Lonesome Dove

First post of 2012! And it's a place I've been dying to go to forever!!

We were long overdue for a gathering of one of our quarterly eating groups. We decided to venture out to Fort Worth this time and made a reservation at Lonesome Dove. Chef Tim Love is the chef and owner of this restaurant. He's a pretty famous celebrity chef being featured on shows like Top Chef and The Great Food Truck Race and also competed on Top Chef Masters. :) I've watched him on all those shows so I was eager to try his restaurant. Also because the menu was so exotic and interesting!

Lonesome Dove Western Bistro
2406 North Main Street
Fort Worth, TX 76164
(817) 740-8810
http://www.lonesomedovebistro.com/
Price: $$$$+

I've looked at their menu online sooo many times so I knew that it was pretty pricey. But they feature a lot of exotic game meat and has won many awards. I had pretty high expectations!

The restaurant is casual, despite the prices. When you walk in, it seems to be a pretty small place. Wood plank floors and Western decor. But we were led through the front room, then another small room and then ANOTHER small room and finally down a flight of stairs to yet another room. It's deceivingly big! And it was packed with people that night.

We were seated and our drink orders were taken. Then the waiter recommended that we pick a few appetizers and they can make a sampler out of it. Basically each appetizer can be ordered in individual pieces. So we chose a few dishes and they will serve one piece of each app per person. Interesting concept... and everyone can try everything! We also got some bread to start. The jalapeno cornbread was pretty yummy! I can totally taste the flecks of spicy jalapeno with the sweet bread. Mmmm!

So for the First Course we chose 4 appetizers:
Wild Boar Ribs (house made pickles, Lonesome Dove BBQ sauce) $12~ (or $4/piece).

This was highly rated in online reviews. It looked really good and was cooked well. There was just enough fat on it to make it nice and juicy. However, I wasn't blown away. It was good ribs but not mindblowing. Also, I didn't care for the pickles that came with it. They were more sweet than tart and I felt like they didn't add anything to the dish. A side of slaw or something might've gone better with the ribs.

Rabbit-Rattlesnake Sausage (spicy Manchego rosti, creme fraiche) $15~ (or $5/piece).

This was really good. The sausage had a nice crispy sear on it and the meat itself had a hint of sweetness to it. But the main star in my opinion was the crispy potato hashbrown thing under the sausage. It was perfectly crispy and yummy. But the whole thing was tiny! It was literally one bite. I forced cut it into 3 tiny bites just to savor it. hahaha.

Kangaroo Carpaccio "Nachos" (avocado salsa, habanero-fig demi-glace) $12~ (or $4/piece).

This was one of the dishes I really wanted to try. Kangaroo?? How much more exotic can you get? But I was hesitant on the carpaccio part since that means it's mostly raw... This was even smaller than the sausage. One piece of tortilla and an even smaller piece of kangaroo on top. The meat was interesting. It's really tender and seems to be light in flavor. But there was a pretty bold seasoning rubbed over it so I don't really know what the actual meat tastes like. I liked the texture of the meat and I decided to eat it separately from the tortilla so I can fully enjoy it. The rest of the dish was basically like a chunky guacamole. Which was good but too much in ratio to the rest of the dish. It would be nice if we at least go some extra pieces of tortilla chips or something.

Elk Sausage Sliders (seared foie gras, blueberry jam) $14~ (or $7/piece).

I haven't really had elk before and one of our friends at the dinner said elk is probably one of the best meats ever. He was right. This was one of the best sliders I've had in a long time. The meat was tender, juicy and full of flavor. I know elk is way leaner than beef but it didn't taste lean! All the elements just melded together wonderfully. I can just eat this all night. But at $7 a piece...it's definitely pricey!

Some of us got a second course. I chose to have my second course as my main dish so I can save more space for dessert! :P I got the Butter Lettuce, Applewood Smoked Bacon Lardons, Spiced Pepitas, Chili Buttermilk $9~

The bacon lardons is what sold me on this. Basically crispy pork belly. NOM! The salad was good. The pork with the pepitas and little slivers of jalapeno definitely made it better. Butter lettuce is a really delicate lettuce and I'm not a huge fan of it. I think with romaine it would've been a better fit texture wise with the pork and pepitas. The dressing wasn't spicy like I hoped and wasn't anything special. I enjoyed it overall though.

Warm Hominy, Lamb Bacon, Swiss Chard, Muenster, Quail Egg $12~

Hominy refers to corn without the germ. It is served both whole or ground. Hominy is boiled until cooked and served as either a cereal or as a vegetable. Muenster cheese is a cow's milk cheese with a taste comparable to typical white American cheese or a sharp jack cheese. This looked really good. It was kind of like a stew. I got to try a bite. I loved all the different ingredients in it and the broth was really flavorful. However, there was a sheep/lamb-y flavor (I'm assuming from the lamb bacon...haha) which I didn't like. But I don't like lamb in general so if you do, you might like this!

