Date Night at Il Lusso

17 Sunday Feb 2019

Posted by AllOutOfForks in meat, Miscellaneous, Review

Tags

dinner, il lusso, Review, steak, tallahassee

New to the Tallahassee scene is a Northern Italian steakhouse called Il Lusso. This is a welcome addition to the fine dining options for the metro area, and a fantastic add to the downtown area.

Bright and airy, the details of the interior really provide the feeling of being in a much bigger city while retaining enough warmth to keep it from seeming too industrial. Wood floors are balanced with marble tile sections and cozy couches are in the waiting area.

The bar was well-staffed and had some lovely custom cocktails. I got the Lavender Bliss (with vodka instead of the gin), and although pretty strong – it was tasty.

The menu has a great selection of starters, and the entrees are focused on high-steaks and fresh pastas, with options for seafood, chicken or vegetarian entrees.

We began with the Blue Crab Arancini and a Caesar Salad (super sad that they were out of the Sweetbread starter, which looked delicious.) BUT the arancini were heavenly. I can’t tell you what was in the squid ink sauce but it was scrumptious. The caesar salad had a perfectly executed traditional dressing with toasted croutons.

The a la carte sides looked exceptional, making it hard to choose, but we settled on the cauliflower with anchovy, parsley and lemon, and the rosemary potatoes with fondue sauce. The cauliflower was nicely charred although I could have used more of the flavorings (more anchovy and lemon please!). The potatoes had great herby flavor and the taleggio sauce provided a good balance.

As a splurge, we got the 24 oz (!) Prime Dry-Aged Cowboy Ribeye to share and a small portion of the Lamb Ragu Malfadine (ruffled noodle). Very pleased to see the option of small and large dishes of the pastas so that we could sample one.

First, the pasta was one of my favorites of the night. With a deconstructed lasagna vibe, the ragu was flavorful and rich and the pasta was a perfect al dente.

And for the star of the show, here is the ribeye…perfectly cooked and the aging gave it a pleasant tang of flavor (reminiscent of parmagiano reggiano.)

Conclusion: This is a great fine dining option, but with the cost (well justified with the quality of the ingredients and the location), but I am looking forward to trying the lunch menu so that I can eat there more often. (They have also hinted about brunch coming soon!) Either way, we will definitely be going back.

Restaurant Info:

Il Lusso
201 E. Park Avenue
Tallahassee, Florida

Tel — 850-765-8620
Reservations — OpenTable
Follow — Instagram / Facebook

Off the beaten path, but worth it: Backwoods Crossing

04 Tuesday Apr 2017

Posted by AllOutOfForks in Dinner, Review

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Tags

chicken, dinner, pork, seafood

One of my weaknesses is a solid (and verifiable!) farm-to-table restaurant. There are three main challenges with these type of businesses. If they really are farm-direct products, the cost is generally higher. “Farm fresh” doesn’t guarantee good flavor/cooking technique. And it can be very difficult to confirm that the food is from a local farmer.

We needed a good place to take my Dad for his birthday that was out closer to their side of town (East Side!), and I had heard great things about Backwoods Crossing a local “farm-to-table” restaurant. I figured it was a handy occasion to try them out (and to use family to sample more dishes.)

Backwoods Crossing seems to have accomplished the trifecta – verifiable fresh, local food, high quality and reasonable cost. With one garden immediately outside the building, you can see what is ready or harvest, and then those options are directly reflected in the vegetable options and the specials.

To start, the house salad was fresh and simple. The balsamic vinaigrette had a good balance, and the meal started off on a solid note.

Daughter #1 got a sandwich with grilled chicken, apple and brie. Really a lovely combination.

My mom got the fried catfish over stone-ground grits and sautéed greens with corn. This was a huge portion, and straight-up delicious.

Daughter #2 got the Hog in a Henhouse – chicken breast stuffed with pulled pork and fried with a crispy crust over béchamel-sauced broccoli. Holy moly! Another large portion and the chicken was perfectly cooked. I think this was my favorite.

My dad got the Seafood Heaven entree with blackened shrimp and cream cheese/blue crab nuggets over creamy grits. Yum.

Trying to be somewhat health-conscious, I got the seared tuna over roasted brussels sprouts, garden beets and potatoes. )I can’t believe that as an adult I have discovered a love for beets. Who knew?)

All of the food was impressive, but even more surprising was that our bill (for six people) was around $100. Really loved this place, and my parents, who live on that side of town, were thrilled.

Backwoods Crossing is on Mahan Drive out by the I-10 exit and is in the building formerly inhabited by Stinky’s Fish Camp (RIP!) across from the Tallahassee Automobile Museum. (You can also find them on Facebook!)

We are already planning our late spring visit so that we can see what’s in their garden.

(And sorry for the weird camera angles, the fam was rushing me and messing up my shots so that they could start digging in!)

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