Varanese

A little belated in posting this, but c'est la vie.  It is still the month of May, and May was "V" for Supper Club...Varanese it is.  I was excited to try another new place, and had heard great things, so I figured I was in for a treat.

I was right!

It was a very warm and humid May night.  When I arrived, some of the ladies already had cherry blossom mint juleps, a house specialty, and fresh bruschetta was on the table (not sure if it was complementary or if someone ordered it).  I decided to give the juleps a try, being a huge mint julep fan.  (Some of you are cringing right now, but if you've only had them at the track, don't judge, those are premixed and terrible!  But that's a whole different blog post.)  I can't imagine anyone not liking Varanese's take on the classic Kentucky cocktail.  Fresh, light, just a bit fruity and sweet, with a nice base of bourbon.

We all laughed and chatted for a while, enjoying the elegant yet casual ambiance of their outdoor patio.  I was facing their slate wall with softly lit water cascading down and enjoying the live jazz duo who were unobtrusively playing in the background.  I basked in this mellowness long enough that I needed another cocktail, and this time I went with their mojito.  By FAR the best mojito I have ever had.  Not overly thick or sweet, just balanced between all the flavors.  A perfect accompaniment to a summer weather meal.

Complimentary breadsticks were brought to the table and enjoyed by all.  A decadent mix of garlic butter and parmesan was baked into each piece, making any type of dipping sauce or spread superfluous. 

Looking over their menu, I was hard-pressed to choose just one entrée, they all sounded amazing.  I finally settled on one of the nightly specials, lightly seared Ahi tuna served on a bed of risotto, greens with roasted artichoke hearts, and heirloom tomatoes.  It was a pricey meal, but when it came out, I was amazed at the portion.  Had I gotten a salad, it easily could have fed me and another person.  The tuna was perfectly done, the risotto creamy perfection.  My only slight disappointment was the tomatoes, which essentially tasted like any hothouse tomato, not heirloom or home grown at all.  But the greens were a nice mix and very lightly dressed (I discovered I REALLY don't like fennel!)

Afterwards, all of us decided to order a couple desserts and share.  I chose the mocha crème brûlée and one of my friends selected the fried banana with oatmeal cookie dough ice cream.  Both were absolute sinful heaven!  The crème brûlée was huge, served in a latte mug, and the fried banana was a good-size portion as well.  Everyone got to sample a little of each and we all loved it.

I highly recommend Varanese for a romantic dinner or just to hang out with some good friends.  I'll have to convince the hubby to go soon!

You ate WHAT?

I joined all the ladies for supper club last night, and this month we're on "U."  The selection was Uptown Cafe and, of course, being me, as soon as I learned where we were going, I just HAD to look up the menu.  Even before getting there, I was drooling.  They have an amazingly eclectic menu, for everything from appetizers and salads to entrées.

I got there at 6:30, and was just slightly put off that it's very unclear of who to approach to either get a table or to find out where your reserved table is, because there is no greeter's stand.  But the gentleman I found was very nice, so it was well-recovered.  After sitting down and visiting with everyone for a bit, we decided to try a few appetizers.  The Black Bean Cakes with tart cherries, almonds and a chipotle mayonnaise ($4.95), the Baked Brie in Puff Pastry with red currant jalapeno jam and fruit ($8.95), and the Escargot with garlic butter, Parmesan cheese and puff pastry ($8.50) were all selected.  The escargot was my selection...

Just the idea of snails...really...not appetizing.  But, for only $8.50 and not having to shell out over $30 for an entrée since it wasn't a fancy French restaurant was just too good to pass up, and I thought some of the other ladies would be a little adventurous with me.

When all the appetizers came out, they all looked delicious, even the snails!  They were served in a traditional ceramic escargot dish, and each one was bathed in a wonderful mixture of butter, garlic, and parsley.  Topping each was a small piece of puff pastry that had baked until it was just golden brown.  You just scoop up the bite and eat.  Wow!  Amazing flavor, not anywhere near as chewy as I was expecting.  I would describe it as the texture of a steamed oyster, and not far off from the flavor either.  Overall, I would definitely order it again.  The brie was absolute heaven.  The amount of pastry around the cheese was perfect and the fruits on the plate were crisp and fresh.  I also loved the jalepeno jam drizzled on the brie, added a nice spicy/sweet note to the salty brie.  The black bean cakes were probably my least favorite, although they were still good, they just weren't anything too exciting.  They were presented very well on what I'm guessing was fried spinach.  It was crispy and just crumbled in the mouth, but it was a very interesting and light texture against the heavy bean cake.

For my entrée, I ordered the Basa Fish Tacos with chipotle slaw and pico de gallo ($8.95).  The slaw was tasty, the fish was tender, and their pico de gallo was excellent.  However, putting it all together with the corn tortillas, it was just dry!  Another one of the girls ordered the same thing and we agreed that it just needed something else.  So we asked if they had any sauce that would be appropriate.  The server recommended their remoulade sauce.  When she brought it out, it was tangy, dilly, overall yummy and added the perfect extra layer of flavor to the tacos.  It wasn't thick like a mayo-based sauce, it was more like a tzatziki with the thinner, tangier bite of a yogurt sauce.  If you go, ask for it right off and save yourself a number of very dry bites.

