Soulard's Wine Dinner: We're Choking it Down!

The excitement was palpable when I discovered a little nugget in the newspaper about a Napa Valley & Santa Barbara wine dinner being hosted by Soulard's restaurant during the week that Jay and I were taking time off from work. Many of the events that we've recently discovered are held on Wednesday evenings ... this is doubly frustrating because in the first place Jay typically works until 10PM on Wednesdays; and in the second place, who the hell wants to eat a five course dinner with wine after spending ten hours at work only to get up at 5AM the following morning to go back to work even surlier than the previous day?

This staying up late to eat and drink and drive home during the work-week thing sounded way more enjoyable when it wasn't going to be our work-week. We booked this dinner near the end of April and proceeded to count down the days because the menu sounded particularly delicious and we are nothing if not food-dreaming, crumb-licking, bonafide piggies ... especially when it comes to seafood, and three of the five courses listed on Soulard's wine dinner menu were of the fishie variety.

Shortly before leaving the house we snapped a picture ... just to ensure that the camera was still working.

Self portrait with a secret cash message from our TV.


The Soulard area is a well-known, well-aged downtown St. Louis neighborhood that is home to a very large, popular farmer's market on summer weekends as well as many bars and small eateries. The St. Louis area's weak and gammy-handed version of Mardi Gras is also held in Soulard ... the beer flows amidst the snows and the streets are wet with urine. I do not advise anyone to ever visit St. Louis for Mardi Gras ... go to New Orleans for the real deal where the streets are always wet with urine but the food and booze are so much better that no one really cares.

Soulard's restaurant is located in the heart of Soulard (duh, right?) and it is a long haul indeed from our cozy love nest on the outer fringes of Stinktown. To make the evening more exciting, there were severe thunderstorms popping all over the area with wild winds and big hail and wicked lightning. Driving in St. Louis during good weather will try the patience of a saint; just try getting anywhere during rush hour while it's raining ... it's like asking a lobotomized neurosurgeon to excise a brain tumor.

Once we arrived at the restaurant ... about 15 minutes before the dinner was supposed to start ... we were offered a glass of wine and taken to our table which the gentleman seating us described as a quiet, romantic spot just for two. We were seated at a nice little table in an alcove off the main dining room and right in front of the fireplace, which wasn't in use on this evening. Shortly thereafter a server bopped over with a plate of truly gorgeous bruchetta; although there were six good-sized pieces on the tray, Jay and I were polite and took one apiece, assuming that there would be ample opportunity for us to nab more if we were so inclined.

What's that old saying about making assumptions?

Ah well, before I get ahead of myself let me tell you fine folks that this was the one item on the menu that I was most skeptical of and was therefore most pleasantly surprised by. The Passed Cordon Bleu Bruchetta was hot and creamy with just a hint of garlic - it was tremendously tasty and really whet our appetites for the meal to come. It also tasted very good with our first wine of the evening, which was a Napa Ridge Sauvignon Blanc, 2006.

In retrospect I suppose we should have savored the bruchetta a little more and chewed each bite one hundred times before swallowing because nary another was to be offered for the rest of the night even though it would be another 45 minutes before course number two made an appearance. The staff was exceptionally generous with the wine all evening, plying us with refills whether we asked for them or not, but they were less than liberal with the food. I dunno, maybe the 'passed' in Passed Cordon Bleu Bruchetta meant something like, "Is that a platter of bruchetta I see being passed before me?"

Apparently we weren't the only patrons asking for more only to be denied, although at first Jay and I wondered if we were being singled out for some weird reason. Each guest was given exactly one piece of bruchetta and by gawd that had just better be enough because the kitchen was unwilling or unable to provide more.

The first course: Cordon Bleu Bruchetta


We had time to take some additional pictures before our quiet little alcove became a cone of unsilence with the arrival of a party of ten middle-to-older-aged people who didn't know how to hold their booze in a public setting. These people were so loud that later in the evening Jay and I actually tested our Belch With Impunity Theory to great success.

If I show some cleaves can we have more bruchetta?

Table setting ... look at all those glasses!

Our alcove was pretty cool, wasn't it?


