On our last day of vacay, we wandered into the little town of Lewes, in search of breakfast before we hit the road. An old building caught our attention, and we entered a labyrinthine series of hallways which ultimately spit us out into a colorful and unique little nook of a restaurant. Everything was carefully chosen, pretty shades of blue, lots of little touches and details.
If the food matches up we'd be in luck.
The waitress was quick and friendly, and our mimosas and coffee are good ( I'm typing as I drink).
The thing that really floored us was the prices... Loooooooow. Hmmm...
To be honest it was the low prices that got us in the door, along with the well crafted menu.
While waiting, I did my usual bathroom check. Nice restrooms- impeccably clean, nicely decorated.
After a short wait our food arrived.
I had ordered Crab Benedict on brioches with roasted red peppers and mornay sauce. It was delicious, with the egg perfectly poached, and real lump crab covered in a delicate cream sauce. My only complaint: there was only one! Normally you get 2 pieces when you order this and despite the low price, I felt this was stingy.
In contrast, the girl ordered French toast, and got 4 thick slices resplendant with fruit compute, powdered sugar and syrup. It was declared the best ever.
I was the lucky recipient of one of her sausages.... K got huevos rancheros, which looked good and cheesy... Her only fuss was that the tortillas weren't "real."
The boy ordered 3 eggs with bacon- he described a a " juicy explosion of yummy flavor" followed by an empty plate.
All in all this place is quite the hidden gem. The lunch menu looked fantastic as well. And again- the prices and quality are the selling point here.
If you're ever in Lewes, stop by. I hope this place does well and we can come back next year.
Blue Sea Cafe, on the main drag in Lewes, Delaware
Mobile Blogging from here.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
TT's Lounge
I doubt anybody reads this anymore since I'm such a slacker about it, but every once in awhile, I stumble on something here in town that I deem worthy of further rambling on my "food blog."
TT's Lounge is not even really a restaurant. They do sell a few assorted bowls of instant noodles- which is actually really funny when you think about it. There's even little cut outs or lids or something stuck on the walls showing what they are.
The instant noodles are not the attraction here though. The star here is the "boba."
A boba, if you don't know, is a delicious little dark purple colored gummi-esque ball, made from cassava. They look like big, dark tapiocas, and have a slightly sweet and chewy feel to them. And the best part is what they do with the bobas: they go in your drinks. Yep, you chew your drink. Once you adjust to the concept of this, you could find yourself with an addiction problem similar to mine.
It started just once a month.. Then once a week.... Now I'm finding myself at TTs almost every other day, and I've dragged the kids and the girlfriend down with me.
My frantic quest has been to sample every available slush and tea flavor, but even at my current pace, I'm nowhere close.
I've probably totally confused anyone reading this by now, so let me just lay it out:
TT's has 2 main attractions: hot teas and slushes. Since it's June, I'm going to talk about slushes.
You order them either "boba" or no boba. Anyone ordering no boba is missing out. What you get, is a good sized plastic cup with about an inch and a half of the dark boba balls in the bottom. They pour the delicious fruit slush on top of that and you suck it down through a huge straw specially made to fit the size of the boba.
They flavor list is both huge and exotic-some of my favorites are royal milk tea, green tea mocha, passion fruit, mango, blueberry, kiwi, lemon ... Etc etc etc. They have eveything from Rose and Hibiscus to raspberry ... And they are all crazy good. No artificial tasting flavors here. It's like magic: they have shelves of powders and liquids, and an ice machine and big blenders, and what comes out is... Well... Magic. Chewy icey fruity goodness.
If you've never been, go now! TT's is located on Cary St, in the VCU area one block past Cherry St.
TT's Lounge is not even really a restaurant. They do sell a few assorted bowls of instant noodles- which is actually really funny when you think about it. There's even little cut outs or lids or something stuck on the walls showing what they are.
The instant noodles are not the attraction here though. The star here is the "boba."
A boba, if you don't know, is a delicious little dark purple colored gummi-esque ball, made from cassava. They look like big, dark tapiocas, and have a slightly sweet and chewy feel to them. And the best part is what they do with the bobas: they go in your drinks. Yep, you chew your drink. Once you adjust to the concept of this, you could find yourself with an addiction problem similar to mine.
It started just once a month.. Then once a week.... Now I'm finding myself at TTs almost every other day, and I've dragged the kids and the girlfriend down with me.
My frantic quest has been to sample every available slush and tea flavor, but even at my current pace, I'm nowhere close.
I've probably totally confused anyone reading this by now, so let me just lay it out:
TT's has 2 main attractions: hot teas and slushes. Since it's June, I'm going to talk about slushes.