Grilled Corn, Cucumber, Heirloom Tomato Salad (red wine vinaigrette) $9~

This was really colorful and looked really fresh. I didn't get to try but my friend cleaned her plate.

Berkshire Pork Green Chili (tortilla strips, smoked cheddar cheese) $10~

This looked pretty hearty and the portion size was good. My friend said it was good, not great.

Time for the Main Course!
Roasted Garlic Stuffed Beef Tenderloin (Western plaid hash, Syrah demi-glace) $35~

The tenderloin was about 8-9 oz. The waiter said this was their most popular entree. The tenderloin was huge! I got to try a bite of the meat and it was really tender. It had good flavor but I didn't really get much garlic. The asparagus was nice too. My friend said the flavor of the sauce was a little overwhelming though. I didn't try the sauce so I can't comment. He even had some leftovers to go!

Pan Seared Lane Snapper (smoked crawfish chowder, crispy parsnip) $28~

If I had ordered an entree this was my second choice. It was also a good portion size. The sauce was awesome...lots of flavor and great with the bits of crispy parsnip in it. The fish had good flavor as well but it was slightly overcooked. Still a good dish overall.

My bf got the Rocky Mountain Elk Loin (salsify, Hen of the Woods, swiss chard, candied grapes) $40~

This was my first choice as an entree. The slices of loin added up to about 3-4 oz in my opinion. Salsify is a white root, kind of like a parsnip but skinnier. It was a pretty small plate but pretty. The elk was super tender and seasoned lightly so you can taste the actual protein. I enjoyed all the elements together but it definitely needed more of EVERYTHING! haha. Especially the salsify. I loved the dish, I just wanted more!! It was definitely expensive for the portion we got. However, I did do some research and the price for elk seems to be around 3 times more than beef. I guess I can understand the pricing more based on the data.

I definitely saved room for Dessert! haha.
I already knew what I wanted from looking at the menu online. Warm Ancho Chile Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream & Almond Brittle $10~

It was almost like a flourless chocolate cake...really decadent. I liked the almond brittle around the cake. It added a nice crunch and a floral accent to the chocolate. I didn't detect any chile though...that was a bummer. I liked this a lot. It just needs to be bigger as well!

Chocolate Tuaca Layered Mousse Cake $10~

This was a large piece of cake. It looked really yummy but it was just ok. I really liked the chocolate layer on top but the consistency was too thick and hard against the actual cake part. The flavors were good but I felt like it could be a bit more moist.

Fresh Mexican Doughnuts with Chocolate, Cajeta & Coffee Cream $10~

This was basically churros with dipping sauces. The churros were pillowy and delicious. I really liked it with the chocolate sauce. Cajeta is basically caramelized goat's milk. That was really good as well. The coffee sauce was very watery, I'm not sure if the consistency was meant to be like that?

Overall it was a great meal. I enjoyed pretty much everything I tasted but it was just a bit too expensive for it all. With 1 piece of each appetizer per person (for me and my bf), one salad, one main course, and one dessert, the final bill (including tax and tip) was about $135 for the 2 of us. We didn't even get any beverages or anything. And I wasn't totally full. I had another dessert elsewhere about an hour later. haha. :P

As for the service... our waiter wasn't friendly at all. We didn't feel welcomed and he almost made us feel like he didn't want us there at all. Several of my friends commented on that and one guy even said "I really don't like him!" I mean, he did everything he was supposed to, checked on us regularly and served the meal correctly but no smile or friendly chit chat or anything. Bleh... :( It definitely made us enjoy our dinner a bit less. However, after the dinner, I asked him if I could meet the chef (since I saw him walk by earlier in the night) and he said he would check for me. And later came back and told me that the chef will come by our table. Woot! That earned a bit of his points back.

So Chef Tim Love came by our table. And I was able to get a picture with him! YAY! Another check on my list of Top Chefs to visit. hehe. :)

I would still recommend checking out Lonesome Dove since the food is delicious and you can try some really exotic things. Just keep the prices in mind...and also keep the prices of the different proteins in perspective. It's definitely not a place most people can visit frequently. And you MUST try the Elk Sliders!!!!

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Bottega Ristorante

Before the trip to Napa, I did some research and found sooo many amazing restaurants in that area, particularly Yountville. I wanted to go to The French Laundry as well, but it was definitely out of my price range at the moment. I decided to try Bottega, Michael Chiarello's restaurant. I used to watch him on Food Network and also watched him on Top Chef Masters. There's no doubt that he's a great chef and makes some amazing food.

