughly enjoyed this wine. As for the white, my mom and I decided to try a new one. We randomly decided on the Two Tone Farm California 2006 Chardonnay. This wine was good and pretty standard for a Chardonnay.

As an appetizer we ordered the Ancho Calamari for the table. The crispy rings of calamari were dusted with ancho chili pepper and served with banana ketchup and tomato basil sauce on the side. The ancho chili pepper definitely gave the calamari a kick to it and the banana ketchup added sweetness to each bite. My mom also ordered the Baked Shrimp Scampi – five individual holes filled with garlic butter, cooked shrimp, and melted havarti cheese on top. It was served with focaccia bread to dip into the excess garlic cheese butter. My fiancé also ordered the Ahi Cornucopia which had a fantastic presentation. The fresh dices of raw tuna were tossed in a soy sesame dressing and positioned into a small baked phyllo dough cone. On the plate next to the tuna cone was a refreshing cucumber tomato salad mixed with wasabi aioli, and pickled ginger. The dish reminded me of meals in Hawaii.

Our soup and salad course was next. I sampled the House-Made Tomato Soup which was hearty and delicious. The creamy basil tomato soup was covered in a flakey puff pastry, baked golden brown. It looked like a chicken pot pie, but with tomato soup inside. The Caesar Salad had crisp hearts of romaine lettuce in a Parmesan bowl with grilled garlic croutons. The presentation of this salad was also very creative. The crisp bowl of parmesan cheese was salty and delicious but tasted like Asiago to me… I think this is where we ordered another bottle of each wine.

Then came out the complimentary corn bread! This was literally the best cornbread I had ever had. The sweet cornbread was topped with glazed sugar crystals and served in a sizzling little skillet. We slathered on the butter that melted so perfectly into the sapid bread. We ate four pans of it; we literally couldn’t stop.

After filling up on all of the above, our entrées were placed in front of us. I ordered the Ménage a Trios – three types of fish each prepared differently. I love dishes that allow you to sample different flavors. This one came with sea bass with a honey miso glaze on top of green tea Jasmine rice, pomegranate salmon nestled on a little bed of goat cheese polenta, and ahi poivre noir with Asian vegetables. The ahi tuna was seared perfectly, the sweet chili pepper made it spicy on the outside and raw on the inside. Sprinkled on top were crispy wonton noodles. The pomegranate salmon actually tasted like salmon with barbeque sauce on it. I don’t think that is a combination that I prefer. The goat cheese polenta was interesting. There’s something about polenta that I don’t really care for. My favorite was definitely the honey miso sea bass. The sweet honey enhanced the flavor of the flakey white fish.

Almost everyone else ordered the Beef Tenderloin, which Napa River Grill is known for. It is their signature center cut filet served with roasted garlic “mashers”, and stripes of house vegetables. The beef was again cooked to perfection- pink on the inside and so tender that you could use your butter knife to cut it. The creamy Maytag blue cheese seated on the steak followed by a sip of the Molly Dooker wine created heavenly combinations in my mouth.

For dessert we brought in samples from Adrian’s bakery to test some cakes for the wedding. My favorites were the spice cake and the Italian crème cake. I think I still need to sample some more before I make a decision.

Our meal was complete with a loving family, luxurious wines, and lots of luscious food. It was the perfect sweet ending to our fabulous “start-of-wedding-season” meal!

Alabama's Fried Fish

2009-09-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

Louisville football was on TV so we needed lots of food and lots of beer to watch the game. After a few appetizers and some beers, our boyfriends ventured to Over-the-Rhine to pick up some fried fish from Alabama’s Fish Bar.

About an hour later, the boys finally returned from their adventure with the fried fish. They waited 5-10 minutes in the packed “bar.” “It probably isn’t the best place for you girls to go alone,” the boys told us. We got two orders of the cod to split. An order came with two pieces of white bread, standard French fries, tarter sauce, sautéed peppers and onions for $7.99 (and we ordered a side of cole slaw for $1.50). The chunks of cod fish were simple – not very seasoned but perfectly crunchy on the outside and flakey on the inside. Actually, my favorite part of the meal was the cole slaw – creamy, crunchy and sweet. The nice thing was they fry the fish right in front of you so you know it’s fresh and hasn’t been sitting there for days. I’d say it was good, not great. To me, it was your average fried fish with your very average French fries.

The only complaint was the location (but I can understand how it’s part of the appeal/ authenticity), the lack of hush puppies (which is a southern/soul food staple in my book), and the mean look on the man’s face behind the counter when Matt asked if they served hush puppies!

a pleasant fancy surprise in Clifton

2009-09-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

“That was the best dinner I’ve had in a long time!” exclaimed my friend Steph after our dinner at Tink’s Café in Clifton. We were in need of a dinner date and wanted to try somewhere new so we settled on Tink’s.

We walked into the restaurant, which from the outside looks like a hole in the wall, but inside is a classy, upscale restaurant. We walked in and didn’t quite know what to do since there was no hostess but a waitress came by and told us to sit wherever we wanted. I was surprised to see a three person band in the corner playing soft jazz. I felt slightly overdressed in my jeans, rain boots, and rain jacket. Luckily, I had my pearls on to make me look fancier. We picked a table in the back of the small restaurant. The dining room was minimally decorated with a few painting and the big window. Apparently this is a great place to come in the winter for a romantic date when you can look out the window and see the snow falling. I could definitely imagine that!

Our waitress came over, introduced herself and gave us the dinner and wine menus. She was very knowledgeable about everything that evening from the wine to the upright bass in the band. With her help, we decided on a bottle of E. Guigla Cotes du Rhone 2006 from France. The white wine was crisp and floral. It was similar to a light Chardonnay but not as buttery or oaky. A young server brought us a beautiful basket of warm sourdough bread and room temperature butter. There is nothing worse than trying to spread hard butter on bread!

Then, another server brought out our cheese plate which was one of the specials. It was glorious! On the large plate were three different types of cheese – goat, brie, and havarti, little slices of salty salami that looked like sticks, a couple dried figs (which I realized I do not like) and apricots, candied walnuts, grapes, and a little spoon that had a mysterious looking clear jelly. We tasted it and were surprised by the sweetness of it. We asked our waitress what it was and she informed us it was a wine chardonnay jelly – no wonder we loved it! The wine jelly on top of the crustini was simply splendid!

As soon as we cleaned the plate, our entrees were brought out. Before we placed our order we asked for our waitress’ recommendations and listened intently. I ordered the Diver Scallops with butternut squash, sage brown butter, apple arugula, and cider gastrique. This was unlike any scallops I’ve had. There was butternut squash that looked like potatoes (and kinda tasted them too), with four big scallops that had a little bit of a kick to it, topped with arugula and thin sticks of apple. The flavors were familiar but with a twist. Steph ordered the Beef Tenderloin and Green Apple Bruschetta with grilled rosemary bread, raisin compote, brie, and arugula salad. This was another dish where the unique flavors meshed well. It reminded me of an elegant open faced sandwich. The perfectly cooked steak slices slept on top of a pillow of bread, warm brie and sweet and tangy slices of green apple. I would never have thought to put these flavors together, but boy was it delicious!

Our bellies were full but we still felt the need to try dessert since everything else had been so wonderful. There was no dessert menu, our lovely waitress told us about the desserts off the top of her head. She was great! We decided on the “hot chocolate,” which was a chocolate crème brule with cayane pepper. This was another distinct dish that we were very pleased with. You take a bite of what tastes like chocolate cake batter and then are hit with a big kick of spice. It was sapid!

At this point, Steph and I were on cloud nine! We had had such a fabulous dinner with such unique delicious food, perfect ambiance, soothing music, and erudite staff. On our way back to the car we stopped in Ludlow Wines, made friends with the owner Mike, and bought some Petite Syrah and seasonal beers for the boyfriends. We drove home quite excited about the great night filled with fabulous wine and fantastic food that we had just had.

Restaurant week @ Mesh

2009-09-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

In order to celebrate our friend’s birthday, we decided to try out Mesh during restaurant week. We walked into the trendy restaurant and into the bar to find our friends. To the right of the receptionist there is a gigantic glass wine cellar with 1999 bottles. I wanted it in my house. Yhe dark bar and quotes about food written on the black walls created a chic ambiance.

We were taken to our table in a back room separated from the rest of the customers. It was a small room with about four other tables and elevator music playing in the background. It was strange. Our waitress came and gave us the menus. The birthday boy picked out a lovely Pinot Noir from Oregon. Usually Pinot Noir’s are too light for me, but this one had enough body for me to enjoy. Our waitress informed us that the winemakers were originally from Cincinnati and both worked for P&G but got bored with their jobs, moved to Oregon, and started a winery. Why am I not doing that again?

First a little silver spoon appeared in front of us that had a mini caprese salad in it -small chopped tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette reduction. I initially thought this was my appetizer and was shocked, but it was just a little treat from the chef. Our first course was brought out. I ordered the proscuitto wrapped prawns with grilled vegetables and saffron cream. This dish was decent. The prawns (aka giant shrimp) were overpowered by the salty proscuitto. Steve thought it tasted like popcorn; I thought it tasted like butter. The two slices of grilled zucchini and squash were good. The truffle mushroom bisque was plain. I thought it could’ve used more flavoring, but still good enough for Steve to eat the whole bowl. The mesh house salad with sun-dried cherries, toasted almonds, feta cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette was fine, but I could’ve made that at my house.

