Last Thursday, Rob and I went out to see one of our favorite bands:
The Ike Reilly Assasinaton
We invited a couple who hadn’t seen Ike before. But Rob gave them a few tracks and they were intrigued! This was Ike’s first time performing at the Fine Line and I scored us a reserved table in the balcony.
This show was a little different for us because we normally stand right up front next to the stage, especially when we see them play at First Ave or the Turf Club. In fact, you will find Rob and me in this Ike Reilly video which was partially shot at the Turf Club. Can you spot us for a fraction of second at about… 3:29? 😉
It wasn’t quite the same sitting in the balcony; but it was definitely nice not getting pushed, shoved or beer spilled on me! And we didn’t have to rush to get there to secure our spots near the stage.
This also meant that we didn’t have to rush cocktails nor dinner. We met at The Tangiers, but decided to venture elsewhere for some more substantial food. After a cocktail or two, a new dining spot was chosen:
Saffron
This restaurant has been on my wish list forever! I was giddy with delight when it was chosen. When we arrived, the interior was not what I expected at all. It felt a lot more casual.
We started with some gin cocktails because the bartender was in a Sapphire comeptition and had a concoction to try out on us.
If I remember correctly, the cocktail was comprised of Bombay Sapphire Gin, some sort of anise-flavored liqueur, a mint leaf and dill oil. There has got to be something to account for the pink color though. A splash of grapefruit juice, perhaps? What I will tell you that this drink was delightfully refreshing, yet strong!
Our friend Lisa is not a gin fan, so she ordered a {Tequila} Mockingbird.
While many pre-prohibition and other classic cocktails are made with egg whites, Lisa was thrown off by it. I don’t think that style is for her.
We started with an order of Haloumi Cheese Curds. Rob had seen these on their menu weeks ago. He was excited to try them ever since our first taste in Australia. Because these were curds, they were deep fried. So they weren’t really reminiscent of what we had Down Under; but they still had that salty, cheesy goodness.
Because we were having such a tough time deciding on what to order, Rob and I chose to split an appetizer and an entree so that we could sample more than just one flavor.
Left: Beef Ham and Manchego Cheese Croquettes – $8 | Right: Sauteed Parisian Gnocchi with spring vegetables, soft herbs and black truffle-taleggio cheese fondue – $21
All so good! I loved the touch of greens and carrot ribbons atop the gnocchi. There was so much else on the menu that I wanted to try; but I wasn’t hungry enough to pay market price on Whole Roasted Branzini. Plus, I didn’t want to deal with deconstructing a whole fish.
Our friend Lisa ordered:
Chicken “Bisteeya” – an aromatic saffron stewed chicken & almond pie wrapped in a phyllo pastry with cinnamon sugar – $9
I honestly was caught up so much in our conversation that I’m not really sure what she thought of this. I’m sure I asked her, too. Doh!
Our friend Bob ordered this:
Lamb Shank Tagine – with spring vegetables, potatoes, perserved lemon and green charmoula broth – $27
If you’ve never had a tagine before, I highly recommend you do. The tagine is actually the vessel in which the dish it is cooked. The cover keeps most of the steam inside, created such wonderful aromatics. I tried a piece of this lamb shank and it was so incredibly tender.
We didn’t have room for dessert, so off we went to see Ike. It was such a fun night out!
Where have you gone spontaneously lately?
Cheers~
Carrie
Season It Already! 