U.S. Adventures - New Orleans

We just got back from what was kind of a whirlwind trip to New Orleans—it was crazy because the kids were there with us and we did a lot of sightseeing, visiting with members of hubby’s family who lived down there, as well as trying to fit in some adult time to eat at some of the amazing restaurants as well.  I am not going to do a full post about each restaurant, just some of the highlights and lowlights of each.

The first thing we did we when got to town was go to lunch—everyone was starving. We hit up Joey K’s on Magazine Street near where we were staying. It is a friendly neighborhood kid friendly spot that was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives awhile back.  I had my first po boy (shrimp) ($8.50) and it hit the spot.  Lots of fried shrimp, mayo, lettuce and pickles. And of course, the perfect roll.  After eating it, I realized how lucky we are to have B’s Po Boy here in town because they were remarkably similar. My son had a fried soft shell crab ($16.95) that was also quite good.

Our first night, we hit one of the old school standards—Commander’s Palace.  This is the restaurant where Emeril got his start.  It is a bit stuffy and we had the kids with us, so they lost a bit of patience with it—especially since the service was pretty slow.  I was kind of surprised honestly. My first course was by far the best, and was quite delicious—it was spicy shrimp remoulade ($9.50).  It was wild white shrimp that were boiled crab boil style and served with hearts of palm, tomato and lettuce with a spicy lemon vinaigrette.  The shrimp were perfectly cooked and tender and had a zippiness to them from the seasoning.  Honestly, the rest of the meal was fairly disappointing—well my taste of hubby’s turtle soup was ok if you are into that kind of thing.  Tasted heavily of the Sherry they pour in at the end.

We randomly stopped into a little outdoor place in the French Market section of the Quarter for lunch the next day called the Market Café.  We were with a bunch of hubby’s family members (and kids) and it was nice to sit outside and enjoy the music.  I had my doubts about this place when I saw it—seemed like a tourist trap kind of place, but hubby and I split a fried seafood platter ($20.95) and it was really good. Catfish, shrimp and oysters—all cooked nice and crunchy outside but tender inside. The shrimp were probably my favorite.

We had our first really good dinner that night at Mr. B’s.  They are known for their barbecued shrimp ($26), which we shared an order of and which lived up to the hype.  If you aren’t aware, barbecue shrimp in New Orleans is shrimp cooked in a sauce that contains Worcestershire sauce, butter, and tons of herbs and spices.  We also shared an appetizer of their fried oysters ($10.25) with the table and they were probably the best thing we had that night—super fresh, super crunchy oysters sitting in their shells which were filled with bacon horseradish hollandaise.  And I really liked the cool old school bistro-ish vibe.

Lunch the next day was with friends at Borgne, which is a John Besh restaurant. We had some really good food here, although it is a restaurant in a hotel and the atmosphere is a little generic.  We had a bunch of stuff—my favorites were probably the slow smoked pork empanadas ($9). They were served with a  creamy, tangy dipping sauce and were tasty.  I also liked the creamy oyster spaghetti with garlic and bottarga ($20) just for something different.  The oysters were really tender and delicious, and I have to say, I always prefer them cooked.

Dinner was at Root which was a restaurant several people had recommended to me—it is a very modern place located in the Warehouse District. It has a very hip urban feel to it and a very hipster-ish clientele.  Honestly, this was the biggest letdown food-wise for me.  They have a nice charcuterie menu, and we had a couple of things (face bacon and rillettes) and I appreciated all the cool accompaniments that came along side (many pickled items).  Probably the most memorable was the blueberry mustard that came in the little tube (as in like toothpaste). Apparently, they have something different in the tube each day and they squeeze a little out and leave the rest of the tube there for you to use.  First time I have seen that (and it tasted good too).  The rest of the food wasn’t that great taste-wise, although also likewise inventive—there were avocado dippin’ dots on my watermelon salad and the scallops our friend ordered came in a cigar box filled with cigar smoke (not so sure how I feel about that, not being a fan of cigar smoke).  An interesting experience for sure, but not one I would likely repeat.

