When I'm going all sit-down, I prefer to eat at independent restaurants as opposed to chains. But I will always make an exception for Bonefish Grill. The drinks are good, the bread is good, the fish is delicious. I consistently have a wonderful experience there.
So go. I recommend everything. I haven't had a bad dish yet.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Much better
After a big letdown at Furlong's, the Chef and I had an absolutely delightful dinner at Heirloom last night. Midway is an adorable little town, and I love any excuse to get there. Heirloom is a bit on the pricey side (OK WAY on the pricey side), but if you want to have a little treat with your honey it might be worth the splurge.
Usually if I'm going to make the trek out to Midway I can't pass up Holly Hill Inn--my absolute favorite place to eat in the state of Kentucky. But we decided to expand our horizons.
The wine list was absurdly expensive. Let's get that out of the way.
Salads are a la carte. We split a spinach salad that was $11. I am not a pepper fan, but these were marinated and tender and sweet. Plus it was loaded with bacon and goat cheese. What's not to love about that.
My entree was chile roasted tiger prawns ($28--eek). It was spicy and full of flavor. The shrimp was a little overdone for my preference. Where the dish really shone was the rice cake side and the scrumptious flavorful sauces.
Chef had the duck, which he said was outstanding. It was prepared tender without being the slightest bit overcooked or underdone. It came with an egg roll side that he said was complimentary, though not as show stopping as the duck itself.
Chef also had a molten lava cake (with Guinness creme anglaise) for dessert. I might have snatched an itty bitty bite. It might have been heaven in my mouth. Just sayin'.
I'd give it four stars out of five. Service was very friendly yet unobtrusive, and he appeared when needed. Try it. But save your pennies first.
Usually if I'm going to make the trek out to Midway I can't pass up Holly Hill Inn--my absolute favorite place to eat in the state of Kentucky. But we decided to expand our horizons.
The wine list was absurdly expensive. Let's get that out of the way.
Salads are a la carte. We split a spinach salad that was $11. I am not a pepper fan, but these were marinated and tender and sweet. Plus it was loaded with bacon and goat cheese. What's not to love about that.
My entree was chile roasted tiger prawns ($28--eek). It was spicy and full of flavor. The shrimp was a little overdone for my preference. Where the dish really shone was the rice cake side and the scrumptious flavorful sauces.
Chef had the duck, which he said was outstanding. It was prepared tender without being the slightest bit overcooked or underdone. It came with an egg roll side that he said was complimentary, though not as show stopping as the duck itself.
Chef also had a molten lava cake (with Guinness creme anglaise) for dessert. I might have snatched an itty bitty bite. It might have been heaven in my mouth. Just sayin'.
I'd give it four stars out of five. Service was very friendly yet unobtrusive, and he appeared when needed. Try it. But save your pennies first.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
I feel bad for writing this
Furlong's is off our list. This has made me especially sad because the first time we ate there earlier in the year, I raved about it. The food was spicy and hot and flavorful and a general delight to eat. We visited a other times with diminishing quality each time.
And I'm afraid tonight was the night we said "no mas."
On a positive note, on Wednesdays they have half-priced wine by the bottle. Chef and I got a Trivento Malbec for $13 and it was lovely.
And everything else was downhill from there.
Service was a fifteen percenter--you know what I mean? I got the impression she was annoyed by me. Or maybe she was nervous. I can't tell. She never looked at my husband. She didn't engage in any conversation. She just seemed a bit sour, and I was left feeling like it was my fault somehow.
But the real clincher was the food. They have changed their menu a bit, and by doing so, it looks like they have gotten rid of many dishes and added hamburgers.
I got the Crawfish half and half (half crawfish etouffee and half fried crawfish bites). It was bland. Absolutely no flavor, no seasoning. It lacked salt. It lacked spice. It lacked personality. I covered everything in hot sauce and salt and cleaned my plate (because I'd had half a cup of dried fruit for lunch and I probably would have eaten kibble at that point). The dish came with a side of sweet potato fries which were cut so tiny that they were difficult to eat, although they were tasty.
Oh, and they now up charge for a salad. Previously the salad had been included in the meal.
Chef got the shrimp creole with a side of jambalaya and tasso green beans. He echoed my complaints--no flavor. He didn't finish half of his plate.
We had previously eaten beignets at Furlongs, which were to DIE for, but this meal had put us in such a bad mood that we didn't want to stay there any longer than necessary.
Off the list. We won't be back.
I feel like I've been negative about food this past week. Can anyone recommend a fabulous place for dinner tonight?
And I'm afraid tonight was the night we said "no mas."
On a positive note, on Wednesdays they have half-priced wine by the bottle. Chef and I got a Trivento Malbec for $13 and it was lovely.
And everything else was downhill from there.
Service was a fifteen percenter--you know what I mean? I got the impression she was annoyed by me. Or maybe she was nervous. I can't tell. She never looked at my husband. She didn't engage in any conversation. She just seemed a bit sour, and I was left feeling like it was my fault somehow.
But the real clincher was the food. They have changed their menu a bit, and by doing so, it looks like they have gotten rid of many dishes and added hamburgers.
I got the Crawfish half and half (half crawfish etouffee and half fried crawfish bites). It was bland. Absolutely no flavor, no seasoning. It lacked salt. It lacked spice. It lacked personality. I covered everything in hot sauce and salt and cleaned my plate (because I'd had half a cup of dried fruit for lunch and I probably would have eaten kibble at that point). The dish came with a side of sweet potato fries which were cut so tiny that they were difficult to eat, although they were tasty.