For the second course I ordered the curried seabass with mini shrimp, mini scallops, pineapple and rice wine. Out of the three dishes we tried, mine won. The seabass was perfectly flakey and the curry sauce was delicious but not overpowering. I didn’t think I would like the pineapple in it, but I didn’t even notice it. Matt and Steve ordered the prime New York strip steak with whipped potatoes, French green beans, and blueberry barbeque sauce on the side. This was good, but you can get steak and potatoes at Golden Corral. However, the blueberry sauce was very unique and surprisingly good on the steak. At least that gave the steak some originality. Steph ordered the pan roasted chicken breast with crisp proscuitto, potato gnocchi, asparagus and parmesan sage cream. This entrée was the worst. It was flavorless and cold.

Desert was ok. Three of us ordered the raspberry crème brulee - a circle of yellow cream, with a little bit of raspberry sauce in the middle. I ate around the raspberry sauce. Matt ordered the roasted banana chocolate bread pudding, which had a lot more going on than the crème brulee. I really liked it because it tasted like chocolate cake with a hint of bananas.

We had a lovely time celebrating our friends 25th birthday, but the food at Mesh was not worth celebrating. Some things were good, but nothing I had was outstanding. Perhaps it was because it was restaurant week that Mesh lacked quality. All I know is that I will not be driving the 25 minutes to West Chester anytime soon to have an expensive meal at Mesh (unless someone else is paying). I would like to try more of their wines though!

Brunch on the Hill

2009-09-14T12:31:00.000-07:00

After a morning of walking around Hyde Park, my friend and I decided we needed some brunch to refuel ourselves. We decided to make the drive up to Mt. Adams and try the Rookwood for “Brunch on the Hill.”

We parked at the top of the hill that looked over the city and walked into the empty restaurant – The Rookwood in Mt. Adams. It was eerily quiet with only the Bengal’s game playing in the bar. It had dark wooden floors, dark tables, and wooden beams above our heads. We were seated at a table by the window that looked out onto the Celestial building, not an exciting view from where we were sitting. Then our waiter came and informed us that the fancy brunch cocktails we were so excited to try were not available. He could tell by our gasps that we were clearly upset about this. I asked him if he could do a regular mimosa, which he later brought us. We looked over the menu and decided what to eat.

We chatted until our food came. I ordered the Rookwood Benedict. Now, normally I never eat eggs Benedict because I haven't really cared for it. But, for some reason this one sounded really yummy. And boy was I right!! It came out in a hot skillet which they placed on a little rectangular block of wood they put in front of me. Nestled in the skillet was an English muffin topped with fresh spinach-leek and poached eggs topped with a creamy smoked tomato hollandaise sauce. It also came with fabulous sautéed hash browns with little bits of red pepper. It was so savory, I just felt fancy with my eggs Benedict and my mimosa. My friend opted for the sweet route with the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. These were delicious considering I ate half of them. The honeycomb butter, maple syrup, and fresh blueberries blended to make a bite that tasted like a luxurious creamy cheesecake. They were a little too sweet for Erin, but it was perfect after my salty meal. I didn’t think I liked anything but plain pancakes, apparently I was wrong. These were fabulous. She also ordered a side of the cheddar grits, which we decent. I probably wasn’t the best judge because I’m not a huge grits fan. The texture is still kind of weird to me.

All in all, our delectable food made up for our lack of the specialty brunch cocktails and the lack of customers in the restaurant. I always love a Sunday brunch with a fancy friend.

date night @ Palominos

2009-09-14T09:08:00.001-07:00

My fiancé had a gift card for Palominos so we decided to go on a little date. We walked from his apartment, into the Macy’s building on the square and up the escalators. We arrived at the restaurant a little earlier than our 8:00 reservation, so we went into the bar and ordered a glass of the house chardonnay and a Sierra Nevada. I sat there while my fiancé looked for highlights and scores on the ESPN screen above the bar. We went back to the hostess and were seated right in the middle of the crowded restaurant. We were disappointed because this is the second time this has happened. It just doesn’t seem as private or intimate as the booths or the tables by the window overlooking Fountain Square.

Our cheerful waitress came over with great enthusiasm. She gave us a minute to examine the menu. We were going to get one of the brick oven cheeses and at the last minute decided upon the oven baked goat cheese stuffed tomatoes. Our waitress assured us that this was a wise decision. A few minutes later our appetizer was brought out. It was divine – creamy goat cheese mixed with the crunchy bread crumbs, warm sweet tomato, and little ribbons of basil. It was the perfect balance of delicious flavors.

Next we decided to share the seasonal salad – Shaved Provence Fennel Salad. She split it up for us without us asking, which is always thoughtful. This salad was so fresh, it literally tasted like summer. The Belgian endive and the fennel were “very in your face” as my fiancé put it. The unique flavors of mushrooms, red and yellow peppers, cucumber, and radish, made each bite different from the next. The salad was topped with a simple lemon vinaigrette and shaved Parmigano Reggiano cheese.

We finally ordered our entrées off the seasonal menu. I had the Summer Ravioli; it was good, but nothing that blew me away like our previous dishes. There were two gigantic squares of ravioli that took up my entire plate. Inside the little pillows were spinach, ricotta, artichoke, and pine nut stuffing, drizzled with yellow pepper coulis, pesto and sweat pea slaw. My fiancé ordered the fish and frites – a white flakey fish covered with herb breadcrumb crust, artichoke remoulade, malt vinegar frisee salad and lemon. The crunchy fish topped with artichoke remoulad was a delightful salty and tart mixture. The fries were also very delicious-perfectly salted.

And we ordered dessert because I always need something sweet after dinner. The chocolate torte was luxurious. The Belgian chocolate ganache, espresso anglaise, vanilla bean ice cream, topped with fresh strawberries was the perfect way to end this lovely meal.

Korean send off @ Riverside Korean

2009-08-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

My friend Molly was about to leave for Korea to teach for a year. So, a bunch of us girls decided to go to Riverside Korean for her international send-off. We figured it best that she familiarized herself with the cuisine before departing. And Riverside Korean was on my list of places to go to from the Cincinnati Magazine Top 10 restaurants of 2009.

We went on a Wednesday night and had reservations. So, we took off our shoes and we were seated promptly at the 8 person low table with hot green and pink cushions. The restaurant was small and gave off a traditional Korean feeling, especially with the raised floor seating and light wooden dividers. There were mirrors and paintings of pale Korean women in traditional dresses. With only about five booths and five low tables, the windowless restaurant was filled.

We immediately decided that we needed appetizers because all seven of us love to eat (a lot). We requested an order of the pan fried dumplings and the poached dumplings. The Goon Man Du (pan friend) was slightly crispy and filled with mashed vegetables and tofu. I normally do not like tofu at all, but I couldn’t even tell it was in the dish. The Mul Man Du (poached) was slippery and contained vegetables, beef, and tofu. The dipping sauce for the dumplings combined green onions, onions, soy sauce, and something mysteriously sweet and delicious. In fact, I used this on the remainder of my meal.

After our appetizer our waiter brought us the customary Korean appetizers or side dish, Ban Chan. It is eight small dishes filled with small portions of foods like pickled cabbage, peppers, potatoes, mushrooms, and spinach with a sesame garlic sauce. I told my friends that were inexperienced in the Korean cuisine that it’s like bread to our American restaurants.

For the next course I ordered the Jham Bong. This was a gigantic bowl of spicy, red broth with thick flour noodles, shrimp, squid, crab, mussels, vegetables and pork. This bowl of soup could’ve fed our entire table. The disappointing thing was that there were only about one of each of the shrimp, squid, and mussels. I basically took the noodles and vegetables out of the broth and put the dumpling dipping sauce on it. I sampled everyone else’s dish. The Mae Un Dak Bok Um aka the spicy stir fry chicken with cabbage, long hot peppers, mushroom, zucchini, onion, green onion, and carrots was lovely. The O Jing Au Bok Um, the spicy stir fry squid was delicious as well. But, the best thing I tasted and wish I had gotten was the Dolsot Bibim Bab. The word Bibim bap literally means “mixed meal.” It was rice mixed with seven kinds of vegetables, chicken, topped with an egg and spicy sauce on the side. It was served in a large heated stone bowl in order to continue cooking the egg and the crispy, crunch rice. The different flavors and textures converged pleasantly in my mouth.

We left Riverside Korean feeling full from a delicious, eclectic meal. We were satisfied but not overly stuffed so, we proceeded to Mt. Adams UDF for some ice cream, just incase they didn’t have any in Korea.

Signature on the 95th

2009-08-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

For our last dining experience in Chicago we went to dinner at the Signature Room at the 95th. The Signature Room is perched at the top of the Hancock Building. We took the claustrophobic elevator ride to the fancy restaurant. I walked out of the elevators, looked straight out the window and all I saw were white clouds. The dining room had floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the beautiful city of Chicago.

