Now this area is really really nice. It is totally being gentrified and there are lots of nice restaurants, a wine store with an upscale wine bar, an Indian place and a few shops. There are condos along the river and a nice walking/biking trail.
The only problem? The neighbourhood is called: Corn Hill Landing... which is just like the WORST name for a neighbourhood ever. Still ... it's a nice area name notwithstanding. After strolling along the waterfront and snapping a few pictures and buying some wine (for later), we decided on a cool new restaurant called the "Tap and Table" which has a huge patio right along the waterfront.
Luckily we got there just in time - we were the first ones to grab a table on the patio and within one hour, there were no tables left. The waitress, a sweet and attentive young woman, told us that the owners are the same people who own the 'blah blah blah' burger restaurant ... seemingly a well-known place for Rochester-ites? Rochestans? Rochesteronians? whatever. And in any case, we obviously didn't know the place. The Tap and Table focuses on fresh local ingredients and they create seasonal menus.
It was gorgeous September afternoon with a nice breeze coming off the river and we had lots of time to relax, eat and drink before we had to get back for the concert. When we looked at the menu we were super excited but also in a dilemma ... there were soooo many things that sounded absolutely incredible. We decided that we were going to order a bunch of small things and share everything ... but of course to start off, a cocktail.
Stacey had some red wine and I got my margarita on. The waitress also brought us a carafe of water with three thin cucumber slices in it. I was surprised that I could absolutely taste the cucumber in it . Stacey did not believe me and thought there was no way you could taste it with those three thin measly little slices of cuke (she hadn't yet had a glass of water). But, once she had a glass she too agreed that you could taste it. Now this story is not that interesting on its own but there was a table beside us that added to the hilarity of this conversation.
This old man had been sitting at a table by himself for a long time before his companions arrived ... two Asian women who we were sure were a mother and her adult daughter. We were also pretty sure that the mom was a mail-order bride (or for very sure an internet hook up). This guy was obnoxious beyond belief ... he was such a know-it-all and was talking to both women in such a paternalistic and condescending tone. And he informed them that cucumber quenches your thirst ... hence adding the cuke to the water. And, really, I don't know if that is true or not but to be certain you would have to eat the cucumber in order for it to quench your thirst. Dick.
Stace and I also had trouble controlling our laughter when I was trying to snap this picture of the guy. I was pretending to take pictures of the waterfront but then had to just nonchalantly turn the camera towards them. I'm sure the old guy caught on to what we were doing but we just kept laughing away!
Anyway ... you probably want to know about the food at Tap and Table. We started with a trio of dips with warm pita breads. There was roasted mushroom and goat cheese (mmmmm -- my favourite -- it was warm and gooey with rich earthy flavour -- I would go back for this dip alone), eggplant carponata (a sweet and spicy thick pureed dip which was Stacey's favourite) and hummus which was good but not extra special. In fact, I can't even remember what it was like. I LUVED the roasted mushroom and goat cheese one though. I sure remember it.
Next course was the grilled watermelon salad which was served with mixed greens, candied red onions, balsamic drizzle and topped with goat cheese. This was my first experience with grilled watermelon and it was awesome. You get the smoky flavour from having been grilled, as well as the contrast of hot and cold temperature. The watermelon was firm and juicy - I was worried that grilling would make it mushy but this was definitely not the case. Most assuredly it would have to be only on the grill for only a few moments. The goat cheese added a creamy texture and perfectly salty flavour contrast with the sweetness of the watermelon and the bitterness of the greens. As well there was an Asian flavour in the balsamic dressing but I couldn't quite put my taste buds on it. I asked the waitress what it was but she wasn't sure either. No matter what it was, it was delicious.
The waitress told us the grilled watermelon salad was one of her favourite things on the menu and it was so good I didn't want to stop eating but we had one more dish to try. The 'special' flatbread of the day: a sweet potato puree with mushroom, pancetta and arugula. Of all the dishes, this was probably my least favourite. Not that there was anything wrong with it - it was good ... I just didn't think it was as good as some of the other food we had that night.
I thought the sweet potato puree was slightly bland and with no sauce or cheese I thought the flatbread was slightly dry and didn't have a lot of flavour. It wasn't bad, but in comparison to the other outrageously delicious courses we had we could have skipped this one.
Ultimately we had WAY too much food and had to brown bag a bunch of it back to the hotel room for later. We didn't bother taking home the grilled watermelon salad since we didn't think it would travel and hold over very well. We continued with a couple more drinks and then realized we had to boot it back to the hotel to make it to Barry's concert on time.
No worries. We made it to the concert on time. Barry played from 7:45 to 9:10 (perfect for the kiddies and the oldsters in the crowd) and it was great. He played all the old songs (really that's all he's got) the whole crowd was singing along to everything. And the concert was over early enough for Stacey and I to head back to the hotel and get our seriously intense 'drank-on' at the sports bar.
The bar was filled with patrons who were either at the Barry concert or were rubbies who drink in that bar all day every day. We met this super fun couple: Marilyn and ??? who had been to see Barry three or four times before. We got talking to them because their table was filled with beer bottle empties whereas Stacey & I had to keep returning our empty glasses after we finished a round of cosmos because the sports bar only had 4 martini glasses so they had to wash two while we were drinking out of the other two. In any case, we (especially me) had waaayyy too much to drink. We had a good time and lots of laughs. A huge group of women who had been at the concert came in, played Barry Manilow songs repeatedly on the juke box and virtually everyone in the bar was singing along.
After all the drinking we ended up scarfing down our left overs from the Tap and Table to soak up some of the booze. I was chewing on dry tasteless flatbread sitting on the floor in the hallway whereas Stacey was eating risotto in bed with her fingers. Gong Show.
I was SERIOUSLY under the weather on Saturday when it was time to get up and head back to Syracuse. Meanwhile Stacey was picking pieces of rice out of her comforter! The weather had turned absolutely nasty over night; it was pouring rain and really cold and I was a wreck: chills, nausea, the whole bit. Stacey was way too thoughtful and understanding about me being an idiot and doing this to myself. Eventually I got myself mobile, we got some fast food into our systems and then hit the road to Syracuse.
Overall we had an amazing weekend. It's always great to road trip and va-ca with Stacey because she's always so laid back and chill but has great ideas for fun stuff to do, places to go and she laughs easily. Oh, and she loves good food and wine ... which is perfect for hanging out with me! This was the perfect girls' weekend get away and we will definitely do this again.
No comments:
Post a Comment