The Tasting Room - Come for the Wine, Leave for Food. HRW 3 of 3

For our 3 year anniversary and upcoming nuptials RSP and I decided to hit up The Tasting Room (TTR) for HRW. The funny or funny only to me story here is that originally I had chosen Pappas Brother’s Steakhouse but after a friend and I discussed him going there, I told him I’d steal his idea and while he was yelling at me via chat that I’d better not I was on my work phone making reservations. Ha!

The joke ended up on me in the end however because I was sorely disappointed in TTR. RSP being RSP, he thought the place was fine. This from the guy that only blogs about cars. What do you know about food!? hehe HI!

Since HRW was RSP’s first go, I forced lovingly suggested he order different meals so that we could get a variety/sampling of the various dishes offered.

Because TTR is known for being a more wine/drinks bar, I will forgive this error in tastelessness, I just don’t get how HRW was so bad compared to my previous visit. The Sliceberg salad, TTR‘s version of a wedge salad, was probably the only redeeming factor of the entire night.

** Photo credits go to Red Stripe Photography, that sly bastard.**

Sliceberg Lettuce – 1/4 side of iceberg lettuce topped with itty bitty tomato and cucumber, a nice fresh heap of bacon (always awesome) and salad dressing.

Don’t let the photos fool you folks, the food was pretty bland though their showmanship was very lovely as was their waitstaff. There was always someone constantly refilling my drink or clearing off our tables and the atmosphere though extremely dark was forgiving since they have huge windows that while we dined at 7pm was still early enough to let in ample amounts of light.

1st & 2nd Courses

Chicken Tortilla Soup – Bland, too cheesy in a bad way however the tortillas were thrown on at just the right time so that when you mixed it, it still stayed crisp even though the soup was very hot.

Mini Grilled Cheese Sandwiches – Interesting that this was a TTR favorite because I thought it ws over buttered, too much jam on top that it dominated my taste buds and the cheese wasn’t quite cheesy, more cottage cheese-ish flavor

Seafood Campechana – Other redeeming meal, Seafood was very chunky, very light and refreshing to eat on a hot summer evening with crispy tortilla chips. This dish could rival Goode Co. Seafoods.

3rd and 4th Courses

My Dish: Orange Marinated Pork Tenderloin – Coming back to the menu for the title of this dish, I’m surprised it has “orange” in it because I tasted no such thing. Very small bite size slices of pork, dry and bland. The corn tamale was bland though had a strong corn taste/ The plantain chips on top were a nice touch though and kudos for display.

RSP’s Dish: Grilled Spice-Rubbed Hanger Steak – Spice-Rubbed indeed. So much so you didn’t taste anything but the chipotle and cayenne pepper overkill. Steak was too chewy and there was no fresh off the grill taste to the steak. Didn’t bother with the “potato salad” medley. Did not look appealing.

Pistachio Pound Cake – Yikes! Surprised this is one of Bon Appetit magazine’s favorites. My first few bites were very dry though eventually I found the pistachio crust (I’m assuming) and it got slightly better. The chantilly cream was refreshing though the truffle honey was too sweet.

Mexican Chocolate Icebox Pie – I wanted RSP to get the donuts (homer simpson voice) but he chose this pie which was mostly cream, little crust and I liked that it wasn’t milk chocolatey but more dark chocolatey.

HRW Conclusion

Overall TTR being my last restaurant to round out my HRW I was sorely disappointed, as mentioned earlier. Though some of the dishes were very good, it wasn’t quite enough to leave me satisfied. This being my first go at HRW though, I think was pretty satisfying. Some places weren’t necessarily worth the $35 dollars per person and some were probably worth more and now I know. Next year I will be more experienced and now I have a better understanding of certain restaurants I might not have gone to before, or may never come to again. Better still, I did a good deed by eating at these places and donating money at the same time, win-win!