Our last dinner was the best—it was at Bayona.  There were some clear standout food items, but everything about the experience was just really nice, even when certain food items weren’t as memorable.  The restaurant is in the French Quarter and has an old school feel and I loved our server—she chatted with us quite a bit and genuinely seemed to like her job and where she worked.  The items that stand out in my mind were an appetizer we all shared—the toasted bread with goat cheese and this wonderful mushroom mixture with Madeira. Simple, but perfectly executed. I am so going to try and duplicate this one at home. (I just found the recipe here.) Hubby had an amazing sweetbread appetizer with a Sherry vinaigrette sauce that also had the perfect mix of acid and savory flavors—and the sweetbreads were perfectly crisp.  It was a perfect way to end our trip with a great meal, wine and friends.

Oh…and there were beignets at Café Du Monde of course…

One of the things I noticed about New Orleans that I loved—the people.  Everyone, and I mean, everyone, wants to tell you where to eat and what their favorite restaurants are.  The people I met all had an obvious love of their City and were more than happy to share it with you.  It is a physically beautiful City as well. Hubby and I are already planning our next trip---this one without kids so we can really relax and just eat and wander the streets. I would love to hear about all your favorite places.

Live Oaks in the Garden District

Cemetery

Mardi Gras Heads

Joey K’s

3001 Magazine Street

New Orleans, LA 70115

504/891-0997

www.joeyksrestaurant.com

Commander’s Palace

1403 Washington Avenue

New Orleans, LA 70130

504/899-8221

www.commanderspalace.com

The Market Café

1000 Decatur Street

New Orleans, LA 70116

504/527-5000

http://www.marketcafenola.com/

Mr. B’s Bistro

201 Royal Street

New Orleans, LA 70130

504/523-2078

http://www.mrbsbistro.com/

Borgne

601 Loyola Avenue

New Orleans, LA 70113

504/613-3860

http://www.borgnerestaurant.com/

Root

200 Julia Street

New Orleans, LA 70130

505/252-9480

www.rootnola.com

Bayona

430 Dauphine Street

New Orleans, LA 70112

504/525-4455

http://www.bayona.com/

Café du Monde

800 Decatur Street

New Orleans, LA 70116

504/535-4544

www.cafedumonde.com

Brewstone Beer Company

***THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED**

First impression of this place? Loudest. Restaurant. Ever.  Let’s just get that out of the way. If you have a loud kid (as I do), you will not have to worry about anyone hearing them over the roar of the game being played over the speaker system.  There are also a ton of tvs playing lots of different sports, and there really doesn’t appear to be a different dining room for families (or non-bar folk) so you are in it if you are there.  The regular tables sort of surround the bar on all sides.  The interior was a bit nicer than I thought it would be—on the walls where there weren’t tvs, there were large photographs of travel destinations around the country. We had fun picking out some we recognized.

Honestly, I did not have high hopes regarding the food based on everything I had heard and read (42% on urbanspoon--ouch)—but I was pleasantly surprised.  Hubby ordered the fish and chips ($15) and it was good.  There were 4 cod fillets that were beer battered—they had a nice crispy exterior and the fish was still moist inside.  A lot of restaurants use other fish in their fish and chips and often it is too thin to be cooked as long as you need to for the outside to be the right crispiness. These were very good.  The fries were fine—nothing special—honestly we had so much food on the table, we didn’t eat many of them.

I decided to be adventurous, and possibly a little hard headed, and order the tuna poke appetizer ($12).  They had a couple of seared tuna dishes on the menu as well and our server told me they were popular, so I was hopeful that the fish would be good and fresh.  You know, I was pleasantly surprised again. The dish had quite a bit of flavor from their marinade—there was even a bit of heat from what appeared to be chili oil (ok, I did add just a bit of soy sauce).  The dish itself was made up of chunks of tuna, avocado, lots of radish sprouts and thin sliced onions.  It was served with fried wonton chips to scoop it up.  The only bad part was the wontons were stuck underneath the tuna mixture for presentation which made one edge of them soggy. It might not have been as pretty, but would be better off to serve them on a separate plate or something.  I was happy with it overall though and would order it again. I appreciate that in a restaurant that focuses mostly on bar food that there was an option that was lighter and not as heavy and traditional options.

