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If you read part one, you’ll know I was thoroughly enjoying this thoughtfully designed new restaurant.
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The fact that it was happy hour and if you sat at the bar their speciality cocktails were half price may have had something to do with that.
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Good thing it was a beautiful slab of granite.. because my bar bills are legendary.
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These were my three choices for the afternoon starting with the Winter Lux.
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A lovely combination of tart and sweet with a seriously booze soaked cherry at the finish.
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Next up was the Sicilian Sour which I expected to be smooth and spicy but was really just a serious bolt of brightly colored bourbon. Not complaining mind you, just surprised.
Since appetizers were half price as well, I had some delightful arincini with herbed mustard sauce and pecorino crema.
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Husband went with the mussels which were served with grilled lemon, heirloom tomatoes, shallots and fennel with a garlic white wine Pernod butter sauce.
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And chickpea fritters to mop up the sauce.
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My final drinkie poo was the Cold Night Collins, a delightfully cool and crisp citrus concoction with an herbal undertone.
And because we were actually there to try the food, I chose the bucatini carbonara.
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Which unfortunately was sub par. While the pasta was homemade, the dish was dry, uninteresting and lacking in flavor. And sadly, the husband didn’t fare any better.
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Half full from all the mussels, he went light with a salad and Sicilian pizza combo. Which had to be sent back because it was stone cold and hard as a rock. And while we assumed they would make him a new one, it seems they just threw it back in the oven to reheat because on return he flipped it over to find it was black as charcoal. Our server immediately took it off the bill and offered a substitute but by that time the husband decided to skip the entree and go straight to dessert.
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Which I have to say more than made up for the lousy pizza. Tiramisu cheesecake with Kahlua. Fabulous!
And because it would be rude to let him eat sweets alone…
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Key lime crème brûlée for moi. Ooh la la! This made up for my mediocre pasta as well.
I talked to a friend the other day whose granddaughter works there and she told me they’re still experiencing the growing pains most new restaurants suffer. Help is hard to find these days and good kitchen staff can be even harder. But we enjoyed it and there was enough on the plus side for us to return.
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If nothing else, I’ll just sit at the bar and stare at the giant fish.
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River's world..... 
Mmmm- rice balls. Haven’t had them in decades. My mother made them baseball size and still it was easy to eat too many..
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These were very good!
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I like that you take your time getting to know a place. The food all looked good, but there’s no way to see that it was cold. Reheating vs. making over is never a good choice – unless they’re leftovers you took home. I see some beer in one picture. Did they have a good selection on tap?
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They did… a nicely rounded selection of local stouts, porters, reds, IPA’s, wheats and a sour. Including my husband’s favorite, so the bar was a definite win.
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Looks like the positives outweighed the glitches. Worth a 2nd trip . . . for apps and alcohol anyway.
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And dessert!
👍
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‘…Winter Lux – A lovely combination of tart and sweet…’ Surely could be called a Colin 😜
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It certainly could.
😉
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Well I think the adult beverages more than made up for the entrees, at least they looked like they did. Winter Lux sounds heavenly……it’s freaking 8am here and now I want a Winter Lux!
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You can’t beat a well prepared martini!
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I’d say give the food a second chance? It certainly looks like it could be fabulous in taste if they had someone who knew how to prepare it properly.
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We will. There were enough good things to warrant a second chance…
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I hate bars whose idea of happy hour is $1 off a well drink or something like that. At least these guys put the “happy” back in the hour.
Are you or have you watched “Drinkmasters” on Netflix? Really enjoyable cocktail competition reality show. Think “Top Chef” but with booze instead of food.
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We don’t get Netflix, but that sounds like my kind of show.
👍
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Sounds like there was more good than bad, and another visit is merited. It does look like a fun place.
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We liked it.
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Here’s a crumb of comfort for all those who think I’m a great big know-it-all: What is Luxardo?
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It’s yummy, which is all I need to know…. but if you insist.
Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur is a clear cherry liqueur made from Sour Marasca cherries which are cultivated exclusively by the Luxardo family in the orchards of the Euganean Hills in Veneto. The cherries including the stones, branches and leaves are placed in larchwood vats for two years to infuse with neutral alcohol.
🙂
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Your dishes had fancy names. Actually, way too fancy. That alone allows for (a) a subpar dish since you really do not know what they do with it, and (b) a 45% markup for using so many vowels.
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I blame the fish.
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By the time I get out there they’ll have worked out all the kinks – hurrah!
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So, maybe you just go for the atmosphere, cocktails, and dessert?
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For now, yes.
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