Thanksgiving Tapas

Holidays.  Some people look forward to them all year, some dread them.  Some holiday gatherings go off without a hitch, some not.  Sometimes you have everyone together, sometimes not.  Sometimes people are missing. Sometimes you wish they were (ha ha.  But we all know it's true!)

When it comes to family gatherings, I have it easier than Neil.  My parents are here, my sister is 2 1/2 hours away, my aunt is 1 1/2 hours away and my uncle is about 45 minutes away.  We do have Neil's dad and Glenda (his long-time sweetie who I consider my mother-in-law) here in Columbia, but his brother is in Minnesota, and his younger brother and sister are in Florida.  Sadly, Neil's mom, Mimi, died about 2 weeks after we were engaged and his step-dad died just a few years ago.  

I think we all grow up with that "cool" aunt, uncle or cousin that is special and influential in our lives.  Well, that's where Aunt Kathy comes in!  Kathy is Mimi's younger sister and is the 2nd family member (after Mimi) that I was ever introduced to.  She is Neil's "Cool Aunt Kathy."  

Neil & his cool Aunt Kathy

Even before we met, I heard many stories about her and it was clear that she made a huge difference in Neil's life.  I couldn't wait to meet her.  (That was 1997.)  We've had many opportunities to spend time together since that initial meeting, but since the Wunderkind landed on Planet Earth, none.  So, this Thanksgiving, it was off to Aunt Kathy's we went!

Me and Marisa

The synopsis is this:  Neil and I both were ecstatic to spend time with Kathy and her daughter (Neil's cousin, Marisa) but even more to introduce them to Viv.  We are so proud of her, as you can imagine, but just to share more family with her was priceless.  She's only 5, but she was so interested and intrigued about learning more about her family and hearing the stories and getting to know more on her own.  It was truly a great holiday on so many levels.  

Okay, so you're wondering if I'm ever going to talk about food, right? Well, yes, yes I am.  We did the usual suspects for T-Day.  Neil was turkey maestro, I made Aunt Jennie's sweet potatoes, Marisa made green bean casserole and Kathy introduced me and Viv to Nana's "stewed corn."  It was a wonderful feast...so much so it sent Neil to an early slumber!  But my favorite part was the next day.


We indulged in leftovers for lunch but when evening rolled around, we went my favorite route of all time...SNACKS!  I'm not talking about Bugles and french onion dip.  No, no.  Real snackin' Akre style!  Aunt Kathy grilled the most amazing sweet peppers, apple/chicken sausages, smoked venison sausage, asparagus and scallions.  We dipped into spicy hummus, speared black pepper/white cheddar with picks and scooped up hunks of beautiful blue cheese.  

This is the smoked venison sausage

Chicken/apple sausage & beautiful pepper in background

Check the color...and these peppers were actually sweet!

Jalapenos, spicy hummus & blue cheese...oh my!

Of course, we had all of this accompanied by the appropriate wines, mixed concoctions and Viv's special "kid cocktails" which were various fruit juices with club soda in fancy glasses.  

Uh huh...I'm in Kindergarten now. I deserve a "kid cocktail"

Who said club soda was boring?

 


Our trip was fantastic for so many reasons.  Neil was able to show off Gainesville and some of its attractions and places of memory to his little one. We had a great Thanksgiving feast.  But most of all, we spent several days with family who we don't get to see often enough, teach our baby about more of her heritage and enjoy each other's company.  I hope your holiday was as fulfilling and rich as ours.  Time and family are both so precious.

Two beautiful ladies!

So happy to see these girls for Thanksgiving!

Me and Aunt Kathy

My little family unit

Gervais & Vine: Just divine!

G&V has been a favorite of ours for years. Pre-Viv, Neil and I dropped quite a bit of cash at this lovely little wine bar.  We and our friends Anne & Lorne could do so much damage in one evening, we actually had to put ourselves on restrictions for awhile!  We spent so much time at Gervais & Vine, one of the waiters became a client of mine.  Stephen is still working for Kristian at both G&V and Rosso and is surely his right-hand man.  But, post-Viv, we don't get out as often as we used to.  But, every now and then we're able to fit in a little time together and grab some good grub, which is one of our all-time favorite pastimes.

Thanks to my awesome parents (who volunteer to babysit, we rarely have to ask!), we were able to hit G&V this past Friday.  If you've never been to this bar/restaurant, you're really gypping yourself.  They are a wine bar first and foremost.  Kristian is well-traveled and really knows his grapes.  His wine offerings are extensive and he is always discovering and spotlighting something new.  When he first got started, Gervais & Vine's food menu was small:  nuts, cheeses, "spreads"...really good snacks.  He's evolved over the years into a full-blown, authentic Tapas bar.  Not many American tapas bars really even understand what that word means.  Kristian gets it.  He still offers marinated Manchego, smoked almonds and cornichons; delicious spreads, wood-fired pizzas, but also major league fare such as petit filets, seared duck breast, sauteed shrimp, marinated artichokes.  It goes on and on.  But what's most amazing is HOW they are able to make all this deliciousness.  The wood-fire oven is backstage but their main kitchen is behind the bar...literally.  It's unreal how they have been able to make this compact yet functional kitchen behind a standard bar.  You have to see it to fully appreciate what I'm trying to describe to you.

Needless to say, that's where we like to sit.  We are just a few feet from all the action.  As the chef starts a dish, we try to guess which plate he's working on by watching.  Then, of course, we get to see every plate as it's served up, and we consult the menu to read the description and this is usually how we end up deciding what we're going to order!  It's a fun way to select a meal, to be sure.  This past Friday, we ordered three dishes:  parmesan fries with spicy aioli, roasted asparagus with romesco sauce and the smoked gouda, shrimp & bacon spread.  Excuse me, I need a moment here. OMG, these were good choices.