Bottega Ristorante
6525 Washington St
Yountville, CA 94599
(707) 945-1050
www.botteganapavalley.com
Price: $$$

An excerpt taken from the Bottega website:
"Bottega means "workshop," a place where we can showcase signature bold Italian flavors with a refined twist. Our menu highlights the bounty of artisanal and house made ingredients, as well as local produce."

I was surprised to find out that Bottega was reasonably affordable so I became more determined to go. We had half day on Saturday to explore on our own so I suggested to my sister and cousins on going there for lunch. Since we didn't make a reservation we got there right when the doors opened at 11:30AM. The hostess was really friendly and informed us that they had some tables available. :)

They seated us right by the kitchen. You could see all the action in the kitchen. Cool! The room we were in was a little too dim for me though. The room next door had sunlight coming through and was much brighter.

They came around and poured us water and the waitress took our orders. I recommended everyone on trying the pasta because Chef Chiarello is always making fresh pasta on his shows. So I thought the pastas would be pretty awesome.

After we ordered we were given some bread. The bread was nice and warm and the garlic olive oil was a great pairing with it.

One of my cousins ordered the Monterey Calamari (crisped with Arborio rice flour and aioli nero) $10~ to start. The portion was pretty small... We were all getting hungry so it disappeared really quickly! It was basically like $1 for 1 piece of calamari...kinda pricey! Although it was really delicious. It was fried perfectly, with the squid still being super tender. The aioli was made with squid ink. It was black and looked really interesting. I really liked it! It was creamy and nothing like anything I've had before. It complimented the calamari very well. I liked it so much I even spread the remaining aioli on the bread! haha.

It was really hard to decide since I wanted to try everything...but for my main dish I ordered the Pan Roasted Potato Gnocchi (early spring vegetables, English pea fonduta & 11 month Valley Ford Montasio) $17~ I'm SO glad I ordered this. Intially I was hesitant because it had no meat in it. But I didn't miss the meat at all! The entire dish was perfect (minus the carrots which I gave away...since I don't like them...). The gnocchi was by far the best I've ever had. It had a great sear and slight crisp on the outside...soft and pillowy on the inside. The sauce/pea fonduta was amazing. The spring veggies were cooked to perfection, all retained a slight crunch in texture along with the soft gnocchi. And the melted cheese on top just added another depth of flavor. Montasio is a cheese made from cow's milk. It's got a hint of sharpness and has bold flavor. Wow! I wanted to lick the plate clean...it was amazing! This was by far my favorite dish of the day. It was even better than I could've expected.

One of my cousins ordered the Calabrian Sausage & Lemon Ricotta Tortellini (spicy broccoli rabe, tomato-pork jus & mosto oro olive oil) $16~ The plate was really colorful and pretty. The tortellini was cooked well and paired nicely with the broccoli rabe. I didn't really get the sausage or lemon in the dish though. I would say out of all the dishes that day, this was probably my least favorite just because it was more normal, not spectacular.

My other cousin got the Black Pepper Bucatini alla Carbonara (with soft cooked local hen egg, parmigiano crema, shaved asparagus & guanciale) $16~ Guanciale is an unsmoked Italian bacon...it's name derived from Guancia which is Italian for 'cheek'. There were so many terms in the menu that I didn't recognize. So I had to look them up! haha. It was really good. The bucatini was cooked perfectly. Al dente! And the cream sauce was nice and rich. The runny egg on top looked sooo good! I liked this a lot.

This was my 2nd choice. My sister's bf got the House Made Rigatoni (tomato braised Sonoma rabbit sugo, wild mushrooms, house made ricotta) $17~ Sugo basically means "sauce". I love Rigatoni so this sounded really good. I was happier with my gnocchi though. haha. This was good as well. There were large chunks of rabbit meat in the sauce and it was really tender. The mushroom sauce was great and the ricotta made the sauce a little creamy. Again the pasta was cooked perfectly. It was a great dish.

My sister got the Red Wheat Linguine Bolognese (veal, pork & porcini mushroom sugo, rosemary, parmigiano reggiano) $18~ Perfect al dente pasta just like all the other dishes. The meat sauce had tons of meat in it. Normally most places don't have enough, this one actually had more meat than pasta! YUM!

This has been an amazing meal. The food was fantastic, with the gnocchi completely exceeding my expectations. The quality of the ingredients were super fresh and I thought the portion size of the pasta dishes were very reasonable. The service was also top notch. Our water glasses were refilled frequently and as soon as we finished the first batch of bread, they immediately brought more. The waitress was really nice and was able to answer some questions I had. I definitely recommend checking out Bottega when you are in Napa!! :)

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Jacques-Imo's

OMG....it's time for our ACTUAL dinner. hahaha. I'm sooo full already!

