Piya's Perspective

Wednesday night, Ari made arrangements for a friend to watch Simeon so we could join other friends at the Barking Frog for dinner.  Every March and November, a number of restaurants take part in the 25 for 25 program.  25 restaurants with special 3 course menus for $25/person.  Usually the entrees alone are $25 for more at these restaurants.  We’ve missed the last few so I was really happy to find an opportunity to go.  And, it was very sweet of Ari to arrange for us to go, especially considering it was our 3rd year anniversary.

I will admit that I wasn’t very impressed the last time I went to this place.  We had such a large party, that they sat us at the large stone table encircling a fireplace.  The idea is nice, but it restricts you to conversations with only those sitting right next to you, and the set up makes it difficult to hear even those conversations.  I was also not 100% thrilled with the food, though now, a few years later, I can’t even remember what it was.

This time, however I was extremely happy with the everything.  In fact, I was impressed with the service by the time I was even sitting down.  As I walked in the door and mentioned I was with a party, the lady asked if I she could take my coat.  Then, noticing my attire, mentioned she would grab a black linen for my slacks.  I didnt’ quite understand her meaning until she showed me to the table and replaced the white linen napkin currently on the table with a black one.  Apparently, napkins have a tendency to leave fuzz and if I’m wearing nice grey slacks, white fuzz would be quite noticable.  Needless to say, I mentioned it to people a couple times last night.

Then there was the wine selection.  Ari and I decided to share a bottle of wine in celebration of our anniversary.  So, after glancing through the wine list, I asked the waitress for some help.  I like Chiantis and Meritages the best, but didn’t see either listed.  With her help, I narrowed it down to two options, finally settling on the 2001 Grant Burge “Holy Trinity” – an Australian wine that resembles a Chianti.  O.M.G.  I am usually lucky if I finish one glass of wine with my meal.  I drank half the bottle.

Last, but certainly not least, was the food.  Wonderful!  I had Butternut Squash Soup, Coriander Crusted Ahi Tuna and Viva La Chocolat!.  The wine went perfectly with it all.  The soup was smooth and silky with a little nutmeg and sage oil spread on top.  I don’t like the texture of rare Tuna, so I requested it be cooked a little more.  It was laid on a bed of pasta with a smokey tomato sauce and cooked just right.  The couple pieces that looked like it may be a little too rare for me were perfectly sized tastes for Ari :).  Last but not least was dessert.  I noticed on the regular menu they had a Creme Trio (Passion Fruit Bavarian Mousse, Mango Ginger Flan and Creme Brulee).  They couldn’t substitute it for existing 25 for 25 menu items, but since Ari and I were celebrating we ordered it anyway.  The Mousse was a little too sweet for me, but I loved the rest.  To complete the special menu though, I had the chocolate.  I’m not always a big chocolate person, and it did eventually get too sweet for me, but it started off deliciously wonderful and the Pomegranate sorbet was really good.

Overall a wonderful night that changed my impression for the better of this restaurant.  I’d definitely consider going here again next March or November.