You order them either "boba" or no boba. Anyone ordering no boba is missing out. What you get, is a good sized plastic cup with about an inch and a half of the dark boba balls in the bottom. They pour the delicious fruit slush on top of that and you suck it down through a huge straw specially made to fit the size of the boba.
They flavor list is both huge and exotic-some of my favorites are royal milk tea, green tea mocha, passion fruit, mango, blueberry, kiwi, lemon ... Etc etc etc. They have eveything from Rose and Hibiscus to raspberry ... And they are all crazy good. No artificial tasting flavors here. It's like magic: they have shelves of powders and liquids, and an ice machine and big blenders, and what comes out is... Well... Magic. Chewy icey fruity goodness.
If you've never been, go now! TT's is located on Cary St, in the VCU area one block past Cherry St.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
strange plates... or Bowman's in Baltimore
K's family does a girls only bday dinner for her, her mom and her sister and I got to attend this year.. Bowmans is an interesting spot. K and I arrived first and could not convince the host guy that we had a reservation. We were unceremoniously hunkered down in the waiting area until her mom got there and set him straight.
The place has an interesting vibe. Sort of Red Lobster meets Picadillies, meets ... Something else. And that small town upscale feel. Our waitress was strung a little tight, which was kind of fun actually. Our table got a bottle of red and a bottle of white, and I watched her run off to do something else twice while she was trying to get them open.
I started off with a bowl of creamy crab soup- it was a nice texture and had big chunks of crabmeat through it. A little sherry or black pepper would have put it over the top. The crab dip, French onion soup and clams casino at the table looked good too.
It was the main dishes that made me chuckle. While good, the plate arrangements were really funny. Not to mention that one of the entrees didn't stay on the servers tray long enough to make of to the table. I got the scallops. I wish I had taken a picture. Imagine a huge, huge mound of mashed potatoes, surrounded by, like a moat, of white sauce. Then the scallops were sitting in the moat. It was interesting. Tasty though.
K and her sister got the crabcake. And that's exactly what they got. A crabcake sitting next to a potato. Surrounded by a lot of white plate. Cook must have missed the class on garnishes on school.
The salads and other entrees- a chicken dish, looked good. And they were kind enough to comp dessert to the birthday girls ( creme brulee and Ice cream).
I was a little surprised at the bill- $255 plus tip, almost $300 for 5 adults and a child. It seemed high for what we got, but I guess you only get one bday a year.
The place has an interesting vibe. Sort of Red Lobster meets Picadillies, meets ... Something else. And that small town upscale feel. Our waitress was strung a little tight, which was kind of fun actually. Our table got a bottle of red and a bottle of white, and I watched her run off to do something else twice while she was trying to get them open.
I started off with a bowl of creamy crab soup- it was a nice texture and had big chunks of crabmeat through it. A little sherry or black pepper would have put it over the top. The crab dip, French onion soup and clams casino at the table looked good too.
It was the main dishes that made me chuckle. While good, the plate arrangements were really funny. Not to mention that one of the entrees didn't stay on the servers tray long enough to make of to the table. I got the scallops. I wish I had taken a picture. Imagine a huge, huge mound of mashed potatoes, surrounded by, like a moat, of white sauce. Then the scallops were sitting in the moat. It was interesting. Tasty though.
K and her sister got the crabcake. And that's exactly what they got. A crabcake sitting next to a potato. Surrounded by a lot of white plate. Cook must have missed the class on garnishes on school.
The salads and other entrees- a chicken dish, looked good. And they were kind enough to comp dessert to the birthday girls ( creme brulee and Ice cream).
I was a little surprised at the bill- $255 plus tip, almost $300 for 5 adults and a child. It seemed high for what we got, but I guess you only get one bday a year.
Monday, September 22, 2008
birds, bees and calamari - facts of life at Athens Tavern
I am the luckiest girl in the world. My girlfriend K is brilliant, thoughtful, stunningly gorgeous and she looks good eating anything. And on top of all that, she's the best co-mom a kid could have. Since L, my daughter is pushing 11, and is, as my mother loves to say "developing," we thought it was about time to have "the talk" with her. The very idea of discussing anything approaching sex with a ten year old throws me into abject terror, but with K as back-up, I thought it would be do-able.
After lots of discussion (most of it consisting of me with my hands over my eyes, fretting 'oh my gawd, what am I gonna say...), we decided that the sensible thing to do would be to take L out to her own dinner and open the door to that sort of discussion. You know, her own special thing, where we would expound on the virtues and excitement of her impending pre-teenhood, caution her about drugs and peer pressure,... let her know that we were there for her, offer our sage advice on whatever questions she may have about anything and everything: social dilemmas, her changing body, boys.... any topic would be fair game.