We were seated at a circular table in the corner- one view of Navy Pier and the other of the beach. It was breathtaking. After several photos and walking to the other side of the restaurant to take pictures, we ordered some drinks. My dad and sister both appropriately got the 312 Goose Island beers (a Chicago staple). I wanted to try a wine that I hadn’t had before, so I decided on a bottle of the Orogeny Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley. Yet again, I picked out a fabulous wine! It had hints of fruit and citrus, but was still heavy enough to pair with our meal. The staff was sharply dressed, helpful, and attentive.

Maine lobster hush puppies, the Grilled prosciutto and Buffalo Mozzarella, and the Duck Confit Spring Roll completed our order of appetizers for the table. I was expecting great things from the hush puppies since it was a signature appetizer of the month, but disappointed when I put a mushy, soggy fried ball into my mouth. You couldn’t even taste the lobster! The grilled prosciutto and Buffalo mozzarella was served on toasted sourdough, but overpowered by the tomato marmalade on top. It was too sweet to compliment the cheese and prosciutto. My favorite appetizer was the duck spring roll. The luscious duck confit was served with kimchee (which is a traditional Korean dish – pickled cabbage) coleslaw and sweet and sour mustard. The fatty dish was so rich that I could only have a couple bites. Although I was let down by the taste of the appetizers, the presentation of the food was beautiful.

For my main course, I ordered the pan seared Cobia-Filet because this too was on the monthly signature menu. The dish was simple – two filets of flakey white fish seared brown, topped with corn, cherry tomatoes, and diced cucumbers. The sweetness of the tomatoes helped balance the intense saltiness of the Cobia. My sisters all had the grilled filet of beef with herb butter crust which also happened to be my favorite entrée. But then again, how hard is it to mess up steak?? The Yukon Gold whipped potatoes were delightful with the beef and the wine to wash it all down.

After the main course we decided to have the ice cream trio to split as a table. The chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream was good, but nothing special. I also ordered the summer peach napoleon, which I also had high hopes for but was again disappointed. It was a bland cake layered in between whipped cream with two slices of peaches on the side. I was not impressed.

All in all, I had a wonderful time with my family dining up in the clouds. We had some unique and tasty foods and I am lucky to have gone. The restaurant was beautiful, classy and elegant. But, if you go there, I would go for the ambiance rather than the food. At the Signature Room on the 95th, everything looks delicious but not everything tastes delicious.

Italian lunch @ The Rosebud in Chicago

2009-08-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

Our last full day on our lovely Chicago family trip, I told my dad “I don’t want to eat a big lunch because we’re going to be having a nice dinner.” And what do we do? Have a huge Italian lunch with wine and pasta.

Dad took all of us to The Rosebud in downtown Chicago. He believed it to be the best Italian in the city. On the humid day in July we walked down the “Magnificent Mile” on Michigan Avenue, passed all of the high-end stores and went into Water Tower Place. After some shopping we took a short walk to The Rosebud. The 30 year old establishment on the corner was hidden amongst the hustle and bustle of busy people. There were customers enjoying their lunches on the sidewalk outside. We were seated downstairs at a big circular table with wine glasses and white tablecloths. The light from the window that looked up onto the sidewalk lit up the dark restaurant with its hardwood floors and brown walls.

To drink, I ordered an amazing Italian white wine from Sicily, the Arancio Chardonnay. I probably asked our waiter what the name of it was three different times. Needless to say, he was not amused. I was only going to have one, but it was so good, I needed three. I can’t eat good food without good wine! It was so delicious my sister and mom ordered a couple glasses themselves. We probably should’ve gotten a bottle. Woops. Anyway, for an appetizer my dad ordered the table some fried calamari. I know I say this a lot, but this was definitely the best calamari I have ever had. The full-size rings of baby squid were lightly floured and deep fried to perfection. It was served with cocktail and marinara sauce, but it was so sapid that it didn’t need those. It was fabulous all on its own.

For an entrée I ordered the caprese salad which ended up being huge, just like all of their portions. The salad had thick vine-ripened tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, red onion, basil, balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top. It was good, but I’ve definitely had better. Also, I personally don’t think that red onion belongs on a caprese salad. I clearly had to try everyone else’s dishes as well. My sister ordered the rigatoni alla vodka and boy what it buonissimo! The big tubes of pasta were dripping with a delicious tomato and mascarpone cheese sauce. It was rich and creamy. This was hands down my favorite pasta that we ordered. The portions of the pastas were so big one of them, could’ve fed all seven of us. My mom ordered the traditional spaghetti Bolognese, pasta simmered in a veal and beef tomato sauce with basil, butter and cheese. This was also very flavorful and full of texture from the meat sauce. My other sisters split the fettuccini alfredo, which I didn’t particularly care for. It was a little dry and needed more flavor to it – maybe some more parmesan cheese and cream.

The Arancio wine and the calamari were definitely my favorite part of the meal. It was a wonderful, filling, family meal on a Saturday afternoon in Chicago. After our very large meal, we went back to the hotel and took a couple “fat kid” naps 

Joe's in Chicago

2009-08-11T13:32:00.000-07:00

“Joe’s has become one of Chicago’s premier destinations for prime steaks, the freshest seafood and world famous stone crab claws. Defined by a standard of hospitality and style born in the early 1900s, Joe’s offers a world class dining experience that is both comfortable and timeless.”

The quote from Joe’s website says it all. The experience I had at Joe’s definitely attested to that quote. With its hard wood oak floors, the 1940’s Frank Sinatra music, and waiters in bow ties and tuxedos, the establishment screamed class. We had reservations so we were immediately removed from the crowded waiting area and seated in the main dining room. Bottles of wine were shelved in the top part of the walls, where chalkboards had recommendations of different types of wine to accompany their specialties stone crab and steak. The ambiance was indeed timeless. The traditional white linen table clothes, the hustle and bustle of the busy servers, and the music took me back to another time.

My dad ordered us a bottle of the Chassagne Montrachet, Louis Jadot (a white Burgundy). I had mentioned to him that I’d never had one, so why not try it there? It was amazing! It was light, crisp, but still very flavorful. The French wine accompanied our seafood perfectly. It was a nice change of pace from our typical buttery, oakey Chardonnay.

For an appetizer we ordered the Oyster’s Rockefeller for the seven of us to share. This was the best Oyster’s Rockefeller I have ever had! The slimy oyster was buried under a goodness of creamy broiled cheese, spinach and a hint of garlic. I literally scrapped the oyster shell clean. My mom ordered the steamed black mussels that were true to their French preparation- chunks of tomatoes, onions, garlic, and parsley all in a bowl of a white wine broth.

For my entrée I ordered the stone crab. Our waitress explained how they were from the Gulf of Mexico. They collect the claws one at a time and then throw them back into the ocean, so they can grow back the missing claw. Interesting, right? These definitely tasted fresh, right out of the ocean. They were cold and unsullied as I dipped them into Joe’s infamous mustard sauce. My brother and dad both ordered the Alaskan King Crab legs, after having the stone crab for an appetizer. The server put on two pairs of gloves (one latex and one cloth) and broke the gigantic crab legs into about 8 smaller, more manageable pieces. These were rich and, in my personal opinion, more sapid than the stone crab claws. I preferred the warm crab legs with lemon juice; they were so delicious by themselves they didn’t need melted butter or mustard sauce. Plus, I don’t like getting parts of shell in my mouth with snow crab claws. My sister ordered the filet mignon, which of course I tried, and it was slightly charred on the outside and pink on the inside. We also got sides of French fries, creamed spinach, and broccoli for the table. The creamed spinach we loved and again, scrapped the bowl clean. The fries were perfectly salty and crunchy on the outside, but soft on the inside. The broccoli was your average vegetable steamed with lemon-garlic butter.

Of course, to conclude our fabulous dinner we had to order dessert. Sharing a homemade chocolate fudge pie drizzled with milk chocolate sauce was a sweet way to end our fantastic family meal in Chicago.

Andy's Mediterranean

2009-08-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

“This is probably the best hummus I’ve ever had!” exclaimed my fiancé after putting the homemade hummus and warm pita bread into his mouth.

I had read about Andy’s Mediterranean several times and heard great things about it from various sources. I ended up having a sample of it at Taste of Cincinnati and it was my favorite thing I tried there.

Obviously, I had wanted to go to Andy’s for a while so Friday night my fiancé and I finally got the opportunity to go. We walked into the restaurant off of Gilbert Avenue and automatically fell in love with the ambiance. The inside was mostly light wood, with beamed ceilings, wooden tables and chairs. The bar took up the whole mirrored wall and was well stocked with beverages and hookahs from around the globe. All of the young waitresses wore black t-shirts and black pants with an assortment of hippie jewelry. Our waitress later informed us that the owner and his wife who lived upstairs just had a baby girl, which explained all of the “it’s a girl” decorations around the restaurant. We were seated at a small two person table in the upper section of the main room. I routinely looked around me, taking in my surroundings and saw the ceiling painted a pale pink with a gigantic historic map of the world. To add to the ambiance, the copper fan with a small propeller at the end of it was artsy and eclectic.

We perused the menu and ordered our drinks and appetizer. Matt ordered the Sierra Nevada (for only $4!) and I ordered Almaza, which was the imported Lebanese beer…when in Rome! It was a light, crisp, and very refreshing lager full of flavor.

