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Saturday, May 12, 2007
Savory Tastes Cafe, Part 2
I wanted to have a party, with good food and wine, with my friends and family. And then I thought about having a private wine dinner at Savory Tastes Cafe, one of my favorite little restaurants in Reading. It is an intimate place, that seats only 36 people. So, with enough people, which I knew I could arrange, we could basically take over the restaurant for the night. I spoke to the chef, Stephen Bell, and he was very agreeable to the idea so we set it up. I gave my input on the food and wine courses and we worked out the following menu. All for a very reasonable price.
Amuse Bouche ---Apricot Gorgonzola Tart ---Paired with a Spanish Cava
Soup ---Roasted Corn and Fish Chowder ---Paired with Domaine Fournier Sancerre Loire, France
Appetizer ---Red Potato Crabcakes ---Paired with a Montepulciano D’Abruzzo Marches, Italy
Salad ---Classic Caesar Salad
Entrée: Choice of—
---Beef Tenderloin drizzled with Black Pepper Demi Glace accompanied by Gruyere Potato Souffle and Grilled Asparagus Or
---Chicken Wellington accompanied by Saffron Infused Rice and Sauteed Spinach with Marscapone Cheese and Pinenuts ---
Paired with a 2004 Limerick Lanes Syrah
Dessert ---Choice of: ---Warm Apple Tart ---Reve du Chocolate ---Black and White Mousse ---Paired with Rudi Weist Riesling Rhine River, Germany
In the end, we had 32 people for the dinner, with a few last minute cancelations. We began the evening with a pre-dinner wine hour. We brought some of our own favorite wines, so people could have a glass or two before dinner. As well as to try something new and different. An Edna Valley Chardonnay and a Coturri Carignane were big hits during this hour. In addition to the wines, we had a few appetizers, including shrimp cocktail, stuffed (with goat cheese) Duxelle mushrooms and home-made bruschetta. The mushrooms seemed one of the favorites. This was a jovial and festive time, snacking on some delicious appetizers, chatting and relaxing.
Eventually, we all sat down to begin our dinner. We began with the Apricot Gorgonzola Tart, an intriguing tart with a nice tang of blue cheese, but not an overpowering one. Its milder flavor will appeal to even many of those who are not big fans of blue cheese. It went very well with the Spanish Cava, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. I wanted something different that the usual French champagne, so thought that a Cava would do. A Cava is simply a sparkling wine made in Spain using the usual French champagne method. Few at the dinner had ever had a Cava before so it was a pleasant surprise.
The Roasted Corn and Fish Chowder, one of my favorite soups at Savory Tastes, was delicious, with a thinner broth with loads of fresh fish, three or four varieties. It is not a thick, creamy chowder but a lighter fare, which goes well with the summer season. The soup was paired with a Sancerre, which is made of Sauvignon Blanc. It was a clean and crisp wine that did not detract from the soup.
We then moved onto the Red Potato Crabcakes, each plate bearing two of the luscious cakes. They were nice and crispy on the outside and creamy inside. They were superb, filled with lots of crab. The potato served to keep the cake together rather than using breadcrumbs as a filler. They are some of the best crabcakes I have ever had. These were paired with a Montepulciano, which was a nice, lighter red that many found quite delicious.
The Caesar salad was next, without wine, to give us a bit of time to relax after all of the previous wine. This a classic salad with nice large pieces of shaved cheese on top. The ingredients were very fresh and it made for a refreshing change of pace.
We then had a choice of entrees though some of the couples decided to each order one of the choices, and then share their plates so they could taste both entrees. I think that is an excellent way to get to try all of the available choices. The Tenderloin, a good-sized piece of very tender meat, had a nice peppery sauce. And the Potato Souffle was like a little, light potato muffin. The Chicken Wellington was also good-sized with a flaky pastry shell, and lots of mushrooms. The rice also had some very interesting and tasty flavors. The entrees were paired with an exceptional 2004 Limerick Lanes Syrah. The Syrah was very much Old World, a more subtle wine rather than an Aussie fruit bomb.
