Tasting Notes: Tarpy's Roadhouse

Fifteen years ago, Jake and I celebrated our wedding with a beautiful, sun-kissed afternoon on the upper patio at Tarpy's Roadhouse.

Funny story: when we told my parents that's where we had chosen for the reception, my mom pitched a fit. "Why are we having your reception at a roadhouse? What does that mean anyway? Roadhouse. That doesn't sound appetizing at all!" she objected.

It's just a name, Mom. I assure you there are no animals or carriages there anymore. And it's close to the church.

She assented and we have a lovely lunch surrounded by friends and family. The meal was served in the library and on the patio. Then we danced and sipped the afternoon away and - yes, it's true - I won the limbo contest in my wedding dress.

So, when my parents offered to keep the boys overnight for our anniversary, I dug out a gift certificate that a friend had given us during the holidays. I heard that Tarpy's had rolled out a new menu and I figured it was a fitting evening to try it. We haven't eaten there in years. I think the last time we ate there together was the day I found out I was pregnant with D. Yes, it's been that long. I've eaten there for work meetings and for girls' nights, but I hadn't been there with Jake in over a decade.

We had just hit two different wine tasting rooms, so we didn't order any wine with dinner. And I had my Matcha-Yuzu Cheesecake waiting for us at home, so we didn't order dessert either. But we sampled two bites offerings, one salad, one entree, and two veggie sides. These two were my favorites...

Coal-roasted beets. These magenta lovelies were swimming in a pool of cumin-scented yogurt and sprinkled with Pistachio Dukkah. The beets were perfectly done.

Blistered Salmon Belly Bun. If there's salmon belly on the menu, I'll order it. No matter what. I should have skipped our entree and ordered two more of these! It's served with charred okra, scallions, sambal and honey. Nicely done.

And though I didn't take photos of them, our veggie sides were tasty, too. We ordered Bacon Braised Chard and Roasted Cauliflower and Brussels Sprout Leaves with Bourbon Syrup.

The two larger items we ordered - the salad and the main dish - were just okay. They were interesting combinations of flavors, in theory, but execution was slightly off in my opinion. So, I'm glad we tried out the new menu...I'm just really glad I had a gift certificate to cover it.