We ordered the Mediterranean sampler as our appetizer because I’m obsessed with sampler platters! It came with hummus (mashed chickpeas), baba ghannouj (mashed eggplant), labneh (Lebanese yogurt spread and garlic), tabuli salad (diced parsley, green onion, tomato, olive oil, and lemon), and olives. It was all amazing; even the presentation was wonderful! The hummus and baba ghannouj had a little olive oil drizzled over it with fresh chopped parsley sprinkled on top. As I said before, that was the best hummus we’ve ever had and I eat hummus a lot. The fresh, garlic flavors spread on the warm pita bread, tasted fresh and foreign. The labneh, which I had never had before, tasted like a healthy, good-for-you, garlic mayonnaise. The strong lemon flavor of the tabuli salad was refreshing and light. The baba ghannouj was good, but not amazing like the rest of the dips. The assortment of purple and brown olives were perfectly flavorful, some smoky and others salty.

For our entrée we decided to split the Shish Tawook, as my patient had suggested. The four skewers of marinated and charbroiled chicken breast were unlike any other chicken I have ever had. It was so sapid and delicious. There were so many flavors in the chicken that I couldn’t put my finger on what it was marinated in. The rice was good, nothing amazing but decent. They served the dish with four sliced pickles and a slice of a tomato on the side which I thought was odd, but I ate both because I love them.

As we were eating I noticed a large tray of baklava sitting in the front of the restaurant. After our chicken, I clearly needed something sweet. Our waitress brought over the tray that had two types, one with lady fingers that apparently had a more buttery flavor and one with phyllo dough that had more of a nuttier flavor. I chose the phyllo dough. It was the perfect portion, a small square of honey, nuts, and sugar - The perfect end to a Lebanese delicacy.

Sushi in a Strip Mall??

2009-07-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

Who would think that sushi in a strip mall could be good? Not I, but, we have been going to Kyoto for about two years now. I have never once had a bad experience there. Kyoto, out by King's Island (off of the Fields-Ertel exit) is a drive for me, but the sushi is well worth it. It's a big and delicious meal for a low price.

Wednesday night, we went to Kyoto with our fellow foodie couple friends, Steph and Steve. As Steve told us, Wednesday is apparently the best day to order fish off the menu because it has just been shipped to the restaurant. O and he told us that soy sauce is made from mold, and according to my research that’s true. Just a couple FYI’s.

The small restaurant only had about 3 of their 12 tables full, which was actually kind of nice. The ambiance of the sushi bar is not particularly exciting, the windows peering out to Hot Doggin It and Cheeseburger Cafe. The TV’s on the wall are set to ESPN which my fiancé likes to watch throughout the meal.

We were seated, ordered, and served quickly. I ordered the Black Opal Chardonnay while everyone else ordered Japanese beers. I think white wines go so well with sushi for some reason. Right after we marked what we wanted on the paper menu, the salads with ginger dressing and edemame came out. When you order sushi there, it comes with a small ginger salad and miso soup. Both of these are effortless, but delicious. The salad is pretty simple, Iceberg lettuce with a pale pink ginger dressing and a small amount of sesame seeds sprinkled on it. The edemame is simple as well, but we definitely had to add more salt to them. It tastes so good sucking the soy beans out of their salty pods. Then our soup came out. It is just miso broth with small chunks of tofu and a couple leaves of seaweed. Not even after two bites of my soup, the gigantic plates of sushi came out. All of their sushi is made fresh right at the sushi bar.

Matt and I ordered the Fire & Ice Roll, the Fusion roll, Yahoo roll, and the Samurai roll. All of the different types of fish were delicious inside the sticky white rice and seaweed, wrapped like a little present. My favorite was the Samurai roll with smoked salmon, a tiny slice of avocado, chopped shrimp, and on top, spicy salmon sprinkled with subtle tempura flakes. All of these dipped into the soy sauce mixed with wasabi and followed by a slice of ginger is a luscious marrying of flavors in my mouth. I also really liked the Yahoo Roll, the pieces were huge. The freshness of the cucumber, tuna, shrimp, and avocado was light and invigorating. The Fusion roll was my least favorite; it was fried (tempura) and I thought that took away from the individual flavors inside the roll. My friends ordered the Rich and Famous roll which was a fried one I really enjoyed. It had spicy tuna with tempura and crispy crab.

O and masago (which is on every sushi menu and you never know what it is…) is the caviar the sushi chefs put on top of the rolls. Ya know, the little orange balls? That was a debate we were having that night. Another FYI for the day.

We laughed at each other and made crude jokes as we struggled to fit the immense slices of fish and rice into our mouths. The raw bits of fresh fish, the buttery avocado and other sapid flavors definitely make this sushi worth the drive.

Girls Brunch at Toast on Market

2009-07-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

After a girl’s night out in Louisville, we were in desperate need of some delicious breakfast food. The handy dandy urbanspoon website had Toast on Market ranked number one for the best brunch spot in the Ville, so naturally I decided we were going there.

We arrive at Toast and it was packed, hungry groups standing outside under the awning waiting to be feed on a rainy Saturday morning. We chatted and watched a pregnant cat roam around while we jealously watched others get seated.

About 40 minutes later the friendly owner put two tables together outside and sat us. He informed us of all the different mimosas and other drinks specials. Our waitress came and I inquired about the watermelon mimosa to which she informed me was freshly squeezed watermelon juice mixed with champagne and simple syrup. The owner makes it himself! My friend and my eyes lit up and we were automatically sold. A mimosa at 11:30am, why not? We were celebrating! All six of us got so excited when we ordered, each of us something different. As soon as we finished ordering a Michael Buble song came over the speakers; it was a like a party. Our watermelon mimosas came out with the other drinks and they were beautiful - a small slice of watermelon and a basil leaf for garnish. The piece of watermelon was soaked in the champagne and it tasted like candy (more specifically a watermelon flavored jolly rancher). Watermelon should always be eaten like that. Listening to Michael Buble and Norah Jones, reminiscing about freshman year of college, and sipping our drinks we were perfectly content. It was also raining and thundering outside which made the ambiance that much better.

And then our food came out, naturally everything looked amazing and I couldn't wait to try it all. I ordered sunny-side up eggs with wheat toast, which came with potato hash brown casserole. I also ordered a buttermilk pancake and 2 sausage links for my salty-sweet craving. The mixture of butter, syrup, pancake, and sausage all in one bite is the perfect balance of breakfast flavors. The potato casserole was the star of my plate. It was cheesy, salty, warm and slightly crunchy. My friend ordered the Huevos Ahogados "Drowned Eggs," eggs poached in a tomato cilantro sauce. It was not what we expected. It was more like 2 eggs cooked in a light tomato soup, still good though. Another friend went the lunch route and ordered the Caprese grilled cheese with provolone, mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes. This was delicious, probably because I am obsessed with Caprese salads.

Between the original drinks, the savory dishes, the soothing music and wonderful friends, Toast on Market lived up to its ranking. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, fancy place to brunch in the Ville.

pizza at Deweys

2009-07-20T12:30:00.000-07:00

Last night my fellow foodie friend, my long time friend from out of town, her new boyfriend and I went to Dewey’s for dinner. It was Andy's first time in Cincinnati so we tried to show him all the great "Cincinnati" places to eat. Last on the list was Dewey’s. I claim Dewey's to be the best pizza in Cincinnati. Hands down.

We were seated in a booth amongst the blues, reds, and yellows that embody the logo of the restaurant-the circle with the "D" inside. They have an awesome, original, beer menu on tap. Beer and pizza is one of the greatest combinations ever! I couldn't decide on one, so i asked our waitress, who let me have a sip of one in order to decide. I ended up on choosing the Flying Dog Tire Bite Golden Ale from Colorado. It was good and one of the lighter beers on the menu but so much more flavorful than a Bud Light. My friend got the seasonal Rogue from Oregon, which had slightly more hops in it than mine.

To start, I ordered the House salad. This is probably one of my favorite salads in Cincinnati. It has mixed field greens, crisp romaine lettuce, goat cheese, sun-dried cranberries, and toasted pine nuts all served with thick balsamic vinaigrette. The sun-dried cranberries bring a nice, sweetness to it. This salad is so good that you don't even need the dressing, you get everything into one bite and it is light and tasty (although, occasionally, I will dunk my salad bite into the dressing too).

Then our pizza came! We ordered our fresh, handmade, brick-oven pizza. We got half red sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. The other half was Socrates’ Revenge. It had olive oil, spinach, red onion, black olives, tomatoes, Mozerella-Fontina cheese blend, minced garlic, and feta cheese sprinkled on top. If you're going gourmet pizza this is definitely a winner. It was wonderfully salty with all of its Mediterranean flavors on top of the perfectly cooked dough. Honestly as good as the Socrates’ Revenge was, I had to say the cheese and pepperoni was my favorite. When I think of traditional pizza, I think of cheese and maybe one or two standard toppings. When I'm judging a pizza place on how good it is, they need to have their standard pizza be exceptional. Their cheese and pepperoni was perfect -perfectly crispy crust on the outside and soft on the inside. Another thing I like is the dough isn't too thick and the cheese was stringy when you cut off your piece. It was fantastic! It was the epitome of a piece of cheesy, warm pizza.

