Review: Stone Creek

This may be a somewhat biased review because I have been to Stone Creek a couple times before and have loved it, but also because I have two friends who work there. Having said that, I had seen a YoDeal offer for Stone Creek and snagged it right away, $50 for $25, definitely worth it. 

Stone Creek has two locations locally, one in Montgomery and one in West Chester.  I have only been to the one in  Montgomery and have had great dining experiences each time, and this past time was the same! 

If you have never been to Stone Creek in Montgomery, the parking situation could be confusing, but it really is easy.  There is a garage underneath the restaurant and elevators that take you right up near the entrance.  Walking in to the restaurant, we were warmly greeted by two hosts who were happy to seat us in either of our friends sections.  My friend was bartending, so we sat at a table near the bar. Of course I think the service was great, but I will note that I have always had great service at Stone Creek, even when my friends haven't waited on me.

Each table is given fresh warm bread and an oil and herb dipping sauce.  This stuff is DELICIOUS! I absolutely love it.  It has a tangy flavor in the sauce with a nice sweetness, and the bread was sooo soft, it just disintegrates in your mouth.  I had to stop myself from eating too much bread before my meal!

Stone Creek has a nice wine list, beers, and specialty drinks.  They also have daily drink specials which would be nice to take advantage of if you go.  This night, I opted for a glass of wine, and my husband went with a craft beer.

Stone Creek's menu is pretty varied.  They have salads, steaks, chicken, seafood, and pastas.  I like that there is also an option to get a combo of 2 entree items with a vegetable and baked potato.  This is a great idea to try smaller portions of two different items.

This night, I decided to get the Durango Beef Medallions which are served with garlic mashed potatoes, a portabella mushroom cap, tomatoes, applewood bacon, spinach and gorgonzola.  How good does that sound!?  These are all many of my favorite ingredients, so I love this dish.  I also ordered a side house salad with my entree.  The house salad is served with a raspberry vinaigrette that is light, sweet, and very refreshing.  This salad was great.

I ordered the medallions medium.  My dish turned out delicious.  A delicious bite with all those ingredients is perfection.  My only complain this night was one medallion was cooked perfectly medium while the other one was medium well....a  bit disappointing, but didn't affect my overall satisfaction with the dish.

Ross has actually said that he thinks Stone Creek is one of the best steaks he has ever had, but he decided to get a slightly different item tonight.  He decided to order the surf and turf which consists of beef tenderloin medallions, lump crab, leeks, garlic mashed potatoes, and balsamic tomatoes and a side Caesar salad.  His salad had just the right amount of dressing and was a more oil based Caesar dressing, which he likes.  The shaved parmesan was also a nice touch.

His medallions were cooked to order and lump crab was a generous portion that added a sweet and tender topping to the medallions.  He was very pleased with his dish.

Overall we both LOVE Stone Creek.  Many people have complained they think it's a bit overpriced, and I could see that. It is a bit pricey, but every time I have gone, I thought I got my money's worth.  I have left satisfied, pleased, and felt that I had a great dining experience.  I would recommend this place to anyone who would want a great meal and are willing to spend around $20-$25 a person....I'd even go just for the bread :)
~Kate

Food: 4.5
Service: 5 (can't beat having a friend serve you!)
Overall Experience: 4.5

Recipe: Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

If you haven't already noticed, the Girls Who Grub looooove goat cheese! So, when I found a recipe for asparagus with goat cheese and tomatoes (three of my favorie ingredients) in my Cooking Light magazine in April, I knew I had to try it out. I am sure glad I did! This will definitely become a go-to side dish for me. It's wonderful and super easy!!

Ingredients: (serves 4)
1 pound trimmed asparagus
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1.5 cups halved grape tomatoes
1/2 tsp minced fresh garlic
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp crumbled goat cheese
Salt & pepper

Start out by boiling a pot of water. Once it's boiling, add the asparagus to the pot for about 2 minutes then drain. It doesn't say to do this in the directions, but I run it under a little cold water so it stops the cooking process and it stays nice and green.

Next, heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the garlic and tomatoes. Let those cook for about five minutes and add the balsamic vinegar. Let it cook for a few more minutes. Add the salt.

Place the asparagus on a plate and cover with the tomato and vinegar mixture. Top with the goat cheese and pepper and serve. How easy is that??!! And it's soooo delicious.

