Oenophile at large: Restaurant Review of La Grotta Ravinia, Thai Tour of Decatur

This past week allowed me the opportunity to go to one of those dinners at a nice restaurant that someone else pays for, and all I have to do is listen to a talk. Am I a food slut? Maybe, but I really enjoyed my dinner at La Grotta Ravinia, which is at the Crowne Plaza Hotel near Perimeter Mall. I'd been there once before when my in-laws were in town and found it to be consistently good across both visits.

Thursday evening started with appetizers including calamari, bruschetta, and a marinated portobello mushroom. Due to it being a somewhat corporate event, only two wines were poured, and I only got a peek at the label of the Pinot Grigio I had. I didn't get to write it down, but I think it was the 2004 Marco Felluga (Fruili) P.G. It had a hint of oak with lots of fruit and enough body that I think Hubby, who normally turns his nose up at Pinot Grigio ("wine-flavored water"), might have liked it, or at least drank it without fussing too much. The red option was the Ruffino Chianti, which is one of those good, food-friendly, go-to Italian wines.

For dinner, I had the Gamberetti al Grotta, which is "Shrimp Sautéed with Baby Artichokes, Shiitake Mushrooms, Yellow Peppers & Tomato Filets with Polenta." It came with a light lemony cream sauce and went very well with the wine. On our previous visit, I'd had the "Ravioli di Vitello con Salsa di Funghi Selvaggi: Homemade Veal Ravioli with Shiitake Mushrooms, Fresh Spinach & Wild Mushroom Sauce," which I also enjoyed. And yes, I had dessert: chocolate cake with creamy hazelnut icing. I also got a tiramisu to go for Hubby, who's not allowed to come to these things. Both were excellent.

Atmosphere: Very nice, dark, and romantic in the main dining room
Food: Excellent
Wine list: Good
Wait staff: Good
Desserts: Very good
Vegetarian friendly? Not really - no options beyond starters
Kid friendly? No
Would I go back? Yes

Lunch on Friday found me sitting outside with my friend the Chiropractor at Thai Me Up, which is on Ponce right next to Noodle. Again, this was my second time there, and I found it to be consistently good. We started with the summer rolls, which were served with peanut sauce. I found them to be good, but a little heavy on cilantro. I had Pad Thai with chicken, which is the typical recipe, but not too sweet like some places make it. My friend had the Num Ya, which he requested to be made "Thai Hot." He still had to add chili sauce to it but said it was good as well. The service was attentive without being intrusive, and we were served fast, which was good since I had to get back to work, and he had to run errands.

Atmosphere: Very good, outside seating good for people watching
Food: Very good
Wine list: Don't know -- I was good since I had to return to work
Wait staff: Very Good
Desserts: Unknown, but apparently they have shot desserts
Vegetarian friendly? Yes, most of the dishes have a tofu option
Kid friendly? Depends on whether your kids like Thai food, would stick with lunch or early evening if you try it
Would I go back? Yes

On Saturday, Hubby and I made grilled Mahi Mahi with parsleyed tomatoes, a Southern Living recipe. I've got to give Lynn Sawicki, the owner of Sawicki's Meat, Seafood, and More props for the outstanding quality of the fish. It was dubbed "local from North Carolina," and it had obviously never been frozen. Hubby is excited because it's another "fish Cecilia will eat," for the very short list of approved fish. I love shellfish, but I'm just not a big fan of fishy, meaty fish.

While making dinner, we got a call from friends we haven't seen in a while and who happened to be in town for the evening. We ended up going to drink wine while they ate dinner at Siam Thai Restaurant, and although we didn't partake since we'd already eaten -- we only drank wine -- we enjoyed smelling and seeing the dishes they ordered. I can't really rate the restaurant since I haven't eaten there in over a year, but everything looked and smelled really good. The diners agreed, although they also found the "Thai hot" level of spiciness to be somewhat wimpy.

After dinner, we went to Java Monkey (web site under construction) for coffee, tea, and dessert. Hubby got a fantastic Tempranillo that I have to mention: Campos Reales (La Mancha). I came away with the cork, but not the year. It was very fruity on the nose and didn't disappoint when tasted. It was a very smooth wine, and the perfect way to end a fun evening.

