The House is a Home Run. Grand slam, actually... when tied at the bottom of the 9th at the World Series...

This weekend I found myself on an impromptu girl date with fellow foodie Brooke W. She graciously let me choose the venue and since I've only heard her rave about this place say, 15,000 times, I definitely wanted my first time to be with her (hehehe). Without a reservation, we were promptly seated at a cozy two-top by the front door. While the tables are packed to the rafters, I still felt a sense of privacy.

I relinquished all ordering rights to Brooke and didn't even glance at the menu. I did notice, however, that one of my all-time favorite wines - Dry Creek Sauvignon Blanc - was on the menu and snatched that up right away. Out of the gates strong. First to be delivered was a small plate of asparagus with a sesame sauce. I don't normally go out of my way for asparagus, but found myself reaching back for more and more of these. The waitress then brought out the two appetizers: a Crab Cake and eel with avocado sushi rice. Where do I find the words to describe?? First, the crab cake is not a cake - it is a tower. A tower shaped like a large bell. The bell shape lends itself to a perfectly fried exterior AND a generous serving of moist crab meat in the middle. In my experience, most crab cake bites are 75% fried edge and 25% crab meat; not so at House. Best crab cake I've ever had.

I was getting a little flustered between the bites of Crab Cake and the the eel sitting next to it. The eel itself doesn't stand out too much in my mind but the avocado sushi rice it rested on will be etched in my memory forever. Creamy avocado rice - savory and sweet. Moist with a little crunch. Heaven.

At this point I actually thought we were done and was declaring Top 5 All Time candidacy. And. then. waitress. brought. sea. bass. This sea bass is a close-your-eyes, the world-stops hunk of fish. How a fish can taste this buttery is beyond me, but just a gentle poke of the fork and it divides like a warm stick of butter. It's complimented with a garlic-ginger soy sauce and a side of thick noodles. I remember the noodles being different (thick and non-pasta-y) but was so entranced by the fish I forgot to finish them. Or because I had just blacked out from food happiness.

The service, ambiance, noise-level, company, etc could have been terrible and I'd still recommend this place. But, you guessed it, all the accouterments only enhanced the happiness in my stomach. As you're mulling your New Year's Resolutions, I beg you to add The House to the list.

We are ho hum about Town Hall

Upon my arrival at Town Hall for lunch, I was stopped at the door by a perky greeter with “how are we today?” Somewhat entertained by her over-the-top enthusiasm, I smiled and replied I was doing great. Three strides later, I was stopped by another seemingly high hostess and asked “how are we doing today?” Now, I’m getting annoyed; I am fine - but you would have to ask my parents how they’re doing to determine how “we” are doing collectively. Shrug it off, Corinne. Enjoy yourself, darn it.

We took our seats in Town Hall’s main dining room; a space I sat in for lunch about two years ago with mixed results. Town Hall is a place people rave about and seem to go out of their way for. My first visit left me with no such inclination but I was willing to give it another shot. I walked in knowing exactly what I wanted - the fried chicken* - so was somewhat thrown when it wasn’t on the menu. The waiter then approached and - you guessed it - asked how “we” were doing today. I decided to speak for the table and assert we were doing well, thank you. Yes, I am dwelling on this “we” issue but their delivery struck me as pretentious and non-genuine. Our waiter reminded me of that weasel from Mad Men. I felt uncomfortable.

Since fried chicken wasn’t an option, I told the waiter “we would like the BBQ meatloaf.” My dad went for the burger and my mom ordered the pulled chicken (blonde moment of the day- I asked if pulled chicken was like pulled pork but with chicken? Uhh, yes - great deductive reasoning on my part). Our plates came out in record time - maybe ten minutes tops - so quickly that my dad was still noshing on his first piece of bread and butter. I enjoyed my meatloaf: it tasted a lot like sausage (yum!!) and had the sweet and savory combination that makes breakfast sausage so irresistible. It was served over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes and lightly sautéed vegetables. Like I said, I liked it - but I also saved half for later which means I could stop myself. My mom was pretty under whelmed with her pulled chicken; I had a bite and I could understand. There simply wasn’t much flavor to it - a sandwich you could get at a deli for the half the cost. My dad demolished his burger but he does so with canned applesauce with hot sauce on top (true story) so that’s not a great gauge. His fries were solid but nothing to write home about; in fact they were a little cold.

People love Town Hall. It’s in a very neat building and the interior is special. As far as the food goes, it may be unfair for me to judge since I have not been there for dinner. But based on my two lunch experiences, we will not be going out of our way to get back anytime real soon.

*After two months as a vegan I jumped ship about two weeks ago. It was a great experiment for me and my eating habits have definitely changed - but I no longer adhere to a zero tolerance policy toward meat and dairy.