She was enthusiastic about the whole idea, and when we told her she could pick the restaurant, she chose Athens Tavern. We like Athens, because it is home cooked Greek fare in a nice hole in the wall sort of location with its own smoking section perched up in the back. It's one of those places where every time we go, it's good. Not to say Athens' food is ultra extraordinary, but it's wonderfully reliable and they always have lots of specials, the service is always great, and we've never had anything that wasn't fresh and well prepared.
We started out with the Calamari. Athen's Calamari is tender inside and crisply fried outside. It's a little different, in that instead of the rings you often see, it comes in sort of sliced looking pieces, served with a thick mild garlic sauce. A good squeeze of lemon, and the slices scoop up the tangy sauce like little boats. I get hungry all over again just thinking about it- it's almost as yummy as a Big Daddy corn fritter (see Big Daddy post). We ordered the Syrah to go with our food, since the wine list there is a little odd- heavy on unfamiliar (Greek I guess) wines that look a little suspicious to me. Tonight we opted for the whole bottle, instead of a glass. L had Sprite.
As we picked through our 'Greeked up" salads- house salad with feta, peperocini, olives, oil and vinegar, tomatoes, and anchovies (if you can stand them), K glanced expectantly at me out of the sides of her eyes... "Uh..." I stammered between forkfulls.."We just wanted to let you know that we're always here for you, and ...um, we'll never judge you, and you can ask us anything you want to... whaddya wanna know?"
We both stop breathing for a few seconds...L butters her bread and gazes at the ceiling... Finally she speaks: "I want a debit card. How do I get one?" This is not what I expected. I patiently explain how debit cards work, and then I try again. "Ah... don't you have any questions about boys?" L rolls her eyes... "All the boys are dorks." I am not getting anywhere. I look helplessly at K. "Do you know how girls get pregnant?" she inquires. L does not. I look back at K... "you tell her," I say. Oh no.... turns out, that's my job. I do the dirty work, imparting the delicate information, leaving everyone shrieking "Eeeeeeew!" K makes the save, telling her it's a powerful and emotional force, bailing me out of my hamhanded description of the mechanical aspects of the act, and we go ahead and order.
As usual, there is an impressive list of tempting specials... Lobster ravioli, an array of pasta dishes, lamb, chicken... and on and on. I've had all sorts of good things here- Spanikopita, Tiropita, some sort of spinach and tomato pasta, Moussaka...all delicious and obviously homemade. Tonight L and I both go for the Souvlaki. It comes with your choice of sides, and L got a rice pilaf, while I opted for spaghetti. I have to say the marinara here is exceptional. Some of the best ever. I noticed it this visit so much that I think I will have to get a marinara based dish on my next visit. The Souvlaki was very good though- 2 skewers of seasoned pork with a spoonful of creamy Tziatziki sauce, made of yogurt and cucumber. My only complaint was that I'd have like to see more veggies on the skewer too- the lonely little bits of onion and green pepper were not quite enough to be a complement.
K had the seafood pasta special, which looked wonderful. The tastes I begged lived up... It was pasta in red sauce with all sorts of goodies- big scallops, shrimp, crab, mussels in the shell, were the highlights I recall. Often when you get a seafood pasta in other restaurants, they scrimp on the seafood and cover things up with sauce. That was not the case here. the seafood was fresh and well prepared and it was center stage of the dish. We felt all our food was well seasoned, and all of the portions were large enough that we had great lunches the next day. I really like that Athens is the kind of place that can work equally well for a romantic date, or a family dinner.
I decided to try one more time. "Now that you know some of the facts of life, is there anything else you'd like to ask us about?" L stuffs a huge bite of Galactiburikos (lemon custard and phyllo dessert) into her chops, and chews thoughtfully....:Do you think they'll teach Shakespeare in sixth grade?" she asks.
Maybe we'll try this again in a couple years, but we'll be back to Athens many times before then.
Athens Tavern
401 N Robinson St
Richmond, VA 23220
(804) 353-9119
After lots of discussion (most of it consisting of me with my hands over my eyes, fretting 'oh my gawd, what am I gonna say...), we decided that the sensible thing to do would be to take L out to her own dinner and open the door to that sort of discussion. You know, her own special thing, where we would expound on the virtues and excitement of her impending pre-teenhood, caution her about drugs and peer pressure,... let her know that we were there for her, offer our sage advice on whatever questions she may have about anything and everything: social dilemmas, her changing body, boys.... any topic would be fair game.
She was enthusiastic about the whole idea, and when we told her she could pick the restaurant, she chose Athens Tavern. We like Athens, because it is home cooked Greek fare in a nice hole in the wall sort of location with its own smoking section perched up in the back. It's one of those places where every time we go, it's good. Not to say Athens' food is ultra extraordinary, but it's wonderfully reliable and they always have lots of specials, the service is always great, and we've never had anything that wasn't fresh and well prepared.