Date night! Restaurant reviews: Moya and Chocolate Bar

The Savvy Shopper (coupon book of restaurants and other stuff) came last week, and since we've been curious, we decided to try Moya, which is off Clairmont Road near Emory. It's Ethiopian food (insert South Park joke here), so we weren't really sure what to expect. The server was very knowledgeable and gave great suggestions, and we had a good time.

Ethiopian food is fun. It comes with a soft, spongy, thin sourdough-type bread that's used to eat the food so that everything is like a little pita pocket. We had the vegetarian sampler, which consists of spicy (but not too hot) lentils, split peas, greens, and a cabbage/carrot/potato mix, all of which is spiced really nicely. We also had the #4, which is steak cooked with onions, tomato, and peppers in a chardonnay sauce. It, too, was a little spicy but okay for a wimp like me. We skipped the wine. Altogether, it was fun, reasonable, and very filling.

Atmosphere: Nice
Food: Very Good
Wine list: Short and basic
Wait staff: Friendly and knowledgeable, very helpful to newbies
Desserts: N/A
Vegetarian friendly? Yes, half the menu is vegetarian
Kid friendly? No kid's menu
Would I go back? Yes, but it will likely be a mood thing

In spite of the fact that the Ethiopian bread and everything else expands to fit every corner of one's stomach, I decided that it's been a stressful week, and I wanted wine and chocolate. This brought us back to downtown Decatur, where we drove by Tastings, which isn't open yet, and ended up at Chocolate Bar, which was not only open, but celebrating its one year anniversary. Hubby and I went with some friends just after it opened and were somewhat underwhelmed, but they've pared down their menu to a few things they do really well, and the truffles are outstanding. We started with glass each of the Di Arie Zinfandel, which is quickly becoming a favorite. I found some corners in my tummy and got the Oreos and Milk, which is two small round chocolate souffles sandwiched together with white chocolate ganache in the middle and served with vanilla ice cream. The chef suggested a pairing with the dessert Grenache (not the Windmill Zin, which is on the web site menu -- that was so last season!), which was a nice, basic dessert wine. Hubby eschewed dessert and got a glass of Tempranillo, which smelled and tasted a bit like raisins, although he said it improved as it breathed.

Atmosphere: Nice, a little noisy
Food: I've never actually had the "bar munchies," just dessert
Wine list: Long enough to find something for everyone, but fairly simple and focused
Wait staff: Friendly, can get overwhelmed when busy
Desserts: Yes, please!
Vegetarian friendly? Chocolate is a vegetable, right?
Kid friendly? Not unless your kids have gourmet tastes
Would I go back? Yes

Random announcement:

I'll be pouring Italian wines at Sherlock's in Decatur this Saturday. Hope to see you there!

Oenophile at Large: Restaurant Adventures

Last Friday's dismal weather gave us the excuse to stay in town and celebrate one of our friends getting his architect's license. It will be interesting to see how well it works for picking up chicks at bars. After some revelry, Hubby and I decided to head toward the Inman Park/Old Fourth Ward areas for dinner. We ended up at P'Cheen, where we hadn't eaten in a while due more to our resistance to traveling outside of Decatur than to the restaurant itself. It was as good and fun as we remembered, and a nice little bar scene had developed by the end of the evening.

The cool, rainy weather as well as the scent of cooking beef that wafted out to the sidewalk as we came in inspired us to have the Hangar Steak with Mushroom Ragout and Artichoke Heart and Spring Onion Gratin. Kieran himself took our order and recommended the d'Arie Zinfandel to go with it. The d'Arie is a zin-gasm with a coffee/chocolate nose and "ripe but not jammy" fruit (wine list description). Basically, this is a zin for grownups: smooth and lush without any grape jam comparisons. The food was stylish and well-prepared, and we were both impressed with the Artichoke Heart and Spring Onion Gratin, which Hubby has been bugging me to duplicate. Dessert was something called a "Chocolate Explosion," which lived up to its name. They get their desserts from the Chocolate Pink Pastry Cafe, so they're guaranteed to be rich and sinful.

Score card:
Atmosphere: Very nice, modern, semi-casual; music's a little loud
Food: Very good
Wine list: Short but a good variety
Wait staff: Excellent and knowledgeable
Desserts: Excellent
Vegetarian friendly? Maybe -- there is a veggie plate option
Kid friendly? No kid's menu
Would I go back? Definitely

Saturday morning found us sleeping in too late to make it to Birmingham in time for lunch, so while running errands on the way out of town (including picking up my umbrella from P'Cheen), we stumbled across The Albert. Hubby had the wild salmon sandwich and fries. I had the gyro sandwich and cole slaw. Both sandwiches were made to order, and the sides were very good. We didn't have any alcoholic beverages, but a quick glance at the limited wine list reveals some consistently good, if not adventurous, wines (e.g., Ercavio Tempranillo).