My daughter was thrilled to see that they had a grilled chicken breast option on the kid’s menu instead of just the chicken tenders (which they also have, and which thankfully, she is starting to outgrow). It was a nice little plate with the chicken breast, broccoli and mashed potatoes ($5).  The chicken was well seasoned and shockingly, fairly tender.  And that was a good amount of food for $5 (which included the drinks as well).

My son had the mac and cheese ($5) which was pretty good as well.  There was fresh grated cheese on top and it had a very homemade taste—not sure my son was a huge fan, but I thought it was pretty good for a kids meal.  I don’t often even mention the kid’s meals, but these stood out to me as better than the average options.

Other then the crazy noise level (and I am hoping maybe it was just because it was a Saturday game day), this is a place that we as a family will probably add to the rotation.  Everyone liked it, and it is one of the closest places to our house around. The service was a little slow, and it is a chain (a small one though with currently only 2 locations), but at least on our visit, they seemed to be taking care in the kitchen.  I love it when a place surprises me.

Who else has been? I know several of you have told me about it, would love to hear what you think and see why their ratings are so low.

Brewstone Beer Company

3720 E. 82^nd Street

Indy  46240

317/577-7800

http://brewstonerestaurant.com/index.php

Sushi Bar

I feel like I have been in a rut lately and wanted to try something new. I have heard some good things about the new Sushi Bar on Broad Ripple Avenue and wanted to check it out.  We were both impressed by how cute the interior of the place was when we walked in (ok, hubby would not use the word “cute,” but whatever).  They have done a really nice job of giving it a feel that is more than just your typical Japanese restaurant.  There’s a bay window in the front with a large sunken booth that was full with a family when we walked in—I can’t wait to take the kids back to sit there, they would love it (and the rest of the restaurant can’t hear them as well—it’s a win-win.)

see the size of the glass?

Anyway, we sat down and ordered some drinks—one of the first perks of this place is cheap alcohol.  They have $1 domestic beers and $2 imports and while the wine list is, um, well, what you expect of most Japanese places, when you order a glass, it is a serious glass. As in HUGE.  So you get your money’s worth here too (I think my glass was $6.99 which was one of the more expensive ones).

We started with an order of veggie tempura ($6.95). They also have an eggplant tempura appetizer that I was intrigued by and asked the server if eggplant was included in the mixed veggie option—she said no.  So it was a nice surprise when she brought it out and told us they had gone ahead and added a couple pieces of eggplant. I appreciate these things.  I also loved that there was a piece of broccoli in there as well (and various squash and a couple of onion rings). The tempura was only ok though—it just wasn’t quite crispy enough.  The taste was good, but it needed another minute or hotter oil.

Next they brought us our rolls—we ordered the “2010 roll” which was a special on the board and was a roll with shrimp tempura inside and avocado, spicy tuna and crispy crab flakes on the outside (around $13).  We both enjoyed the flavors of this one—there was also a light sauce beneath the crunchy crab flavored bits—my only problem with it was it was so tall, it was hard to get it in your mouth.  I also thought it was interesting that the pieces of shrimp tempura that were inside the roll were much crunchier than the ones in the veggie tempura appetizer.  I think a lot of places must fry the stuff that goes inside rolls longer to keep them crunchier once they’re in the roll. I just wish they would fry the other stuff as crunchy.  Loved the crunchy bits on top to give the roll lots of texture.

We also had the red dragon roll (I am almost sure that was its name—around $12) and it was very good. Probably more up my alley because it was a little easier to eat and the tuna on top was great.  It was eel and avocado inside and fresh tuna on top (actually rolled almost all the way around).  There was also a lightly sweet unagi sauce on top.  This one didn’t have the texture of the first one obviously, but it had a great, more simplified flavor. And the ingredients were extremely fresh and well done.

