It recently dawned on Megan and I that we haven't eaten at most of the places along the strip in our own 'hood. As our Christmas gifts to each other, Megan and I decided to do somthing new. We went Restaurant Hopping down the strip.
We started around 7pm with the plan to have a four or five course meal, stopping at a new restaurant for each course. Groovy idea huh? We originally joked about pretending to be food critics in order to lessen the blow to the servers that we weren't ordering much. We went so far as to joke about bringing pens and paper and creating alter egos for ourselves. In the end however we went as our boring old selves. The funny part is tha in the end, we didn't need to falsify the facts to get great service and have a blast.
All prices are after tax and tip. Total spent each on the night, $41.
Location - Taste
Server - Lisa
Ordered - Herbed Goat Cheese Spread with Crackers & Ahi Tuna Tartar
History - Taste has been in College Park for years so we were both really looking forward to trying it out. The interior was nice, but while we weren't shunned, we weren't made to feel especially welcomed. Taste serves tappas (mini dishes) so we figured it would be the perfect place for appetizers and because the menu is set up for it we decided not to tell the server about our plans to hop around.
Menu - After looking over the menu we weren't overly impressed with their creativity. We felt like most of the combinations offered were typical and actually had trouble finding things we really wanted to try. In the end we settled on two dishes.
Food - Both dishes lived up to the restaurant's name and were tastey, but we felt they didn't live up to our expectations. The goat cheese was creamy but a bit bland and there wasn't enough to go around to the small handful of crackers we received. The Tartar was decent but again, not a very large portion and rather bland. In the end we did tell the server about our hopping and she mentioned Julianna's down the street had nice cooks...hmmm, we were hoping for good food but we'll see.
Total Cost - $19
Conclusion - 2.5 Stars
Server - Kelly
History - Harmoni is a bit controversial around College Park. You see it sits on the ground level of a new condoplex that was recently built right on the main strip in the small quaint College Park district. The condos are large, imposing and required the destruction of some neat old buildings. For this reason the locals have been a bit hesitant to explore. Meg and I decided to check it out and were extremely imperssed. Ther is a market adjacent that provides and ecclectic and fun selection of food and affordable wines. The Bistro had a really nice vibe with a high ceiling and gorgeous stained wood beams exposed. The somehow managed to keep in intimate and not too loud though. In trying to decribe the atmosphere we could only come up with 'The new College Park' which should be taken as a huge compliment.
History - Julianna's used to be a tea room and neither of us had paid it much attention until it was commended at both Taste and Harmoni. The atmosphere was cozy though our server was awkward and lacked personality.
Menu -We struggled with our choice to have our entree at Julianna's because of their lack of vegetarian friendly dishes. We found a few options though and narrowed it down to one. We told the server of our evening of hopping and while he seemed a bit miffed he did split our dish into two plates without our asking.
Conclusion - 2 Stars
Food - The applie pit was yummy, not too many apple chunks, lots of gooeyness. Though we agreed the chef was a bit heavy on the crust to filling ratio. The lava cake was the real gem though. Chocolate cake with a gooey hot sauce center, served with raspberries and mint it was irresistable. We agreed it was a close contender with my Mom's brownie pudding. We also ordered a glass of Shiraz (what girl can have chocolate without some red wine!?)
Total Cost - $31
Megan and I always have a good time, no matter what we're doing. But this night was an especially memorable event, at least for me. I'd love to go back and try all of the places again to see how they rate the second time around. We've already discussed making a habit out of Restaurant Hopping - if we do I'll be sure to let you know. Thanks for the great gift Meg!
Sometimes I miss them.