Last night, prompted by an expiring Groupon, Chris and I ventured out the The Magpie at 1301 West Leigh St. Tony and Anita had recommended it a while back which is what caused us to buy the Groupon in the first place. We did not realize, or perhaps forgot, that reservations are preferred. Still the staff was accommodating. Magpie is very small restaurant with as many small tables as the space permits. We chose the bar and then found they could not have gotten us table anyhow. With the close quarters, the noise level can get loud, but it was a busy evening for them. Not sure if all evenings are that way but the food would suggest that it could be true. Speaking of the food, the bartender was our server and he was the hardest working man in show business last night. He was helping seat those with reservations, tending the bar, and serving food. He deserves his Baby Ruth! Magpie has a decent wine selection, including a list of $20 bottles. Being a cheap date a chose a Linen Sauvignon Blanc off the economy list. Very nice. Chris got a beer flight. 5 small glasses of a variety of beers. All interesting. Not a huge list, but more than he could taste and he liked all but one of the offerings. As we sat cocktailing we were given an amuse bouche of celery root, pumpkin... and I'm embarrassed to say that I can't remember what else. It's not on the online menu so let's just say it impressed right out of the gate. The flavors were so lovely together, sweet and savory and rich, and such a nice surprise. The menu to me sounded quite rich, but very intriguing and yummy. It is separated into small, medium, and large plates. Chris started his meal with the star of the evening a warm rich pumpkin celery root bisque. It was creamy and nutmeg-y (yes that's an adjective) and made me just want to bathe in it forever. Had we not been in a public place I would have licked the bowl. As we were, I stopped at scraping the bowl within an inch of it's life. I had a root vegetable salad. This was shaved radish, with beets, (they had me at beets) sweet potato chips, and shredded carrot. It came with a ranch dressing of which I am not a fan, but I got it on the side and dipped a little. I have to say I was not impressed with the dressing. If you are a ranch lover it was probably a very good ranch, but the veggies were nice and fresh and tastey. For dinner we ordered 3 medium plates. First we had roasted brussels sprouts. Don't you turn your nose up! They were spectacular, roasted to perfection with (I believe) gruyere cheese, but so little of it that it only flavored the sprouts and was barely noticeable. That's a good thing. Chris had a house made sausage which I did not get to try. He said it was spicey and rich and very flavorful! Perfect for his taste. This was served with tomato jam and tempura shallot rings. Let's be honest. They were onion rings. Really tastey onion rings and there could have been many more! The third plate was veal sweet breads. I always shy away from things that don't sound like, shall we say, recognizable parts, but my restaurant mantra is to try things I would not be cooking at home. They were crusty and tender and absolutely divine. All dishes were a home run! Finally it was time for dessert. We don't need dessert. I'm not craving dessert. I could go without... DEAR LORD did he just say BEET ICE CREAM?????? Yes he did! Beet ice cream with rosemary shortbread and pecan brittle. I have officially lived and there's no turning back! Sweet pink ice cream, that DOES NOT taste like earthworms, with buttery shortbread that is so sweet and then the rosemary sneaks up and gives you a kiss. Add to that amber crunchy pecan brittle and life cannot get better. So to recap, busy, loud, slow service, outstanding food and great company. Dinner for 2 with dessert, bottle of wine and beer flight $82. Eat well my friends.
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