ladysprite (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ladysprite) wrote2011-08-07 03:51 pm
ladysprite) wrote2011-08-07 03:51 pm
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Restaurant Project: F
Unsurprisingly, this project is going a lot more slowly than my previous one. We had decided on Flora for our F restaurant, after several strong recommendations, but unfortunately (as before) ran into an unlikely string of poor timing problems - several times we tried to make it there, only to be stopped by work emergencies, last-minute changes of plans, or getting there to find the restaurant closed for a private function. Eventually, we decided that it just wasn't meant to be, and moved on.
Last week, though, when we headed down to Mystic, I realized that since we'd be eating in restaurants by necessity, it might be a good opportunity to find something interesting and move ahead on the project. A quick internet search turned up the Flood Tide Restaurant, which looked nice, interesting, and, while not crazy expensive, better than a lot of the other pizza shack offerings.
The location was perfect; we were able to park nearby and wander around the little local shops for a while before eating, and they were actually quite helpful and accommodating when we decided to take a little more wander-time and called to push our reservation back by half an hour. And the restaurant itself was lovely, without being too dark or too cold (common problems, in my experience, in restaurants trying to be upscale - I'm not sure why shivering is supposed to imply refinement, but it always ends up seeming that way). The only oddness I noticed was that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
umbran and I were the youngest people in there by at least 25 years. I'm not sure why; the food was good and the menu, while not obnoxiously trendy, was plenty interesting.
The bread they brought out was warm and rich and tasty, and we started with an appetizer of Crispy Duck Spring Rolls that were, honestly, the best thing I ate that entire weekend. Not that the rest of the food wasn't good, but these were amazing. I'm a sucker for duck in just about any form, and these were crisp and smokey with tender, flavorful meat and a sweet/sour sauce that was not too gloppy or sugary... perfection.
I ordered the Sea Scallops with Parmesan Dijon Cream and Duchess Potatoes - scallops are another favorite food - and I wasn't let down. The scallops were sweet and tender and briny and wonderful, and the sauce was light enough not to interfere with the flavor of the scallops themselves (a heavy, cheesy sauce would have been way too much). The potatoes were good enough, I guess; they weren't that memorable, but they weren't bad. And the roasted vegetables that came on the side were amazing - corn, green and yellow beans, and purple and orange cauliflower, in an herbed butter. I hate cauliflower as a rule, but the combination of color and roasting were enough to convince me to try a bite, and it was actually good - and the rest of the veggies were delicious.
umbran ordered the Rack of Lamb, with Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Honestly, I liked my food better - the taste I had of his lamb was a little tough and gamey, though he said the rarer portions were better. (I am doing my best to cultivate a taste for rare meat, but ultimately not succeeding.) The gravy was excellent, though, and he said his mashed potatoes were excellent and had a good texture.
Alas, we were too full to order dessert; a failure on our parts, I know. All in all, though, while this wasn't a life-changing meal, it was definitely a mark in the 'win' column. So, thumbs up for a positive experience, and for trying a random new restaurant - that's a large part of why I started this project!
So - best vacation food experiences you've had? And recommendations for G? The only place I can think of locally is Gargoyles, and I've heard less than stellar reviews of them in general....
Last week, though, when we headed down to Mystic, I realized that since we'd be eating in restaurants by necessity, it might be a good opportunity to find something interesting and move ahead on the project. A quick internet search turned up the Flood Tide Restaurant, which looked nice, interesting, and, while not crazy expensive, better than a lot of the other pizza shack offerings.
The location was perfect; we were able to park nearby and wander around the little local shops for a while before eating, and they were actually quite helpful and accommodating when we decided to take a little more wander-time and called to push our reservation back by half an hour. And the restaurant itself was lovely, without being too dark or too cold (common problems, in my experience, in restaurants trying to be upscale - I'm not sure why shivering is supposed to imply refinement, but it always ends up seeming that way). The only oddness I noticed was that
umbran and I were the youngest people in there by at least 25 years. I'm not sure why; the food was good and the menu, while not obnoxiously trendy, was plenty interesting.The bread they brought out was warm and rich and tasty, and we started with an appetizer of Crispy Duck Spring Rolls that were, honestly, the best thing I ate that entire weekend. Not that the rest of the food wasn't good, but these were amazing. I'm a sucker for duck in just about any form, and these were crisp and smokey with tender, flavorful meat and a sweet/sour sauce that was not too gloppy or sugary... perfection.
I ordered the Sea Scallops with Parmesan Dijon Cream and Duchess Potatoes - scallops are another favorite food - and I wasn't let down. The scallops were sweet and tender and briny and wonderful, and the sauce was light enough not to interfere with the flavor of the scallops themselves (a heavy, cheesy sauce would have been way too much). The potatoes were good enough, I guess; they weren't that memorable, but they weren't bad. And the roasted vegetables that came on the side were amazing - corn, green and yellow beans, and purple and orange cauliflower, in an herbed butter. I hate cauliflower as a rule, but the combination of color and roasting were enough to convince me to try a bite, and it was actually good - and the rest of the veggies were delicious.
umbran ordered the Rack of Lamb, with Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Honestly, I liked my food better - the taste I had of his lamb was a little tough and gamey, though he said the rarer portions were better. (I am doing my best to cultivate a taste for rare meat, but ultimately not succeeding.) The gravy was excellent, though, and he said his mashed potatoes were excellent and had a good texture.Alas, we were too full to order dessert; a failure on our parts, I know. All in all, though, while this wasn't a life-changing meal, it was definitely a mark in the 'win' column. So, thumbs up for a positive experience, and for trying a random new restaurant - that's a large part of why I started this project!
So - best vacation food experiences you've had? And recommendations for G? The only place I can think of locally is Gargoyles, and I've heard less than stellar reviews of them in general....
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It's also a favorite of
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There is an interesting-looking Italian restaurant called Grotto on Beacon Hill. And there's always The Good Life downtown, although that does get much more bar-and-music like later at night, so you might want to schedule accordingly.
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The question of best vacation food experiences lead to 45 minutes of reminiscing about great food experiences on our vacations. We were able to settle on the top two:
1) The Winemakers' Dinner at the Albion River Inn in May of this year. We were up there for our 30th anniversary. It was also the weekend of the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival. The (very good) chef went all out and knocked our socks off with the food, the winemakers brought their best stuff and told interesting and frequently hilarious stories about the wines, and our dining companions (we were seated at tables of 8) were pleasant and interesting. The dinner lasted 3 hours, so we weren't in the least bit rushed.
2) Rappongi USA in La Jolla, CA. We've been there several times since, but the first time was magical. The other half and I had been sightseeing all day, and then had gone back to the B&B and taken a nap. We woke up 8:30PM, ravenous. Fortunately the B&B was only a couple of blocks off the main drag, so we just wandered down the street until we found something that looked good. The menu had 3 pages of appetizers and only 1 page of entrees. The waitress told us that most people just ordered a salad, and then as many appetizers as we felt like, so that's what we did. We sat at one of the outside tables in the shirt-sleeve late fall evening, eating little portions of very good Asian/Mexican fusion food (Chinese-style BBQ baby back ribs, tea-smoked duck quesadilla...). Just a magical evening.
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