Dewey's can do both - they combine tasty specialty pizzas with the classic cheese pizza. The restaurant has perfected the art of pizza making along with good beers and friendly service. It's a wonderful, relaxed place for people to come eat, drink, and be merry with friends they love (and ones they haven't seen in a while). :)

Brunch at Mimi's Cafe

2009-07-13T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my fiancé and I went to go speak with our priest in Louisville to secure the church where we want to have our wedding ceremony. After our meeting, we met up with his parents for some brunch.

We decided on Mimi’s café, which from the outside looked like a charming big yellow house. The place was crowded, but we only had to wait five minutes. We were seated in a booth surrounded by European decorations on the walls, paintings of vineyards, signs that said “Paris”, etc. It felt like we were inside a charming, but large European café. Our waitress came immediately and asked for our drink orders. She was very friendly and brought us everything we asked for.

She brought out our muffins before our meal came which was nice because it was somewhat like an appetizer. These muffins were moist, freshly baked, and large. We all ended up splitting two of them. We had the coffee cake and the buttermilk spice muffin. The coffee cake one was my favorite because of the crumbly, sugar topping on it. I love eating sweet baked goods with my coffee.  Then we received our breakfast. I ordered the two “AA” large eggs that came with red skin potatoes, fresh squeezed orange juice and toast or a muffin (I got the wheat toast to soak up all of my yolk). Again, these potatoes were so good and salty, that they didn’t even need ketchup! My fiancé ordered the homemade corned beef hash, which I had never even heard of. It was basically corn beef and meat mixture with jalapeños. It was good, but spicy; probably not something I would want to eat a whole serving of. We also ordered a side order of pancakes to split. The taste and smell of the warm maple syrup and melted butter on the pancakes brought me back to my childhood.

Good breakfast food, great muffins, and delicious fresh squeezed orange juice. It was a lovely, Sunday afternoon brunch with the future in laws.

Mom and Dad's 25th Wedding Anniversary Dinner @ Glass Chimney

2009-07-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

Last week was my parent’s 25th wedding anniversary, so we drove to Carmel, Indiana to celebrate with my family. My parent’s have been going to The Glass Chimney, a very nice, elegant, French/European restaurant, since I can remember. When we were little they would always bring us home the chocolate covered mint sticks for us. So, I called and made the reservation for all 7 of us as a surprise. Dennis who has been there forever, marked us down and said he’d set something up.

Since they’ve been going there for 25+ years, the wait staff knows them very well. We arrived and we seated in a secluded room off the main dining area, which was perfect for my loud, crazy family. The restaurant was pleasing to the eye with it dark hues of reds and browns. Dennis brought out the Girgich Hills Chardoney that he knew my parents loved without us ordering it. Over discussions of my parent’s wedding 25 years ago and my upcoming wedding, we browsed the menu. Everything looked so good so we ended up ordering a ton of food and sampling everyone’s.

For appetizers I ordered the escargot. It was already out of the shell, baked in a garlic butter sauce, and served with a warm roll to dip into the sauce. We also got an order of the oyster’s Rockefeller for the table. We order these almost every time; the oysters baked with green spinach, cheese and bacon is a satisfyingly salty. My sister got the lobster bisque which was made with a heavy tomato base and chunks of fresh lobster. My fiancé got the corn chowder with a cream base and potatoes. I preferred the lobster bisque but both were excellent. My mom ordered the mussels steamed in a tomato, garlic, onion sauce which we all devoured. Half way through our appetizers Dennis brought out our second bottle of wine that he had chosen especially for us, a bottle of August Chardonnay, which was my favorite of the three bottles we had that meal. It was buttery and full of flavors that complemented our dishes. The third bottle we had was a Simi Chardonnay.

Our favorite French waitress brought out warm white bread roles with butter for the table. She has also been at the Glass Chimney a while and we attempt to speak the little French we know with her. My fiancé and I also ordered a salad to split. It was a mix of green Italian lettuce, olives, baby smoked shrimp, and a thousand island dressing.

Later, our entrees were presented. I ordered the specialty white fish from Lake Superior which was prepared in a caper lemon sauce. My two sisters got the Dover sole with a lemon butter sauce. This is our standard go to dish because it is so light, yet still very flavorful. They de-bone the fish right in front of you on the cart after it has been cooked. All of the main courses were served with sautéed green bean, carrots, and cubed potatoes or yellow rice. The potatoes were deliciously salty and cooked to perfection; they didn’t even need ketchup (that’s how you know the potatoes are good). My dad ordered the lamb shank, which was perfectly cooked with a juicy, pink middle. And he definitely knows how to order good food!

By this point we were all so full we weren’t going to order dessert, but Dennis and his staff brought out a cart of vanilla ice cream with a cake cone waffle slices and hot chocolate fudge on the side (he knows this is my mom’s favorite dessert). They also presented a blueberry strudel in the shape of the number 25, which was so clever and thoughtful. They also know my dad loves blueberries with vanilla ice cream.

This was a spectacular evening to celebrate 25 years of marriage for my parents. An abundance of excellent food, large amounts of wine, and a loving but insane family… what more could one want?

Brugers and Beer at Terry's

2009-07-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, my fiancé and I were craving a good burger and some beer on a Friday night. We'd been having a best burger in the city debate with our friend who claimed it was at Terry's Turf Club (and since it was featured in the Food Network Magazine as the best burger in Ohio), so there we headed. We drove past the brightly decorated restaurant that resembled a house with tacky decorations everywhere. We had to park down the road because it was packed with people outside drinking beer and waiting for a table.

We immediately put our names in and got a Bell's Oberon beer. One of my favs! The restaurant was filled with loud music from the juke box and crowded. The servers hustled around carrying knives in the air to cut the burgers with. We hung out outside for a while and then we snatched a small corner table that opened up and drank some more beers there while we waited. They also have free peanuts for you while you wait which was fabulous. After three beers and several bowls of peanuts, our names were finally called.

We were seated at a table right by the door. Our server came quickly, but wasn't the friendliest of the bunch and took our drink order (more beer of course), while we looked at the menu. We put in our burger orders as soon as he came back. Now, I know they are known for the specialty burgers, but I went for the standard burger with American cheese. I believe a burger should be judged on the burger itself, not all the crazy toppings. We sipped on our Oberon’s and threw our peanut shells on the floor while we waited. They cook the burgers in big batches and bring them out on the paper plates all at the same time. Ours came out hot and juicy. And boy, were they juicy, grease sliding down my arm with each bite. In fact, the burger was so messy that my fiance asked for a straw to drink his beer with so that he didn't have to put down his sloppy burger. It was a little too juicy for my liking; it made my bottom bun soggy and I hate a soggy bun. But, it was still very satisfying burger. We also ordered fries to share, which were delish! They tasted like the Penn Station fries but better and saltier.

I have to say it was definitely a good burger, but the ambiance of Terry’s definitely makes the restaurant what it is. All in all, it was a great time - good beer, juicy burgers, close friends, and a loud fun Friday night.

the restaurant down below: Diner on Elm

2009-07-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

The small restaurant right on the corner of 8th and Elm, Diner on Elm, is conveinently located right below my fiance's apartment. Everytime I walk past the back door of that restaurant I can smell the Mediterainian/Moroccan chicken cooking. Since, he lives right there, we order takeout from the diner probably once every three months and it is delicious everytime.

My favorite thing from there is the tabouleh salad. You can tell that they make it fresh everyday because sometimes the owner makes it and other days someone else makes it and it's not as good. When the owner compiles the parsley, mint, onions, tomatoes, lemon juice, and olive oil it is a wonderfuly healthy dish. It's still decent when the other guy makes it, but no comparison. Put onto their pita bread, almost anything from there will be good.

We normally get the kabob platter to split. This dish has long grained rice mixed with perfectly marinated, cooked chicken with Mediterranian and Moroccan spices, broccoli, mushrooms, squash,and onions. It is also served with two big slices of pita bread. The combination takes you to a foriegn land far from here.

The perfect way to end the exotic meal is with their baklava, a traditional Mediterainian Greek pastry. This is the best baklava I have ever had. The layers of phyllo dough, mixed nuts, cinnamin, and honey are an outbreak of sweet flavors in my mouth.

The staff is mostly the family that owns it. A husband, wife, and 2 girls who are all very friendly and know their regulars. The dishes are cheap and delicious and are perfect for a quick to-go meal.

Eating and Drinking my way through Europe

2009-06-24T05:59:00.000-07:00

So this past June I went to Europe with my boyfriend (now fiancé) and his family. We ate and drank so many delicious things while we were there and had a wonderful time doing so.

We were in Strasbourg, France for about 5 days. Our first meal we had there was at a little outside restaurant right in the town square. We soon realized that everywhere in Alsace, they served their wine in small pitchers as opposed to bottles. And the wine glasses were tiny and all had green stems. You would order a pitcher in ml's - 25ml, 50ml, or 75ml. It was a unique and authentic way to present the wine. Also, at our first meal I had my first Riesling that I liked. Normally, it is too sweet for my liking, but not in Alsace! It was drier than most Rieslings. I also had a champagne salmon dish with lemons, which was delicious. My boyfriend had meat pie, which was interesting. I also had Nutella ice cream that does not even compare to Nutella gelato from Italy, although I was hoping it would.

