Endless Smiles

This past weekend my parents came up to visit me. I was ecstatic, because not only was I going to get to see them, but I was going to get to go out for good food!! A win, win situation.

Friday night we went to 156 Bistro, my dad had never been. My favorite thing of the night was the tuna tartar. It was delicious! Beautifully colored tuna with a complimentary dressing holding it together made me extremely happy. I only wish the tuna had been uniformly cut; I kept encountering uneven pieces. I also wish that the dressing holding the tartar together was a little lighter. If I could have seen more of the tuna's beautiful red color, the dish would have been even more appealing. But overall I was very happy with the dish.

Saturday night we went to L'Amante, a delicious Italian restaurant. I ordered squash blossom fritters, potato crusted sea bass, and then a creme brulee for dessert. The squash blossoms were delicious with taleggio cheese inside, and a honey sauce drizzled on top. I am still salivating. The sea bass had room for improvement. The potato crust was cooked unevenly, raw potatoes are gross. And then the sea bass was huge. A case of too much food. But the beurre blanc sauce that came with it was perfectly creamy and complimentary. And finally, the creme brulee. Oh my God. First, a beautiful layer of bruleed sugar on top. Nice and crunchy. Followed by a delicious vanilla custard. My only complaint was that the custard was sweeter than I like. Otherwise quite delicious. L'Amante is a great place to go, but beware that the service is slightly lacking.

Finally, Sunday for brunch (before my parents left), we went to Magnolia's. To start, a must order is their banana bread. Quite scrumptious. I actually got a loaf to go; it is sitting in my fridge. I ordered the potato pancakes. They were nicely done, but more like potato patties. I did appreciate the fresh chives, it really lightened the heavy, fried, potato pancakes. I will definitely go back though to try more of the options. Warning, a line does form quickly so get there early!

Stay tuned for more food adventures!

Until then,
Little foodie.