Tallahassee - at the Avenue

Last Monday evening (3/12) Frank (on a business trip) and I (just tagging along) had dinner at a new Tallahassee dining spot called Avenue Eat and Drink. The restaurant sits on a park very near downtown and serves Southern Fusion food. We have an Avenue Eat & Drink in St. Petersburg but don't know if that are related. Frank had read some reviews on the Tallahassee Avenue Eat & Drink before we went to Tallahassee. Always on the lookout for a new dining experience, we decided to try it. 


The location is downtown not far from our favorite hotel - Hotel Duval, and near the Florida State Capitol building. Fortunately the senate and house were not in session. The decor was very nice, the service was at times a little slow, but the food was superb.


So, here are our selections:


First Course:
Dick - HEIRLOOM TOMATO AND BURRATA MOZZARELLA SALAD

Sliced heirloom tomatoes, fresh burrata cheese, basil chiffonade with extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic glaze. This was wonderful - if you have never tasted burrata Mozzarella and have an opportunity to try some, you must - the mozzarella has a tender exterior and a rich and creamy interior.


Frank - SIDE SALAD 
Fresh vegetables, gourmet greens and house vinaigrette; a nice mix of ingredients and a very tasty vinaigrette.

Main Course
Dick - BONELESS SHORT RIBS

Braised boneless short ribs with mashed parsnip and potatoes, rosemary Cabernet reduction. This was deep with flavor and extremely tender and the Rosemary Cabernet reduction was a perfect accompaniment. 

Frank - PELAGOS

Locally sourced season Gulf seafood in a slightly spicy tomato fennel broth served with garlic infused baguette (similar to bouillabaisse, a fish stew.) Every bite of seafood was perfectly cooked and loaded with flavor 


Dessert:

We shared a slice of MIKE’S REESE’S PEANUT BUTTER PIE 

Creamy peanut butter filling topped with chunks of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups drizzled with chocolate ganache and caramel


Can you tell we both thoroughly enjoyed our meals? Go, you will not be disappointed.


That's all I'm Saying

Banh Mi

Vietnamese restaurants are not as prevalent in Pinellas County as they were in Tampa, but a new restaurant opened last November not too far from my apartment, (OK, not walking distance for me - about 35 blocks). The restaurant is Alesia on Central Avenue almost to the intracoastal waterway. We enjoyed lunch there last Saturday when we both had their traditional Banh Mi sandwich (made with pâté, salami, jambon de paris (ham), pickled carrot, cucumber, cilantro, jalapeño, house spread, served on fresh toasted baguette) They were very good with an unusual, but a tasty mix of flavors. And the price is very reasonable at $7.00. They also offer the Banh Mi with grilled pork at $8.50.


Alesia is owned by three partners with French, Vietnamese and Chinese background. The menu reflects the varied culinary cultures. We want to return to try some of the other items from their menu, especially the Pho. The space is very simple but cute with indoor and outdoor seating


Dennis, a friend of ours found another Vietnamese restaurant on US 19 north of St. Petersburg called Thuy. It is on our "places to try" list.

Valentine's Day Dinner

Frank and I celebrated Valentine's Day with a outstanding dinner last Saturday at Cafe Ponte near Clearwater. I think this is the 3rd time I have posted about meals at Cafe Ponte, which I consider one of the best restaurants in the area. Since this was a special occasion and another excellent meal I opted for another post on Cafe Ponte.


We picked Saturday since Frank had to be out of town this week on business and we wanted a special dinner for an early Valentine's Day. Cafe Ponte delivered with their always good service, great food, and a nice decor. 


Our dinners included:


Amuse Bouche (Chris Ponte always opens the meal with a tasty amuse bouche, which was tasty but I can't remember what was included - oh well, we both enjoyed it).


Appetizer:
Roasted Beet Salad (Frank) with Goat Cheese Mousse 
Traditional Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail (Dick) with a trio of dipping sauces


Main Course:
Seared salmon (F) with a Bearnaise foam served over sauteed mushrooms and warm potato-bacon salad. I got to taste it and thought it was wonderful with the salmon cooked to a perfect medium rare.