We started out with the Calamari. Athen's Calamari is tender inside and crisply fried outside. It's a little different, in that instead of the rings you often see, it comes in sort of sliced looking pieces, served with a thick mild garlic sauce. A good squeeze of lemon, and the slices scoop up the tangy sauce like little boats. I get hungry all over again just thinking about it- it's almost as yummy as a Big Daddy corn fritter (see Big Daddy post). We ordered the Syrah to go with our food, since the wine list there is a little odd- heavy on unfamiliar (Greek I guess) wines that look a little suspicious to me. Tonight we opted for the whole bottle, instead of a glass. L had Sprite.
As we picked through our 'Greeked up" salads- house salad with feta, peperocini, olives, oil and vinegar, tomatoes, and anchovies (if you can stand them), K glanced expectantly at me out of the sides of her eyes... "Uh..." I stammered between forkfulls.."We just wanted to let you know that we're always here for you, and ...um, we'll never judge you, and you can ask us anything you want to... whaddya wanna know?"
We both stop breathing for a few seconds...L butters her bread and gazes at the ceiling... Finally she speaks: "I want a debit card. How do I get one?" This is not what I expected. I patiently explain how debit cards work, and then I try again. "Ah... don't you have any questions about boys?" L rolls her eyes... "All the boys are dorks." I am not getting anywhere. I look helplessly at K. "Do you know how girls get pregnant?" she inquires. L does not. I look back at K... "you tell her," I say. Oh no.... turns out, that's my job. I do the dirty work, imparting the delicate information, leaving everyone shrieking "Eeeeeeew!" K makes the save, telling her it's a powerful and emotional force, bailing me out of my hamhanded description of the mechanical aspects of the act, and we go ahead and order.
As usual, there is an impressive list of tempting specials... Lobster ravioli, an array of pasta dishes, lamb, chicken... and on and on. I've had all sorts of good things here- Spanikopita, Tiropita, some sort of spinach and tomato pasta, Moussaka...all delicious and obviously homemade. Tonight L and I both go for the Souvlaki. It comes with your choice of sides, and L got a rice pilaf, while I opted for spaghetti. I have to say the marinara here is exceptional. Some of the best ever. I noticed it this visit so much that I think I will have to get a marinara based dish on my next visit. The Souvlaki was very good though- 2 skewers of seasoned pork with a spoonful of creamy Tziatziki sauce, made of yogurt and cucumber. My only complaint was that I'd have like to see more veggies on the skewer too- the lonely little bits of onion and green pepper were not quite enough to be a complement.
K had the seafood pasta special, which looked wonderful. The tastes I begged lived up... It was pasta in red sauce with all sorts of goodies- big scallops, shrimp, crab, mussels in the shell, were the highlights I recall. Often when you get a seafood pasta in other restaurants, they scrimp on the seafood and cover things up with sauce. That was not the case here. the seafood was fresh and well prepared and it was center stage of the dish. We felt all our food was well seasoned, and all of the portions were large enough that we had great lunches the next day. I really like that Athens is the kind of place that can work equally well for a romantic date, or a family dinner.
I decided to try one more time. "Now that you know some of the facts of life, is there anything else you'd like to ask us about?" L stuffs a huge bite of Galactiburikos (lemon custard and phyllo dessert) into her chops, and chews thoughtfully....:Do you think they'll teach Shakespeare in sixth grade?" she asks.
Maybe we'll try this again in a couple years, but we'll be back to Athens many times before then.
Athens Tavern
401 N Robinson St
Richmond, VA 23220
(804) 353-9119
Tomato sandwiches revisited - guest blogger and her big titted girlfriend!!
Since they've been working the hell out of me at my job, I've neglected this blog, and am taking advantage of the mirth and mad skillz of one of our friends who has limited tolerance for my boundless devotion to my hot girlfriend... here you go, Tomato sandwiches, done right:
My big-tittied girlfriend and I do not cook. I never have; she is too tired after work to bother with it. Hence, we eat out... a lot. However, being creatures of habit, we tend to go to only to three restaurants with any sort of regularity: Dot's Back Inn, Zeus Gallery and Davis & Main. This entry will not be about any of those places. Instead, this is about me fending for myself; or, What I Do for Meals When R. Works Late.
I read in a different and far superior foodie blog about the tomato sandwiches prepared for someone known as My Lovely Girlfriend K. Whatever. But it jarred my memory -- my brother had given me a bunch of homegrown tomatoes about a week ago. I decided a tomato sandwich was in order. I opened the refrigerator to see if they had become rotten, as most of my produce does. Lo and behold, they seemed to be OK. I debated washing them off......I HATE getting my hands wet because I must then IMMEDIATELY put hand lotion on them, but on the off chance some neighborhood dog took a piss or a shit on or near the tomatoes, i rinsed them off.
After scurrying to the bathroom for hand lotion, I sliced the tomatoes. They looked pretty good - just like every other tomato I've ever seen. Next came bread -- I had purchased a Brand New Loaf of Sunbeam bread just days before......undoing the twisty-tie thing I reached in past the first 5-6 slices. I never eat them. I think they are gross. I laid the slices on a paper towel with the sides lined up so they would be stacked correctly on top of one another upon Sandwich Completion. The next task was the most important -- application of mayonnaise. Proper mayo application is crucial because it has to be enough to keep the tomato juices from seeping into the bread, making a soggy pink mess, yet not so much that it squishes out of the sides of the bread and touches my hands. (see reference above regarding hand-washing)
I only buy Duke's mayonnaise because it is The Secret of Great Southern Cooks. It says so - right on the lid. The tomato slices are carefully arranged on the right hand bread slice. They must lie flat and cover as much bread without having any of slices overlap. If that is a possibility, I cut the slices into the appropriate shape. Next came cheese......as i cracked open the cellophane of the new package of Kraft Singles, my mouth began to water. What's not to love about plastic, perfectly square cheese slices?!!! Said cheese is placed upon the left hand slice. It is critical that the ingrediants go onto the "correct" side -- cheese is ALWAYS on the left. Then, pepper is sprinkled onto the cheese - only pepper is put on the cheese - the black on orange/yellow is aesthetically necessary for me. Salt on tomato slices. The cheese slice side is placed on top of the tomato side......ahh......bliss.
My big-tittied girlfriend and I do not cook. I never have; she is too tired after work to bother with it. Hence, we eat out... a lot. However, being creatures of habit, we tend to go to only to three restaurants with any sort of regularity: Dot's Back Inn, Zeus Gallery and Davis & Main. This entry will not be about any of those places. Instead, this is about me fending for myself; or, What I Do for Meals When R. Works Late.
I read in a different and far superior foodie blog about the tomato sandwiches prepared for someone known as My Lovely Girlfriend K. Whatever. But it jarred my memory -- my brother had given me a bunch of homegrown tomatoes about a week ago. I decided a tomato sandwich was in order. I opened the refrigerator to see if they had become rotten, as most of my produce does. Lo and behold, they seemed to be OK. I debated washing them off......I HATE getting my hands wet because I must then IMMEDIATELY put hand lotion on them, but on the off chance some neighborhood dog took a piss or a shit on or near the tomatoes, i rinsed them off.
After scurrying to the bathroom for hand lotion, I sliced the tomatoes. They looked pretty good - just like every other tomato I've ever seen. Next came bread -- I had purchased a Brand New Loaf of Sunbeam bread just days before......undoing the twisty-tie thing I reached in past the first 5-6 slices. I never eat them. I think they are gross. I laid the slices on a paper towel with the sides lined up so they would be stacked correctly on top of one another upon Sandwich Completion. The next task was the most important -- application of mayonnaise. Proper mayo application is crucial because it has to be enough to keep the tomato juices from seeping into the bread, making a soggy pink mess, yet not so much that it squishes out of the sides of the bread and touches my hands. (see reference above regarding hand-washing)
I only buy Duke's mayonnaise because it is The Secret of Great Southern Cooks. It says so - right on the lid. The tomato slices are carefully arranged on the right hand bread slice. They must lie flat and cover as much bread without having any of slices overlap. If that is a possibility, I cut the slices into the appropriate shape. Next came cheese......as i cracked open the cellophane of the new package of Kraft Singles, my mouth began to water. What's not to love about plastic, perfectly square cheese slices?!!! Said cheese is placed upon the left hand slice. It is critical that the ingrediants go onto the "correct" side -- cheese is ALWAYS on the left. Then, pepper is sprinkled onto the cheese - only pepper is put on the cheese - the black on orange/yellow is aesthetically necessary for me. Salt on tomato slices. The cheese slice side is placed on top of the tomato side......ahh......bliss.
the continued search for the perfect mussels(Mr. Patrick Henry's)
When I heard that Mr. Patrick Henry's in Church Hill was reopening its doors, I was elated, but wary... for several reasons. Back in 'the day' when MPH was going full swing, I waited tables there, and was an enthusiastic patron as well. The back garden is without a doubt one of the most beautiful spots in Richmond to relax and enjoy food and drink, the inside dining rooms, with their fireplaces and warm lighting are cozy and romantic, and the pub is a perfect smoky, dark hidey hole. In short, it's one of the best spaces around. The food back then was on the pricey side, but always managed to be both traditional, reasonably innovative and most important- delicious.
I worried that with the name staying similar, I would inevitably make unfair comparisons. So when we visited recently, I made a studied effort to come in with an open mind and not to compare. We went on a Thursday night, and I was almost giddy as we climbed the familiar stairs to the main dining room. When we went in, there were a few tables occupied, but overall it was very quiet. We asked to be seated in the back garden, so we could smoke unharrassed- and it was completely empty. Which is a shame really, because it was a lovely night and I would have thought neighborhood folk would have at least been out for a cocktail and a snack under the stars.
We ordered lemon drop martinis- I know, we have GOT to find a new cocktail- but these were particularly good- very lemony and icy cold. This seemed to bode well for the food, and we had heard good things about the mussels, so we started with a bowl of them in the white wine and garlic sauce as an app. While the sauce was garlicky and savory, the mussels themselves were kind of subpar. They were doing that weird stringy thing that not-so-great mussels do- like coming apart when I pulled them out of the shell. And a couple of them tasted a little funky to me
Side note: I was still being optimistic and giving them the benefit of the doubt until we got mussels at Can Can a couple days later- Now *that* is what mussels are supposed to taste like. Can Can's mussels were plump, juicy and fresh- popping with goodness in my mouth- pretty much what these were not.
But I digress. I've heard good things about the new MPH. and I really really wanted to like it. Especially because we like sitting in the garden, and in the winter I love the fireplaces.... For an entree I ordered the Shrimp PoBoy sandwich and K ordered a Chicken Parmesan sub.
While I studiously avoided comparing the food to the past glory of the place, I could not help doing it with the same dishes that we've had from other restaurants recently.... While K's sub portion was large, and it looked good, it was not even in the same ballpark taste-wise, with a Chicken Parm we got from Valentino's the week before (Valentino's is a little pizza-shacky place on Grace St, that we got delivery from and were pleasantly surprised) It was okay- and I felt guilty for comparing. The chicken was sort of dry, and the marinara, while reasonably tasty, as just not all that. And it wasn't cheesy enough. I know that's probably unsophisticated of me, but I like really good mozzarella on a sandwich like this and it just wasn't happening.
My Poboy was likewise, okay. The shrimp were big and fried and probably the best thing on the plate. It came with a nice tangy remoulade, but I wished they had given me a ramekin of it on the side. The biggest sin, to me, was that the sub roll was not toasted. When you have that big a piece of bready bread, it just needs to either be a really high quality piece of bread, or at least toasted. The result being, that every bite was a huge mouthful so-so bread and a little shrimp and lettuce. And my orzo was so tasteless I probably put 2 teaspoons of Sriachi on it.
We ordered Tiramisu for dessert, which was an amazingly generous portion. And like everything else, was almost good. There was something kind of oily about it that just didn't set that well with us.
In all fairness, if we had orderd the chef's specials, it probably would have been great. I'm sure there's really good stuff on that menu- I just haven't found it yet. I'm sure we'll give them another chance, partly because of the space, part nostalgia, the vibe there, and part because everything we had was 'close.' It's like they just weren't paying attention, maybe because it was slow that night, I don't know... I've never felt so guilty for panning a place. The service was great- our waitress could not have been nicer- there, I've said something nice.
Patrick Henry’s Pub & Grille
2300 E. Broad St.
644-4242
I worried that with the name staying similar, I would inevitably make unfair comparisons. So when we visited recently, I made a studied effort to come in with an open mind and not to compare. We went on a Thursday night, and I was almost giddy as we climbed the familiar stairs to the main dining room. When we went in, there were a few tables occupied, but overall it was very quiet. We asked to be seated in the back garden, so we could smoke unharrassed- and it was completely empty. Which is a shame really, because it was a lovely night and I would have thought neighborhood folk would have at least been out for a cocktail and a snack under the stars.
We ordered lemon drop martinis- I know, we have GOT to find a new cocktail- but these were particularly good- very lemony and icy cold. This seemed to bode well for the food, and we had heard good things about the mussels, so we started with a bowl of them in the white wine and garlic sauce as an app. While the sauce was garlicky and savory, the mussels themselves were kind of subpar. They were doing that weird stringy thing that not-so-great mussels do- like coming apart when I pulled them out of the shell. And a couple of them tasted a little funky to me
Side note: I was still being optimistic and giving them the benefit of the doubt until we got mussels at Can Can a couple days later- Now *that* is what mussels are supposed to taste like. Can Can's mussels were plump, juicy and fresh- popping with goodness in my mouth- pretty much what these were not.
But I digress. I've heard good things about the new MPH. and I really really wanted to like it. Especially because we like sitting in the garden, and in the winter I love the fireplaces.... For an entree I ordered the Shrimp PoBoy sandwich and K ordered a Chicken Parmesan sub.