We also had an order of tuna nigiri ($4.50 for 2 pieces) because hubby really likes nigiri (which is just the rice topped with the fish).  It was also very good—a good way to really get a handle on the freshness of the fish—this was melt in  your mouth tender and the rice had that slight sweet/vinegar taste that makes nigiri shine.  I sometimes don’t like nigiri as much because there is wasabi added (often a bit is put under the fish) but this one didn’t have that problem. 

Our server was nice, but had a little bit of attitude—I think she was trying to be funny, but sometimes it came across as a little snotty.  As the restaurant got busier, she was more focused on getting food and drinks out and I enjoyed myself more (the giant glass of wine didn’t hurt either).  I was also entertained by the couple who came in toward the end of the meal and asked the server to explain everything to them—they had never had any type of sushi before (I love eavesdropping on the tables around me).  I have to hand it to them though—way to be bold and just ask for help.  The menu is quite large—I think there are probably 20-30 different rolls alone, not to mention a menu full of other good sounding things, including several noodle dishes that I would like to try.

Overall, while there are certain things that could use some improvement (the tempura for sure, as well as the fact there is no website to be found), this is a good addition to Broad Ripple village proper.  The food is good and the prices are pretty reasonable (particularly for beer-- although it is technically a “special,” the special sign looked fairly permanent).  They have a kids menu, which so few Japanese restaurants seem to have, and I know we’ll be back with the kids to give the place a try as a family.  So who has had the noodles and other dishes?  What else is good?

Sushi Bar

911 Broad Ripple Avenue

Indy  46220

317/257-7289

There is no website (there is a facebook page with nothing really on it).  It is hard to believe in this day and age that a new restaurant doesn’t have a website, but maybe that’s just me.
***Update 11/2/12: they have a website! 
www.sushibarindy.com 

Pei Wei

So, even though this place opened awhile ago right near my house, it has taken me awhile to try it—I guess partly because it is a chain, and partly because I imagined it as a fast food type of option, which is not something I do a lot.  But I was in a hurry and needed to stop for something quick to go one day and decided, why not?

Well, first of all, it really isn’t fast food—in that it wasn’t really very fast.  The carry out takes a good 10 minutes or so, which is fine, but just be prepared if you are in a real hurry.  But it was made hot and fresh and took a bit.  The interior isn’t really fast food-ish either, although it does feel very corporate (it is owned by PF Chang’s) (They also have one of those soda machines that you can mix a million different flavors of things if you are so inclined).

One of the things that had intrigued me about the place was the fact that a friend had told me he loved their hot and sour soup.  So I got a cup of that ($2) as well as a couple of small portion items so that I could try several things.  The flavor of the soup wasn’t bad, it had a good amount of the “sour” flavor that I like from the vinegar, but it suffered from the overstarchy consistency that really bugs me in hot and sour soup if it is overdone.  You feel almost like you are eating warm savory jello or something.

black bean chicken in the box

I also tried the chicken and black bean sauce ($3.95).  This was definitely my favorite of the dishes that I tried.  Honestly, even though they sell these more as tapas types of dishes, one of these portions is a very healthy lunch in my opinion.  There was rice on the bottom (your choice of white or brown, I got white) and the dish consisted of minced chicken, red onions, carrots, green onion and peppers with a “tangy black pepper sauce.”  In theory there were Chinese black beans, but I didn’t see any.  I liked this dish—it had more flavor and less sweetness than a lot of quick serve Chinese food, and I would consider getting this one again.  It was a bit tangy and you could taste the garlic and soy; and the onions, while still crunchy, were sautéed enough that you didn’t feel like they were just raw.  One benefit of mincing the chicken so finely, if it was a little dry (which often seems to happen with Chinese food), you didn’t really notice because it was little teeny pieces covered in the sauce.

about 1/2 of each dish on a dinner plate

The Singapore noodle dish ($3.95) wasn’t as good for me.  It was sautéed egg noodles with bean sprouts, red pepper, carrots, chicken, sesame seeds and cilantro.  This one had too much of that sweet and sour flavor for me (it was described as a sweet chili soy sauce) I liked the freshness from the cilantro and the crunchy veggies on top to break up all the noodles, but I couldn’t get past the overly sweet flavor.  The chicken was dry as well.  Although hubby came in while I was eating it and shared them both with me (all the food together was definitely enough for two people to share for lunch in my opinion), and he seemed to enjoy the noodles.