For our hotel room, we bought 4 bottles of wine each about two Euros’ at the local grocery store. We sat in our French hotel room, listening to slow French music and drinking our Pinot Blancs and Rieslings. One day we sat outside on the hotel terrace with our white wine, our fresh, perfectly ripe strawberries from the local farmers market, and our Nutella. It was a perfect moment lying on our lounge chairs with our French music, our delicious treats and the bright sun warming our skin.

On afternoon we went into a quaint little restaurant, beautifully decorated with fresh yellow flowers on every table and wooden tables. It felt like we were in someone's home. We had white wine of course, and chicken stuffed with escargot and perfectly cooked carrots and white asparagus. The waiter did not speak any English so when we ordered we weren't quite sure what we would be getting.

One popular dish that they served was Tarte Flambee, which originated as peasant food. As a New York Times article said, "Tarte Flambee is to northern Alsace what pizza is to southern Italy." These are sort of like thin crusted pizzas with different toppings. The most popular had ham (they call it lard), cheese, and onion on it. We had it one night at dinner. It was so creamy and delicious. We also had a dessert one with raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries. It was very tart, but decent.

The night we got engaged we all went out to dinner at this restaurant called Marco Polo. We went at 6:00 and were pretty much the first people there. This is where I ordered the fish and they pulled it out of the tank in the middle of the restaurant and 5 minutes later it was on my plate in front of me. Eyeballs and all. I have to say it was delicious and fresh! After dinner we went to have some beer on the river. Unfortunately I wasn't as crazy about the beer as I was about the wine. Then we stopped by a park bench overlooking the river and the town and my boyfriend asked me (in French) to marry him!! After asking him several times if he was serious, I said yes. So of course, then we had to go drink Champagne. We went to the Champagne bar at our hotel and had yummy little chocolates with our Champagne for 14 Euros' per glass. Woops!

The following day we went to the French wine country in Alsace. This might have been my favorite day. The first town we went to, we went into a cave and tried more Rieslings and Pinot Blancs which were delicious (I don't think, I know, I did not have a bad wine there the whole time). We also tried Champagne called Crement d' Alsace that we bought to celebrate with later. We had delicious salted covered pretzels that seemed as if they were everywhere we went. We also sampled some macaroons which were perfectly moist (and I normally hate coconut). For lunch we went into a town, where we only saw about 10 people the whole time we were there. We ate at Winestub Suzel, recommended by Rick Steves. There were only 2 other people in the entire restaurant. We all ordered salads. Everywhere we went seemed to have this salad of green lettuce, shredded Munster cheese, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, and a chunk of meat that tasted like bologna. We also had more white wine and bread (I didn't have bad bread there either). That night when we returned to Strasbourg we went to a German restaurant where we had German beer, sauerkraut, spatzel (a noodle dish similar to gnocchi,chicken, and perfectly cooked peas and carrots. It was a true hearty, stick to your bones meal.

Before dinner the following night, we had bought Mr. and Mrs. S. a good bottle of red wine, similar to a Burgundy, from the wine store and restaurant, Tress a Vin. All the wines there were organic. We talked to friendly wine guy who recommended this bottle of Faugeres Domaine Leon Barrall. We all sat on the terrace before dinner drinking our full bodied red wine with our stinky, flavorful cheese that we bought at the farmers market. The combonatino of the two was explosive.

The next night we went to a celebratory dinner for our engagement at a Beerstub, which was actually one of the nicer restaurants that we went to. We ordered things like sweetbreads, which apparently is rabbit thyroid and rabbit leg, blood sausage, and some Foie gras ravioli. The texture of the sweetbreads and blood sausage were not to my liking. For dessert, they brought out chocolate cakes with a sugary whip cream with sparklers in them for our engagement. The table next to us started singing "happy birthday" in French, but our waitress told them "fiancé fiancé." haha.

The next day we took a day trip to Luzern, Switzerland. That was absolutely beautiful! The actual train station had a grocery store and a gourmet deli, with open faced sandwiches with salmon, shrimp, and all sorts of delicious things. We bought some snacks for the train ride. We bought little party pizzas which were crackers with dried tomatoes sauce and cheese on it. It tasted exactly like a bread stick from Pizza Hut. I thought it was good. We also got Wasabi nuts. We arrived in beautiful Luzern, with the Swiss Alps surrounding us and found an Italian place to eat right on the water. I ordered the seafood salad. It had fresh squid, calamari, shrimp, muscles and endives - topped with olive oil and lemon. It was wonderful, even though my fiancé’s family was grossed out by it. After that we shopped and went into a chocolate store called Laderach. It was heavenly. I tried a creamy milk chocolate that literally melted in my mouth. I bought a huge bag of different chocolates, some chocolate with cookies, chocolate with almonds, chocolate with toffee, raspberry chocolate, white chocolate, and dark chocolate. By the end of the trip it was all gone. At the Luzern train station we had a bratwurst grilled to perfection and a beer that everyone there seemed to be drinking. A delightful little snack while we waited to go back to Strasbourg.

Omygod! I totally forgot the breakfast at the hotel!! It was AMAZING! Not your average American continental breakfast buffet, but so much more! They had the best bacon I have ever had, perfectly baked rolls, chocolate filled croissants, little packages of Nutella for my flawless roll, fresh homemade jam in every flavor, double pickled pickles that were to die for, brie cheese, ham, proscuitto, fresh squeezed orange juice, and of course delicious black coffee. That might have been my favorite part of that hotel.

Anyways, the next day we headed off to Paris. Our first meal there was lunch. We stopped at a cafe and I had a salad with green beans, sun dried tomatoes, and goat cheese. It was very good. We also discovered a new kind of white wine we liked. After that we walked to Notre Dame and then stopped to have dinner right on the sidewalk. I had my first snails (aka escargot) and they were AMAZING! This is probably one of my favorite things that I tried while I was there. They were baked in butter, garlic, pesto sauce. It was difficult to get them out of there shell, but when I put them in my mouth it was heaven. Everyone else got the French onion soup which also was very good. We also had some cheap wine by the Eiffel Tower that night.

The next day we woke up early to go see the Louvre and got pastries to go. I got the quiche Loraine, which is also another popular dish. It was a quiche with egg, ham and cheese. So yummy! We got lunch of the sandwiches on baguettes and a glass of wine. I love those sandwiches there. In Strasbourg we had one with ham, cheese, tomato, hard boiled egg, and pickles. They are so good! It started raining so we decided to go back to towards our hotel and stop at a streetside cafe. We ended up staying there for 3 hours drinking white wine. I also had a Nutella crepe. I have to say crepes aren't my favorite. I also got 2 mini tarts from the next door bakery. The previous day I got the best strawberry tart ever. And I didn't even know I liked tarts!

In conclusion, this was such a fabulous trip and one I will always remember. We tried so many new things and made so many wonderful memories together. I can't wait for my next European culinary adventure :)

Sister dinner at Nicola's

2009-05-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening my little sister was in town so we decided to go on a fancy sister dinner date. I chose to go to Nicola's in Over-the-Rhine because it was ranked #2 on the top ten Cincinnati restaurants and as I've said previously, it's my goal to go to all ten.

So we got ready and drove into the sketchy area of town and valeted our car. We walked into the Italian style restaurant with high ceilings and were greeted by a very gregarious host who seated us at a lovely table near the window which overlooked a small patio. The guy who seated us even commented on how nice my sunglasses were! And then our shaggy haired waiter winked at my sister. Quite the friendly bunch over at Nicola's!

Anyways, our waiter came over poured us some water and I asked him about a couple inexpensive good red wines. With his help I decided on the Chianti Classico Riserva, 2004,Tenuta Nozzole. It was a delicious light Chianti. My sister and I love Chiantis because they remind us of studying abroad in Rome together.

He brought us the diverse bread baskets. There were small French baguettes, some purplish bread, and little circle breads with baked veggies on top. One had a baked tomato, the other had zucchini, and my favorite was the one with onion on top. Don't worry I sampled them all. While gorging on the bread basket we decided on what to order.

My sister ordered the Special of the day appetizer, which was a roasted yellow pepper soup with some cream and sherry. It was good, but not like any other yellow pepper soup that I've had. It had a distinct flavor that we could not put our fingers on. It was somewhat earthy and herb like. I ordered the Boucheron Goat Cheese Salad with mixed greens, roasted beets, honey-champagne vinaigrette and pistachios. I didn't eat the beets because they weird me out but the goat cheese was baked in a large square. It was good, but a lot of cheese. And of course, I put some of the left over cheese on the delicious bread. The dressing was light,refreshing, and not over powering, even though I asked for it on the side.

For dinner my sister got the special of the day spaghetti. It was a delicious, simple Tagliatelle Bolognese with some freshly grated Parmesan on top of it. Tasty, hearty pasta with tomato-y meat sauce. The portions looked quite large, but with my help we managed to eat every last bit of it. That was my favorite thing I had there. I believe that ordering the specials is usually a wise choice. I ordered the Seared Halibut with warm potato and artichoke salad, anchovies and Sicilian sea salt capers. I loved the flavors of the capers and artichokes with the light flaky fish. Mine was very good, but I told my sister her dish won.