We were so hungry waiting for the second course to arrive that we decimated all the "plain" bread that was nestled in a little basket on our table. We asked our server for a refill only to be told that they were out of bread.

How in the name of all that is yeasty does a restaurant run out of bread?

And keep in mind that they were also serving their "usual" menu on this night in addition to providing the wine dinner for upwards of 50 guests. Poor planning and poor service ... we were not impressed. Before either one of us could get too sidetracked about Soulard's lack of bread, however, our second course was delivered: Grilled Sea Scallops over Sauteed Spinach with Lemon Beurre Blanc Sauce served with a 2006 Santa Barbara Crossing Chardonnay. I was so looking forward to this course, especially after having had such unexpectedly wonderful scallops at the Scottish Arms on Sunday night.

I never should have forgotten the first rule of Stinktown seafood: Lower Your Standards.

My scallops were chewy and gritty with no discernable taste - the spinach added nothing but bitterness and the sauce was a total non-factor. All in all a truly disappointing entry from where I sat. And although he's not typically as critical as I am, Jay even went so far as to admit that he's definitely had better food - he sautees spinach here at the house and gets far more tasty flavor than we had with this course. The chardonnay was not very good with this dish, either; it tasted OK by itself but really warred with the lemon sauce and the spinach ... not at all a pleasant taste experience.

It looks way better than it tastes ... and that's not saying much


Now, this next picture requires both an explanation and an apology. So, I'm sorry in advance. Anyway, after using my knife for buttering the bread of which there was no more and then for the slicing of my not-very-well-prepared scallops, I placed it in the middle of the plate with my fork so that it could be taken away with the rest of the dirty dishes.

And then our waiter said, "You may want to keep that for the next course."

WHAT???

Where's the horrified, hair-on-end, screaming emoticon when you need it?

You're not going to give us clean silverware for each course; did you run out of cutlery at the same time you ran out of bread???

My opinion was hurtling dangerously downhill faster than Bode Miller on a three-day drinking binge in the Swiss Alps.

Gimme a new knife and no one gets hurt!


We were holding out hope for the next course, ahi tuna, when it made an appearance and dashed our hopes all to hell. The menu described it as follows: Black Pepper Crusted Ahi Tuna, Pan Seared Medium Rare, Sliced, with Baby Greens and Vodka Vinaigrette served with 2005 Oasis Pinot Noir.

Sounds promising, no?

Our tuna was over-cooked ... it was not medium rare, it was medium and even that's a stretch. It was chewy and not at all sweet and light like the seared ahi we've had in the past. Jeezum Crow, we've had better seared ahi tuna at P. F. Changs and that's a freaking chain restaurant! The tuna was also far too peppery and had it been cooked properly that would have been a real detriment; as it was, it was more of an annoyance than anything else. I will say that the Pinot Noir was actually very good - nice and fruity and not at all the kind of red that would give a cranky crohn a headache.

We did get a huge chuckle out of the loudies at the table across from us who not only had never eaten seared tuna, but had never eaten anything that pink before in their lives. I peeked and friends ... there was no pink tuna on that lady's plate.

Ah, Stinktown ... if it ain't beef and cooked to the point of cremation, it ain't worth eating.

This was a total, unmitigated disaster

I think it's safe to say that by the time the entree showed up we were both, in the timeless words of Dick Button, waiting for it to be over. This dish was an Exotic Mushroom Crusted Grouper with Rock Shrimp Risotto and Tarragon Butter served with a 2006 Reserve Napa Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon. To be fair, the grouper was actually pretty good once I scraped off the mushroom crust and shoveled it over to Jay's plate. The size of the fish was generous and it appeared to be well cooked and had a nice flavor. The risotto was clumpy and sticky and gacky and there was exactly one shrimp in my serving. Granted, the title of the dish wasn't rock shrimps risotto, but I don't think it was unreasonable for me to expect more than one shrimp. I didn't try the cabernet at all since I still had half a glass of pinot noir, but Jay said it was decent.

Grouper and exactly one shrimp ...

I eagerly anticipated the final course, Chocolate Mousse served with Delapierre Sparkling Seco; after all, it's an easy dessert to make and would require a real dedication to failure on the part of the kitchen staff to screw up.