Jacques-Imo's Cafe

8324 Oak Street

New Orleans, LA 70118

(504) 861-0886

http://www.jacquesimoscafe.com/

Price: $$

The restaurant owner is Jacques Leonardi, who is also the owner of Crabby Jack's (I had no idea!). This place was featured on Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate" so I was really looking forward to trying it.

I'm so glad I called and made a reservation (even though the earliest availability was 9PM!) cuz the place was packed! We had to go through the bar to get to the hostess stand. O.M.G. The number of people in the bar was INSANE! You cannot move at all. I almost wanted to
give up the reservation and leave... I get claustrophobic and that was not a good experience!

Luckily the dining area was in a completely different area. Whew. When we finally got to the hostess, we had to squeeze our way back to the front of the bar to go to the dining area. The restaurant decor was very colorful and eclectic. Lots of different art, pictures, drawings on the walls, very random.

We were given complimentary Cornbread after we ordered. I'm not usually a cornbread fan but this was really good. The crust had a nice crunch to it and the inside was pretty moist. I would've liked some chunks of corn in it though.

A friend of mine ordered Fried Green Tomatoes (with shrimp remoulade) $7.50~ appetizer. It was definitely different than the remoulade we had in our po-boy earlier in the day. It was actually whole shrimp..in the shell and everything. I liked the crust on the green tomato but I think it needed more seasoning. I find green tomatoes kind of flavorless so I think some sort of sauce is necessary for flavor.

I just got an appetizer because I was still really full. Fried Rabbit Tenderloin (with Creole Mustard Sauce) $7.50~ I've never had rabbit before so I really wanted to try it. I thought the presentation looked kinda funny... It was ok... The texture was very similar to white meat chicken...a little tough and dry. Although I could taste a hint of some other flavor that differentiated it from chicken. I thought the crust could've been crispier too. I didn't care for the dish too much...

Half way through the meal, Jacques himself strolls into the dining room. Cool! He made his rounds at every table, greeting and chatting with all the customers. He seemed really friendly and laid back. When he got around to our table we told him this was our first time there and if we could take a picture with him. He was a good sport and even got on top of our chairs and did a goofy pose. haha! :) Then he asked if we got their Shrimp and Alligator Sausage Cheesecake $7.50~ (we didn't order it), so he gave it to us on the house since that was what they're famous for. It was the one featured on Food Network. It was definitely interesting...a savory cheesecake. Although I felt the texture was more along the lines of a quiche or bread pudding. I could see and taste the chunks of alligator sausage but didn't really get the shrimp. The sauce on top was kind of a creamy tomato-y sauce. I'm not sure if I really liked it that much but it was definitely something different to try.

Here are the entrees that other people ordered...
Each entree comes with house salad and choice of two sides. House salad is a spinach salad with a fried oyster and balsamic dressing. The salad was really good. Fresh and the dressing was tasty and not overpowering. The fried oyster on the side was pretty dang good as well.

One friend got the Cajun Bouillibaisse (oysters, shrimp, mussels, fresh fish) $19.50~ This was kind of like a seafood stew. There were lots of different kinds of seafood in there. I had a piece of shrimp...it was overcooked. :( The flavors were pretty nice though.

My bf ordered Grilled Mahi Mahi (with Pistachio sauce, asparagus, and shrimp); side of Corn Maque Choux and Mixed Greens) $18.50~ The fish was a nice thick piece of fish. It was cooked well, but I thought was lacking in seasoning a bit. The sauce wasn't really what I had imagined when I read the menu. What I really liked were the sides. The corn and greens were awesome! :)

Another friend ordered Blackened Redfish (with a crab shili hollandaise) $18.50~ I didn't get to try it but it looked pretty good.

One of my friends ordered Cowboy Ribeye with Onion Rings and Mashed Potatoes (22 oz. bone-in Ribeye) $36~ when he saw some guy in the table next to us with one. It looked really good. hahaha. I got to try one bite. The flavor was good I thought..but it wasn't as tender as I would like. And I didn't like the onion rings even though they looked good. The batter on the outside wasn't crispy...

OMG we were sooo full... I was at my max capacity and was starting to feel a little sick. haha. Needless to say we did not have any dessert. :P

Overall I was a little disappointed in the meal. I would definitey prefer Crabby Jacks out of the two. But I'm not sure if it's because I was already full to begin with...

There were some good parts and some not so good parts. But it was a nice surprise to meet Jacques thats for sure! All I can say is call ahead and make reservations!! Otherwise you'll be stuck waiting forever...

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