Category Archives: Price ($$$)

Mack and Kate’s: A revisit

by Sarah

Last Saturday, Cary and I had our first date night since the Bug came along.  We put on our “good” clothes (the ones with no spit up….  we are fancy) and got reservations for Mack and Kate’s.*  We arrived a little early and decided to wait on our table at the bar.

We had an excellent bartender.  Since it was a night out on the town, we asked him if he had any recommendations.  He suggested a drink called the Alpine.  When he described the drink, Cary and I snarled up our noses at the addition of gin.  Personally, I think gin tastes like a pine tree.  He convinced us just to try it, and we were hooked.  Not only did he make a delicious drink, he showed us how to make it at home (muddled lemon, equal parts Hendrick’s Gin and St. Germaine, a splash of soda water and a cucumber garnish) .  That, folks, is true service.

We tried the crab cakes and cauliflower tater tot appetizers.  We’ve talked about the crab cakes before.  My biggest surprise was how good the cauliflower tater tots were.  I didn’t quite know what to expect, but these were delightful crispy tots held together with some sort of cheese (white cheddar, maybe?).  They were very lightly seasoned resulting in a very aromatic and slightly nutty taste.  They went very well with the tangy mustard sauce and the Parmesan shavings on the plate.

The one complaint I have about Mack and Kate’s is that the menu isn’t detailed enough.  After debating for quite a while, I decided upon the scallops with butternut squash risotto.  I was pleasantly surprised that the risotto contained red and green peppers, red onions and some sort of light, creamy cheese along with the butternut squash.  The scallops were seared beautifully and went perfectly with the risotto.  If I had a little more detail (the addition of the peppers and onions), I would not have hesitated about ordering this dish.

Normally when I’m at a restaurant, I don’t get a chocolate dessert because they taste like they came from a box.  With some trepidation, I ordered the chocolate strawberry cake.  I was pleasantly surprised at the airy chocolate cake, with fresh strawberry layers and a somewhat heavy milk chocolate icing.  It was a perfect finish to a perfect evening.

*This is a post that wasn’t going to happen.  We had been to Mack and Kate’s on a previous occasion for brunch.  It was delicious, which is why we decided to go for dinner.  We had such a fantastic experience, I couldn’t help but blog about it. Sorry for the lack of pictures.

Mack and Kate's on Urbanspoon

Wandering Wednesday: Hannah’s Off the Square

by Sarah

Hannah’s Off the Square is a fine dining restaurant in Denton, TX in a renovated turn of the century blacksmith.  They have a seasonal menu that features produce and meat from local farmer and ranchers.

Hannah’s offered flights of wines ranging in price from $3 to $6, generally served in a group of four.  However, they allowed me to get two glasses.  I was particularly excited about the Educated Guess chardonnay.  A full glass was priced at $15, which is a little steep, but a small glass was only $5.50.  It was excellent.  Anyone know where you can purchase this in Nashville?

As a starter, I ordered a Caesar salad.  The presentation was very original, with two uncut ribs of Romaine lettuce drizzled with a light dressing and sprinkled with soft croutons and Parmesan shavings. The presentation resulted in very crunchy lettuce.  I would go back just to get this salad.

For the main course, I ordered the poblano grilled quail.  The stuffed chili relleno was accompanied by tomatillo garlic rice and topped with poblano cream.  The quail was tender and the rice was a beautiful blend of flavors with a very nice heat.

For dessert, I tried the carrot cake, which won multiple awards in Denton.  The cake was very dense with cream cheese icing between the 3 layers of cake, topped with a generous amount of pecans.  An excellent way to end a fantastic meal.

Hannah’s Off the Square
111 W Mulberry St
Denton, TX 76201

Hannah's Off the Square on Urbanspoon

Wandering Wednesday: Russian Tea Room in NYC

by Sarah

While we were visiting NYC, my mom and I decided to go to see Wicked, while Cary and my dad went to a Yankees game.  I was looking for somewhere nice to eat before the show and stumbled upon the Russian Tea Room.  They have a nice pre and post theater pre fixe menu with a choice of appetizer, main dish and dessert.  Since we wanted to eat in a timely fashion, this seemed like a good choice.

For an appetizer, I ordered the goat cheese and wild mushroom Blinchik.  The goat cheese and mushroom filling was surprisingly light and was complemented nicely by the fruit compote.  It was accompanied by a tomato salad with a horseradish vinaigrette.

The bilini with red caviar featured salmon roe, red onion, chopped egg and sour cream atop a thin cracker.  It tasted like an upscale version of a smoked salmon bagel with cream cheese (which I love).