I was tempted to order the chocolate fondant but was so full from all of the bread and pasta that I decided it was best to go home and have a Reese's cup instead. Overall, it was a nice, fancy meal with my fun, fancy sister, but not worth its notoriety by the Cincinnati Magazine.

Post-Derby: Breakfast at Wild Eggs in Louisville

2009-05-04T12:21:00.000-07:00

The Sunday after a long, exhausting Derby day, I went out to breakfast with my boyfriends family. His Mom had been wanting to try this place called "Wild Eggs." It was located in a newly renovated plaza, Westport Village, with cute shops and restaurants. We wiggled our way into the door and put our names in for the 40 minute wait and walked around the clothing stores and coffee shops. We finally were seated in a back more secluded room with pale blue and yellow walls with pictures of pancakes and eggs. We also passed by a breakfast bar where you could eat at as opposed to traditional tables and booths.

We all sat down at the table which had egg salt and pepper shakers and a pitcher of water that my boyfriends mom thought looked like a chicken (subject to interpretation I suppose). The menus were small, bright and colorful. The restaurant itself had blues, yellows and purples everywhere. Even the place settings were different, the silverware laid on the white napkin diagonally.

We were all overwhelmed by the delicious looking menu and had trouble deciding what to get. We ordered some fresh squeezed orange juice to drink which was perfectly unsweetened and unprocessed, just the delicious juice of an orange. We all ordered a lot of food and were very excited for our food to come.

Our food came out and I decided to split the "ACE of a BLT" with my boyfriends mom and got a side of 1 pancake and a side of sausage. I needed to satisfy my sweet and salty tooth. The ACE of BLT had Avocado, Cheddar and scrambled egg on top of your traditional BLT with toasted sourdough bread. It also came with skillet potatoes that weren't soaked in grease like the sometimes can be. My pancake mixed with the warm butter and syrup and sausage was heavenly. But of course, the winner of the meal was my boyfriend who ordered the Chili Verde Huevos Rancheros. I hate when he wins. This dish was two eggs sunny side up with pork green chili, black beans, skillet potatoes, sour cream, pico de gallo, green onion and warm flour tortilla. The yolk from the egg blended everything perfectly together for this Mexican breakfast plate. His dad ordered the Wild Western omlet which was very good if you like spicy foods. Inside the eggy goodness was ham, fresh jalapeño and serrano peppers, onion, cheddar jack cheese and pico de gall. Spicy but delicious. My boyfriend's mom and sister both got the stuffed French toast with thick sliced sourdough, sweetened cream cheese, blueberries and strawberries, maple syrup, powdered sugar and cinnamon. This was also very good but too much for my tastes in the morning.

The meal phenomenal and filling, the service was friendly and helpful regardless of the busy establishment, and the food was fairly priced. $10.00 for a huge breakfast sandwich and salty skillet potatoes, you can't beat it. I'll definitely have to come here again with great family to sample all of the breakfast food that looked appealing to me that morning!

Half price wine at JEANRO Bistro

2009-03-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

My friend recently got accepted into the grad school of her choice, so three of us decided to do a celebratory dinner at JeanRo Bistro downtown. It was a Sunday night, which just happens to be half price wine night there! How perfect for us!

We walked into the dim lit restaurant with framed pictures and paitings all over the yellow and red walls. It was pretty empty except for a couple other tables. We were seated at a table in the corner. While we munched on our bagette and perfectly spreadable butter, we noticed the French music playing in the background that seemed to change pace with every new song. Anways, we picked out a bottle of wine, Les Jamelles Chardonnay 2007. It was a decent bottle of wine, nothing spectacular, probably because it was the cheapest one on the list.

We all wanted to try different salads so we each ordered a different one for our appetizers. We were feeling audacious so we ordered the Belgian Endive, Walnuts, Swiss Cheese and Apple with Cider Vinaigrette, the Marinated Chevre Chaude Salad, and the Roasted Butternut Squash and Parsnip Salad with Chestnuts and Maple Vinaigrette. They were all very creative. The Marinated Chevre Chaude salad was my favorite. It had marinated arugula greens in the middle of the plate, with warm goat cheese aka chevre chaude as I learned on top of little toasted breads. The Belgian Endive salad was decent. I liked the swiss cheese in it but was not crazy about the apples accompanying it. And the roasted butternut squash and parsnip salad was also very interesting. I did not think it tasted like butternut squash at all, it might have been overpowered by bitter parsnips.

We all ordered the mussels marinare with pommas fritas for our entree. It was presented beautifully with a big tin for us to discard our empty muscle shells. The very French looking waiter keep the bread coming for us, which we soaked in the delicious white wine, garlic sauce.

For dessert we ordered the pot de creme which was like a rich, chocolate cold pudding topped with whipped cream. By this point I was uncomfortably full and was ready to end our night of adventurous foods, half priced wine, and grad school bound friends :)

P.S. Next time I go to the lovely French Bistro I want to try something very French like their coq au van!

"I can pick restaurants and brackets": Dinner at BOCA

2009-03-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

"Dad-O, I can pick restaurants and brackets!" This is what I told my father after our fabulous meal at Boca in Oakley while he was reviewing my NCAA men's basketball bracket. My parents came into town from Indy to take my boyfriend and I out to dinner for our birthdays. My goal is to go to Cincinnati Magazine's top ten restaurants and Boca was next on my list.

We arrived at the restaurant at 6:15, valeted our car and were greeted by three very attractive hostesses. One thing I noticed after dining was that pretty much everyone that worked there was very good looking and extremely well dressed. Attractive but all very helpful and friendly. So we were seated at a small, 4 person table, in the middle of the restaurant. That was the only complaint we had about the restaurant. We were practically sitting on top of the table next to us. It just seemed a bit crowded.

Anyways, we got settled and reviewed the wine list. I told my dad I wanted to pick it out because he always picks the same wines and I wanted to try something new. I couldn't decide so our waiter sent over the som0ille. We informed him that we wanted a Chardonnay, something oak-y and full bodied. He recommended one of his favorites, a California Chardonnay, Melville Sta. Rita Hills '06. It was a little more fruity than what we normally drink, but we drank two bottles between three of us, so clearly it was delicious.

After overlooking the menu we decided that we were going to do the three-course meal with the dessert for $67 per person. It was a very expensive meal needless to say, but worth every penny. First, they brought out delicious white bread with olive oil and sea salt on the table.

For the first course, I ordered the roasted lemons with buffalo mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes. It seemed like an odd combination, lemons and mozzarella, but it was FABULOUS! I love Capresse salad so I thought I'd try this. The lemons were wood oven baked, cut in half, and stuffed it with the little bit of ortiz anchovy, basil, tomato, and mozzarella. It was warm and served with grilled bread on the side. They encouraged you to use your hands with this dish, so it was right up my alley! Everyone else ordered the Cesar salad, which was wood fried cooked romaine heart lettuce with a delicious creamy, garlicky dressing that had a bit of a kick to it and Parmesan cheese shavings. One of the best Cesar salad's I've ever had.

For our second course, we all ordered something different. I had the Raviloi Cinghiale, a cheese filled ravioli with texas wild boar mushroom ragu and pecorino tascano. Each bite tasted like warm, comforting meat and cheese lasagna. My mom ordered the seared day boat scallop with brussel sprouts, which were caramelized for three hours. She normally hates brussel sprouts but loved this dish. The scallop was moist and cooked to perfection with brown butter truffle vinaigrette and parmegano regiano. My boyfriend was the adventurous one and ordered the Cacio e Pepe aka the squid-ink pasta. A house made squid ink tagliolini with peas, pecorino romano, and fresh mint. It looked like blue fettuccine noodles with peas. "It tasted like a mint julep," said my dad. The waiter noticed we were caught off guard by this dish and came over to make sure everything tasted fine and we assured him it did. I really liked this dish. It was minty and herb-y; unlike anything I have ever had. My dad got the foie gras, duck liver. My dad has eaten plenty of foie gras all around the world and said it was the best he's ever had. It came with about ten little toast crustinis and had hazelnuts and a pate of foie gras. He LOVED it! My boyfriend hadn't ever tried it before and he really enjoyed it as well.

For our third course, my boyfriend and I both ordered the Mediterranean Branzino, a thin sea bass cooked with the skin on. We were told to eat it that way, which was meant to intensify the flavor. It was presented with orange braised satur farms baby fennel and leek compote, wilted baby arugula, saracene and lucques olives. The dish was good, but the best was the Gerber Farm Chicken that my dad ordered. Normally, chicken is dry and boring, but this chicken was juicy and tender. It was paired with a rich, creamy, three mushroom risotto with black truffle and sauce bordelaise. Literally the best risotto I have ever had. And I know I've said that a lot in this entry, but I swear it is true! My mom ordered the Filet Boca, a prime beef tenderloin with sauteed Swiss chard, Alaskan king crab, and rosemary roasted potatoes. It was cooked to her medium rare perfection.