Bouillabaisse  (D) which included shrimp, mussels, fish, calamari, scallops and potatoes in a Provencal style broth, with garlic aioli, and garlic and olive oil-saturated croustini on which to slather the tasty aioli for dipping in the broth.


Dessert:
Chocolate Souffle  (F) - intense chocolate flavor, warm and very moist.


Tarte Tatin (D) on a flaky pastry round covered in sliced baked apples served with Vanilla ice cream.


As usual, Cafe Ponte did not disappoint - a lovely meal all around.

Thai in Clearwater Area.

My friend, Bob, commented that I have not blogged about any restaurants lately (OK, not since Jan 15th anyway). Today, when the topic came up we were enjoying a lovely Thai lunch at a Clearwater area restaurant, Ban Thai, on Enterprise Road, at the Northeast corner with McMullin-Booth road. I have eaten at Ban Thai a number of times but never thought to blog about it although I always enjoy the food and the setting. Today I had the Crispy Duck Panang served with assorted vegetables and rice. The panang sauce was very good. The lunch specials (all reasonably priced) come with an egg roll, soup, and Thai donuts for dessert. All was yummy. Today we ate with a large group of 15 or so people. The majority of the table  (at least the end of the table around me), raved about the food.
So if you are ever in the area craving some good Thai, stop by Ban Thai.

Tryst

Another new restaurant opened along Beach Drive in St. Petersburg called "Tryst", which is billed as a gastropub. We went for lunch a few weeks ago and found the food unmemorable, but the decor was very stylish. On the first visit Frank had an "ordinary" Caesar Salad"and I had the lamb burger, dry and overcooked, I requested medium rare, this one was well done.


We made a return visit for lunch yesterday (Saturday) and had a much better experience. Frank enjoyed their Goat Cheese and Arugula salad, while I will give my Chicken & Andouille  Sausage Gumbo a thumbs up. I also ordered the appetizer of Seared Ahi Tuna with Grapefruit wedges. The Tuna was cooked to a perfect rare, but was lacking in flavor. 


While this visit was a definite improvement over the first visit, I would like to return to try the dinner menu.  Tryst is a classy space in golds, silvers, and black with great banquets (check their website) on one long wall. They have indoor and outdoor seating,  a long indoor bar and a smaller outdoor accessible bar facing on Beach Drive. Service was very good and the location is great.  I think their focus will be more on the hip bar crowd. 


That's all I'm Saying

New "To Quote"

A good friend sent me a greeting card with a quote from Oscar Wilde which I like and will include in the "To Quote" section on the right sidebar of this blog. Enjoy!


"Life is too important to be taken seriously!"
                     Oscar Wilde

Los Angeles and Anaheim Photographs

LA and Anaheim photographs are now available from the right sidebar

Something is Fishy

Frank and I had another successful Christmas Eve dinner. We again prepared the "Feast of 7 Fishes", an Italian tradition. We started at 3PM and finished eating the last dish about 8 PM, We took a leisure approach with the preparation and consumption of one dish at a time.We also took a couple of short cuts to keep it simple and relaxed. In my understanding of the feast you have to use 7 different sea foods (not just swimming little fishes). We had a great fun time with good food. So here is the menu, in the order of preparation and consumption.

1. Anchovies and Sardines on crostini (counts as two fishes)
2. Clam Chowder (prepared by Fresh Market)
3. Crab Meat Salad
4. Sauteed shrimp served over spaghetti 
5. Seared Sea Bass served on a bed if wilted radicchio with Yukon Gold potatoes
6. and finally, Seared Sea Scallops

We served smaller portions of each item so we could get through all 7 dishes. But even with our best effort, we never made it to the non-fish cheese course which we had planned for our dessert. After 5 hours of cooking and eating we were full, and tired. But it was worth it.


As Frank pointed out and I would agree: We will fix the "Feast of 7 Fishes" again, but neither of us are ready to attempt the alternate Italian Christmas Eve tradition, the "Feast of 13 Fishes"


That is all I'm Saying.


Happy New Year everyone.

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and a Happy New Year.

Los Angeles and Anaheim

Here is a set of pictures from our November 2011 journey to the L.A area. You have read the script (my blog) and now you can see the movie (OK, a set of 26 photographs). I hope you enjoy the album. Just click Mickey's Ferris Wheel to view.

LA 2011