Out of the dessert choices, the cheesecake was not available but the other desserts were more than sufficient. The Apple Tart consists of slices of spiced apple sitting in a flaky pastry shell. It went well with the sweetness of the Reisling. Others who had the Reve and the Mousse also enjoyed those rich, chocolate desserts.
Besides the top notch food, the service was excellent. The meal proceeded at a leisurely pace, never rushed. The chef himself often walked through the restaurant, talking with the guests, making sure that everything was good and that people were enjoying themselves. He is a very personable man and accomodating to the guests. When the evening finally ended, I heard only raves from those present. And in the days afterwards, I have heard many compliments about the evening, and anticipation toward the next such dinner. Which I plan on doing in the fall. As always, I highly recommend Savory Tastes Cafe.
Savory Tastes Cafe, Part 1
Savory Tastes Cafe is one of my favorite dining choices. The chef there, Stephen Bell, is a great and talented person. He oftens wanders around the small restaurant, conversing with the guests, checking to make sure they are enjoying their food. They often have special wine dinners as well, very affordable and exciting events.
My wife and I went to their Valentine’s Day Wine Dinner. What a surprise it was to see Ed, Christy, Ssezi, and Tara at Savory Tastes. It was almost a mini-outing for the Real World Winers.
Entrees (Choose One) Chicken Wellington With Saffron Cardamom Rice and Marscapone Creamed Spinach In a Chardonnay Chicken Reduction Veal Porterhouse Lobster Mashed Potatoes and Garlic, Paprika Cauliflower With a Pomegranate Veal Reduction A to Z Pinot Noir Dessert Choice From The Dessert Tray Banyuls Black Grenache
I had a wonderful dining experience, the norm for Savory Tastes. As usual, the meal started with an amuse bouche, a blue cheese tart. Plus, there were warm rolls. The Appetizer was a Ravioli of Shrimp, Cognac & Wilted Spinach served in a Light Shrimp Broth. This was paired with a Rudi Weist Riesling. The Ravioli were large, pinkish and heart-shaped, and very apropos for the occasion. And they were topped with a grilled shrimp. The shrimp was good though I did not eat any of the Ravioli as I dislike spinach. My wife though very much enjoyed them. The Rudi Weist Riesling was excellent. It was not too sweet and had a nice crisp, fruit flavor.
My wife and and I each got a different salad. We had a choice between a Baby Arugula Port Pear Salad (with Peppery Arrugula & Port Steeped Bartlett Pears Mixed with Danish Blue Cheese and Port Vinaigrette) and a Spinach Avocado Apple Salad (Wth Baby Spinach, Gala Apples & Diced Avocados Drizzled With Warm Apple Cider Vinaigrette & Finished With Smoked Bacon). The salads were paired with a Groth Chardonnay. I had the pear salad and the pears were delicious, soaked in port wine, a nice fresh crisp taste to them. They were topped with crumbles of blue cheese which were a nice accompaniment without overpowering the rest of the salad. My wife enjoyed her salad and I tasted some of the apples, also fresh and with a nice smoky bacon flavor. The Groth Chardonnay was ok. It was not an oaky chard so that made it more enticing. But, I did not feel it was a real standout.
We had a choice of entrees so my wife and I selected one of each and split them. There was Chicken Wellington with Saffron Cardamom Rice and Marscapone Creamed Spinach in a Chardonnay Chicken Reduction. There was also a Veal Porterhouse with Lobster Mashed Potatoes and Garlic, Paprika Cauliflower with a Pomegranate Veal Reduction. The entrees were paired with an A to Z Pinot Noir. My wife had the Chicken Wellington and enjoyed it very much. I took had a portion and thought it was excellent as well. A nice moist chicken in a flaky shell. The saffron rice was also very tasty, with an interesting blend of spices. The Veal Porterhouse was meaty, tender and simply excellent. And the Lobster Mashed Potatoes and Garlic were another superb side. I have had the A to Z Pinot Noir before, an Oregonian pinot, and I enjoy it very much.