It’s an option, and it is better than actual fast food which is very prevalent around my house (as are chains sadly).  It may work its way into my lunch every once in awhile, but I can’t say it will probably be a regular thing for me.  But there really isn’t a lot of good Chinese around me that is relatively cheap and so I can see this being a possible option on occasion.

Pei Wei

6159 N Keystone Ave

Indy, 46220

317/205-9380

www.peiwei.com

Road Trip Cincinnati - Part 2

 On our second day in Cincinnati we had a busy day—food wise and otherwise.  We started in the morning at the Findlay Market which was a place I had always wanted to go and hadn’t.  I loved the energy of it—it was jam packed with people. The neighborhood around seems a little deserted, but I really enjoyed the market itself. We had a nice breakfast at one of the vendors—A Taste of Belgium.  Egg, gruyere and thin ham wrapped in a crepe.  It was a perfect thing to grab for breakfast.

After some wondering around, we met up with hubby’s good fried at Nicholson’s.  It’s a gastropub, and has a very pubby looking exterior—although I was surprised at how new it looked both inside and out.  Our friends were running a little late, so we went ahead and ordered the Scotch egg appetizer ($8).  They were good, although not the best I have had—I liked that they served them with some dressed greens on the side and I liked the drizzle of mustard sauce, although I would have liked a little more for dipping. I do think mustard and eggs is a good combo.

Hubby and I decided to split the mussels for our main dish ($12).  They were really, really good—the broth was described as white wine, garlic and herbed butter—and those ingredients were definitely there. Pretty sure based on the creamy color that there was cream in there as well.  But the mussels were some of the best I have had in awhile. Super tender and the broth had a ton of flavor. Oh yeah, and they came with duck fat frites.  Those frites dipped in the broth were amazing.  I have had duck fat frites before and have enjoyed them, but these had a lot more flavor than any of the others.  The only downside with the mussels is it really was a portion for one.  Normally with mussels you get so many that we always share, but this was a very reasonable portion. In other words, I was annoyed I had to share. So we added an order of the poutine ($7.50) on and I was really glad we did.  Man, this was really good too (and apparently completely distracting because somehow I took no pictures after the Scotch eggs).  The poutine was more of those duck fat frites topped with truffled mushroom ragu and fresh cheese.  I loved this—I loved that they used mushrooms instead of the rich meaty gravy I usually see (and often pork, etc).  It made it feel not so heavy and greasy.  The fries in general stayed pretty crispy too which was nice (maybe it was just because we ate them so fast).  I would so order this again.

All in all, a great lunch and base for preparing for the Reds’ game we then went to after lunch (the Reds won) which was good because hubby and his friend, shall we say, enjoyed their beers.  After the game was over, we just sort of started walking toward downtown with the intention of a few more drinks and more food.  We didn’t have any plans, and weren’t dressed particularly well but ended up randomly walking into Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse and scoring a table in the bar.  Even though we looked like we had spent the afternoon at the game, I appreciated the professionalism of the staff—they were really nice (and we weren’t the only ones for sure).  Turned out to be a good choice too because after an hour or so all the baseball players from both teams started filtering in which was kind of fun to watch.

We just got a bunch of appetizers from the menu to share—and I have to be honest, I wasn’t wowed by any of them.  Probably my favorite thing was the barbecued shrimp and grits ($21).  The shrimp were New Orleans style “BBQ” which is more of a butter and Worcestershire type of sauce.  The grits were nice and creamy and buttery and the shrimp wasn’t overcooked.  We also had a chophouse salad ($8) which had all my favorite ingredients—blue cheese, egg, bacon, and red onion, but something about it seemed flat to me—it had a Parmesan dressing but it just didn’t have a zip that I wanted. Hubby liked it quite a bit better than me though.