Then it was time for dessert. They brought out the menus and I couldn't decide what I wanted, per usual, but luckily, they had one that was a trio of the cheese cake, chocolate cake, and creme brule. When they brought out the desserts, my boyfriend and my plates had a little birthday candle in it. We also received a complimentary glass of sparkling wine. The cheese cake was delicious, made with an Italian mascapone cheese and a crumbled crust sprinkled on top. The chocolate cake was good, nothing special, but it satisfied my chocolate craving. And the creme brule was served on a big silver spoon with the sugary crunchy top. The creme brule and cheese cake were definitely my favorites. My boyfriend ordered the gelato trio: a scoop of cinnamon, mocha, and hazelnut. The mocha was amazing and tasted like chocolaty coffee. My dad ordered the cheese cake and a glass of ice wine. It was a delicious dessert wine, similar to port, but white in color and more sweet.

This was a perfect end to our pretty much perfect meal. Once again, I had a wonderful meal full of savory food, glorious wine, and people I love. That is another birthday dinner that will be hard to beat :)

St. Patrick's Day/Birthday dinner at Daveed's

2009-03-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

Most people will go out to drink green beer on St. Patrick's day after work but I decided since it was my Birthday, I wanted to go out for a nice birthday dinner. O wait, I left work early and got green beer before. You can't be Irish, born on St. Patrick's day and not have a green beer on your birthday!

Since it was the big 2-3, I decided I wanted to try somewhere new and fancy. This week just happens to be restaurant week here in Cincinnati, which means you can get a 3 course meal for $26.09. I looked up online all the restaurants that were participating and Daveed's looked like it had the best menu.

So, five of my foodie friends and I met in Mt. Adams at Daveed's at 934 and had such a fabulous meal! The service was attentive, friendly and informative. They let us take our time and spaced our courses perfectly. We actually had time to breathe in between plates. The portions were perfect. We left full, but not overly stuffed. The restaurant had several small rooms, each decorated differently. We came to the conclusion that it was formerly a house, due to all the candle filled fireplaces and the single bathroom. The decor was eccentric and colorful, with oranges, reds, and yellows. Even the ceiling in the room we were in was red with gold swirl.

We ordered a delicious bottle of French Chardonnay to start. And we all decided we were going to order off the restaurant week menu as well as the cheese plate to split. My friends and I love our cheese! It had four different types of cheeses and a little card that came with it to explain the different kinds: Gruyere (a swiss/cow cheese), fontal (french/cow), Humboldt fog (a California/goat cheese which my boyfriend had one other time and was obsessed with it), and blue d' avergne (a french/cow cheese). The cheese also came with tiny pieces of crustini. All four of them were wonderful, but I'd have to agree with my boyfriend and say the Humboldt fog was the best.

Shortly after we were served our bread and apple butter that also came with olives! My favorite! Who doesn't love a never ending flow of bread, butter, and olives?? One of my friends mentioned that one of the darker of the olives tasted like salami, to which I agreed. It was delicious and salty. Olives, cheese, and white wine might be my favorite pairing of anything besides chocolate and red wine.

Next, we were brought the first of our three courses. But, being the wino's that we are, we were already in need of a second bottle of wine. They were out of the first one we ordered, so I asked for something similar and the waiter brought out two wines for me to sample. I ended up choosing another French Burgundy Chardonnay. Anyways, our first course was a Digby Bay Sea Scallop with razor clam chowder, crisp pancetta, and frisse (which I'm guessing is some type of leafy green). It was semi sweet and rich, but not too creamy. The scallop was cooked perfectly. All of the flavors blended so well. The soup part was so good, we were dipping our bread in it. After I was done with that I excitedly announced that we still had 2 more courses of delicious food in store! Everything since then had been amazing and I was just so excited to have the other flavors in my mouth!

Then, our second course came, which was a Grilled Bread "Panzanella" salad with brocolini, red onion, saba (I don't know what that is and couldn't find it online), and Pecorino sardo (which I found out was a cheese from Sardina, Italy). It was basically a flavorful salad with tomatoes and gigantic croutons that were too big to put in your mouth without cutting them. The salad had the perfect amount of dressing and the onion did not overpower it.

Sadly, we came to our final third course. We had a choice of the pan seared fresh fish or the pan roasted duck breast, which the chef is known for. Only two of my friends choose the duck, but since I have nice friends, we traded a "bite for a bite." The duck was tender and savory. I can't say I have much experience with duck but it was good. The pan seared fresh fish was a thick halibut with sweet Asian-like sauce. The halibut was on top of thin noodles that tasted very Asian as well. It was very different from what I was expecting, but every bite was delicious.

And unfortunately that concluded our meal. Our plates were scrapped clean (yet again) and the last drop of wine was drank. The dessert menu looked fabulous, so did the dessert drinks, but I had chocolate Bon Bonerie cake awaiting me at home. Another fantastic Tuesday night with magnificent food, tasty wine and close friends :) Definitely a great 23rd birthday!

Cincinnati Wine Festival

2009-03-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I worked the Cincinnati International Wine Festival at the Duke Energy Center and then got to attend it. It is funny to watch everyone leave the festival drunk, stumbling, breaking their glasses, singing, and laughing, while you are sober. I was jealous when I had to work and watch everyone else have a good time, but Saturday night I got to experience the fun festival!

We arrived a couple minutes before it started and got our wine glass, tasting guide, waited until the doors opened at 6:30. So we got in the doors and made our way towards the back, where we thougth there would be less crowded. Halfway through it was packed, but even so, you never had to wait in line for wine because there was so much of it.

It was set up in a large ballroom, there were over 600 wines and 100 different wineries there. In between all of the wine booths were food booths. The first food we had was a delicious pesto on bread, simple but so good. Then there was brie with prosciutto wrapped around it. The Midwest Culinary Institute was also there with more sophisticated samples of foods. They had a small bread topped with salmon with a wasabi mayonnaise as well as a steak strips with red wine sauce. They also had duck con fit with a salad, which was my favorite. They also had all sorts of little delicious deserts. Murray cheese was also there. I had the most delicious bucheron cheese. It tasted like brie and blue and goat cheese mixed, but is really an aged goat cheese. So delicious!

Of course, there was all sorts of wonderful wines. We were on a mission to try as many new wines as possible. Two of my favorites were Faust 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon and Thourgh (?), something like that. I had so many wonderful wines, but was too excited/had too much wine to take the time to write it down.

Next year, I'm going to be sure to write down all the ones that I like so I do not forget :)

My first blog: Lavomatic

2009-03-11T09:27:00.001-07:00

So, last night my two friends and I went out for some wine and appetizers to put a little excitement into our mundane work week. I had been wanting to try Lavomatic, which is a Jean-Robert group restaurant. It opened about a year ago and I had heard good things. So, us three girls ventured into Over-the-Rhine with the help of Guss the Guide (Julie's GPS).

We found the concealed restaurant/wine bar amongst all the newly renovated shops. Lavomatic had a neat vibe to it, we felt like we were in a city more exciting than Cincinnati. The restaurant was quaint. It had an L shaped bar and probably only about 10 tables.

We were seated at a table for four by the window by a helpful young man, who ended up being our server. We needed some guidance in picking out a bottle of wine so we told him we want something not sweet and not expensive. With the help of our knowledgeable waiter, we ended up deciding on a 2006 French Burgundy Chardonnay, called Verget. It was so delicious, crisp and exactly what we were looking for.

We looked over the menu and could not pick just one thing, so we decided it would be best if we all split our food. We decided to each get our own salad as an appetizer and then split 5 other plates. The menu was split into small, medium and large plates. We ordered 3 from the small and 2 from the medium. Our winter salad came first. It was unlike any other salad I had ever tasted. It came with candied kumquats (which we were informed by our server friend kumquats were a fruit, similar to figs), spiced pecans, crumbled blue cheese, and a sherry vinaigrette. The kumquats were bright orange and tasted similar to orange marmalade, but paired wonderfully with the rest of the salad.

Right when we finished our salads the rest of our food came out. It all looked heavenly. We ordered a pot of the mac and cheese. OMG! This was the best mac and cheese I have ever had in my entire life! It had Gemili pasta, short curly pasta with aged Gouda chunks, capriole o' banon (which is a goat cheese), and a slightly crispy top. We used our bread to eat the cheese at the bottom of the pot. It was that good. We also got the cheese plate, which was beautifully presented on a wooden cutting board. It had about 4 different types of cheeses, apple butter, crostini and spiced roasted walnuts. One cheese was very creamy (I think a brie), another was a blue cheese, a goat cheese, and I believe a Swiss cheese. From the small plates we chose the roasted olives, deviled eggs, and Belgian endives. The roasted olives were heavenly, marinated with sweet bell peppers and onion. The olives and the cheeses and the wine together were like an explosion of goodness in my mouth. Halfway through us devouring our meal, we decided that we needed yet another bottle of the Verget to keep our palates happy. The farm fresh deviled eggs had hints of smoked salmon and dill. The Belgian endive had smoked shrimp mousse and capers on it. The mousse tasted somewhat like shrimp flavored cream cheese. It was very tasty. While we enjoyed our food, we reminisced about all the delicious cuisine we ate together over in Italy two summers ago.

There is nothing more wonderful than luscious wine, savory food, and lovely friends. Needless to say, there was no food or wine left at our table at Lavomatic.