It was a busy weekend and a busier start of week as we had made plans to go out with our Rabbi and her 4+ year old son, Benjamin. I chose RESTAURANT 3 in Clarendon (www.restaurantthree.com) as we had plans to eat there earlier in the year and they had called me to cancel. I was quite upset and the manager, RIA, said she would make it up to me when we decided to come in. She did. We had a top notch meal with great service, a warm welcome, and a huge discount plus the wines by the bottle are 1/2 price on Tuesday!
Benjamin chose the MAC N CHEESE which comes with French Fries; how's that for a carbed up meal? This was no ordinary Mac N Cheese though. It is made with Linguini and Smoked Cheddar and really is a tasty treat. Samuel went for the chicken fingers and fries (surprise!) and both of the boys had a scoop of chocolate and strawberry ice cream each for dessert. They did just fine as we savored our dishes more leisurely.
Will started with the LETTUCE WRAPS which you filled with Slow Roasted Shredded Duck and then spread a yummy BOUBON MOLASSES Sauce on....I could easily retire Hoisin for this delight!
The Rabbi and I split two starters with mine being the TUNA LOLLIPOPS which was a great presentation of gorgeous sashimi tuna chunks on bamboo sticks with Roasted Sesame Seeds over a Seaweed Salad and Soy BBQ Sauce with Wasabi Cream that you could either combine or dip singly with the pops. YUM!
She opted for the BLEI CHEESE CHIPS -homemade thick puffy potato chips with POINT REYES Blue cheese melted, but asked for them to please leave the bacon off. They were the best chips ever and way too decadent to be allowed to try exist, but I will go back for them again!
We had a BELLINHAM CHENIN BLANC 2008 from South Africa that was quite delightful, and moved on to a superb PETER FRANUS Brandlin Vineyard 2005 Napa ZINFANDEL from Mount Veeder that was to die for. Huge flavor, but not too much spice and a monster finish; I am grateful to Ria for recommending we try this!
The main courses were all excellent with the Rabbi choosing the TUNA SALAD with Sesame Crusted Tuna (it was quite like the lollipops), Seaweed, but here a Soy Lime Vinaigrette. Will went for the HANGER STEAK and Roasted Potatoes, Mushroom & Artichoke Ragout and a Demi-Glaze that was a great way to enjoy a medium priced steak for nowhere near what the steak joints charge! My SMOTHERED TROUT was Pan Fried with a super crispy skin and topped with Mussels (sorry, Rabbi), two HUGE Shrimp (sorrier) and a divine Tomato Sauce. All this came over very filling ASIAGO CHEESE GRITS that I managed to almost finish. We tried what was called PECAN PIE for dessert but it was not really pie. It was more of a chocolate graham cracker triangle with a filling of pecan inside that came out way too dry. No worry, next time I return, I will simply order more starters and mains and avoid the desserts or try something else. The deals are great here and the warm soothing decor makes it a great place on a chilly rainy night like it was!