Sadly, the beef tartare ($13) was a letdown as well.  The beef was clearly good quality and fresh, but there just wasn’t much seasoning at all—a cute little poached quail egg that gave it a teeny bit of extra richness, but it was really calling out for some mustard or something salty.  The crab cake ($15) didn’t fare much better. It was a little dry, even with the dollop of crème fraiche on top.  The pommes Anna ($8) were beautiful, and were a nice side to have with everything and had a nice buttery and crunchy exterior.  Not sure I would order them again, but I enjoyed them at the time.

Honestly, we were having more fun hanging out with our friends, drinking some nice wine and enjoying the Reds’ win, so we didn’t mind, but this meal was in retrospect very disappointing, particularly compared with all the other wonderful food we ate in Cincinnati.  But I would highly recommend Orchids at Palm Court (see my last Cincinnati post) and Nicholson’s. 

Nicholson’s

625 Washington Street

Cincinnati, OH  45202

513/564-9111

www.nicholsonspub.com

Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse

700 Walnut Street

Cincinnati, OH 45202

513/ 784-1200

www.jeffruby.com

Oh Yumm Bistro - Revisit

I had a bunch of errands to run in the area the other day, so I stopped into Oh Yumm Bistro for a quick lunch.  It used to be a regular place for hubby and me for dinner, but I haven’t been in ages.  I found it interesting that the clientele was entirely female—and they were pretty busy.

Anyway, I first ordered a sandwich, was told they were out of it, and then I tried for the tuna tartare, and was told they were out of that too. My server was really embarrassed about the whole thing and tried to be very accommodating. I ended up ordering the pescado tacos ($8.99), and luckily, these were available.  I also appreciated that my server also brought me a complimentary order of French fries (which are normally $3.95) because he felt bad about not having the things I wanted to order.  I appreciate when a server takes it upon himself to do what they can to rectify a situation, even by just making a small gesture (my pet peeve is when they come and ask YOU what they can do to fix a situation, or when the server just disappears at the first sign of customer dissatisfaction).

Anyway, the fries were good—although I probably would have had them a little crunchier if it had been up to me. According to the menu, they are drizzled in rosemary oil, which may have been why they were a little soft.  But they did have a nice flavor and they are a generous portion.  (Sorry about the lack of many pictures, it was just too dark.)

The tacos were fine.  They were served in slightly toasty flour tortillas with thin strips of basa fish (which is a mild white fish similar to catfish in flavor) that were seasoned with several spices.  They weren’t particularly hot (as in spice level), but had a decent amount of seasoning.  I appreciated that the fish fairly tender. There was also cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo, and some lime sour cream.  Honestly, the fillings were all kind of soft when you smooshed them together—they tasted pretty good, but I could have done with some crunch factor—maybe a little cabbage or something along those lines?  I did take all the extra pico de gallo that they served alongside and dump it all in there for a little extra crunch from the onion and acid from the tomato.  I also asked for a bit of extra sour cream because there was only a little bit on the tacos—it added a good tang, although I didn’t get a lot of lime from it.  Actually, a lime wedge would have been a nice addition too.  They served homemade tortilla chips on the side as well and I didn’t really care for them—they were a little too thick and hard for my taste.  (A little local trivia, according to the menu, Oh Yumm was the first place to serve fish tacos in Indy.)

Overall, it was a fine lunch, although I wish I could have gotten one of my first choices—perhaps it would have been a little more satisfying.  Anyone else been there lately? And, since I have gotten myself on the subject, anyone have any restaurant pet peeves they want to share? Or servers, what are your pet peeves about customers?  I always love a good discussion!

