Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meyer Lemon Custard-Filled Matcha Turtles #BreadBakers

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our  Pinterest board  right here. Links are also updated after each event on the  Bread Bakers home page .  We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Stacy of Food Lust People Love  is hosting and she wrote: "Your bread can be large, as in one big animal, or small - animal-shaped rolls. Use your imagination! Points for flavor and shape!" If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. Here's the animal-shaped bread basket from the #BreadBakers... Beef and Sweet Onion Dim Sum Pandas from Karen's Kitchen Stories Bird Bread Rolls from Ambrosia Easter Bunny Buns from Cook with Renu Ham and Cheese Elephant Rolls from Food Lust People Love Hedgehog Bread from Making Mir

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'MaƮtre Bonhome' VirƩ-ClessƩ #Winophiles

This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy.  Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, CĆ©sar, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'MaĆ®tre Bonhome' VirĆ©-ClessĆ©. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce