Last night we had DATE NIGHT!!! Doesn't happen often, life seems to speed a long at a break neck pace all the time these days. After viewing menus online and weighing our options, we decided on Enoteca Sogno on Bellevue in northside. It was surprisingly quiet for a Friday night which was both wonderful and puzzling as I've heard great things. I will admit we were tired from a long day and had gone to dinner early so the cool kids probably showed up later. They had a pretty impressive wine by the bottle list, but I was not planning on getting hammered, so I chose a Pinot Bianco by the glass. Nice, a little drier than a Pinot Grigio. Good stuff. We started our meal with an appetizer special. Octopus with white beans with rosemary. The octopus was chewy and had little flavor, BUT the white beans were luscious! I'm a sucker for rosemary and honestly would rub it on my skin everyday to smell like the herb. We ended up sopping up the sauce with the bread it was so good. They could just serve the beans and forget the octopus but then it wouldn't be as cool and we wouldn't have ordered it.
For dinner, I had soft shelled crab. Chris has always talked bout how gross it is to eat soft shelled crab (the sight not the taste) so naturally I had to try them! They were breaded very lightly, just enough to give them s slight crisp but not so much that the breading distracted from the flavor, and saute'd in butter and citrus. So rich and buttery and succulent. This was served with a garlic and butter pasta which I dragged over into the crab juice. Just scrumptious! Chris had a seafood medley over pasta. This included shrimp, mussels, clams, fish, and squid in a garlic and wine sauce. The shrimp were big and cooked to perfection. The sauce had nice big chunks of garlic which were perfect for dipping with the bread. It was tasty and wonderful! For dessert we had a lemon corn bread kind of cake (I'm sure it has some sexy Italian name, but neither of us can remember). This was sweet and tangy and served with white peach slices and fresh whipped cream. It was surprisingly good. Not too sweet or too heavy after a great meal. A really perfect dessert. So in closing, the atmosphere was intimate (especially during old people hour) the food was rich and wonderful, and the service was great. Dinner for 2 with 4 cocktails (2 each not 4 each) $79. Bon Appetit!
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Last night we had Dorey's birthday dinner and she chose Julep's at 1719 East Franklin St. We had the benefit of knowing our waiter Kent, so we got some special treatment. The first thing to know is parking can be a problem, but once you find a spot, it's worth the trouble. We started with cocktails. I'm a boring date and just had a nice glass of white wine. Kent suggested Dorey get a Cosmopolitan and Chris decided to pay homage to the restaurant name and ordered a Mint Julep. I had never tasted either before but both were very good. Not my style, but liquor usually isn't. I think I could drink Kent's Cosmos, but the Mint Julep was too strong for me. Chris liked it though :)
Next he brought us fried green tomatoes. There were 4 large slices of tomato, breaded nicely and fried to a crispy, not greasy, perfection. These were drizzled with a zingy peppadew aoili. I'm not familiar with the peppedew pepper bit's it has a sweet, slightly spicy flavor that went perfectly with the tomatoes. This dish was so good in fact, we ate everything short of picking up the plate and licking it! After the tomatoes, Kent brought us corn bread that was delicious. Not too sweet, but just sweet enough! Next we had soups/salad. I don't want to bore you, but... they had beets! These were shaved red beets, served with oranges and goat cheese with a granny smith apple vinaigrette. mmm... beets... It was a fresh beautiful salad. The presentation was a work of art. Have I mentioned that I love beets? Let's move along. Dorey had butternut squash soup. Another on my list of most favored vegetables and the soup was a thing of beauty. It was smooth and creamy and luscious. It had candied bacon and cream on top. You simply can't go wrong if there's bacon involved. Chris' soup was a crab bisque. Where the tomatoes were the highlight of the dinner collectively, this was the low point. (low being compared with amazing food, so, not bad, just less good) The soup had a lovely semi spicy broth with chunks of crab, but was too salty for us. Dorey liked it and it was a good soup drizzled with sherry. Just not our favorite of the evening. Onward to the entrees. Dorey and Chris argued over shrimp and grits, and crab cakes. Having tried shrimp and grits in most restaurants in Richmond Chris won and got the Julep's version. Dorey had the crab cakes... I read everything on their menu carefully and was intrigued by spaghetti squash with eggplant ragout and grilled broccolini. Doesn't sound like much, I know, but it was so very tasty. I know there's no meat, but I didn't miss it at all. Perfect combination of flavors and a nice heat from the spices and sprinkled with Cabra La Mancha cheese which is a goat cheese from Maryland. Who knew? The evening was a wonderful culinary success and after