Here's a quick rundown of our meal at eat! for anyone who might be interested....
First, regarding everything that has nothing to do with food:
This includes the atmosphere: we were in a cozy booth for two, yet it also opened up at an angle so you didn't feel closed in. It looked like the round table could have extra chairs added across from the booth seating to make it a table for 4. I liked the swoopy curve in the back.
The curves were echoed in the silverware, and offset by the square white plating for the food. I'm a bit of a china/silver nut, and enjoyed the curvy silverware.
Lighting fixtures were interesting (an extravaganza of blown orange glass in the chandeliers). There were also a few black and white photos of Robert Irvine in action scattered around the room.
Service was excellent. Do keep in mind that there is a leisurely pace to the meal (we were there for more than 90 minutes beginning to end) but at no time did we feel abandoned by our waiter. He was a busy guy too, with tables all over the place. We had reservations and were seated without delay; when we left there were many people waiting in the bar for their tables...if you go, I highly recommend a reservation.
Overall grade for non-food experience: A
Second: everything regarding the food:
Cocktails: I started with a strawberry mojita: excellent!
Appetizer: we ordered one of the specials of the evening, a salmon ceviche that also contained small cubes of sweet potato. It was delicious. A generous portion and perfect for a couple to share.
Bread: the bread was served with the appetizer. Thin slices of a soft and chewy bread....I wish I had asked if they made it in-house of if they brought it in. With it was served balsamic vinegar that came on a small rectangle plate per person. A bottle of olive oil was left at the table so you could add your own, which I really liked. An interesting note about the olive oil (and vinegar) is that they come from The Oilery, HH's new shop dedicated to olive oils. More on that later though.***
Main Course:
Ooh, I did a lot of debating here. Ended up ordering from their regular menu:
"pan seared, butter basted salmon
parsley lemon brown butter, hominy succotash, herbs"
The salmon was perfectly cooked and I enjoyed it a lot. At first, the hominy succotash was also delicious and full of flavor, but after a bit I noticed that it was also very salty, enough so that it bothered me.
DH also ordered form the regular menu:
"blackened snapper and grits
bay shrimp, tomato havarti grits, red pepper goat
cheese coulis, balsamic reduction"
He's a grits lover and I think that played a big part of his choice. It was all good, with a nice bit of heat in the blackened fish, he ate every bite and said he would easily order it again.
Dessert:
we knew we had to go there, so while DH finished off his entree, I saved half of mine back for lunch the next day. The dessert menu came with a recommendation by our waiter re. The Ridiculous Chocolate Cake, and after a little discussion, it's what dh and I decided to get. The waiter warned us it is big enough for two for dessert plus leftovers the next day and he was right! I have to add that I come from a family that owns a chocolate factory and many of us have chocolate running through our veins. That said, this cake was fabulous, a true chocoholic's dream come true. A super mixture of chocolate-ness, a bit of raspberry cream in some of the layers, some dollops of heavy whipped cream, delicious, delicious. The waiter confirmed that it is made in house, if anyone is interested. As promised, we dined to our heart's content that night, then split the leftover cake for breakfast the next morning...just as good the next day too.
Overall grade for food experience: A- (I had to deduct a couple of points for the saltiness of my side).
Coming away from the meal, I have to say we enjoyed our evening very much. Really, 50% atmosphere, and 50% food. What we both came away with re. the dinner was that everything was so FLAVORFUL. You really tasted the elements and they also came together flawlessly. Would definitely dine here again.
***The Oilery is located across the plaza from eat!. It is a family owned business that opened 14 months ago. We stopped in the next day just to check it out. They have crocks of different olive oils and vinegars infused with different flavors, along with a few other spice things and whole jarred olives. All of their olive oil comes from one supplier in Italy. I liked that they have sample cups and you can taste everything directly from the crocks before you buy (plus, the owner is a wealth of information). I left with a bottle of 25 year old balsamic vinegar as well as a bottle of truffle flavored olive oil and can't wait to try a few other things when these are done. Check it out! It's really fun.....