Kudos to failure, then, because this was the worst chocolate mousse it's ever been our misfortune to stick a spoon into. I could tell as soon as the dish was placed before me that something was wrong ... the consistency was far too thick and sticky. I plunged my spoon into the middle and it was just like pulling an electric beater from half-mixed cake batter. And the Seco was terrible - it was dry and bitter and the taste did not improve with the chocolate.

Looks like pudding to me.

This is just wrong.


At one point our server did come back and ask me how I liked the dessert ... I shocked him, Jay, and myself by being brutally honest. "This is really bad - the worst mousse I've ever tried to eat."

He looked a little surprised but then admitted that no one in the kitchen had tried the dessert before it was plated - quality control seems to have been lacking all night if you ask me. He reappeared later and told me that he'd tried some in the back and was very sorry for just how unappealing it was. In his words, "it tasted like crap."

We didn't receive a discount off the bill, however; I guess that's because everyone got a bad dessert so it was only fair to charge us all for the same disgusting mess. While we waited for our check, the noise level from the party of ten continued to grow. Jay boldly decided to test his Burping Impunity Theory and actually began belching out loud at the table to see if anyone could hear him. Apart from me ... and I was giggling like the immature wifey that I am ... no one seemed to hear anything. I'm here to tell you that my husband can rock the rafters with his esophageal emissions and no one turned a hair because those ten people were so loud and so drunk that they completely drowned him out.

We were happy to leave and head back home, sadder and a little poorer, but definitely wiser and believe it or not in a good mood. Despite the bad food we'd actually had a pretty good time, finding as much to laugh at as we possibly could. The really sad part is that the overall meal was so poor I had no choice but to ask Jay to stop at Wendy's on the way home so that I could expunge the taste of dinner with an impossible to screw up single burger with cheese.

Ah, cheeseburgers ... is there anything they can't do?

All I can say in conclusion is that Soulard's kitchen must have had one hell of a bad night. I hope that's all it was but it doesn't really matter because we will not be going back and will caution our friends and acquaintances not to spend their hard earned money there. Not impressive ... not good ... not worth choking down a second time.

The Scottish Arms ... Haggis is as Haggis Does

You may be wondering how we ended up eating dinner at a restaurant located approximately one river, two highway closures, and 37 miles from our homestead in Outer Stinktown ...

Well, for one thing there aren't many interesting places in our neck of the woods so we always have to trek long distances to add to our portfolio of fine and / or interesting dining venues. For another, we received some awesome restaurant.com gift certificates from the DISneyFamily as a Christmas giftie and after perusing the list of available dining options Jay and I decided that the Scottish Arms sounded like a winner. We redeemed a $25 gift certificate with two caveats - it was only valid Sunday-Thursday and the final check had to total at least $50 before our certificate could be applied.

Dinner on Sunday?

Check. We're on vacation and it's a three-day weekend - we can eat and drink like fools and sleep it off the next day!

Spend a minimum of $50 for dinner before being allowed to use the gift certificate?

Excuse me while I change my pants ... I just soiled myself laughing hysterically.

At the last minute I called the nehpie and his wife and asked if they wanted to join us. Dylan's birthday is the 29th of May - the same day as our anniversary - and since Jay and I already have gluttonous plans for the next three days we wanted to give him his birthday gift early and thought they might enjoy trying something new. In addition, two of the restaurants they want to try while we're at WDW in October are Raglan Road and Rose & Crown - I looked at this dinner as a good trial run for them to make sure they'd enjoy the experience, acclimate to Auntie Crohn's food porn habit, and learn not to fear for their fingers while sharing food with us.

Luckily they agreed and we met up on Sunday evening around 6PM for a tasty tour of the finest that Scotland has to offer in Stinktown. The Scottish Arms is located in the Central West End, which is one of the most eclectic neighborhoods in St. Louis. There are incredible homes dating back to the 1890s, cool little restaurants and pubs, antique shops, weird and naughty shops (wink wink), and never a dull moment. It's near Forest Park and BJC / Washington University Medical Center - in other words the neighborhood is one of those little oases in the middle of some not-so-savory St. Louis real estate. It's not exactly unsafe, but it's definitely an area that makes suburbanites a little nervous once the sun goes down. And I'm not really sure why that is because at last check the Central West End is not home to a vampire coven.

The Scottish Arms - bring it on!!!


The Scottish Arms is owned and operated by a native Scot named Scot Alistair Nisbet - he's created a dark, slightly cramped pub with amazing food and service. The interior is true to the original historic building and has tons of dark, ornately carved mahogany woodwork and paneling and the ceiling tiles are all hammered tin - something that you just don't see much of anymore. The restaurant is split into two halves - the pub area where folks can drink and smoke and watch sporting events to their heart's content while ordering from a limited kitchen menu, and the dining room which is non-smoking and offers a full menu to choose from. The wait staff is predominantly male and they all wear kilts - and our waiter in particular was very engaging and knowledgeable. As to the authenticity of the menu, none of us has ever been to Scotland so we don't know squat, but it all seemed as realistic as it could possibly be in a landlocked US city not known for overly adventurous cuisine.

Since Jay and I arrived before Dylan and Jen, we went ahead and requested a table and ordered a couple of tasty pints to pass the time while we studied the menu. Our beverage choice? Belhaven Wee Heavy Scotch Ale - a dark, traditional Scottish Ale with a surprisingly sweet aftertaste and not a bit heavy. It was excellent ... so good that Jay and I both downed two of them through the course of the evening.

What ales you?

Dyl-Jen ... ain't they cute?

Plump Bendy and Slender Jay ...

Once our attractive younger family members arrived and settled in, Dylan proceeded to order his beer ... he made a major faux pas for which he can perhaps be forgiven seeing as our family heritage is Scotch-Irish. It's easy to understand how he could get confused ... and why he asked our waiter what kind of Irish Reds they had available.

D'OH!!!

After our waiter regained his ability to speak, he suggested a Scottish Red - Red McGregor - which Dylan agreed to try. I think he liked it, but it was probably a bit more malty than he's accustomed to - our Scotch Ales were much more tasty and smooth.

The homebrew of the Clan McGregor!

With the drinks taken care of, it was time for some serious foodage. Rather than select one or two appetizers we decided on the Highland Gathering, a sampling of four different appetizers, and the Cheese Board because you can never have too much cheese. The Cheese Board included three cheeses - a French Tomme (semi-firm goat cheese), a French baby blue (very mild), and a Vermont Tomme (much creamier and smoother, also very mild). Accompaniments included fresh bread, apple slices, spiced walnuts, crackers, and some kind of orangey tasting marmalade (Jay said it tasted like the rind - very strong). We liked all three of these cheeses very much and believe it or not I was quite fond of the blue cheese paired with the apple slices!

A round of cheese for all!


The Highland Gathering included the following: Scotch Egg, Baby Bridies, Sausage Rolls, and Haggis Fritter. The Scotch Egg is a hard boiled egg encased in sausage and fried - it's typically served with honey mustard sauce. Baby Bridies are ground sirloin, onions, and spices baked in puff pastry and the Sausage Rolls are pork bangers rolled in in puff pastry. And the Haggis Fritter speaks for itself ... haggis, breaded and fried, served with whisky dipping sauce.

Highland Gathering ... Oink Oink Oink


First up ... the Scotch Egg, or half of one. I tried this without any sauce at first and wasn't overly crazy about it - the sausage was a little too pungent for my taste - but once I used some of that honey mustard dipping sauce this eggy little bugger really came to life. I don't think it's something that I'd ever order on my own because it's too heavy for an appetizer and fried, hard boiled eggs just aren't my thing, but I'm glad that I gave it a try.

Half an egg ... with lots of extra cholesterol


Next up, the Sausage Roll. This was the weakest entry of the four appetizers - I realize that Jay and I are somewhat biased in our love of Raglan Road's Dalkey Duo, which is little sausages like these that have been dipped in batter and deep fried, but I have to go on record as saying that deep fried sausages with mustard sauce are an artery-clogging delectation while nekkid boiled sausages served up limp and moist in soggy puff pastry are irredeemable. They look undercooked, don't they?