all that food we found ourselves in a serious food coma. No dessert for us. We were in desperate need of happy pants. Juleps, for my wallet is a special occasion restaurant, but well worth it. Total for 5 cocktails, salad/soups and entrees $160, Bon Appetit! Tuesday night, last week, my dinner companions and I drove out 95 to Hanover County to the Bass Pro Shop! Yes, if you haven't already heard, there's a restaurant in the Bass Pro Shop called Islamorada. We had all heard much talk, both good and bad, and were intrigued, so we went. Driving up to the place makes me giggle. I mean it's THE BASS FREAKIN' PRO SHOP!! I really wanted to wander int he actual store, but we were all hungry and by the time we finished dinner, too tired, so another time. When you enter the place there is a 12,000 gallon salt water aquarium which is a real stunner. The restaurant is pretty casual, but, of course, WE were adorable! Our waiter was a (very) young kid who could not have been more charming. He did really know his stuff and made a few mistakes during the course of the evening, but we could forgive him as he really was trying. We started with cocktails and Sheila, the non-wino, had a really nice Pina Colada, which looked great. We shared an appetizer called a Florida Sampler. This had fried alligator, coconut shrimp and wahoo dip. All of us were excited about the alligator which had a nice flavorful breading and deep fried to perfection. Didn't "taste just like chicken" but had a similar consistency. The shrimp was also fried but breaded in coconut and very tasty. I can't say I loved the wahoo dip. It was a bit mayonnaisey for me. The dipping sauces for the other fried beauties were quite good. On to dinner. Mine is boring, but I'll say they did a very nice job. I had perfect grilled salmon, with a baked potato and lovely steamed vegetables. Ho-hum, but it was cooked well and I love that chefs are listening to me. My companions both had a platter called the Angler. This included a really nice crab cake with a little kick. More crab than filler and very good. Also on the plate were grilled mahi mahi and shrimp. A seafood lover's dream! After we had coffee and dessert. It was a lovely evening and well worth the trip out. Dinner for 1 with shared appetizer, cocktails and dessert was $27.
Last night was date night. This is an event that doesn't happen often in our house, but timed perfectly this time for the opening of Wolverine... let's think on that for a moment...Wolverine...despite what appears to be chemically enhanced muscles...he's Wolverine, but I digress. This is about food. (the movie was GREAT for those among us who like super hero films) This was our 3rd visit to Pescados, and where the last trip was a group dinner with a planned menu, which was fine, the first and third visits were AMAZING! Pescados is located in a shopping center on Midlothian Turnpike in the Old Buckingham Station area. They specialize in seafood with a Spanish influence. The thing I really like about the place is that you're getting fine dining food in a very casual atmosphere. We arrived early, Wolverine and all, and were seated and offered cocktails. We said yes! Our waiter was pleasant and attentive and also a super hero movie fan so that made it fun. He brought is blue corn chips that were seasoned so I stayed away until I realized it was a light sugar rather than salt. These were served with a fresh salsa. Refreshing and good. Chris and I were interested in eating the food, but also conscious of time so we ordered accordingly. I started with a warm beet salad. (raise your hand if you're surprised) Red beets, yellow peppers, and goat cheese with field greens and a truly wonderful sweet olive oil and vinegar dressing. EVERYTHING about it was perfect. All the flavors blended together in a most appealing way. And there were beets :) Chris started with his favorite, Voodoo Shrimp. This is a cacophony of flavors that is spicy and shocking and yummy all at the same time. Shrimp, hanbanero peppers, banana, and chorizo in a rum and garlic sauce with a fried egg on top over bread. Yes, that sounds like a lot of things combined in a way that couldn't possibly be appetizing, but TRUST ME! It rocks! After that we had 2 specials, both beautiful. Staying away from heavy sauces and sodium, I got a raw salmon salad with cabbage and sesame, and other yummy ingredients that I can't remember. This was served with a soy mustard dressing that I tasted, but didn't pour over the food. It was quite good and the salmon was truly smooth and beautiful. Chris tried grilled barracuda (cue the Heart lyrics) with red potato and shrimp mashed together, and broccoli rabe. The fish was a thing of beauty, grilled perfectly and the perfect texture. The potato dish was interesting. Very good, and unexpected. Who mashes shrimp into potatoes? We agreed that, where the broccoli rabe was prepared well, neither of us are big fans. Chris LOVES seafood and commented that he doesn't think he's ever had better seafood. It was a lovely dinner and the timing was right on spot. Cost of 2 cocktails each, 2 appetizers and entrees $82. Bon Appetit!
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