My picture is not the greatest...but you'll notice that I also topped a grilled chicken breast with the tomato and goat cheese mixture. It was wonderful with the chicken and made for a great dinner! Enjoy!

~Kris

 

Review: Cancun Mexican Bar & Grill

My mom, sister, and I recently met up for lunch on a Friday afternoon.  My mom and I were both off work, and my lucky sister has a pretty flexible schedule, so we decided to go out for lunch!  My sister lives in Norwood, so we thought we'd try something close to her house.  My mom was craving Chipotle, but we wanted to go somewhere more "sit-down", so we decided to try Cancun Mexican Bar & Grill located on Montgomery Rd. near the Lateral. 

Walking in, we were immediately greeted by a very friendly and warm host who sat us in a booth.  The decor in this place was unlike any other Mexican restaurant, in a good way!  It was very vibrant and fun.  All the tables had unique artwork on them with a glass covering on top which I thought was really interesting.  The chairs had a similar motif to them as well.

While looking over the menu, our server promptly delivered some salsa and chips. I thought the salsa was a bit bland, I like to have a bit more spice in mine, but the chips were pretty good.  We ordered a side of queso (my sister's favorite) to go along, and this was a pretty standard queso.

The menu was a very typical Mexican restaurant menu in my opinion.  There was a lunch special for the day, but we had our hearts set on other items.  My sister always gets tacos, especially for lunch, but she did opt for the shrimp tacos to change up her typical order a bit.  She asked to get hard shells instead of soft, and they happily obliged.  She liked this just okay...there was hardly any shrimp in two of them and a lot in the third.  The first two tacos had mostly veggies, but she still liked them fine.

I also get tacos many a time when I go to Mexican restaurants, but I felt like getting one of my other favorites--a quesadilla (could have been because I had just watched Napoleon Dynamite??)  I ordered the fajita quesadilla which was stuffed with cheese, chicken, peppers, onion, mushrooms, and tomatoes.  This was served with lettuce, guacamole, sour cream and tomatoes.  I really liked this quesadilla.  It had plenty of chicken and vegetables.  I loved that the veggies were grilled and mixed together nicely with the melted cheese.  The tortilla was just crispy enough without getting soggy from all the filling.  I would definitely order this again.

My mom went with the "fajita" style nachos.  The portion was a big size, especially for lunch.  It was topped with similar items from my quesadilla: peppers, onion, chicken, cheese, tomatoes.  These were good as well.  I tried these and liked that the cheese had been melted on the nachos, it wasn't too runny.  I also liked that the chips didn't get soggy and it had a great amount of toppings.  My mom really liked this, there wasn't much left to share!

The prices at Cancun are very reasonable.  For all 3 entrees, queso, and 2 drinks, our total came to about $30 which I didn't think was too bad.  The service here was great as well.  Our server really went above and beyond to make sure we were pleased.  He was on top of our drinks, and even offered to get my sister a different meal when she didn't eat it all--she just wasn't that hungry :) 

I liked Cancun Mexican Bar & Grill; I'd like to back for dinner and see how their margaritas are, but if you're in the area, it's worth a try!
~Kate

Food: 3
Service: 4
Overall Experience: 3

Recipe: Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

I really love potato salad but had never made it before!  My mom makes the BEST potato salad and she usually is the one who will make it for various cook outs or family functions and I feel like making potato salad for two people usually makes way too much for us to eat.  However, I recently saw a recipe for a bacon ranch potato salad that I thought I would attempt.

This recipe turned out really good!! It was extremely easy for a first time maker like myself, and was a bit different from the traditional potato salad.

Ingredients:
2 lb. red potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
1 16 oz. container of sour cream
1 pack of dry ranch dressing mix
1/4 cup cooked bacon
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 bunches green onions, thinly sliced

I cooked the bacon first in the oven.  I learned a trick watching Food Network to use a cooking rack sitting on a baking sheet to cook the bacon.

1. Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with salted water.  Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce to medium low; cover and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.  Drain the potatoes, then run under cool water.