The sausage roll ... just say no!


Aside from having a very cute little name, the Baby Bridies (yep, b-r-i-d-i-e-s) were exceptionally tasty. The sirloin was nicely spiced and the puff pastry was cooked just right ... lightly browned and flaky. These beefy turnovers were good eaten plain, but really WOWED us when we poured some whisky sauce and steak sauce over them. This is one appetizer that everyone agreed they would order again. I took two pictures of this one to give you a better idea of how they looked.

Baby Bridie #1


Baby Bridie #2


And last but certainly not least was the dread Haggis Fritter. None of us have ever eaten Haggis and let's face it - you can't really get Haggis prepared in the US the way it is in Scotland ... something about the FDA not approving of meat and barley cooked inside of a sheep's innards. I'm not sure that I approve either. Jay was the most gung-ho about trying it, but in this instance I was pleasantly surprised - the haggis was very finely ground meat minced with onion, barley, salt and spices, rolled into batter and then deep fried - it was pretty good and really paired well with the whisky sauce which provided a nice offset to the spices.

Curious about traditional haggis? Common ingredients include the sheep's heart, liver, and lungs minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock and then boiled in the animal's stomach for at least three hours.

Now you know why neither the FDA nor I approve of traditional Scottish cooking methods.

Haggis fritter ... it's organ meat night!


Our waiter timed the meal perfectly, and shortly after the appetizer plates were cleared our entrees were delivered. Dylan ordered the Shepherd Pie - ground lamb, onions, turnips, carrots, and parsnips baked with mashed potatoes. He, like Jay, is a fan of mish-mash dishes and said this was very good. He offered me a taste but I declined, since I don't care for this dish, but Jay tried some and pronounced it tasty indeed.

A big dish of mish-mash!


Jen chose the Mushroom Pasty (that's pronounced past-ee) which also came with a choice of house or Caesar salad - she opted for Caesar. The Pasty, by the way, was a clump of mixed, roasted mushrooms, Gruyere, and Arugula baked in puff pastry. I get the feeling that the Scots love puff pastry almost as much as they like deep frying things that have no business being tossed in the fry daddy ... like eggs ... and pickles ... and candy bars ... and most small animals.

At least the 'shrooms are hidden ...

I took a huge gamble and ordered the Basmati Crusted Sea Scallops with Roasted Tomato, Scallion, and Shaved Carrots in British Curry. You may be wondering why I considered this such a risk; well, it's because finding good seafood in Stinktown is not easy and laying your tastebuds on a well prepared scallop here is akin to finding seared foie gras at Walt Disney World. This dish was a Stinktown delight and revelation! The scallops were generously sized and perfectly cooked - silky smooth with just a hint of sweetness. I think I would have preferred my scallops un-crusted, only because the slight crunch of the coating confuzzled my brain and it kept thinking that the scallops hadn't been properly cleaned. And while I'm not a fan of curry, the Scottish Arm's version was subtle and played nicely against the sweetness of the scallops.

Scallop O'Hara's got nothing on these bad boys!

My entree also came with a side item and I had no choice but to select the creamy tatties, precious ... and they were everything a metal pot of potatoes should be: hot, and silky-smooth, and unbelievably scrumptious.

Tatties, precious ... lots and lots of tatties.

Jay got nailed with the dining jinx once again and I really felt bad for him since this seems to happen more often than not when we dine out. He was going to order the Duo of Rabbit which was a stuffed smoked leg and arugula wrapped loin served with butter seared yukons and a huckleberry demiglace, but as soon as he requested it our waiter remembered to tell us that their supplier had been rather unreliable with the bunny meat of late. Damn it all to hell! If we'd known we were going to encounter this kind of problem we could have fished a few out from under our front porch and brought 'em with us.

Ah well, when foiled with his first choice then Jay usually looks for the next weirdest thing to try ... in this case it was Juniper Marinated Duck Breast, pan seared medium rare, served with Rutabaga Puree' and Spiced Pear Chutney. He chose Colcannon as his side dish, which is a mess of cabbage and mashed potatoes with butter, salt, and pepper. Jay thought this was very good; well-cooked so that the duck meat was tender and juicy but with a nice light layer of crispy skin to provide some texture and saltiness.

