still on the list

So yesterday we went to Louie's Modern for dinner for the first time since our November return.  We were a little skeptical after checking out the menu online because there was obviously a new hand in the kitchen. The menu seemed slanted to the middle east in a way it hadn't been before. Having things on a bed of Israeli couscous is fine as long as it is one of many options but having all dishes with that set-up was more concerning. But we went.

We hit the jackpot with our server Jacquie. Top notch woman with a vast understanding of food and ingredients and opinions.  We always hate it when you ask a server "Between X and Y which would you recommend?" and the response is "they are all good" - that does NOT answer the question and is a very lazy and non interactive way of dealing with the customers - it says I simply don't have the time for you or the understanding of our food to make a recommendation.  Jacquie was NOT that way. She knew her food and because she wasn't too busy in this week before the holidays was able to give us plenty of details to help us make terrific decisions.

We had gone through the menu and picked out some things we were interested in but upon hearing the specials made some changes. Each of us ordered one item from the specials and one from the menu and then we shared a stater of amazing Chicharones (maybe the best ever.)

so let's start with that and then go on-

actually all the SHARES sounded pretty good- and I was leaning towards the burrata but when I decided on the special salad with farro and currents and butternut squash, we went with the amazing  chicharones....

 Both wines showed really well - and the red was a perfect accompaniment for the salmon (my main)

Phil had the crab and shrimp Louie salad with egg, avocado and tomato and I had the special salad with the currants and farro.

then Phil had the special (Maine lobster with a scallion risotto) and I had the salmon from the menu

we both had gelato for dessert - mine vanilla bean and his chocolate hazelnut

since we were the last customers (other than stragglers from a party of thirty in the back room) we were able to catch up on all that is new at both Tableseide (first generation retired and next has stepped into the management roles) and several new places around town that they have opened.

overall we were VERY happy with the food and especially with the service.  #itsallgood - so it stays on the list!

this week

Our week has been pretty darn busy- we think we had reached agreement on two real estate deals (hopefully including our house) and we between us - started three new classes at USF-SM and got together with friends Al & Carol for dinner, tried a new lunch place, had a "farewell" dinner with our favorite sommelier in town, James at Michael's on East (he's headed off to Portland with wife and child to start a new life) and we ended our week with the symphony.

and next week things get really busy-  classes, theater, lecture, baseball (spring training game in Lakeland with CBGB) and then we are off to visit Angela & Lee for the weekend (Durham NC)

never a dull moment- oh and yeah, I forgot - the tickets for the Sarasota Film Festival go on sale on Thursday!!!! which means a lot of picking and planning on Thursday before we head out of town....

so here are a few photos/scans from the week-

dinner venue with Al & Carol-

I did a whole post about lunch but here is the reminder of the place- go back a post or two and you can read the whole thing-

text book for my 1890's history class- which seems like it will be extremely interesting - Phil's class is on the civil war and my other class is on the middle ages-

food from terrific dinner at Michael's on East- shrimp tempura and wedge salad appetizers

one bite- amuse of halibut (overcooked but one bite so who cares? LOL)

tuna- with the forbidden rice- for me and sea bass for Phil-

this is the perfect dessert- one layer of coffee (espresso) ice cream for me and the other layer vanilla with heath bar crunch for Phil- he also gets the fudgy topping LOL - Oh and the chocolate stick- he is the chocoholic in this household...

and tonight- the orchestra - playing a nice selection of classical and more contemporary works - Copland, Brahms, and Dvorak. (below the conductor Anu Tali, and soloist from tonight's concert)

our time is drawing near for the end of the winter- and we have only two plays and one more orchestra concert scheduled- but who knows how long we will be here if the house sells per the agreed upon closing date of 4/14.... we will see how that goes...

the second time around

Restaurants under the stress of a high volume holiday usually are not "themselves" - we often avoid places altogether on days when "everyone in the world" is out for dinner (think - Mother's Day for instance) and eat at home.  We also usually go out on weeknights as kitchens tend to be more stressed on Friday and Saturday nights. (LOL- in the parlance of the ancients- "date night")

However- friends come when it is convenient for their schedules so last night we found ourselves out on Valentine's Day for dinner.  Now there is a stress test for pretty much any restaurant but more so for those "special occasion" places like Louie's Modern where the normally high end food and service are put to the test by record breaking numbers of people seeking "that special meal" for their "valentine"- LOL.

So we were bowled over when they were able to not only keep up to their outstanding quality on there food - they were also able to keep up the level of warm, welcoming high quality service as well. It isn't a test to go on Wednesday night at 8:30 or 9:00  in a town that eats at 6:30 or 7:00 LOL.  But last night in an extremely busy restaurant we still had three terrific appetizers - the salt & pepper calamari, the black & blue pizzetta, and the seared tuna.  We had tried the last two before and they were both extremely well executed (as they were last time.) The flavors of the calamari were very good but it must have been delayed waiting for the other items because it was only moderately warm upon arrival at the table.  Given how busy the kitchen was - that wasn't unexpected and as I said it was delicious - just not HOT.

