"Good afternoon, Dish Osteria."
"Hi, I'd like to make reservations for this Saturday."
"How many?"
"Two, please."
"I have either....5:30 or 10:30"
(awkward pause, slight chuckle on my part)
"Little busy on Saturday? I'll take 5:30"
Dish is a tiny little restaurant, probably 12 tables in the main eating area and another 3 in the bar, tucked into a house off of East Carson Street. Parking is a complete nightmare in the South Side (and is actually a deterrent for us going down there much -- hint, hint mayoral candidates), so I dropped DB~ off at the intersection of Sarah Street and 17th Street.
"Where is it?" asked DB~.
"Over there, in the greenish house."
There's just a tiny little sign out front that says Dish Osteria. But inside you're transported to...some part of Italy, maybe Sicily -- I don't want to say the wrong one for fear of retribution.
We had a very friendly server that was very personable. She recommended making reservations at least 2, if not 3, weeks in advance. Good to know.
We started off with an order of Melanzane Grigliate con Mozzarella di Bufala or Grilled Eggplant with Buffalo Mozzarella and some pieces of basil, if you're not hip on your Italian. It was fantastic, as the eggplant wasn't chewy and layered with a lot of seasoning. The mozzarella (boo-fa-low, not Buffalo, DB~) was a little charred and quite fresh. Basil is good on anything. I wish I had a picture for you, but I'm a terrible food blogger.
DB~ went with Halibut and Saffron Risotto for her dinner. I wish saffron wasn't so ridiculously expensive because it is fantastic. It just gave a softened, mellow vibe to the risotto and was a great complement for a light fish like halibut.
I went with the Tagliatelle con...Rabbit (don't know what the actual item was called and it's not on the online menu). It was a tagliatelle bowl with a tomato based ragout of rabbit and garlic, with some mushrooms sliced and mixed in. One of my rules of thumb when dining out is "If you see rabbit on the menu, order it" because it is somewhat of a delicacy and if it's on the menu the chef must know how to work with it.
Our server asked if we wanted dessert, but we decided that we were going to drink our dessert that night by going to Acacia up on East Carson Street. Acacia was started by some folks that use to work/own Embury -- the erstwhile handmade cocktail bar in the Firehouse in the Strip District, now home to Bar Marco.
By the time we got up there, it was a shade after 7 pm. DB~ wondered if we were going to be the only ones there. We opened the door, with windows covered in newspapers, and were greeted with a torrent of noise from the completely jammed bar. We were fortunate to grab two seats at the bar as people were leaving.
I started off with a Pulitzer (on the right in the picture), which was a mix of Gin, St. Germain, and Fernet Blanca. The art of making these drinks is fascinating to watch. It was great to watch our bartendress make it and smack the hell out of a piece of mint to "wake it up".
DB~ chose a drink called the Combier Smash, otherwise known as the new love of her life. Combier, we learned after looking it up, was the original Triple Sec. It has a lighter citrus taste than Triple Sec. A half of a lemon and some mint were muddled with the Combier and poured in a highball glass. It's a very dangerous drink, as you couldn't even taste the alcohol. DB~ had 2 and was looped. If she had 3, I would have had to give her a piggyback ride back to the car.
Between Acacia, Meat and Potatoes, Bar Marco, and probably some other places I'm forgetting, handmade cocktails are definitely the rage. I'm not sure how long it will last, but it's one of those trends that makes you wonder why people would NOT want to go to them anymore.
You did what with a rabbit? Tailgated?
ReplyDeleteGood for you, I guess.