Duck, duck ... where's the goose?

Colcannon ... ugh, cabbage.

Before placing an order for dessert, Jay and I decreed that we must share a scotch flight to wash down the sweeties. Dylan asked me how I even knew to ask the waiter for the "other" scotch menu ... ah, bless his innocent heart. I showed him the scotches that were listed at the back of the beer / wine / liquor menu and indicated that they were all blended scotches.

"Blended scotch is crap. You want single malt scotch which is more expensive and in a place like this they're going to have a separate menu for it. You just gotta ask."

As if Auntie Crohn and Thirsty Jay are such experts ... we've only been playing with scotch for two years and blame it all on those insidious bastards at Epcot's Food & Wine Festival. It didn't take long for the Scotch Bible to make an appearance and we selected the Portwood Cask Tour which was a tasting of the Balvenie 21-year, Benriach Portwood, and the Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban (we have this last one at home and know well just how good it is ... booyah!).

Mmmmm, scotch warms my belly!

Our dessert selections included a Creme Brulee Trio ... left to right in the picture below: Lemon Sage, Double Chocolate Stout, and Apple Cinammon Creme Brulee. I admit that I was skeptical - we've dined in far more upscale restaurants only to have them botch the brulee - but all three of these were wonderful. Perhaps the surprise winner of the evening was the lemon sage, which was a lightly sweeted, cool, lemon delight. The chocolate stout was also very good and the apple cinammon was nice, maybe a little too much apple, but still very enjoyable. All three were cooked prefectly and just the right size for sharing.

A trio of creme brulee? Don't mind if we do!

And last but not least was the Pear and Black Walnut Bread Pudding with warm Vanilla Creme Anglaise. There was no way we could say no to the bread pudding even if it was teeming with intestinal time bombs. Although, to be fair, it was no real hardship for me to avoid the bread pudding because I thought it was way too heavy and custardy ... I focused most of my attention on the creme brulee. Jay and Dylan really liked the bread pudding though, and thought the vanilla creme anglaise added an extra hint of sweetness.

I'll stick with Raglan Road's bread and butter pudding ...


I am here to tell you fine people that the Scottish Arms is a hidden gem the likes of which we had no idea even existed in Stinktown. The food was generous, well prepared, tasty, and very satisfying. The menu offered plenty of food and drink choices to please the adventurous diner as well as the more timid one, and the service was helpful and friendly. Jay and I would definitely have dinner here again and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who wants a hearty British Isles meal in a cozy, congenial atmosphere. It's as close to the Auld Country as yer gonna git in Stinktown; aye, and worth every penny!

Brio Tuscan Grill: Leave the Button Off Your Pants ... You're Going to Need the Breathing Room

Saturday, February 21st - Lunch with the In-Laws ... Jay & Bendy Style!

It's always hard for us to find gifts to give Jay's parents, so lately we've taken to subjecting them to our company while enjoying a nice lunch or dinner somewhere here in Stinktown. Today we took them to lunch at Brio Tuscan Grille, located at Frontenac Plaza. To give those of you not familiar with Stinktown some perspective, Frontenac is a bastion of old money ... the horsey set live and eat and shop here ... when Jay and I pay a visit we typically end up looking and feeling like Cletus and Brandine on their first trip to the big city.

First, we had to stop and pick up Jay's mom because his dad was going to meet us at the restaurant. Jay and I snapped a quick self portrait while waiting for her ... it just doesn't feel like a dining review unless I've included a picture of your devoted, intrepid troughers.

It's your fatter, paler, winter-time doppelgangers!


Saturday looked like a nice day but it was very cold and we had one of those sharp northwest winds gusting up to 30 miles-per-hour that just drove the cold right through your bones. There's only one solution for that ... well, other than not going outside in the first place ... and that is ordering a drink or three to get your sluggish circulation moving again.

It's BRIO, not BRILLO.


Jay's parents ...


