Showing posts with label chapel hill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chapel hill. Show all posts
22 September 2009
Med Deli Pita
Good news - Med Deli is starting to make and sell their own pita from local flour. Take this together with Bagels on the Hill and you can almost convince yourself that this city has legitimate ethnic baked goods!
13 April 2008
Bonne Soireé
V. won her NCAA pool, so it was time for a really nice dinner out. Our first thought was of course Lantern - always a good bet for "pricier meal than normal." Calling ahead we were assured that arriving after 8 o'clock would result in a minimal wait. The word at the door, of course, was 1.5-1.75 hrs.' wait. So. Around the corner we went to Bonne Soireé, which I'd only heard good things about, and... well, simply no offense meant to Lantern, but this experience placed it on the "good for Chapel Hill" list, and Bonne Soireé solidly on the "best meals I've ever had" list.
To begin with, and most impressively - after placing our orders and asking for a recommendation on wine, we settled on our server's first choice, the Sono Montenidoli Vernaccia di Carato 2003. I hesitate not for a second in saying that this was the best white wine I've ever had: not too sweet, or tart, or dry, or sulfuric - notes of fruit and anis and an unparalleled (in my experience) depth of body for a white. Simply astounding, and paired perfectly with our meals. Which were:
JKD -
asparagus with cream sauce - the first crop of the year, tender, tasty, and very much of the "asparagus I could eat forever" school.
Rockfish with roasted root vegetables, yam, and red wine reduction - a perfectly done piece of fish, tender, flavorful, and complemented beautifully by the sweet, savory, rich-but-not-overpowering vegetables.
creme bruleé - perfect. Creme bruleé is a test of any great restaurant, and this passed with flying colors.
V -
mixed green salad - with candied walnuts, pears, bleu cheese, onions and a vinegarette - the walnuts balanced out the cheese well, onions not overpowering, dressing just enough.
scallops - and now I'm forgetting what else was with them, but they were excellent. Tender, not rubbery at all.
creme bruleé - see above.
Just exemplary, and the service was unpretentious and among the best I've ever had. Not cheap to be sure, but unbeatable enough on so many levels that I can guarantee multiple return trips when the wallet allows.
To begin with, and most impressively - after placing our orders and asking for a recommendation on wine, we settled on our server's first choice, the Sono Montenidoli Vernaccia di Carato 2003. I hesitate not for a second in saying that this was the best white wine I've ever had: not too sweet, or tart, or dry, or sulfuric - notes of fruit and anis and an unparalleled (in my experience) depth of body for a white. Simply astounding, and paired perfectly with our meals. Which were:
JKD -
asparagus with cream sauce - the first crop of the year, tender, tasty, and very much of the "asparagus I could eat forever" school.
Rockfish with roasted root vegetables, yam, and red wine reduction - a perfectly done piece of fish, tender, flavorful, and complemented beautifully by the sweet, savory, rich-but-not-overpowering vegetables.
creme bruleé - perfect. Creme bruleé is a test of any great restaurant, and this passed with flying colors.
V -
mixed green salad - with candied walnuts, pears, bleu cheese, onions and a vinegarette - the walnuts balanced out the cheese well, onions not overpowering, dressing just enough.
scallops - and now I'm forgetting what else was with them, but they were excellent. Tender, not rubbery at all.
creme bruleé - see above.
Just exemplary, and the service was unpretentious and among the best I've ever had. Not cheap to be sure, but unbeatable enough on so many levels that I can guarantee multiple return trips when the wallet allows.
21 June 2007
Allen & Son Pit Cooked Bar-B-Q
After several trips to Allen & Son that ended without a verdict - due to their being unaccountably closed - a call ahead today confirmed that not only was it open but that the special was BBQ pork chops. And so off we went, and were not disappointed.
After only a few minutes' deliberation, I settled on the special, pretty sure that I'd never had BBQ pork chops before. They didn't disappoint. Incredibly tender and with the flesh pink not from undercooking but from something in the cooking itself, they were coated with a slightly thicker and fuller version of Allen & Son's vinegar-heavy (natch) BBQ sauce and, while they didn't quite fall off the bone, there wasn't any problem separating the flesh. The sides delivered, too - sweet and savory yams with copious brown sugar and cloves; butter-soaked peas and pearl onions; and deep-brown hushpuppies, just a bit sweet. The tea was sweet-but-not-too-much, and perfectly refreshing. And the whole package - including an innocuous palate-cleanser of iceberg lettuce, Bac-O, flavorless carrots and tomato salad - was, as the special, $6.80.
Hard to beat, and I've finally had my fix of excellent NC BBQ.
After only a few minutes' deliberation, I settled on the special, pretty sure that I'd never had BBQ pork chops before. They didn't disappoint. Incredibly tender and with the flesh pink not from undercooking but from something in the cooking itself, they were coated with a slightly thicker and fuller version of Allen & Son's vinegar-heavy (natch) BBQ sauce and, while they didn't quite fall off the bone, there wasn't any problem separating the flesh. The sides delivered, too - sweet and savory yams with copious brown sugar and cloves; butter-soaked peas and pearl onions; and deep-brown hushpuppies, just a bit sweet. The tea was sweet-but-not-too-much, and perfectly refreshing. And the whole package - including an innocuous palate-cleanser of iceberg lettuce, Bac-O, flavorless carrots and tomato salad - was, as the special, $6.80.
Hard to beat, and I've finally had my fix of excellent NC BBQ.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