The Boeuf a la Stroganoff featured a medium beef fillet over wheat egg noodles topped with a horseradish butter and a slightly sweet, tangy sauce.  It was a delicious combination of flavors!

The cherry Blintz was filled with a slightly sweet mixture of fresh cherries and accompanied by vanilla bean ice cream.  It was very good.

The chocolate pyramid featured a chocolate mousse shaped like…. you guessed it…  a pyramid!  The mouse was light with a cherry in the center, but the star of the dessert was the oranges.  The mandarin oranges in a reduced sauce were covered with chocolate crunch orbs that were a nice textural contrast to the softness of the oranges.

The pre and post theater menu is served from 4:45 pm to 6:15 pm and 10:00 pm to 11:00 pm.  An extensive a la carte menu is also available.

Russian Tea Room
150 W 57th St
New York, NY 10019

Russian Tea Room on Urbanspoon

Louisville Kentucky: Maker’s Mark

by Cary

We we had the chance to travel to Louisville a while back, and in addition to dining at the luxurious Brown Hotel , also decided to give the Maker’s Mark Bourbon House & Lounge a try given the area’s bourbon history and culture (and well, because it’s the only one).

We started with the goat cheese skillet appetizer with warm flatbread.  A tangy, yet slightly sweet combination all at once.  No bourbon yet, though.

My entrée was a bourbon marinated grilled ribeye with crispy fried onions, a tangy, yet smokey and sweet bourbon barbecue sauce, and a small bit of Lobster and white cheddar cheese mashed potatoes.  The steak was tender and not overpowered by the bourbon marinade or BBQ sauce, but the potatoes, while creamy and a bit decadent, didn’t seem to have much lobster.  Nevertheless, I was there for steak anyway, and it was delivered as expected.

One highlight that drew us (mainly me) to the restaurant was the opportunity to sample a wide variety of bourbons.  Unfortunately, several of their top flight bourbons were unavailable, but at least the restaurant was willing to offer anything else on their list as a replacement.  While several of my secondary choices were also unavailable, it was nice to simply be able to test several different bourbons and compare and contrast their different qualities.

Sarah tried a spinach pasta with lobster and shrimp.  The sauce was a bit too sweet for her, and the overall dish was a little too decadent for dinner (we like to save our decadence for dessert anyway).

Overall, the Maker’s Lounge is a cool place to try some “bourbon culture” in the land of bluegrass.   It’s definitely a good choice for a night out in Louisville, and I’d recommend anything on the menu that didn’t seem to try to meld too many tastes at once.  Anyway, we had lots of other experiences in Louisville and have some other great stories to tell you about in the future, not the least of which includes another KY favorite, the Derby Pie.

Maker's Mark Bourbon House & Lounge on Urbanspoon

Louisville, Kentucky: The Brown Hotel

by Cary

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you could just pick up and leave it all?  Well, we certainly have, and as part of Nashville Fork’s continuing mission of exploring not only Nashville, but also other cities we have the pleasure of visiting, we thought we’d tell you about a recent, spur of the moment trip to Louisville, KY.  There’s nothing quite like leaving work early and instructing your wife to be home early, so the two of you can spend the weekend in a historic hotel, with beautiful accommodations, and one that is famous for no less than a piece of southern history.  The Brown Hotel is the quintessential southern hotel, with a beautiful lobby, plush accommodations, and a distinct flair for classic, upscale southern dining.

After a rough week, you can see Sarah’s selection for our first evening (a traditional Kentucky mint julep, with Maker’s Mark Bourbon), and mine (just barely on the side) a Marker’s Mark and Diet Coke.  Let’s just say there’s something about a hotel where you can walk down from your room, sit down in the lobby, and order your drink and a southern classic just minutes after checking in.

The Brown specializes not only in its Hot Brown Sandwich, but takes a lot of pride in it’s Cheeseburger, shown below.  The burger is top quality beef smothered with delicious cheddar cheese in it’s purest form.  The crispy fries are are nothing to shake a stick at either, but the main course was no less than the completely decadent Hot Brown.

The Hot Brown’s  combination of roast turkey, bacon, bechamel sauce, and tomatoes makes for a combination with so many flavor profiles, it’s almost hard to separate each one.  One bite might be the salty bite of bacon, while another might be the cheesy good ness of the sauce combined with juicy roast turkey.  In all the hot brown is definitely worth traveling for, and might be something we at Nashville Fork try to recreate come Thanksgiving.