First, regarding everything that has nothing to do with food:
This includes the atmosphere: we were in a cozy booth for two, yet it also opened up at an angle so you didn't feel closed in. It looked like the round table could have extra chairs added across from the booth seating to make it a table for 4. I liked the swoopy curve in the back.
The curves were echoed in the silverware, and offset by the square white plating for the food. I'm a bit of a china/silver nut, and enjoyed the curvy silverware.
Lighting fixtures were interesting (an extravaganza of blown orange glass in the chandeliers). There were also a few black and white photos of Robert Irvine in action scattered around the room.
Service was excellent. Do keep in mind that there is a leisurely pace to the meal (we were there for more than 90 minutes beginning to end) but at no time did we feel abandoned by our waiter. He was a busy guy too, with tables all over the place. We had reservations and were seated without delay; when we left there were many people waiting in the bar for their tables...if you go, I highly recommend a reservation.
Overall grade for non-food experience: A
Second: everything regarding the food:
Cocktails: I started with a strawberry mojita: excellent!
Appetizer: we ordered one of the specials of the evening, a salmon ceviche that also contained small cubes of sweet potato. It was delicious. A generous portion and perfect for a couple to share.
Bread: the bread was served with the appetizer. Thin slices of a soft and chewy bread....I wish I had asked if they made it in-house of if they brought it in. With it was served balsamic vinegar that came on a small rectangle plate per person. A bottle of olive oil was left at the table so you could add your own, which I really liked. An interesting note about the olive oil (and vinegar) is that they come from The Oilery, HH's new shop dedicated to olive oils. More on that later though.***
Main Course:
Ooh, I did a lot of debating here. Ended up ordering from their regular menu:
"pan seared, butter basted salmon
parsley lemon brown butter, hominy succotash, herbs"
The salmon was perfectly cooked and I enjoyed it a lot. At first, the hominy succotash was also delicious and full of flavor, but after a bit I noticed that it was also very salty, enough so that it bothered me.
DH also ordered form the regular menu:
"blackened snapper and grits
bay shrimp, tomato havarti grits, red pepper goat
cheese coulis, balsamic reduction"
He's a grits lover and I think that played a big part of his choice. It was all good, with a nice bit of heat in the blackened fish, he ate every bite and said he would easily order it again.
Dessert:
we knew we had to go there, so while DH finished off his entree, I saved half of mine back for lunch the next day. The dessert menu came with a recommendation by our waiter re. The Ridiculous Chocolate Cake, and after a little discussion, it's what dh and I decided to get. The waiter warned us it is big enough for two for dessert plus leftovers the next day and he was right! I have to add that I come from a family that owns a chocolate factory and many of us have chocolate running through our veins. That said, this cake was fabulous, a true chocoholic's dream come true. A super mixture of chocolate-ness, a bit of raspberry cream in some of the layers, some dollops of heavy whipped cream, delicious, delicious. The waiter confirmed that it is made in house, if anyone is interested. As promised, we dined to our heart's content that night, then split the leftover cake for breakfast the next morning...just as good the next day too.
Overall grade for food experience: A- (I had to deduct a couple of points for the saltiness of my side).
Coming away from the meal, I have to say we enjoyed our evening very much. Really, 50% atmosphere, and 50% food. What we both came away with re. the dinner was that everything was so FLAVORFUL. You really tasted the elements and they also came together flawlessly. Would definitely dine here again.
***The Oilery is located across the plaza from eat!. It is a family owned business that opened 14 months ago. We stopped in the next day just to check it out. They have crocks of different olive oils and vinegars infused with different flavors, along with a few other spice things and whole jarred olives. All of their olive oil comes from one supplier in Italy. I liked that they have sample cups and you can taste everything directly from the crocks before you buy (plus, the owner is a wealth of information). I left with a bottle of 25 year old balsamic vinegar as well as a bottle of truffle flavored olive oil and can't wait to try a few other things when these are done. Check it out! It's really fun.....
