by Kris Billiter » Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:14 am
it was unbelievable! Seriously this was the best meal I had in a long time, perhaps ever. Before I get into the specifics, let me say what a wonderful staff you have Chef Lamas. Madi made us feel welcome right from the get go. Jackie took the time to stop by and say hello and explain that our server (Shelly?) was training for the new location. I must say that if she had not told us that, we would not have had any idea she was new. She was very polite, very knowledgeable of the menu, answered any questions we had, allowed for a great pace to the meal, and was always around when we needed something without ever hovering. She did a great job! We also appreciated having the opportunity to meet Chef Lamas and having him explain some of the dishes to us. It was great!
We started off with the calamari app. I LOVE calamari and this really was the best I had ever had. Every piece was so tender! Chef Lamas mentioned that marinading the calamari helped to keep it so tender, and I would love to know what the marinade was. It was served with plenty of olives, peppers and two dipping sauces that were both really good.
We skipped salads and moved on to our main course. My wife had the blue corn dusted tilapia with crab meat and rice. My wife really enjoys fish after living in the Philippines for two years, and she went on and on about how good her dish was. The tomato butter sauce was a great touch and made for a beautiful presentation. After plenty of advice (thanks everyone) I went for the skirt steak, and it lived up to the hype. The steak arrived rolled up,resting on a bed of potatoes and drizzled with a fantastic chimichuri sauce. It was perfectly cooked and had a fantastic flavor. It was my first experience with skirt steak, but it will not be my last, especially if I can find someone around here who will sell it without saying "Oh, it's the same thing as flank steak."
We finished the night with the tres leche cake based on Shelly's recommendation, and once again we were steered in the right direction. Chef Lamas said it was his mother's recipe and was very simple, but man was it good. It was so moist and and flavorful! It was served with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries and was more than enough for the two of us, though we did manage to finish it all!
We do not eat out like this very often, but this was worth every penny. The atmosphere was perfect and the food and service were out of this world. Thank you again to Chef Lamas, Jackie, Shelly, and Madi for making our night out such a wonderful experience. We hope to see you again sometime soon!
Kris
