Table 79, Steamboat Springs

Posted on October 13, 2018 by melsmosaic

Last time I was in Steamboat Springs, CO was able to visit one of the local restaurants, Table 79.

They have a nice variety of tapas/small plates on the menu, as well as some entrees. I love having lots of things to nibble on so we chose a few on the smaller options to check out.

SMOKED ELK & CHORIZO MEATBALL / 4 // sweet corn succotash, sun dried tomato aioli

You do indeed get 1 meatball, but it’s a good size. The corn was delicious, as was the main part of the dish.

DEVILED EGG SALAD / 10 // spicy greens, cornichons, snow peas, pepita brittle, paprika champagne vinaigrette

They told us it was sort of a disassembled salad…what? They don’t just kind of mash up a hard boiled egg with a bunch of stuff. They nicely spread it out on a plate. Very unique and really good!

TUNA POKE / 11 // toasted sesame, pineapple, fiery sticky rice, avocado

The sticky fried rice the tuna sat on was quite nice, great presentation. Good taste overall.

CRISPY BRUSSELS SPROUTS / 7 // table spice

I love Brussels sprouts and this didn’t change that thought, just reinforced it.

So, great experience. We also sat outside on a lovely evening. Service was wonderful, as well. Check it out if you’re in the area. Cheers.

Ayse Meze Lounge

Posted on November 18, 2016 by melsmosaic

Visited a nice restaurant in Frederick, MD that provides ‘the best of Greek, Turkish and Lebanese Cuisine in small dishes.’ This was Ayse Meze Lounge.

Went for lunch, and while they have a lunch menu, was easier to look over the dinner menu with all the small plates. They say to get about 3 per person. There were so many choices that it was hard to pick! While milling things over we of course started with some babaghanoush. I was thrilled with this because it is very hard to find it without dairy. Bring it on! So smooth!

Then we opted for the Mantar – mushrooms, almonds, dates, oregano, brandy. Such and amazing taste. Could have eaten pounds of this stuff.

Next was Pancar – roasted beets, arugula, manouri, walnuts, sherry dressing. The cheese on top is goat cheese so loved that I was able to eat it!

Then Enginar – baby artichokes, roasted peppers, grilled onions.

We also had some dolmas, but I didn’t get a picture of those. The lunch was very nice and very filling! Five plates/meze between two of us was more more more than enough!! They have an outdoor seating area that is quite nice and evening entertainment. Will definitely check this place out again.

8407 Kitchen Bar

Posted on March 27, 2016 by melsmosaic

Have heard of the restaurant 8407 Kitchen Bar in Silver Spring, MD for awhile and was finally able to check it out recently. It’s right next to the Silver Spring Metro and just outside of Washington, DC.

There is a bar area downstairs with TVs and then the restaurant upstairs. My friend and I were ‘normal’ and (actually) got a table upstairs.

After looking over the menu we decided to split a bunch of small plates versus going for entrees. The decisions the ended up on the table were:

-Farm Fresh Deviled Eggs

-Pickled Veggies

-Salmon Bites

-Gouda Ewephora Cheese

-Black Goat Truffle Cheese

-Prosciutto Americano

(so we devoured half the salmon before I took a picture)

Also ordered some Temptation Zin to pair with all this. Nice wine with berries and spice.

Was a very nice meal. Service was a bit slow but nothing to worry about. Prices are about the same as most restaurants (as in entrees were low upper teens to mid 20s) in the DC area. Would totally be game for checking this out again.

Barcelona (DC)

Posted on January 11, 2016 by melsmosaic

Finally made it to a Barcelona Wine Bar in DC. They have several locations and I hit the one in Cathedral Heights.

I was going to have wine, of course, but when reading the menu I was lured to the sangria. At this time of year they make it with lavendar, sage and rosemary. That…tasted…so…good.

The venue is tapas-styles, so small plates with many cheeses and charcuterie. After much glancing at the menu, with many choices of sheep and goat cheese, we opted for the Cabra Romero, which is goat’s milk crusted in rosemary and the drunken goat, which has had it’s share of wine.

Also went with some Hand-Sliced Jamon Mangalica, which is cured Hungarian pig and a Catalan sausage (I believe). They bring this all out with some amazing bread.

I can’t believe it has taken me so long to get to this place. I can’t wait to go back and try more of their food and wine. They also have locations on 14th St. and in Reston.