While I studiously avoided comparing the food to the past glory of the place, I could not help doing it with the same dishes that we've had from other restaurants recently.... While K's sub portion was large, and it looked good, it was not even in the same ballpark taste-wise, with a Chicken Parm we got from Valentino's the week before (Valentino's is a little pizza-shacky place on Grace St, that we got delivery from and were pleasantly surprised) It was okay- and I felt guilty for comparing. The chicken was sort of dry, and the marinara, while reasonably tasty, as just not all that. And it wasn't cheesy enough. I know that's probably unsophisticated of me, but I like really good mozzarella on a sandwich like this and it just wasn't happening.
My Poboy was likewise, okay. The shrimp were big and fried and probably the best thing on the plate. It came with a nice tangy remoulade, but I wished they had given me a ramekin of it on the side. The biggest sin, to me, was that the sub roll was not toasted. When you have that big a piece of bready bread, it just needs to either be a really high quality piece of bread, or at least toasted. The result being, that every bite was a huge mouthful so-so bread and a little shrimp and lettuce. And my orzo was so tasteless I probably put 2 teaspoons of Sriachi on it.
We ordered Tiramisu for dessert, which was an amazingly generous portion. And like everything else, was almost good. There was something kind of oily about it that just didn't set that well with us.
In all fairness, if we had orderd the chef's specials, it probably would have been great. I'm sure there's really good stuff on that menu- I just haven't found it yet. I'm sure we'll give them another chance, partly because of the space, part nostalgia, the vibe there, and part because everything we had was 'close.' It's like they just weren't paying attention, maybe because it was slow that night, I don't know... I've never felt so guilty for panning a place. The service was great- our waitress could not have been nicer- there, I've said something nice.
Patrick Henry’s Pub & Grille
2300 E. Broad St.
644-4242
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Cafe Gutenberg
This morning K and I set out for the 17th St. Farmer's Market, in search of some local produce- eggplant and tomatoes- for a culinary adventure/experiment I had in mind for later today. I will admit, since I seem to be on a crotchety streak lately, that the Market is disappointingly light on farmers and heavy on knicknack and craft vendors. I resolved to make for the greener pastures of the Forest Hill Market next weekend. But in the midst of this, we worked up an appetite for brunch. We spotted LuLu's, across the street and poked our heads in, asking if we could smoke at the bar. After receiving a negative, we left and walked up the street to Cafe Gutenberg, where they have an outdoor patio. The patio theme is turning into a regular thing for us.
We hadn't been to Gutenberg for a long time, and really didn't know what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised. The brunch menu looked wonderful and intriguing, and unlike our dining experience the previous evening, it lived up to its hype, for the most part.
For morning cocktails, they offer an interesting twist on the mimosa, with a choice of cava cocktails. Cava is a sparkling Spanish wine similar to champagne, and Gutenberg serves it splashed with blood orange juice, mandarin or pomegranite. We opted for the blood orange, which was a pretty deep orange, opaque hue, served in a fluted glass. It was not overly sweet at all, dry and refreshing- it was something different and we both enjoyed it. I also ordered a cup of plain coffee that tasted about as good as plain brewed coffee could possibly taste.
The brunch menu was varied- with everything from crepes to egg dishes, and options aplenty for both the vegetarian and the carnivore. We had a terrible time making a decision, and since we're boring old dykes we both ordered the same thing- the 17th Street Scramble. This was a vegetarian option that consisted of a large dish of scrambled eggs with white cheddar, asparagus, fresh spinach, spring onions, regular onions, yukon potatoes and green peppers, topped with creme fraiche. The veggies and the eggs were cooked perfectly, and the dish was unique and delicious. I really enjoy eating something in the morning that is not heavy and greasy, which is exactly what we got. The portion was large and neither of us could even begin to finish it.
K also ordered a vegan biscuit and gravy, which was, well.. interesting. It was a large fluffy homemade biscuit, covered in some sort of (mushroom?) gravy with spring onions. I think it would have gone over better if it wasn't billed as a 'biscuit and gravy.' I just don't know why, but in contrast to the egg dish, this is something I almost want to be a little greasy, and since it wasn't, there was just something lacking.
We enjoyed sitting on the patio, and for the non smokers, the inside area is spacious and pleasant. It is somewhere we are certain to try again, mainly because I'd like to sample some of the sweet breakfast options like the french toast or the crepes. Gutenberg would definitely be considered in the realm of 'fine dining' but the prices were very reasonable- many of the brunch entrees were less than $10.
My only complaint today, with this place was the service. Granted, every server is different, and had we gotten a different one, I probably wouldn't be whining about our service, but since we didn't, and since I like to write as much about the dining experience as the food, I just can't help myself.