Oh, and they now up charge for a salad. Previously the salad had been included in the meal.
Chef got the shrimp creole with a side of jambalaya and tasso green beans. He echoed my complaints--no flavor. He didn't finish half of his plate.
We had previously eaten beignets at Furlongs, which were to DIE for, but this meal had put us in such a bad mood that we didn't want to stay there any longer than necessary.
Off the list. We won't be back.
I feel like I've been negative about food this past week. Can anyone recommend a fabulous place for dinner tonight?
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Slummin' It
Because while I may not love my arteries as much as I should, I sure love a big greasy burger.
Five Guys--you have stolen my heart. And maybe made it a bit weaker.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Panda Cuisine
The already massive menu of Panda Cuisine has the new addition of a sushi bar.
I tried a yam yam roll, some unagi, and a cup of miso soup for about five zillion dollars (how do all those little pieces add up to so much?).
Husband has the General Tso's Chicken (as usual) for a much more reasonable $10.95.
When you're one of five white people in a restaurant packed to the brim (on a Sunday night no less), you know you've come to the right place. The menu can be quite adventuresome for those wishing for something more authentic. Or, as we were in the mood, they also have Americanized Chinese food which is prepared to be nothing short of excellent.
Everything was delicious. My sushi was tasty and fresh. Husband's dish was full of cut white meat chicken (not prebreaded and fried) with a flavorful sauce.
Panda Cuisine was once known as Panda Garden and located on the north side of town across from Wal-Mart. The new location is in the same plaza as LasikPlus on Nicholasville Road and has a lovely, serene atmosphere even when there is a busy dinner crowd.
Want Chinese food in Lexington? There are some good places. But Panda Cuisine should probably be your first choice.
I tried a yam yam roll, some unagi, and a cup of miso soup for about five zillion dollars (how do all those little pieces add up to so much?).
Husband has the General Tso's Chicken (as usual) for a much more reasonable $10.95.
When you're one of five white people in a restaurant packed to the brim (on a Sunday night no less), you know you've come to the right place. The menu can be quite adventuresome for those wishing for something more authentic. Or, as we were in the mood, they also have Americanized Chinese food which is prepared to be nothing short of excellent.
Everything was delicious. My sushi was tasty and fresh. Husband's dish was full of cut white meat chicken (not prebreaded and fried) with a flavorful sauce.
Panda Cuisine was once known as Panda Garden and located on the north side of town across from Wal-Mart. The new location is in the same plaza as LasikPlus on Nicholasville Road and has a lovely, serene atmosphere even when there is a busy dinner crowd.
Want Chinese food in Lexington? There are some good places. But Panda Cuisine should probably be your first choice.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Merrick Inn
Merrick Inn is loud and expensive.
I can pretty much sum up my review with that.
I wasn't disappointed with my meal. I had a lovely spinach, orzo and meatball soup as a starter. For an entree, I had the crab cakes (described on the menu as "lightly sautéed and served with Vidalia onion and applewood bacon remoulade and Kentucky chow chow") and roasted red pepper cheese grits. It was all really rather good. The crab cakes were full of crab, not filler. The cheese grits needed a bit of salt, but that could just be my grease laden palate. But at $25 for some pretty small portions, I didn't feel like the value was there compared to some other fine dining establishments in town.
Why not?
Well for one, our server took about 15 minutes to greet us. For this I don't entirely blame our server. He was running (literally) all night. They seemed to be inadequately staffed. Plus we were seated by two very large and very loud parties. I had to yell to be heard by the people beside me. It would have been nice to have put those parties in a separate area of the restaurant so the rest of the establishment could enjoy their dinner company. I would expect this volume out on the patio (which is large and very lovely), but inside (at this price point) I'd expect something a bit more subdued.
Another small fault--they were out of the night's special. We were eating at seven o'clock, not near closing time. And, as a dining companion noted, she's never been to Merrick when they were NOT out of the special.
Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed my meal. The food was great and the service was warm (if a bit harried). But if you're looking for some place special to dine, this probably wouldn't be number one on my list.
I can pretty much sum up my review with that.
I wasn't disappointed with my meal. I had a lovely spinach, orzo and meatball soup as a starter. For an entree, I had the crab cakes (described on the menu as "lightly sautéed and served with Vidalia onion and applewood bacon remoulade and Kentucky chow chow") and roasted red pepper cheese grits. It was all really rather good. The crab cakes were full of crab, not filler. The cheese grits needed a bit of salt, but that could just be my grease laden palate. But at $25 for some pretty small portions, I didn't feel like the value was there compared to some other fine dining establishments in town.
Why not?
Well for one, our server took about 15 minutes to greet us. For this I don't entirely blame our server. He was running (literally) all night. They seemed to be inadequately staffed. Plus we were seated by two very large and very loud parties. I had to yell to be heard by the people beside me. It would have been nice to have put those parties in a separate area of the restaurant so the rest of the establishment could enjoy their dinner company. I would expect this volume out on the patio (which is large and very lovely), but inside (at this price point) I'd expect something a bit more subdued.
Another small fault--they were out of the night's special. We were eating at seven o'clock, not near closing time. And, as a dining companion noted, she's never been to Merrick when they were NOT out of the special.
Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed my meal. The food was great and the service was warm (if a bit harried). But if you're looking for some place special to dine, this probably wouldn't be number one on my list.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
New year!
Now that the school year is back up and running, Chef and Wife will be eating again. And you will be hearing about it.
Cheers,
-Wife
Cheers,
-Wife
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