We tried all new entrees this time and everyone was very happy- we had the salmon, a scallop & clam dish over risotto, and a "gumbo" from John Besch's recipe.  Luke and August are two of our very favorite restaurants in NOLa so we had high expectations for that dish that were completely met and then exceeded.

here are photos of our entrees-

every one was a winner.  We had started the evening at home with a white burg- a 2002 Puligny-Montrachet, Les Pucelles from Girardin which showed very well and, good news, we still have a few more bottles of that! Then we took to the restaurant a 1996 red burg - just a plain Bourgogne- which showed terrifically even at 20 years old (as Phil pointed out - it was not even a "village wine" - much less a premier cru or grand cru which would have been expected to age that long.)

so our red burg -

followed by an Oregon pinot of only 15 years age- from the Anden Vineyard in the Willamette Valley made by Mark Vlossak at St Innocent Winery (one of our favorite wine makers in Oregon)

we were unexpectedly able to meet Eric Hale - the wine guy for Louie's Modern - who usually isn't working on Sunday nights but was called into service for the big romantic day ... so that was really fun and at the tail end of the evening, we were able to again share wines with Jeffrey Gissinger the terrific manager of Louie's Modern.  Wine geeks always find each other - LOL....

So our fun and spunky server Kristin (we requested her, knowing from our last visit how fabulous she was- attentive and helpful but not in that "paid to be nice to you" way) was on duty and we again had the same level of service from her despite the amazingly crowded room.  This place was so busy it was the first restaurant we have been to for dinner in a couple of weeks where we weren't the last ones to leave LOL.

We had two desserts - the skillet cookies (our second try was as good as the first) and a new one - the salted caramel crunch cake... another good choice but not as amazing as the skillet cookie- which is dream worthy...  I will leave you with this dumb funny comic for Valentine's Day- as well as our kudos to Louie's for an outstanding job on an extremely stressful night-

off today to give a second chance to a place we mostly panned after the first visit... and then later to a lecture at the museum and then finally to our favorite island place - Blue Marlin.  We also have indigenous "on deck" so our friend Maryanne (of NYC) will get a taste of what our area has to offer folks who run away from the cold...LOL - more later...

louie, louie

LOL- I know I know- if you are of a certain age you get the title and that may be what you came for... but this is a review of a new-to-us restaurant in downtown Sarasota that we LOVED!

Now there are any number of reasons why a restaurant may be liked but to get to LOVED you need three things- great food, great service and lovely ambiance, and this one had it all.  It began with a really truly warm welcome at the front desk. Then although the dining room was nearly full, the hostess offered us a choice of tables rather than forcing her choice upon us.

The restaurant really doesn't show well in the photos because it is lit in a cool blue -which I am sure is terrifically soothing and also cooling in the long hot and humid summers here (we don't know because we are in lovely Chicago for our summers...LOL) It also wreaked havoc with food photos (I really really try not to be disruptive and use a flash at restaurants - there are other diners perhaps not interested in every course being documented...LOL -so that is fair warning about the strange blue tones to the food photos etc..

Although the corkage is a stiff $25 per bottle- we brought our own because as we always tell the restaurants- our wine is old and needs to be drunk - and since we eat out a lot that means we need to drink it in their places - not just ours...

the room is actually lovely despite not photographing well-

 here are a couple of photos in daylight that are from their website which show off the lovely room-

back to my "blue period" photos- the menu- changed into B&W for reading purposes- LOL

we had the black and blue pizzetta and the tuna to start- sharing both - the pizzetta won but both were marvelous...

then because it was cold outside (48*) Phil tried the seafood chowder- no clams just the good stuff! He was a happy diner...

I went for the wedge salad- a favorite that I use to compare restaurants to each other- this was very nice - a tad overdressed but next time I will just order "on the side"... the netsuke bacon chunks were fab! (there is actually a LOT of lettuce under there and it was so large Phil had to eat the second half of it for me)

then for mains Phil went for the lamb and I had the trout preparation - mine was perfect- the bone removed and the trout butterflied and served on the skin- really good prep with mashed cauliflower as part of the set up....

the lamb came with chops, meatball and meatloaf with sides of mixed veg and truffle mashed potatoes.

and I can't believe I missed the photos of the amazing dessert that we shared and what's worse is I can't find one online either LOL- trust me this one was more than a cookie ("dark chocolate skillet cookie" by name)- it was so chocolate that you could smell it as it was brought to the table fresh out of the oven- molten like but crusty - ooooohhhh! it was completely luscious- we had no trouble taking it down despite it being course number four.... wish I could show you but, alas no photo exists.

so what I haven't told you yet is how terrific Kristin our server, and Jeffrey the manager were.  Both attentive to their patrons and friendly. And they both had a trait I love - a sense of humor.

 Jeffrey suggested that we book on a night that we could meet Eric as he is the "wine guy" and would be a good person to get to know - he gave us his card so next time we reserve we can ask if he will be in that evening....

A wonderful evening - made even better by extremely nice people and great food. We highly recommend this for anyone looking for a special night out! And now- LOL - back to the Cuba and the UNESCO World Heritage town of Trinidad.... now more than half way through the Cuba trip and if I finish my posting by Saturday I will have done it in only a month (I know that is nothing to brag about - this has been such a busy time for us that I can only use that as a lame excuse for the delay.) Stay tuned I will get you through the country and back to the U.S. in time for the holidays- LOL