The fries were awesome. I'd heard some friends talking about them and I'd read some other folks' blogs who also raved about them.  The fries were perfectly cooked: crispy, fluffy inside, non-greasy and tossed with parmesan and parsley and served with that incredible spicy aioli.  The asparagus was well-cooked and the romesco was very bright and fresh tasting.  I might add a little salt to make the flavor pop a little more.  I didn't do it though, since I was literally right in front of the chef.  Can you believe I punked out like that?  The spread was also crazy good.  Smoky, creamy gouda with yummy bacon and shrimp flavor mixed in there.  It was served hot with French bread slices, water crackers, cornichons, and grapes.  It was a very attractive plate and we left not a crumb upon it.

Kristian has been on Columbia's restaurant scene for many years now.  He's a wine connoisseur, motorcycle enthusiast, excellent chef and just a plain nice guy who shops at Publix like the rest of us.  If you're a fan of supporting locals, then please keep Gervais & Vine and Rosso on your dining card.  (Rosso is the newer of the two; upscale Italian, hip scene...I'll get into that later!)  And, the fact that so many people, like Stephen, have been there so long, tells me that this business owner is doing many things right!

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**Restaurant Review**Virtu

Yesterday was Friday and Neil and I had time to go out together, thank you "Parent's Night Out" at Capital Karate.  As you know, restaurants are a high form of entertainment for me, so I was really looking forward to this.  But, I spent the better part of my day agonizing over where we should go. I even reached out via Facebook for suggestions.  Got a few good ones, but just wasn't feeling it.  I checked out countless menus online and finally came across one that interested me AND it was a place that I hadn't heard of yet.  How did this escape my attention?  My razor wit?  My eagle eye surveillance?

Virtu:  Located next to Dianne's on Devine.  Well, that would be the old Grazin' Monkey.  And, as irony would have it, Virtu is also a tapas restaurant, just like the Monkey of days gone by.  But, even though the menu looked fantastic, I left my office unsure.  Why, you ask?  

Over the  years, many places have popped up billing themselves as "Tapas Bars" and it's been disappointing.  See, true tapas is a snack and it's FREE.  That's right.  You go into a bar in Spain, order a drink and they bring you a little plate of their house tapas. Some places switch it up from time to time, some have their own signauture tapas that they serve all the time.  Keep drinking, they keep bringing you little snacks.  So, when America got a hold of this idea and Americanized it, what we got were restaurants serving micro-food with macro-prices.  This led me to my mediocre reaction to the discovery of Virtu, because cynicism crept into my brain and told me, "Don't get excited.  It's just another perversion of the tapas idea and you'll be pissed off about your bill."  Oh, cynicism, you're just so bad...

Ok, I need to speed this up...got home, mentioned a few ideas to Neil, he shot them down, then I casually mentioned this new place.  That's what he wanted.  I pulled up the menu to show him; uninterested in seeing it, we're going.  Ok, then.


Long story short (I know you're relieved), I was really impressed.  It's locally owned & operated, which is a biggie for me and the Neilix.  Our waitress, Nicole, was very professional, attentive, knew the menu and brought her *A* game.  Now, for the food.  We each had the "Three Hearts Caesar Salad" which features hearts of romaine (of course), hearts of palm and hearts of artichoke.  I tend to find that restaurants will tell you there is good stuff like heart of palm and you search and search to no avail for it on the plate.  Not so here.  The salad had a generous portion (but not too much) of palm and artichoke.  The lettuce was prepared the right way...bite size, no wilted or bruised leaves, like it's supposed to be.  The dressing was impressive too.  It contained all the classic flavors of a good Caesar dressing, but wasn't too acidic like some and the salad was properly tossed in it, not drowned in it.  The menu features this salad with tomato...I had mine without.  Success.


Then, we shared tapas.  We chose three...Cuban mojo chicken skewers, crab & artichoke fritters and langoustine ravioli in beurre blanc. The chicken was very flavorful and perfectly tender.  We received three skewers of bite-sized chicken breast and it was plenty for the two of us to share.  The sauce was delicious, the chicken tasted "grilly" and the presentation was very nice.  Success.  The fritters were a test.  So often, I find that fried dishes end up over-fried: too greasy, too hard, too damn fried.  And, again with the cynicism, so often, we get gypped on crab, even though we live in a coastal state where we can catch the little suckers all day long!  So, these fritters were going to be scrutinized.  Surprise!  They were very well cooked, nice deep gold color and the inside was soft and warm and CRABBY!  They were drizzled with a super remoulade sauce, making all the flavors work really well together.  Success.  Lastly, there were the langoustine ravioli.  I hate to sound like a broken record, but again, really outstanding.  The pasta was perfectly cooked and al dente...even fine restaurants have a tendancy to send out rubbery ravioli, in my experience.  Not the case here.  The filling was light and delicately flavored, which was complimented nicely by beautiful beurre blanc with a little bite of citrus.  Success.


I overheard Nicole tell the table behind us that the restaurant has only been open about 9 weeks.  It was a Friday, which is busier anyway, but I was pleased to see the restaurant full and people arrived, ate and more took their places consistently during the time we were there.  This, of course, is a good sign for a new restaurant.  And, if you like to support locals, like we do, this is very encouraging.  


Neil and I will definitely be going to Virtu often.  I recommend it wholeheartedly and would love to hear your comments after you try it out.  Maybe we could all hook up there!