For Travis's birthday dinner we headed to a place we had never heard of, Tony's Mining Company prompted by a gift certificate from a friend. Following is my personal review:
Being a food adventurer I was stoked to try this new restaurant in hopes that it would become a new favorite. Included with the gift certificate was a menu. It was a newspaper menu with a sketched drawing on the front of “the Timbering Gang”. The back side of the paper was in newspaper article form explaining the history of the area, the mining, and a small map to find the location. My initial impression from the menu’s style was not to expect too much. The inside of the paper contained the menu. The prices inside reflected a higher end eating establishment for this area, $25-35, and I was hoping it wouldn’t be just another dark and cold restaurant with a theme and terrible food like some “tavern” and “inn” establishments I've been too.
It turned out the map was quite useful as the restaurant was located off the beaten path and located along a road that was unlit. The outside was unremarkable but upon entering I was quickly impressed. The wait staff was prompt, polite, and helpful pointing out a coat check area. Although we had no reservations we were quickly seated. The restaurant’s atmosphere was bliss. It was dark but with ample ambient lighting to give it the intimate feel that I crave while dining. The tables weren’t overly crowded together and the noise level was a perfect din despite a fair number of diners producing a diverse makeup. Instantly I was in love with the huge wood beams, open expanses, faux copper tables, the pewter plates, and candle centerpiece lighting. The server joined us quickly and was helpful with the daily specials and an offer of recommendations.
Immediately set on the table was a cheese dish with assorted crackers. It was quite good, but I showed restraint hoping that the meal would prove to be a better use of my eating capacity. Ordering an appetizer of bacon wrapped scallops proved to be divine. The bacon was perfectly crunchy while the scallops were still tender. This is a rarity and likely a result of cooking the bacon partially before wrapping the scallops to get the perfect combinations of textures meeting and melting in your mouth.
My house salad came and was perfectly acceptable with my Balsamic Vinegar dressing, although not spectacular except the impressive croutons that left a lasting impression as they were divine and obviously homemade since the heady flavor of yeast and bread remained after eating them whereas generic ones leave a preservative filled bitterness in your mouth. It was simple upgrades such as this throughout the entire meal that filled me with excitement to continue each course.
Next was the bread course and I was sold. A place that had gotten the appetizer, salad, and bread so fantastically couldn’t possibly screw up too badly on the entrees. The bread took me to a little French provincial town with an old and weathered baker leaning over an open oven with a real flame. The texture was perfect as the crusty outside yielded to the most succulent soft and warm center. The real whipped butter was not needed, this bread was the best I have ever eaten in a restaurant, but an upgraded luxury I couldn’t refuse since warm bread with melted butter is my favorite course.
The timing of the meal to this point was precise and I felt neither rushed nor impatient to continue. The waitress was excellent at checking in but not to the point of annoyance. Our glasses stayed full and she cleared with such fluidity and tact that rarely did I notice the dishes were gone until afterward.
As our entrees came out I was feeling rather smug with my choice of Filet Chesapeake, a six ounce Filet topped with lump Crabmeat, Broccolini spears, and a Bearnaise sauce. For my side in addition to the salad I had chosen the rice. The rice was well rounded full bodied multigrain rice that was absolutely light despite the density of the grain itself. As I cut into the filet I was delighted to find that is had been cooked flawlessly. The juice oozed and the meat yielded to the knife easily indicating the absolute tenderness. The bite left me lingering a moment to fully savor the combining flavors and the mingling tastes of filet, crab, and the Bearnaise sauce. Each worked in full compatibility and no one flavor dominated the meal.
Travis had ordered the surf and turf. His filet also proved to be ideal and the lobster tail quite delicious despite being overcooked by minute or two and cooling rather quickly. The flame heated whipped butter had been additionally salted and acted as the perfect balance to the mild, sweet flavor of the lobster. In addition to the slightly overdone lobster my only complaint would have been a slightly sloppy presentation of the entree.
As the meal ended I was disappointed to not have room for dessert despite my desperation at knowing how it would compare to the rest of the exquisite meal. By and large the meal and the added promise of dessert will prompt me to return in the near future.
