It was a leisurely Friday (no work for me!), and we figured a lunch out on the town was in order. Richard had gotten a recommendation about a restaurant called Graze, so we headed over to Mount P. to check it out. Graze is located in a strip mall, with a nice modern and relaxing vibe inside. I enjoyed the local art adorning the walls. We chose a nice corner table, and we were soon joined in the restaurant by many more “peeps who lunch.”
Our server Amy was on the ball, showing up quickly to take our drink orders. The lunch menu offered an interesting variety of appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, and entrees. Richard just had to order the pommes frites as an appetizer (he loves ‘em!), and the Graze version did not disappoint. In fact, these fries were right up there with the very best fries in Chucktown, and their tantalizing aroma was incredible! Richard scarfed those down, then followed with the special entree of the day: duck breast with coconut rice. I honestly can’t remember what all else came with that duck (I was too focused on my own eats!), but I can say that Richard cleaned his plate and said it was excellent.
I had no appetizer (saving room for dessert, you know). For my entree I had a wonderful pasta dish: wild mushroom pappardelle. Amy, our very personable server, highly recommended this entree and I understand why! In addition to the pasta, this delish dish included goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, wild mushrooms, pinenuts, and truffle oil. OMG – I loved, loved, loved this and practically licked the plate. It was an incredibly good pasta dish.
When it came time for dessert (oh yeah!), I was hoping we were on a roll. Amy recited the dessert offerings, and they all sounded good to me. But she had me at the hummingbird cake. Richard wan’t thrilled with the dessert list – no sorbets or ice creams, so he declined (hmmmm….I wouldn’t know what that’s like). Hummingbird cake is one of my fave cakes of all time, and I was expectingthe usual moist, nut/raisin/pineapple-filled cake layers filled and topped with yummy cream cheese frosting (oh my!). But that’s not what I got at Graze. Instead, this hummingbird cake was a mini (as in MINI) bundt cake drizzled with a fairly plain glaze. The little cake was topped with a nice cookie. But – I gotta say – this was a disappointing dessert for me. It was too small (for me, anyway), too dry, with not enough good stuff in and on the cake. Oh well. There was a lot to love about Graze, but this dessert wasn’t one of those things. Maybe one of their other desserts would more tickle my fancy?
I think I would return to Graze, since there we enjoyed so much of what we ordered there. I was especially impressed with the fries and my pasta entree. But next time, I’ll order a different dessert and ask more details before ordering.
