Carrabba's 4

I'm falling behind in my posts: our weekend adventure at the Big Cypress Campground, our shelling in Sanibel, and our quick reunion with Jan will appear soon.

In the meantime, I'm sorry that I forgot my camera yet again, so there will be no images of this weekly Wednesday visit to Carrabba's.

This week's menu choices for me were suggested by Kathleen: great choices! My starter was the Grilled Bruschetta with Chef's dressing. The bruschetta was lightly grilled, the sauce had diced raw tomatoes [not usually ingested by yours truly] but the spices made up for the raw tomatoes and the whole dish went down with great pleasure. Joan thought it was fantastic too. While we were waiting at the kitchen counter [our favourite 'table' and the best table as far as I'm concerned] we were offered a sample of the Goat Cheese and Spinach Sauce with bread for dipping, like you would a fondue. This will appear on next month's menu. We were privileged to an early sample [full dish, actually, but I digress].

Of course, it was wine-Wednesday, so I ordered a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc from Veramonte that Kathleen has suggested. Those who know me understand why I much prefer red wines: they are usually much better than any white, but that too is another story. At any rate, this white wine had a great nose [aroma] followed by a full bodied and rich taste that certainly did not overpower the appetizers or my main meal. To me it tasted like a powerful white Burgundy without overpowering anything. Good choice Kat.

My meal came with a choice of soups or salad and I chose the Lentil and Sausage soup, apologies to Kathleen, who is a vegetarian. The soup was spicy, tasty and had just the right texture. I could have stayed on the true and narrow and had a meatless dinner, but I slipped. Carrabba's does have lots of choices for vegetarians, much less for vegans but I'm sure it would be not only possible but delectable too to eat vegan here.

Back to the main plate: grilled Nocciola Trout. Joan ordered the same with a side of sautéed vegetables [new to the menu] while I had the garlic mashed potatoes. The fish was lightly coated with crushed hazelnuts, and then grilled on its skin, with a white sauce garnished with red peppers over half the large portion. Joan and I both enjoyed our meals and shared the excellent sides. The fish was well cooked, certainly not overcooked, peeled off its skin easily, had a light flavour of trout and the white sauce and peppers added a little je-ne-sais-quoi to the whole experience. Only catching and grilling your own trophy over an open fire in the northern wilderness could be more memorable. ... and that's saying something from a guy that likes 'fish and chips' but doesn't usually explore much further than that. Even with all the bread of the two appetizers, the soup and the large serving of trout, nothing was left behind. ... not any room for dessert though.

Chris and Peter raved about the Spiedino di Mare [shrimps and scallops] which will be my next week's choice. As usual, our plates were all sampled, and Chris and Peter keep insisting that their choice was better. How can that be?

This little challenge has worked out very well for me: I've ordered items I would not likely order [preferring the usual steaks which are simply the best at Carrabba's]. This week we sat at the kitchen counter and kept marvelling at the speed and efficiency of the chefs. They hurry without being rushed, they manage five or so different main dishes on the grill at the same time, and seem never to panic, or have mean words for each other. Each chef has a distinct role but pitches in to help elsewhere when necessary. And they have always find the time to answer our questions, or make menu suggestions.

The restaurant owner, Debbie Parolise, seems to always be on the premises, drops by each table at least twice during the meal, and makes you really feel welcome. I wish more restaurant owners kept in touch with their patrons and staff like this Lady does.

One of the items we talked about at the counter was that we only have another month here, maybe we should start going to Carrabba's more often than just once a week. Seeing as our friends Rick and Gloria will be coming for February, and Jan will be here for a couple of weeks, maybe we need to guide them through the menu... We can always diet later, right?

Isn't retirement fun?