Our favorite restaurant changes the menu every two weeks based upon the growing seasons and the local food supply. Even if we are not planning a night out soon, I will sometimes stop and read the menu as I am walking by. The dishes are always so creative. Some dishes stay on the menu for awhile as they have become crowd favorites, but generally going to eat at this place is to be tempted by new flavors and food combinations with each visit. All of the produce is organic and comes from local farms. The meat is grass fed/hormone free and is usually locally based as well. The effort the chef makes in both acquiring and combining the fresh food always makes a great tasting meal.
Tonight I was going to order the brie, apricot jam and salami pizza, as I just wasn't feeling the flavors from the other menu selections. The pizza is cooked in a wood-fired brick oven and is absolutely outstanding. However, the waitress came over to tell us of the nightly special (the staff changes their menu bi-weekly and have nightly specials! Did I mention that the chef is highly creative?). The vegetarian special was a morel mushroom bread pudding with baby greens and roasted beets. I also ordered a salad of baby lettuce, blackberries, and strawberries with a serving of chevre rolled in toasted almonds as an appetizer.
The plating was beautifully done. The picture is from Reed's cell phone; it just doesn't do the colors and textures justice. I couldn't figure out what the little chunks around the morel pudding were. They tasted fruity, yet root-y also. I should have asked but I was too busy eating everything.
The wine list is locally based as well. Reed is always able to pick out a great bottle of wine that complements both of our meals. I knew I wouldn't drink any wine tonight, but I didn't want to drink anything that was too sweet as I knew my meal would have strong flavors. So I tried the bottled grape juice. Oh my god! The juice, in Reed's words, "smelled of sex". The scent was so floral and delicate I was almost afraid to take a first sip, but the flavor was just as amazing as the smell. I have been missing alcohol throughout most of this pregnancy, but drinking this grape juice almost makes up for all the time without. I have to find my own supply of this juice. It is just so amazing.Reed and I had wanted to go to this restaurant for dinner after our wedding, but it happened to be closed that night. We always enjoy taking friends and family to this place to share in the great food, but tonight with just the two of us, the meal was more about the food and the atmosphere. It was one of our last nights before we begin our life with another new baby. Our time as a couple and then as parents of North has been so wonderful, it was nice to have the space to reflect upon all the positive changes that have come into our lives .
(Who us? Two kids and a marriage?)