Just wanted to say thanks to the crew at Varanese for an excellent dinner last night. It was our anniversary, and someone who knows how much i like local food gave us a giftcard there so we went to check it out. It was amazing! We started off with an app of taboulleh, sun-dried tomato hummus, and feta cheese queso. The hummus was great, my wife said the tabbouleh was wonderful (not my thing), but the star was the queso. I have never had anything like it. Looked like some red and green peppers, pine nuts, and I'm not sure what else. I don't care what else. It was fabulous! I was expecting a stronger feta flavor, but it wasn't, and that was a good thing. I loved this!
My wife had the pecan encrusted mahi mahi with whipped sweet potatoes, and she raved about it. She was served a huge piece of fish that was cooked perfectly. My wife is a big fan of sweet potatoes, and said these were great. I went with the prime rib, though I was tempted to try the turduken. The steak was really good, if just a bit overcooked in a few places, but nothing criminal. I am a steak guy. It's my favorite thing to eat, but it wasn't the steak that was my favorite part of my meal. It was the risotto. Quite possibly the best side I have ever had. THis was my first experience with risotto, and I regret that now. This was...just so good. It was a mushroom and parmesan infused risotto, that had such a great flavor and texture. It was creamy but not gummy, and had this earthy taste that was just fantastic. I wanted more...lots more. I have no idea what mushrooms were used because they were chopped super fine in the dish. So good! We ended with a mocha creme brulee which was probably the biggest I have ever seen. Very creatively served in a a large coffee mug with a with a side of whipped cream and a strawberry nestled on top. The plate was swirled with a nice amount of chocolate sauce which was both pretty and tasty.
It was a great night and a great meal. Service was great without being overbearing, and the chef (de cuisine? Varanese was not there himself) came by a couple of times to check on us. What a great place for our city. THe live jazz was a great touch as well. We will be back as so many of items on the menu looked so good. Great job guys and thanks for a great anniversary dinner!
Kris