Being a food adventurer I was stoked to try this new restaurant in hopes that it would become a new favorite. Included with the gift certificate was a menu. It was a newspaper menu with a sketched drawing on the front of “the Timbering Gang”. The back side of the paper was in newspaper article form explaining the history of the area, the mining, and a small map to find the location. My initial impression from the menu’s style was not to expect too much. The inside of the paper contained the menu. The prices inside reflected a higher end eating establishment for this area, $25-35, and I was hoping it wouldn’t be just another dark and cold restaurant with a theme and terrible food like some “tavern” and “inn” establishments I've been too.
It turned out the map was quite useful as the restaurant was located off the beaten path and located along a road that was unlit. The outside was unremarkable but upon entering I was quickly impressed. The wait staff was prompt, polite, and helpful pointing out a coat check area. Although we had no reservations we were quickly seated. The restaurant’s atmosphere was bliss. It was dark but with ample ambient lighting to give it the intimate feel that I crave while dining. The tables weren’t overly crowded together and the noise level was a perfect din despite a fair number of diners producing a diverse makeup. Instantly I was in love with the huge wood beams, open expanses, faux copper tables, the pewter plates, and candle centerpiece lighting. The server joined us quickly and was helpful with the daily specials and an offer of recommendations.
Immediately set on the table was a cheese dish with assorted crackers. It was quite good, but I showed restraint hoping that the meal would prove to be a better use of my eating capacity. Ordering an appetizer of bacon wrapped scallops proved to be divine. The bacon was perfectly crunchy while the scallops were still tender. This is a rarity and likely a result of cooking the bacon partially before wrapping the scallops to get the perfect combinations of textures meeting and melting in your mouth.
My house salad came and was perfectly acceptable with my Balsamic Vinegar dressing, although not spectacular except the impressive croutons that left a lasting impression as they were divine and obviously homemade since the heady flavor of yeast and bread remained after eating them whereas generic ones leave a preservative filled bitterness in your mouth. It was simple upgrades such as this throughout the entire meal that filled me with excitement to continue each course.
Next was the bread course and I was sold. A place that had gotten the appetizer, salad, and bread so fantastically couldn’t possibly screw up too badly on the entrees. The bread took me to a little French provincial town with an old and weathered baker leaning over an open oven with a real flame. The texture was perfect as the crusty outside yielded to the most succulent soft and warm center. The real whipped butter was not needed, this bread was the best I have ever eaten in a restaurant, but an upgraded luxury I couldn’t refuse since warm bread with melted butter is my favorite course.
The timing of the meal to this point was precise and I felt neither rushed nor impatient to continue. The waitress was excellent at checking in but not to the point of annoyance. Our glasses stayed full and she cleared with such fluidity and tact that rarely did I notice the dishes were gone until afterward.
As our entrees came out I was feeling rather smug with my choice of Filet Chesapeake, a six ounce Filet topped with lump Crabmeat, Broccolini spears, and a Bearnaise sauce. For my side in addition to the salad I had chosen the rice. The rice was well rounded full bodied multigrain rice that was absolutely light despite the density of the grain itself. As I cut into the filet I was delighted to find that is had been cooked flawlessly. The juice oozed and the meat yielded to the knife easily indicating the absolute tenderness. The bite left me lingering a moment to fully savor the combining flavors and the mingling tastes of filet, crab, and the Bearnaise sauce. Each worked in full compatibility and no one flavor dominated the meal.
Travis had ordered the surf and turf. His filet also proved to be ideal and the lobster tail quite delicious despite being overcooked by minute or two and cooling rather quickly. The flame heated whipped butter had been additionally salted and acted as the perfect balance to the mild, sweet flavor of the lobster. In addition to the slightly overdone lobster my only complaint would have been a slightly sloppy presentation of the entree.
As the meal ended I was disappointed to not have room for dessert despite my desperation at knowing how it would compare to the rest of the exquisite meal. By and large the meal and the added promise of dessert will prompt me to return in the near future.
2 comments:
Now I'm hungry. You are an excellent writer by the way. I could picture everything.
That looks (and your description sounded) absolutely delicious! I think I'll have a bowl of tomato soup and pretend it's something much tastier.
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