Score card:
Atmosphere: Bar/pub style, entertaining with pictures of famous Alberts all over
Food: Very good
Wine list: Limited, but what they do have is good
Wait staff: Very good
Desserts: Don't know -- would like to go back and try
Vegetarian friendly? At least 2 all-veg menu items
Kid friendly? It seemed to be at lunch time; not sure about dinner
Would I go back? Yes

I'm not really sure what to say about Saturday afternoon for fear of ruining my wine cred. Hubby and I never drive through east Alabama on I-20 on Saturdays, so we haven't had the opportunity to try any of Alabama's wineries. I do give them credit for operating in a state that's so hostile to anything alcoholic. We weren't impressed with the wines at either of the wineries we visited. It may be a good excursion to try again in about three to five years, although we'll give Bryant, which is all muscadine, a miss.

I grew up in Birmingham and am continually astounded at how it grows. My parents took us to brunch at the Grey House Grille, which is in the new multi-use SoHo development in Homewood. The food took a little while to come out, but the wait staff was attentive and made sure we had everything we needed. I had the Seafood Crepe, which was excellent, although I wouldn't have minded some bigger pieces of shrimp and crab and a little less salt in the dish to allow the sherry sauce to shine. Hubby had the Shrimp and Grits, which was very good. Mom had the Chicken Crepe, and Dad had the Eggs Florentine. Everyone really enjoyed their meal.

Score card:
Atmosphere: Dressy casual, a little noisy
Food: Very good
Wine list: Looks like it would be worth a try
Wait staff: Very good
Desserts: Don't know
Vegetarian friendly? Maybe
Kid friendly? Appears to be
Would I go back? Yes, would like to try for dinner

Restaurant Review: Palate

Last night, my husband and a couple of our friends braved the cold, wet weather to go to Palate, a wine and dessert bar in the Oakhurst area. Yes, it's a wine blogger reviewing Palate. I figured I would start easy.

We chose the "cheese plate" appetizer, which ended up being enough cheese, bread, olives, olive oil, and hummus for four to share comfortably. The hummus was very garlicky and a bit too strong for my taste, but good. The olive oil was very nicely herbed. The waiter brought out a small taste of the roasted garlic brie soup, which was good but not as creamy or flavorful as I had imagined it.

For dinner, I considered the prosciutto and pear panini, which I've had and enjoyed before, but I ended up with the macadamia-encrusted scallops, which are a special but which the chef is considering adding to the regular menu. They came with a choice of green vegetable and very garlicky mashed potatoes. After tasting the potatoes, I wondered if Emeril was hiding in the kitchen and throwing cloves of garlic into it when the chef's back was turned. The scallops were tender and sweet, if a little buttery. My husband had the meatloaf, which he said was very good, and I got to taste some of the special pasta, a three-cheese orecchiete (aka really fancy mac n' cheese, according to the waiter), which was brought to the table still bubbling from the oven and had a nice balance of cream and sharpness.

Of course, if you go to Palate, you have to have dessert. In addition to a nice selection from Southern Sweets, they have their own chocolate bread pudding and other temptations that they make in-house. I can't resist the chocolate raspberry mousse cake from SS. The bread pudding is also good, but not consistently chocolate throughout.

With the cold weather last night, the most popular wine choice was the Van Ruiten Old Vine Zinfandel, which was everything a Zin should be -- a big, red fruit bomb -- but also smooth. I had a good Oregon Pinot Gris with the scallops (I apologize -- I didn't write the name down, and it's not listed on the online menu; I think it was Big Fire), and it was very flavorful and fruity.

Now if only we could get either Java Monkey or Palate to move their every other Thursday wine tastings off by a week, we could alternate!

Score card:
Atmosphere: Very good
Food: Very good
Wine list: Short but excellent selections
Wait staff: Knowledgeable & with good recommendations for pairings
Desserts (yes, with me, this gets its own category): Excellent
Vegetarian friendly? Yes
Kid friendly? Probably, I've seen them in there, but c'mon, it's a wine bar! Wine is for grown-ups!
Would I go back? Absolutely!