Uptown Cafe was definitely a winner, and I'd like to go back again and try the asparagus and roasted beet salad, as well as the duck ravioli.

Seviche

All the Supper Club girls got together recently, and this month's choice was Seviche.  I was thrilled to be heading there because I've always wanted to go, but there is not one thing on the menu that I think hubby would eat.  :-(

BUT!  I went, I savored, and I SO want to go back!  As soon as we sat down, they brought out slices of Blue Dog Bakery Bread and fresh butter.  In Louisville, you can never go wrong with Blue Dog bread!  I started with the Spinach and Roasted Pear salad.  It's described as having seasonal berries, Capriole goat cheese, black walnut, and balsamic mustard dressing ($9).  It was delicious!  The goat cheese was velvety and the dressing had just the right amount of kick and bite to balance the sweet of the strawberries and pears.  I have to say I didn't really notice the walnuts, they were crushed, but that was nice because at least they stick with the salad rather than having to scoop them up separately.  One of the girls next to me had the soup special, a chipotle potato soup and gave me a taste.  I was pleasantly surprised.  I am not a fan of chipotle, but this wasn't over the top smoky.  Just enough to give some dimension to the potato, and there was a nice, slow burn of heat at the back of the throat that warmed you up nicely.

For my entree, I decided to try the 3 seviche tasting ($25) so as to get an opportunity to sample the menu.  I ordered the Oyster "Bloody Mary" Shooters (Miyagi Oysters, Tomato, Horseradish, Absolut Peppar Vodka), the Tuna Taquitos (Wasabi Lime Mustard, Yuzu, Local Microgreens, Avocado, Bluegrass Soy Sesame Powder), and the Line Caught Ahi Tuna (Sesame, Scallion, Coconut, Ginger).  Oh...my...Lord...I am in heaven!  The oysters had to be the best I've had.  Smooth, buttery, and melt in your mouth.  They were served in shot glasses and the liquid surrounding them was essentially a fresh gazpacho.  I sipped rather than shot, until the end to get the oyster out of the glass.  The taquitos were really mini tacos, but absolutely huge in taste.  They were served on a bed of seaweed which was deliciously briny and very mild.  The taquitos were the least spicy on the plate, but packed plenty of flavor.  The Ahi Tuna was very spicy, but delicate and fresh.  I only wished for a spoon to scoop up all the juice I couldn't get out of the saucer. As you can see, the presentation was wonderful and worth every penny.  I can't wait to go back!

Cafe Lou Lou

Last night I met up with a bunch of girlfriends who have started the "Tuesday Night Supper Club." Where was I when my friends started this??? The group is working its way through the alphabet and each member picks a restaurant corresponding with their assigned letter. We are meeting once a month, so it prevents any huge issues with scheduling. I missed A in June and B in July, but thankfully I was there for C this month...Cafe Lou Lou! (St. Matthews location.) Sad to say, I had never been there, but had always wanted to experience it, so I was thrilled with the choice.

As I do every time I plan to visit a new restaurant (and sometimes to dream about old ones) I looked up the menu online to plan my attack! I had it on my agenda to feast on the shrimp and grits to start with, but their special appetizer trumped my plans. Baked brie with pineapple compote, green apples, golden raisins, and garlic bread. Absolutely sumptuous! There was enough that most of the girls joined in and we all got to have a good nosh without getting too filled up. We also ordered a bottle of Shoofly Shiraz 2004 to split amongst us. I have to say, it tops the list as my new favorite wine. Full and fruity, great body, started out a little woody but it mellowed and was absolute heaven. It would be perfect on a cold winter's day in front of a fire, but regardless of temp, I would never turn it down!

When it got around to ordering entrees, where do I start? Everything sounded decadent and perfect that there seemed no way to choose. I was leaning towards the Mediterranean pizza, but the cheese tortellini with shrimp in pesto cream sauce won out. Yes, I was aiming to be just a little bit "bad." :-) I did order the smaller size dish, and when it came out, it was still a hefty serving. The tortellini was perfect, if unsurprising (as most cheese tortellini is) but there was good pesto flavor in the sauce. I was disappointed in the amount of shrimp that came in the dish...three. Just three. I thought that was a little skimpy, although they were perfectly cooked and had that right "pop" in my mouth that all shrimp should have.

One of my girlfriends ordered the seared scallops and orzo pasta. The scallops were perfection, buttery and smooth, but I wasn't blown away by the orzo. The texture was perfect, it was just a little bland for me, my friend was raving about it though--it's all subjective!

I definitely have Cafe Lou Lou on my radar to hit again, as soon as possible, and continue down the menu. I plan to make the shrimp and grits my meal next time 'round and if I have an adventurous friend along with me, a go at the Mediterranean pizza might be in order. Also want to say thanks again to Seth, our server, who was knowledgeable, polite, funny, and all-around great guy. :-)