Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Good local dining

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a dinner with a distinguished out-of-town guest, a distinguished colleague, and several of my favorite co-workers. I have heard about the restaurant we went to for years, but have never found a good enough reason to go -- it is a high dining kind of place. Their motto is:
"A Hint of Southern fare with a dash of French Cuisine."
 
 We started with appetizers -- olives and an amazing selection of cheeses for me, country ham jalapeno fritters for the others. That was followed by an amazing salad of local organic baby lettuces, roasted beets, walnuts, and blue cheese tossed with a light honey-cider vinaigrette. I was a little bit embarrassed how fast I ate my salad -- I was so hungry! 
The menu was slim pickings for vegetarian fare -- there were a number of seafood dishes, but I wasn't in the mood for fish or scallops (never a fave of mine). I discussed the situation with our serve and she suggested I allow the chefs to be creative. I did and found myself with a plate of yummy veggie sides -- in entree size portions. As I type this I am finishing up the leftover mashed sweet potato souffle, black bean cakes, roasted root veggies, & cauliflower and mushroom gratin.

If you ever have a chance to go to Five Senses, it is worth the time and money. The website does not have their most up to date menu, but you get the gist of what they create.