I just got back from the last of my Summerlicious dinners. Of the five restos I dined at over the course of the festival, 3 were return visits.
Caju, where I dined on the first Friday of the festival was fun and low-key. The caipirhiñas were perfect for that warm summer evening and the food was as tasty as I remembered. We sat next to a friendly Guyanese couple who were there celebrating their son's birthday.
Flow was OK as there was nothing that particularly stood out food-wise that made me think, wow, I have to come back! I went with a large group too, and as often is the case with large groups: 1) it's hard to talk to everyone when you're spread out across a looong table and 2) in the interests of being "fair" there's haggling over the bill to determine what everyone's share is. (In the absence of separate bills, the peanut butter method of accounting is best.)
Mistura was the best value because the portions were large, the service was great and the food was as good as my last visit. Beet Risotto....mmmm...yummy. I couldn't finish the perfectly roasted rosemary chicken because I had gorged myself on the tasty bread while waiting for our last guest to arrive. We went through 2 of our 3 bottles of Chardonnay while waiting so I had to eat bread in order to avoid getting drunk, which is inevitable for me on an empty stomach.
Herbs was a disappointment despite all the good notices from friends who had dined there on a non-summerlicious night. The pork loin and white fish we had each ordered were both dry and the portions were the skimpiest I had seen of all the restos I dined at over the course of the festival.
Corner House was an experience considering the questionable weather we had. The patio was closed because of rain earlier in the afternoon and remained closed for most of the night thanks to the gray skies. The loss of 25 seats resulted in a back-up of reservations. We had rsvp'd for 7pm but weren't seated until an hour later. I felt for the hostess who had to explain to a particularly annoyed guest that unlike other restos who reserve 30% of their seats for the promotion, they reserve 100%. As a result of the lost seats and the inevitable late arrivals earlier in the evening, they were behind.
But it was worth the wait. The food was good, as was the company. I particularly liked my appetizer of grilled tiger shrimp with chili apple aioli and Asian noodle salad. As expected I was super-hungry and ordered the roasted Striploin, which was perfectly rare.
The best news of the day though is that I found the perfect shoes to match my silk brocade dress! I had been on the hunt for the right shoes to go with the gold dress I had bought in London to wear to my friend's wedding. It was proving very difficult because of the style and colour and as the wedding is next Saturday, time was running out.
I had time to kill before dinner tonight so decided to go to the mall to run some errands. I walked into the shoe store because of the sale signs not really expecting to find anything and what should I find but a pair of newly arrived Enzo's that perfectly matched my dress? I only found them after picking out 6 other pairs that might have worked.
My only worry now is that I haven't eaten my way out of the dress with all my meals out!
Caju, where I dined on the first Friday of the festival was fun and low-key. The caipirhiñas were perfect for that warm summer evening and the food was as tasty as I remembered. We sat next to a friendly Guyanese couple who were there celebrating their son's birthday.Flow was OK as there was nothing that particularly stood out food-wise that made me think, wow, I have to come back! I went with a large group too, and as often is the case with large groups: 1) it's hard to talk to everyone when you're spread out across a looong table and 2) in the interests of being "fair" there's haggling over the bill to determine what everyone's share is. (In the absence of separate bills, the peanut butter method of accounting is best.)
Mistura was the best value because the portions were large, the service was great and the food was as good as my last visit. Beet Risotto....mmmm...yummy. I couldn't finish the perfectly roasted rosemary chicken because I had gorged myself on the tasty bread while waiting for our last guest to arrive. We went through 2 of our 3 bottles of Chardonnay while waiting so I had to eat bread in order to avoid getting drunk, which is inevitable for me on an empty stomach.Herbs was a disappointment despite all the good notices from friends who had dined there on a non-summerlicious night. The pork loin and white fish we had each ordered were both dry and the portions were the skimpiest I had seen of all the restos I dined at over the course of the festival.
Corner House was an experience considering the questionable weather we had. The patio was closed because of rain earlier in the afternoon and remained closed for most of the night thanks to the gray skies. The loss of 25 seats resulted in a back-up of reservations. We had rsvp'd for 7pm but weren't seated until an hour later. I felt for the hostess who had to explain to a particularly annoyed guest that unlike other restos who reserve 30% of their seats for the promotion, they reserve 100%. As a result of the lost seats and the inevitable late arrivals earlier in the evening, they were behind.But it was worth the wait. The food was good, as was the company. I particularly liked my appetizer of grilled tiger shrimp with chili apple aioli and Asian noodle salad. As expected I was super-hungry and ordered the roasted Striploin, which was perfectly rare.
The best news of the day though is that I found the perfect shoes to match my silk brocade dress! I had been on the hunt for the right shoes to go with the gold dress I had bought in London to wear to my friend's wedding. It was proving very difficult because of the style and colour and as the wedding is next Saturday, time was running out.
I had time to kill before dinner tonight so decided to go to the mall to run some errands. I walked into the shoe store because of the sale signs not really expecting to find anything and what should I find but a pair of newly arrived Enzo's that perfectly matched my dress? I only found them after picking out 6 other pairs that might have worked.
My only worry now is that I haven't eaten my way out of the dress with all my meals out!
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