The Sisters have been falling down on the ‘blog-job’ this holiday season but sometimes ‘real life’ gets in the way. However, ‘Wednesday Night Dining’ was and is a great part of the Sisters’ week and we would never miss a chance for a new and/or interesting eating adventure.

December 19, 2013 - Kitchen – West Palm Beach 

And speaking of interesting, this ‘low-rent’ district eatery with a dozen tables and penthouse pricing was interesting, but not much else……Unless you count ‘pretentious’. We started with the Grilled Veggie & Ricotta ‘Stack’ with Tomato Ragout, which wasn't that interesting. Some eggplant and squash topped with the thinnest layer of crisped cheese.  Ho hum…….One entrée, the Grilled Spinalis, Garlic Spinach, Blue Cheese, Crispy Onion Rings had the steak cooked correctly, delicious spinach and four onion rings that one Sister thought were really good and the other Sister just barely ‘OK’ed.   The Chicken Schnitzel entrée was more interesting but not necessarily better. Cooked excellently, the chicken was wonderful, the salad on top of the chicken was not. The interesting part was the fried egg on top of that!

But the really interesting thing about this restaurant was the staff volunteering how ‘magnificent’ each and every dish is, “God” and “Chef” being interchangeable in conversation and, contrary to the Kitchen’s claims of a warm and friendly atmosphere, how affected and ‘superior’ the manner of staff, including the hostess, was.

The Last Word: a Bread Pudding with caramel sauce, a scoop of ice cream and two very thin slivers of banana perched on top.  The pudding was ‘gummy’, not enough banana but the ice cream was great.

December 11, 2013 - 3rd & 3rd – Delray Beach

Well populated by 5:45, this looked like a winner. The bar was crowded; lots of activity and 'social media' things going on. Most of the high-tops were full but the Sisters managed to snag one.

As a ‘starter’ we decided on the White Water Mussels.  The Sisters finished them all and were hoping for some table bread to soak up the excellent broth. One Sister had Seared Scallops, also excellent and served with interesting sides of red wine cabbage, raisin puree and frisee; (a.k.a, curly endive). The second entrée of Duck Confit didn’t fare as well.  A little dry and too salty. It was o.k., but no bull’s-eye. Served with a German herbed-noodle dish, which was nice; but we could have used more of the sweet pomegranate drizzle to counteract the short comings of the duck.

The concept at 3rd & 3rd seems to be quality food served with manageable portions. Not exactly ‘tapas’ but no ‘doggie bag’ either. The Sisters think it’s a good concept and executed well.

The Last Word:  this nights’ delight was Crepe Suzette. Filled with mascarpone and orange and covered in a grand marnier sauce. One Sister is not a big fan of crepes, but the other Sister was in heaven.

December 4th, 2013 - Bimini Twist – West Palm Beach

The Sisters' first dinner together in December was at Bimini Twist, a new-to-me eatery located in West Palm Beach. This is a well done stand-alone restaurant that looks like a chain but isn’t.  All wood and glass with this giant faux (I think) marlin on the wall.

This is a (mostly) seafood restaurant so the Sisters went with it.  An excellent choice to start our meal was the Crispy Tuna-Basil Roll. Medium rare tuna rolled in basil leaves and fried in a spring roll cover. The first of two delicious and satisfying meals was the Shiitake-Style Tilapia (why this is called ‘style’, we don’t know, they looked and tasted like real shiitake mushrooms to us) topped with a luscious garlic infused lemon-butter wine sauce. A side of steamed veggies was all that was needed. Entrée #2 was Crispy Basil Salmon, pan-seared in olive oil and garlic then topped with this interesting and yummy julienned then crisped basil. And….the side of rice was done just the way the Sister likes it!..... Also the house bread; did we mention the house bread? All fresh and crisp and garlicky?

So…… a nice menu, good portions; the Sisters each took home about half; a little out-of-the-way but all-in-all we think worth it.

The Last Word: it was called The Gusher; three (!) scoops of ice cream, between layers of puff pastry covered in fudge sauce…… Nuff said…..Sadly, it was so large the Sisters couldn’t finish.

November 27th, 2013 - DIG – Delray Beach

Thanksgiving Eve the Sisters were pleased to have the company of our ‘out-of-town’ daughters and we chose to dine at DIG in Delray Beach. (DIG = doing it green; cute right?) You know, not necessarily vegetarian, but organic, ‘farm-to-table’, ‘free range’, etc.   Kids-meaning young adults-love it, and I gotta say the menu has something for everyone; vegan, meat, pasta, etc….

We started with the Hummus Trio: eggplant-pumpkin seed, black bean-chipotle and basil sun-dried tomato. This was presented on a large platter with toast points and raw veggies for dipping. While some flavors were better than others, it was a fun dish.  For the main course, we had quite an assortment.  The most sophisticated of our entrée quartet was the Seared Asian Yellowfin Tuna Salad. The sashimi-style tuna, very thin and very rare, served over rice noodles and Asian slaw was enjoyed by the youngest member of our table.  The ‘no-red meat’ diner among us indulged in a hardy dish of Spaghetti and Meatballs; nicely flavored ground chicken over a bed of whole wheat pasta, covered in a light, smooth tomato sauce. Entrée #3 was the evenings most complex and flavorful. A lovely Chicken Florentine; boneless chicken stuffed with spinach, sun-dried tomato and goat cheese, topped with a roasted garlic and tarragon cream sauce. Sides of garlic mashed potatoes and roasted organic veggies rounded out an already satisfying dish.  Last up, a burger! Free-range Bison Burger with (perfect!) potato wedges. Eaten sans bun (or lettuce wrap!) the meat was sweet, but a little dry. This sometimes happens because of the low fat content of bison.

A varied menu, a nice location and tables not squished together. All in all, a nice eating experience.

The Last Word:  was not here. We drove along the avenue, looked at the Holiday Decorations (no tree, yet) and went to Docs’. Did I mention how the Sisters love ice cream?