The restaurant was not particularly overcrowded, and from the beginning, we got the basic bare bones service, which was fine. At the end of a meal though, I hate it when the server leaves a table sitting...and sitting.... and sitting. And then she committed the ultimate faux pax- my pet peeve of waiters. Check plopping. When the waiter ignores you for an interminable amount of time, then appears suddenly, check in hand and plops it down on the table without asking if anyone wants anything else. Especially at brunch, where a diner might care for another cup of coffee, and especially in a situation when there's no one waiting for you to vacate your table.
As grumpy as I get about that stuff, I still would not have necessarily mentioned it here, except that after the plopping of the check, she proceeded to walk by our table with a water pitcher, ignoring our partially filled glasses, fill the table next to us, and then walk by the check and credit card on our table. We sat for another minute, then I ended up walking our check into the restaurant. Normally when a server completely ignores us like that, I get all anti-lesbianphobic, and blame it on whatever gay making out we were doing, but since we were seated way across the table from each other, we weren't even holding hands, so it couldn't have been that.
At any rate, I will give them the benefit of the doubt, and assume that the server was just having a bad day or something. We really like Cafe Gutenburg as a brunch option, and will surely want to check out dinner as well sometime in the near future.
Cafe Gutenberg
1700 E. Main Street
804.497.5000
We hadn't been to Gutenberg for a long time, and really didn't know what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised. The brunch menu looked wonderful and intriguing, and unlike our dining experience the previous evening, it lived up to its hype, for the most part.
For morning cocktails, they offer an interesting twist on the mimosa, with a choice of cava cocktails. Cava is a sparkling Spanish wine similar to champagne, and Gutenberg serves it splashed with blood orange juice, mandarin or pomegranite. We opted for the blood orange, which was a pretty deep orange, opaque hue, served in a fluted glass. It was not overly sweet at all, dry and refreshing- it was something different and we both enjoyed it. I also ordered a cup of plain coffee that tasted about as good as plain brewed coffee could possibly taste.
The brunch menu was varied- with everything from crepes to egg dishes, and options aplenty for both the vegetarian and the carnivore. We had a terrible time making a decision, and since we're boring old dykes we both ordered the same thing- the 17th Street Scramble. This was a vegetarian option that consisted of a large dish of scrambled eggs with white cheddar, asparagus, fresh spinach, spring onions, regular onions, yukon potatoes and green peppers, topped with creme fraiche. The veggies and the eggs were cooked perfectly, and the dish was unique and delicious. I really enjoy eating something in the morning that is not heavy and greasy, which is exactly what we got. The portion was large and neither of us could even begin to finish it.
K also ordered a vegan biscuit and gravy, which was, well.. interesting. It was a large fluffy homemade biscuit, covered in some sort of (mushroom?) gravy with spring onions. I think it would have gone over better if it wasn't billed as a 'biscuit and gravy.' I just don't know why, but in contrast to the egg dish, this is something I almost want to be a little greasy, and since it wasn't, there was just something lacking.
We enjoyed sitting on the patio, and for the non smokers, the inside area is spacious and pleasant. It is somewhere we are certain to try again, mainly because I'd like to sample some of the sweet breakfast options like the french toast or the crepes. Gutenberg would definitely be considered in the realm of 'fine dining' but the prices were very reasonable- many of the brunch entrees were less than $10.
My only complaint today, with this place was the service. Granted, every server is different, and had we gotten a different one, I probably wouldn't be whining about our service, but since we didn't, and since I like to write as much about the dining experience as the food, I just can't help myself.
The restaurant was not particularly overcrowded, and from the beginning, we got the basic bare bones service, which was fine. At the end of a meal though, I hate it when the server leaves a table sitting...and sitting.... and sitting. And then she committed the ultimate faux pax- my pet peeve of waiters. Check plopping. When the waiter ignores you for an interminable amount of time, then appears suddenly, check in hand and plops it down on the table without asking if anyone wants anything else. Especially at brunch, where a diner might care for another cup of coffee, and especially in a situation when there's no one waiting for you to vacate your table.
As grumpy as I get about that stuff, I still would not have necessarily mentioned it here, except that after the plopping of the check, she proceeded to walk by our table with a water pitcher, ignoring our partially filled glasses, fill the table next to us, and then walk by the check and credit card on our table. We sat for another minute, then I ended up walking our check into the restaurant. Normally when a server completely ignores us like that, I get all anti-lesbianphobic, and blame it on whatever gay making out we were doing, but since we were seated way across the table from each other, we weren't even holding hands, so it couldn't have been that.
At any rate, I will give them the benefit of the doubt, and assume that the server was just having a bad day or something. We really like Cafe Gutenburg as a brunch option, and will surely want to check out dinner as well sometime in the near future.
Cafe Gutenberg
1700 E. Main Street
804.497.5000
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