| Just one more wafer thin mint? |
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| We walked through the crowd and were immediately seated at a romantic table in front of a window; a great start. I knew I wanted to start with the deviled eggs and pickles and olives (I did my homework). The eggs arrived, 3 creamy, melt-in-your-mouth, golden works of art, garnished with thin strips of salty ham. Hands down, these were the best I’d ever had. The pickles consisted of carrot, parsnip (we think) and onion. Light and tangy, we enjoyed them casually throughout the meal. The olives (only green) were very good and until then, I didn’t even think I liked green olives. Mmmm. |
| Next, I slurped down 5 oysters (Ben tried one). I wish I could tell you the names – I do know that they were the 2 smallest oysters (my preference) on the list, 3 of each. They were excellent quality and very enjoyable. |
| After the oysters, we shared a flatbread with wild mushrooms, tofu, spinach, and garlic. We planned to eat just a piece or two but without any convincing, we slowly polished off the whole thing. The toppings were flavorful and savory. The dough slightly sweet with a nice smokiness from the grill. |
| Did I mention the drinks? Ben started with the best Old Fashioned I’d ever sipped. I tried a signature drink, the Clear Creek Flip (vodka/cranberry liquor/lemon/apple spiced syrup). I enjoyed some French Sauvignon Blanc with my dishes. Ben polished off a couple of microbrews (Victory Prima Pils & Tröegs Nugget Nectar) – What did you expect? (The site is called Brewnotes). |
| We enjoyed a nice break between the flatbread and our main entree. After all, we needed time to digest! However, our attentive server felt that perhaps we were waiting too long, so we were treated to a free small-plate of coddies with a nice spicy mustard (there’s a funny story about that mustard). Wonderfully light and fluffy, the coddies were gone in minutes. |
| Hooray entrees! The party continued with Ben’s ribeye and my scallop special. The ribeye (perfectly cooked) came with a delicately scalloped potato gratin with sharp cheddar cheese, while my scallops were perched on some sort of rice/whole grain with andouille sausage, herbs and culinary love. I wish I could remember the exact ingredients, because these may have been the best scallops I’d ever had. I still dream about them. *sigh* |
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After our entrees, I am nearly bursting out of my skirt. However, I’m determined to make it through dessert. You see, they had something on the list that I could NEVER turn down: a dark chocolate peanut butter cup (peanut butter cream, dark chocolate, caramel, whipped cream, ladyfinger cracker jack). So insanely good. INSANE! Cloud nine, peanut butter bliss. Meanwhile, Ben enjoyed a cheese plate, but due to my delirium I really have no idea what it was. Cheese… yeah… whatever. PB rules!
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I can’t get back to Woodberry Kitchen soon enough. Impeccable service, food, and atmosphere. Wow! More reviews here.
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Alyssa Brouse Restaurant Reviews
| A guest post contributed from my dining partner, my wife. |
| Tonight we had our first visit to Azul 17 on Snowden River Parkway in Columbia. We had a hankering for some sort of ethnic food and nearly sealed the deal with one of our favorites, House of India. However, we made a last minute decision to try this relatively new eatery. We both love Mexican food – one of our old favs is El Salto in Brooklyn. We both had high hopes to have found an "authentic" (thanks, Kevin & Ann) Mexican restaurant near the homestead. |
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| The decor is very bright white, minimalist, and modern. The main dining room was mostly empty, so we sat at the bar. The bar stools were wobbly with VERY low backs, and not very comfortable. Large, high-quality TVs were mounted near the bar playing a slideshow of artistic agave pictures and food. Party-boy music played loudly. It wasn’t quite our style, yet we were still hopeful our food would be worth the trip. |
| There were many Mexican beers available by the bottle, and many, many tequila options (it IS a tequileria, after all). With only 4 draught options, I liked the choices – Dos Equis, Negra Modelo, Stella Artois, and Hoegaarden. I started with a glass of (properly carbonated) Stella and Ben had a traditional margarita. Ben’s margarita was a winner, so I had one also. Delicious. |
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The bartender brought us chips and salsa. The salsa was great; full of fresh flavor. The chips seemed a little stale, but that did not stop us from nearly emptying the basket, thanks to the salsa. We proceeded to order 2 Platos Pequeños (small plates): Tuna Azul and Chile Relleno de Queso. In addition I ordered 3 tacos, De Alambre (grilled steak with onions), Tacos de Salmon (you guessed it), and Chorizo Picante (spicy pork chorizo). Ben ordered the Enchiladas de Pollo (chicken enchiladas). I had expected our small plates to come first, followed by the tacos & enchiladas. However, food just came out as it was ready with no thought to the order. In the end, Ben stared at me while I ate my tacos and I stared at Ben while he ate his enchiladas. Oh well, this place isn’t exactly fine dining. It’s just a little disappointing how often this happens.
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| The tacos were the star of my meal, with my clear favorite being the salmon. It was cooked well, light, with nice heat balanced with sweetness, and full of flavor. The other 2 tacos were good, but not spectacular. If I were to return, I’d likely get 3-4 of the salmon tacos, or try something new. If you order the chorizo tacos, you should know that it is quite greasy; a puddle formed on the bar while I ate the other tacos. |
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The Tuna Azul was a good quality, nicely prepared piece of tuna, seared to medium rare with a flavorful crust. The tomato/onion/arugala/jicama salad was bland and after a couple of bites, it remained on my plate. The tuna itself would have been very enjoyable, had it not been for the overly sweet cranberry drizzle. It was so sweet that I did my best to scrape it off. I’m not sure what they were going for here, but they’d be smart to skip the drizzle, or devise a better match for the tuna.
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| Once the Chile Relleno arrived, Ben found the dish enjoyable, but understated. The chili pepper was cooked nicely, stuffed with a little cheese, and served in a tomato based sauce. All the flavors were nice but the dish was not memorable. |
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The Enchiladas de Pollo arrived after I finished my food, so Ben offered me a bite. The quality of the shredded chicken was good and the sauce was pleasant, but it left me thinking of tomato soup. Where was the bite? The rich flavor? I’m all for fresh and light, I felt the the dish was so light that it was lacking flavor and excitement. There was a very light crumble of white "queso fresco" on top. Perhaps I’m not accustomed to "authentic Mexican" food, but I missed some melty, cheesy goodness.
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Looking back at the entire meal, it was all good, but unfortunately not GREAT. Howard County is home to so many fantastic restaurants, it’s not likely that I’d return this this one. If I’m craving Mexican or Tex-Mex, I’ll head over to Frisco’s for a yummy fajita sandwich or some mahi tacos. Oh, and El Salto still rules. More reviews here.
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Alyssa Brouse Restaurant Reviews
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