Sunday, February 12, 2012

La Poste Eatery

For Valentine's Day this year, we decided to go out for a nice dinner.  If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll remember that last year we went to a cabin in the woods near Walland, Tennessee (you can read that blog entry here).  We went for a smaller scale celebration this year because we are saving for a fun in the sun type vacation later in the year.

We happened to have a Restaurant.com gift certificate for La Poste Eatery and I'd been wanting to visit there for a while.  However, you had to spend $100 to get $50 off, which is more than we spend on a typical evening out.  That made it the perfect destination for our special meal.

Now, La Poste is a nice restaurant, but you could quite easily get out of there without spending $100.  We reviewed the menu (You can see their menu on their website) ahead of our visit and strategized, but didn't quite settle on a solid selection.  We probably should have, as we ended up overspending the discount by quite a bit, but it didn't matter-we had a wonderful time and all the little extras truly played into that.
Instead of my typical glass of red wine, we tried a couple of their cocktails.  I got a margarita like concoction called Taylor Made, and David got a mixture of fruit juices with rum called a Winter Storm.  They were tasty and strong, but not overly so.

We started with three appetizers, Baked Brie en Croute (Cheese is a puff shell like crust), Seared Scallops, and Pommes Frites.  Here is a blurry cell phone pic:


David and I both agreed that the Seared Scallops and Brie en Croute far outshine the french fries.  I wouldn't bother with the fries again.

For the main course, David got Fried Chicken.  He said it was ok, but that if we went back he would try something different.
I got the Butcher's Cut (daily special), which was a massive 12 oz. NY Strip Steak.  I would definitely get this again, though we would most likely split it.  Who needs to eat that much beef?
Under the meat pile was a delightful hash of sorts.  I have no idea what was in it, but it was yummy.  Probably a mix of potato, bacon, onion, and bell pepper. 

The only thing I didn't like:  The chef also made some sort of rectangle shaped crab meatloaf, which is hiding under the steak and the hash.  I'm not sure what was in that either, but it was dry and had the texture of an omelet.  I took a couple nibbles of it but didn't end up eating it.


I requested a glass of wine with dessert and the waiter sent over their sommelier to help me pick something.  He asked if I had any preferences, and I didn't, so he picked out a sweet cherry tasting red wine to go along with the bread pudding I'd picked for dessert.

Truthfully, I didn't end up caring for the wine that much, but since that sommelier had never picked out wine for me before, and I didn't give him anything to go on, you can't blame him for me not liking the wine he picked. 

I got the bread pudding for dessert.  I didn't remember to take a picture before I dug into it, so here it is with about a third of it eaten:
David had the apple crisp:
When I asked David what his favorite part of the meal was, he said, "apart from being with you?" and gave me a smooch :).  Such a love bird. 

We plan on going back to La Poste.  There are a few other dishes I would like to try (Crimson Pear Salad, Flatbread, Mushroom Ravioli), and I would like to sample more of their wine selection.

When we go back, I'll ask that we be seated in the smaller of the two dining rooms.  As we were leaving, I peaked into the smaller dining room, which seemed much more intimate and romantic, which is what I am usually looking for when enjoying finer establishments.  They also had church pew like seats by the entry door where two diners could sit side by side-that's always our preference instead of leaning over a table trying to talk.

La Poste Eatery is yummy.  We will definitely return there in the future.  Have you been there?  What was your favorite dish?