2. Combine sour cream and ranch.  Mix all ingredients together.

This recipe was so simple, I think anybody could do it.  You can use any kind of sour cream, reduced fat, low fat, etc. depending on your taste.  I used turkey bacon baked in the oven, but you could use regular bacon and cook it however you like.  I also added some salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 

My husband and I both liked this recipe a lot!  We even thought it was better after two days in the fridge :)
~Kate

Review: Orchids at Palm Court

You know you're in for five-star service and a real treat when the hostess is matching the napkins to your outfit! Not a joke - this really happened! Last week I went to Orchids at Palm Court for Downtown Restaurant Week, and there were white napkins on the table when my friend Lauren and I sat down. Lauren was wearing a navy blue and black skirt and I had on dark jeans. The hostess literally switched out the white napkins for black napkins so we wouldn't get remnants from the white napkins on our outfits! Now that is what I call service!

Of all the restaurants downtown, Lauren and I picked Orchids because it seemed like such a great deal for restaurant week and we've both been wanting to try it for a while, especially after hearing that the chef, Todd Kelly, was recently named the Best Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation. Not everyone has the "best chef" right in their backyard! Gotta take advantage - especially when it's a 3 course meal for $35! 

After ordering our three courses from the impressive Restaurant Week menu, we were soon presented with an amouse bouche (a bite-sized hors d'oevres from the chef). Not only was the presentation of the teeny tiny truffle custard amazing, the taste was out of this world. Truly the best thing I've ever eaten! I could go on that Food Network show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate".  They took the top of an egg off, and made a truffle custard right inside the egg. It was topped with creme fraiche, dried corn and chives and was the most decadent, amazing thing ever. The crunchiness and sweetness of the dried corn was perfect with the rich truffle custard and texturally made for the perfect bite. It was served with the cutest little demitasse spoon. What a great way to start off a great meal!

Next we got the slow cooked, sous vide tuna tonnato. This means the sushi-grade tuna was prepared in a vacuum sealed bag in a low temperature water bath for a long period of time so the outside is the same "doneness" as the inside. The tuna was seasoned with oregano before being sous vide, which was absolutely delicious. It was then combined with hericot vert and kalamata olives and served over a tuna mousse. The plate was drizzled with parsley oil and topped with frisee and crispy garlic chips. Makes me hungry just thinking about it! It was so delicious. I have never had anything that's been sous vide, but I've seen it on Top Chef many times. :) The combination of flavors was amazing and was like a present in my mouth after every bite.  And look how pretty the presentation was....

For our entrees, we both chose to get the pork cheeks. These were braised in white wine and chicken broth (and I think lemon) and they melted in your mouth like butter. They crumbled apart when you simply touched them with the tip of your fork. The pork cheeks were served with chanterelle mushrooms, tomato config and ricotta dumplings. The ricotta dumplings were the only thing from the entire meal that I was unimpressed with. They were dry and uninteresting. Lauren suggested sprinkling salt over them, which did help a little but texturally they were still dry and "floury". The rest of the entree was amazing. I was tempted to lick the plate to get every last drop of the braising liquid, which I'm sure Lauren's thankful I resisted the urge. Somehow I don't think that would have gone over well at Orchid's. ;) 

Last but not least was the dessert. There were two options on the Restaurant Week menu - Brown Butter Cake and Malted Chocolate Bavarian. Shockingly, I chose the brown butter cake. I almost always go with anything chocolate, but the brown butter cake sounded good to me - and I was right. It was perfectly moist and came with bourbon blackberries and a homemade cinnamon toast ice cream - that actually had chunks of crispy cinnamon toast in it. Yummm!

Lauren chose the Malted Chocolate Bavarian, which was three different desserts - roasted bananas, peanut streusel and the chocolate bavarian cake with dolce de leche across the plate. Minus the bananas (I'm not really a fan of fruit for dessert), the othe items were delicious - particularly the peanut streusel! I would have liked an entire order of that.

I started out this blog post by mentioning the amazing service, and I want to end on that note too...because it truly was worth mentioning twice. With every course we were served, there were two waiters - one on either side of us. They simultaneously set our covered plates down on the table, and with a quick and discreet nod to each other across the table, they lifted the plate covers off at the exact same time to "wow" us with the food presentation waiting underneath. Remarkable! Such a simple thing, but it made quite an impact. Lauren and I were certainly impressed, and we heard other tables comment on it as well.

Overall, this was truly one of the best dining experiences I've had. Both the food and the service were impeccable. I'd highly recommend Orchid's for the next time you want to splurge (at least it's a splurge for me) and treat yourself to a wonderful meal in a beautiful setting with outstanding service. And an added bonus - they have free valet parking!!

~ Kris

Food: 5
Service: 5
Overall: 5