So, you may be wondering why Brio refers to itself as a Tuscan Grill. I don't know ... I've never been to Tuscany and I rarely, if ever, grill anything other than a cheese sandwedge. I took a couple of pictures of the interior of the restaurant and those of you've been to Tuscany can tell me if the decor is authentic ... something tells me that it's not. Regardless, I loved the interior design - lots of natural light, warm woods, gold and burgundy brocade fabrics, a very large, inviting bar and a huge, open wood-fired oven. It was elegant, relaxed, and welcoming.





My drink of choice for the afternoon was a Flirtini: Absolut Raspberri, Cointreau, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, and a splash of Prosecco with a cherry hiding at the bottom of the glass.

A drink? Don't mind if I do!


Jay's drink selection for the meal was a Bocce Ball: a traditional Italian cocktail blending DiSaronno Amaretto and freshly squeezed orange juice. Heh, in Stinktown we call that an Amaretto Sour.

They could have at least served it in a bocce ball, dont you think?


We shared an appetizer, thanks to a suggestion from Jay's dad, and chose Brio's Brushcetta Quattro - a sampling of the restaurant's four housemade bruschettas. From left to right in the picture below:

Sliced Steak Bruschetta - served with Gorgonzola Dolce, Arugula, Fennel, Charred Tomato, Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Tuscan Italian Dressing.

Sausage Bruschetta - served with Melted Provolone Cheese, Housemade Peperonata, and Fresh Basil.

Roasted Red Pepper & Fresh Mozzarella Bruschetta - served with Fresh Basil and a Balsamic Drizzle.

Shrimp Bruschetta - served with Lobster Sherry Sauce, Fontina Cheese, and Charred Tomato Cilantro Relish.

Oooooh, we have a winner!


These were all exceptionally tasty with good flavors and seasonings - I can't even pick a favorite from among the four because they were all so good. It was an inspired choice - kudos to Jay's dad!

Jay is a salad man and he ordered a Caesar Salad along with his entree; it was a typical salad but the croutons were homemade - soft, yet crispy and oh-so-yummy!

See, BRIO, not BRILLO.


I had to have a bowl of the Lobster Bisque - I've had it here before and it's just incredible, made with shrimp and a splash of sherry. This was creamy and smooth and subtle - I especially liked finding several shrimpies in the bottom of my bowl. Jay is much more fond of lobster than I am, and he agreed that this bisque was tremendous and even helped me finish it off.

Soupy goodness!


My entree choice was Pasta Alla Vodka - delicate handmade pasta filled with Ricotta Cheese, tossed with Crispy Prosciutto, Garlic, Basil, and a Tomato-Parmesan Cream Sauce. This was delicious - little pasta purses filled with hot, creamy cheese swimming in a light, tomato bath. And those crunchy bits of prosciutto added just the right amount of firm texture to an otherwise very soft dish.

I did not order this just because there was vodka in the sauce.


Jay ordered Garganelli Carbonara - Wood Grilled Chicken, Crisp Bacon, Parmesan Cheese, and Sauteed Spinach. Jay and I both really enjoyed this selection - it was a generous serving with lots of tender, flavorful chicken. We especially liked that the sauce was very very light and not at all sticky or gacky as some white sauces can be.

I think we've made this at home...


Jay's dad ordered the Tuscan Grilled Pork Chop - A Center-Cut, Marinated, Seared on the Grill Slice of Pig with Mashed Potatoes and Asparagoose. I did not try this since pork chops are not my preferred method of pork ingestion, but Jay's dad and Jay (who sampled) thought it was terrific - well cooked yet very moist, which can be a difficult feat to accomplish with pork.

You can take the man off the farm, but you can't take the farm outta the man.


Jay's mom ordered the Romano Crusted Chicken Salad - Crispy Romano Chicken, Chopped Egg, Bacon, Tomatoes, Green Onions, Cucumber, and Creamy Parmesan Dressing. In brief, this was a chicken caesar salad with breaded tenders but I have to admit that the chicken smelled terrific. Jay's mom seemed to enjoy it and she finished it all, so that must be a good sign.

Here chickie chickie chickie ...


Believe it or not we didn't order any after-dinner alcoholic drinks ... when not on vacation we really do tend to play things pretty straight - it's boring but safe. So Jay stuck with plain old coffee while I ordered a cappuccino.

