It was a nice conference, and I was lucky enough to have an evening free as my boss went out to dinner with some ex-coworkers of his. I asked the concierge at the hotel for a place where I could find some good food and a nice glass of wine and she suggested the restaurant "Reds" named not after the baseball team or the Warren Beatty movie, but after red wine. Ah, good find!
The bar at Reds was hopping. It was hard to miss because it took up the entire first floor of the place. Their selection of wines by the glass was excellent, and better, reasonably priced. And in October, the US dollar wasn't doing so good vs. its Canadian brethren. The dining room was upstairs and the first impression I had was that it was noisy. Because it was open to the bar below. Once I got over that impression, I liked what I saw. The entire front of the restaurant overlooked a pleasant but busy street, well-lit at night with lots of people and activity. Major plus when you are dining by yourself to have something to focus on (side note: i read when dining alone, when I'm not actually eating).
The service was very attentive but not intrusive. Another major plus.
For appetizer, I had a seafood stew with mussels and shrimp. In the stew was some asparagus, corn, carrots, and green onion. It was polished off with a dollop of pesto. Very complex flavor, nice texture. A great start.
One of reds specialties, in addition to having a great wine list and lengthy selection of wines by the glass was that each and every appetizer, main dish and dessert came with a recommended wine to pair.
With the seafood stew, they recommended the 2004 Scarbolo Pinot Grigio. Not only was the pinot grigio excellent, but the pairing was outstanding. Needless to say, I was excited for the rest of the meal. And by the time I realized how excited, my plate was cleared and I have no picture.
On to the second course. I have a picture, but have no idea what they called it. It was a bit of shredded duck blended with olive oil, salt and pepper (that is the lump just behind the fork. Behind the duck is a roasted blueberry. The triangles to the left are herb crostini type things. Each piece individually was just OK. However, together, very very strong. A bit salty, but overall an extremely awesome combination.
Note: thanks to Corey, I seem to have figured out how to correctly get my photos inline. We'll see if it lasts ;-)
The main dish was up next and so I decided to order another pairing with my entree since the first was so well done. The problem was that instead of ordering the small glass, I ordered the bigger glass. It came nicely prepared in a small carafe. Made for a great table setting:
My entree was a filet server atop some mashed potatoes, with some al dente veggie pieces and thinly sliced potato chip type things. The sauce was a red wine reduction, flavored with mushrooms. The pairing was a Langmeil Shiraz that was quite peppery, and again, paired nicely with the richness of the sauce and the meatiness of the tenderloin. Presentation of the dish was beautiful as well:
To finish up, I went with the cheese course, not being much for dessert. I went back to the well and had another glass of the Pinot Grigio I had with the app. Reds had a wonderful cheese selection. You could choose 2 or 3 from among 20 artisan cheeses. I selected the Isle of Mull Cheddar from Scotland, the Thunder Oak Gouda from Canada, and finally a Manchego from Spain.
Such a nice finish. I wish I was back there right now.
In summary, an excellent dinner. Would only have been made better by having good company with me :)
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