For dessert, I had a warm apple tart and my wife had a white and chocolate mousse cake. Both were very tasty, and are on their regular menu all the time. I was very curious to try the Banyuls Black Grenache, which was paired with our dessert, as it sounded very intriguing. Its aroma was reminiscent of a port but its taste was not. Which is a good thing for me as I do not care for the harshness of a port, which is probably due to the brandy. Banyul's is a sweet wine, and needs a dessert to accompany it. But, it was a very good wine, smooth and went well with both desserts.
Overall, this was an excellent experience, and a great value. For only $69, you got 4 courses, with 4 wines (each a full glass). They did not skimp on portions. I highly recommend this restaurant to all.
(Originally posted on 5/14/06)
For Mother's Day, Savory Tastes had a special Brunch. Their menu included a number of breakfast and lunch entrees and was quite diverse. My visit to this brunch began with a dilemma, which of the myriad choices should I select. Breakfast or lunch? So many interesting sounding choices. In the end, we chose a bit of both.
We began the meal with a couple of appetizers and some soup. My wife thoroughly enjoyed the Vegetable Tart Tatin (though it had far too many veggies for me). The tart was good-sized, the pastry shell was flaky and it tasted very good. I chose the Seared Long Island Duck Breast. The plate came with so many slices of duck that it could have been a meal rather than an appetizer. The duck had very little fat, was cooked perfectly and was very tender and savory. Highly recommended!!! A nd on the plate was the Cous Cous, which looked like tiny peas but tasted very exotic and were a nice accompaniment to the duck. We also shared a cup of the Saffron Mussel Soup. It was filled with many mussels and the broth was quite tasty and well-spiced. The mussels were very tender and also delicious. Another superb soup.
We had two breakfast entrees at our table. The first was a Frittata, containing Spinach, Leeks and Red Potatoes. It was accompanied with a bagel and bacon. A very healthy sized portion and also quite delicious. The second entree was french toast, using raisin bread, with cream cheese between the slices. Again, a superb and good-sized meal. It also came with an interesting vanilla syrup, not your usual maply syrup. The more lunch entree was the Corn and Bacon Chicken Pot Pie. This was a large dish, enough to satisfy anyone's hunger. And it was extremely flavorful and delicious. The veggies and gravy were at the bottom of the pie, topped by thin slices of chicken (almost like tiny cutlets). There was an ample portion of chicken, and the chicken was covered by a flaky shell of buttermilk biscuit. This relatively simple dish was quite impressive.
Overall, our dining experience was excellent, though exactly what I expect at Savory Tastes. This was their first time serving breakfast and I hope it is not their last. Everyone else who was dining near us seemed to be thoroughly enjoying their meals as well. Maybe he will have another special brunch for Father's Day as well. If he does, I encourage everyone to take advantage of it.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Phantom Gourmet Food Festival
On September 23, the Phantom Gourmet hosted a Food Festival. Tickets were $30. I attended this event and what an event!
I am so STUFFED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a glutton's paradise at this event. We began the morning with Bloody Mary's and hot wings at one of the local bars before the event opened. Then, when the event opened, we went from stall to stall, gorging on all the different foods. Each stall gave you a good-sized portion of very fresh and tasty food. From an entire cream puff to a mini-pulled pork sandwich, from peel and eat shrimp to hot kettle corn. We even stopped at the Tiki Lounge for a huge scorpion bowl and s'mores. My favorite of the day was a sweet potatop pudding with pecans. This was an excellent event, and well worth the $30. Best to get there early though to avoid the long lines that develop later in the day. Can't wait for next year's event.
Venetian Moon
The Venetian Moon has two floors. The upstairs is a small bar area with several tables. The downstairs is a larger lounge and dining area. They recently renovated the downstairs, making it much larger and more contemporary. At night, especially on the weekends, this place is very busy.
They have two menus, one for dinners and one for drinks and appetizers. You can order off of either menu. They have three pages of martinis and a huge selection of different vodkas. Most of the group ordered various martinis (around $9 each). They greatly enjoyed some of them, while a couple they did not care for as much. Generally, a couple were two sweet for their tastes.
There was a live band playing and they were rather loud. This is not the type of place for a quiet dinner. It feels much more like a bar than a restaurant. But, it does have excellent food.
I had the Chicken Marsala with Fusilli. They have an exceptional Marsala sauce, one of my favorites. The dish is also quite large. The chicken, prosciutto and pasta were all excellent. I highly recommend this dish! My friends ordered different dishes, and all of them were quite large. They all enjoyed their food very much. Dinners average around $18 or so.
Service was very good, especially as they were busy last night.
I recommend this restaurant. But just make sure you understand you are not likely to have a quite dinner, especially later in the evening. If you want a quiet meal, you might want to go earlier in the evening. If you want to drink and party, this would definitely be a fun place.
Venetian Moon
680 Main St
Reading, MA
Phone: (781) 944-3633
Dairy Dome
At lunchtime, I decided to stop at the Dairy Dome. The Dairy Dome has been a popular ice cream spot in Stoneham for over twenty-five years. I have long been going to the Dairy Dome, since when it originally opened. For most of that time it has specialized in ice cream. They eventually added some baked goods and sandwiches, but that always seemed secondary to the ice cream. Recently, I had read in the local newspaper that they were expanding, adding sandwiches and other food to their menu. So, I decided to give it a try. I had not been there recently so I was not expecting the significant changes that I found.
The Dairy Dome now serves a wide variety of foods, especially Italian dishes. They have quite an extensive menu, including sandwiches, pizza, calzones, soups, and dinners. They also have family-sized meals. All of the items are made fresh. And they still have ice cream as well, including a number of speciality sundaes. They even do catering! In addition, they sell some gourmet foods, such as items from Stonewall Kitchen. They even sell monkey bread.
I decided to have a chicken parm spuckie as I figured that would give me a good snapshot of the food. The spuckie is basically a sub that has been toasted in the oven. It comes on 10" crusty bread. The spuckie was stuffed to overflowing with chicken. The cutlets were meaty, nicely breaded and not some type of processed chicken. The red sauce was very good and there was plenty of melted cheese as well. A very good sandwich. I saw a couple other spuckies that others ordered and they certainly looked good too. I will definitely return to sample some of their other dishes, including the pizza. And I will report back.
I think the major changes that have been made to the Dairy Dome have certainly been positive. If you have not been to the Dairy Dome, definitely check it out!
I stopped off at Dairy Dome for lunch again, to try something different this time. I first had a slice of their Sicilian Pan Pizza, which is similar to what is often called bakery pizza. It is a thick crusted pizza and it was quite tasty. The pizza sauce was good and there was plenty of cheese atop it. This is the only type of pizza they serve by the slice. The traditional pizzas are only served whole. But, you won't go wrong to get a couple slices of their Sicilian.
I then chose the Lobster Ravioli dinner. This is accompanied by a salad and some slices of fresh Scali bread. You also could have substituted a Caesar salad or garlic bread for a little extra. I chose this dinner as I enjoy lobster ravioli, plus it came in a pink sauce. I like pink sauces but they seem to be hard to find at many Italian eateries. So, I was a bit surprised, though pleasantly so, to see it here on the menu. There seemed like 7 or 8 lobster ravioli in the dinner, and each ravioli was very large and thick. They contained a good portion of lobster and you definitely could tell by taste alone. The pink sauce was excellent! It was creamy and complemented well the ravioli. The sauce was also good for dipping my bread. The whole dish was sprinkled with scallions though I don't think they were necessary or really added much to the dish. The lobster and sauce stood alone quite well and needed no further enhancements. At $13.95, I think this dish was an excellent value. I would definitely recommend it. And I will definitely return to Dairy Dome to try more of their fare.
Once again, I stopped by Dairy Dome to try another one of their choices. I had the Chicken Marsala with salad and garlic bread. The garlic bread was freshly made and quite delicious, with plenty of garlic. And I received two good sized pieces. The Chicken Marsala was good, with plenty of chicken and large pieces of ham over ziti. Often, you only get small pieces of ham in Marsala dishes but these were quite large. The Marsala sauce was mild and tasty. Another good dish from a restaurant I recommend!
Dairy Dome
474 Main St.
Stoneham, MA
Phone: (781) 438-9425