Oh Yumm! Bistro

5615 N. Illinois

Indy, 46208

317/251-5656

www.ohyummbistro.com

Road Trip- Orchids at Palm Court - Cincinnati

Hubby and I celebrated our anniversary recently with a trip to Cincinnati—well, we were celebrating our anniversary and visiting with some friends.  The first night (on our own) we went to Orchids at Palm Court (this was the big anniversary dinner). 

First of all, wow, what a cool space—hubby and I have a soft spot for deco things-- décor, buildings, whatever-- and this place is deco to the extreme and just overall impressive.  The restaurant and bar is set in a huge two story room that just transports you.  The whole hotel is like that actually.  You can really feel what it must have felt like to stay in a place like this back in the day. And it makes you grateful for keeping historic buildings and rooms true to their original character.

They first brought us out bread service with butter and olive oil with big chunks of soft, rich roasted garlic and an amuse bouche. All were outstanding. As soon as I saw the little egg shell the amuse was served in, I was already pretty sure I was going to like whatever was in there—and I did.  It was a cauliflower and saffron custard that was baked in the egg shell with a little piece of house made bacon. That bacon was really good, and the little crunch was awesome. I would have loved more of it.

I started with the sweet corn soup ($11) with polenta angnolotti, summer truffles, and roasted corn.  It was a very nice soup, with a nice flavor of truffle (although I think it was coming from truffle oil)—the dumpling was maybe a little dense for me, but it was nice to have something in there to give some texture to the soup. The corn was also interesting—it seemed almost freeze dried and then slowly rehydrated as it sat in the soup.

Hubby started with the sweetbreads ($12) which were some of the best I have had.  The sweetbreads (which were thymus) were lightly fried and were nice and tender, but what made them shine was the sauce and accompaniments.  They were served with chanterelle mushrooms and little fingerling potatoes and the most amazing sherry vinaigrette.  It wasn’t just a standard vinaigrette either—there was a little bit of chili in there giving it even more flavor.  I thought I really liked my soup and then I tried this dish—it had so many layers of flavor, it made my soup seem kind of boring.  This may have been the best dish of the night.

For a second course we shared the blue cheese beignets ($8) with tart greens, apple, almond tuile and spiced honey gastrique.  This was also a great combination of flavors—I love some sweetness with blue cheese and the tartness of the apples and greens made for a wonderful mix.  The little beignets were crisp and warm and very blue cheesy.  The little bits of almond tuile added a little crunch factor too.  It was a great salad course (the picture is a half order, because the kitchen split it before bringing it out).

For my main dish, I had another appetizer, the lobster salad ($13).  This one was really good as well.  There was a lightly seasoned lobster salad at the bottom topped with a fried egg, and served with crème fraiche and caviar cream.  There were also some little dots of caviar around the plate and some crispy phyllo-type “noodles” on top.  I liked it when the yolk broke into the lobster salad giving it extra richness—my only complaint here is that the egg was fried a little too hard and there wasn’t much runny yolk there.  I would have preferred a softer egg overall.  I did like the crunch from the ribbons of phyllo on top—gave it the right variation in texture.  Hubby would probably say this was his favorite.

Hubby had the lamb loin with parsnip puree, maitake mushrooms, onions and a mustard sauce ($38).  Again, very good.  The sauce had a nice mustardy flavor and the entire dish tasted like fall. The lamb was very tender.

They have an old school dessert tray that they wheel over to show you all the desserts, we went with a chocolate banana combo that was very, very good (and you always gotta love when they write things on your plate).  It had an intense dark chocolate filling that was delicious. And the caramel ice cream on top was really good too (if there is a dessert with chocolate, caramel and bananas, it is almost a sure bet with hubby and I.)

Top to bottom, it was one of the better fine dining experiences I have had in awhile.  The food, the atmosphere, the service—all of it was very, very good.  Exactly what you want in a fine dining experience, and exactly what we wanted for our anniversary.

Orchids at Palm Court

Hilton Cincinnati

35 West Fifth Street

Cincinnati, OH  45202

513/421-9100

http://www.orchidsatpalmcourt.com/restaurants.html#anchor1