C-O-F-F-E-E


C-A-P-P-Y


My cappuccino was wonderful ... a big, deep cup of caffeinated goodness topped with light foam and sprinkled with cinnamon. I could have sat there all afternoon drinking cup after cup of this stuff, it was that good, but there was dessert to be eaten. And so it was that this was delivered to the table: the Creme Brulee Trio - A sampling of Chocolate-Peanut Butter, Brown Sugar, and Caramel Creme Brulees.

Isn't that the cutest presentation you've seen today?


Still cute, aren't they?


They all sound good, don't they? The caramel creme brulee was the best in my opinion ... creamy, smooth, and sweet. The brown sugar was OK - it had nice flavor but had the consistency of pudding. We suspect that it didn't have time to set or wasn't properly cooked. The chocolate-peanut butter sounded delightful but honestly all I could taste was smoke. Yeah, I said smoke; so that means someone burned something they shouldn't have or else someone mistakenly used our demitasse cup of creme brulee as an ashtray.

Final verdict? Stick with normal creme brulee or order the cheesecake next time!

Overall we had a very good meal and a nice afternoon - we had attentive service and well prepared food (except for dessert) and would definitely head back for another meal some day.

Happy New Year ... Six Weeks After the Fact!

I have returned.

Hahahaha!!!

I should have posted all that holiday 2008 food porn here but I was trying to make things easy for my many food-friends on the DIS with the end result that the first review thread got closed out because someone objected. And thus I was reminded why I started this blog in the first place ...

While I'm still working on finishing the other reviews from October 2008, there isn't likely to be much activity here. Since I was lamed up with sciatica for two months and ate like an incredible sow during Christmas and New Year's I have gained more than 10 pounds putting my current mass at 153 pounds. I'm shooting for a total weight loss of 30 pounds by my 40th birthday (October 17) but will be satisfied with 25 pounds which would take me back to my wedding day weight.

In the interests of being less of a lazy-ass pig as well as saving money, we've severely cut back on a lot of our plans for this year. But the good news is this:

1) We have a gift certificate to a local sushi joint called Wasabi (thank you Anila & Tim) that comes highly recommended and we will be dining there once the weather turns to warm, balmy, spring.

2) We have some gift certificates from restaurants.com (thank you Michelle & family) and are planning on trying the food at the Scottish Arms ... again, once the weather thaws out and I've lost some weight.

3) We have reservations for a two-night stay at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis for our tenth anniversary at the end of May. If we do in fact keep that reservation we will have some reviews to share with you all, including a 7-course tasting menu from their 4-star restaurant Chez Philipe.

4) Although we canceled our planned 7-night cruise for this October in favor of a 14-night transatlantic cruise in September 2010 (hell yeah!) we still will be spending 10 nights in WDW come October 2009. Despite our current curious lack of interest in where we will eat while there, I know and you know that there will be plenty of food and booze to discuss in the months to come.

5) It is not set in stone, but most certainly the discussion of a repeat visit to Las Vegas in May 2010 for a certain husband's 40th birthday has taken place. In fact ... short of some kind of medical or fiscal disaster we're pretty sure to be there. And come hell or high water I'm taking Jason to Joel Robuchon's mansion for dinner ... 16-course meal here we come!!!

That's all I have for now ... I'll be sure to clean this place up once I'm finished with this latest batch of reviews on the DIS. I just don't have enough time to juggle everything ...not enough hours in the day, especially when you work for a bank.

I hope you are all well and wish you the best for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009!!

PS. I just remembered something else! The height of irony, which I think we'll all agree can be pretty ironic sometimes ... we received a letter in the mail from The Drunken Fish!!! Need a refresher? That's the last non-Disney review I wrote that just happens to be posted here for your reading pleasure. Anyway, they're offering us $10 off a dinner of $30 or more! I was all for tossing the letter in the trash but Jay stopped me and said it would be good incentive to try them one more time since the offer doesn't expire. So now it's stuck to our refrigerator along with all those Simpsons magnets. If we do end up dining there again I hope they've traded out the techo-babble music for something a little more appropriate.