Caiola's

It's Saturday night, we are out with friends and have another restaurant to visit in the new year!

After having "warmed up" with cocktails at Grace, we were ready to go crazy on the dynamic menu offerings at Caiola's.  Just about everyone we know raves about Caiola's and if you believe the reader's choice awards, it's the perfect lovers' restaurant.  (Since we were essentially double dating tonight, it only made sense to put their reputation to the test.)

This is definitely one cozy little restaurant.  Close seating and tables offer little in the way of private conversation, but the buzz and atmosphere was pleasant none the less.

Let me begin by saying that the list of potential offerings were impressive.  I started salivating just reading down through it.  Polenta Fries, BBQ Baby Pork Shank, Bacon Rillette, Tongue (yes I said tongue), Ruby Red Beets...  How was one supposed to choose?  One thing was for sure: I was going to forgo my natural propensity for the Cheese Board for one of these other options!

After much deliberation, we finally chose our courses and of course our wine.  We chose a Petite Syrah from Paso Robles to drink tonight given our rich meal selections. 

It doesn't matter who ordered what because we shared everything, so we'll spare you those details.  For our 1st course we tried the Curry Lentil soup, the Warm Reuben Spread with Gruyere Cheese, the Marinated Red Ruby Beets and Baxter's Bacon Rillettes.  The Lentil soup was full with flavor and the presentation was appealing.  It had a nice balance of curry flavor but we all felt it could have been served a little hotter than it was.  Baxter's Bacon Rillettes (pronounced: rih-LEHTS) were an instant hit with all 4 of us.  Bacon rendered in bacon fat, pulverised into a paste and served in a ramekin with Shallot jam and Peppery Spinach accompanyments, come on folks, what's not to love about this one?  I actually ordered the Reuben Spread out of genuine curiosity and was surprised at how good it was.  The Corned beef was mashed together with sauerkraut, placed in a ramekin, covered with Greuyere Cheese and then baked and served with Cornichons and Artisanal Rye Croutons.  A very interesting rendition of a clasic.  Kate ordered the last of the forementioned starters, the Ruby Red Beets (which actually showed up golden yellow  ...???).  They were still delicious, served warm with citrus, Goat Cheese and Spinach.

When we ordered our 2nd bottle of the Syrah, I was informed that this was the last bottle they had  (in case we wanted a 3rd one for the table).  Fortunately we didn't feel the need for that this evening.

Our Entree choices were as follows: 2 orders of the Paella (pronounced: pie-A-uh), a Strip Steak and the Penne alla Norma.  The Paella with Saffron Rice, Grilled Chicken, Chorizo, Shell Fish, Peas and Green Beans was plentiful and perfectly cooked yet a little bland which surprised us all.  One of our fellow diners actually asked for Tobasco sauce for hers.  My Strip Steak was cooked to order and served with Gorgonzola Butter (yummy), Herbed Fingerlings and Root Vegetables which had been diced and sauteed together with spinach.  Kate's Penne alla Norma with Kalamata Olives, Grilled Eggplant, Red Peppers and Ricotta Salata was spicy but unremarkable.

While we all enjoyed ourselves tremendously in each other's company, I can't say we were blown away with this experience (the clear exception being the appetizers we all shared).  Honestly, we all remarked that we felt the service could and should have been better for a restaurant with such a high standing locally.  But this is why anyone should try a marginal or bad experience with a follow up, right?  In fact, Kate and I have a favorite because we gave it another chance.

Ok, now let me get a word in here, Joe, will ya? When you described my Ruby Red Beets (you were referring to my appetizer weren't you?) you left out the nut-mixture-thing that was on the plate. Maybe that's because we can't figure out what to call it, and keep referring to it as that nut-mixture-thing which doesn't sound like a culinary term to me (but what do I know).  Anyway, it was delicious!  It's odd that it was not in the description on the menu however (and odd that the beets were golden yellow, not red, with no explanation from the server).  Little things like that bug me, not because they're terribly important, just that it feels like someone wasn't paying attention to every detail like we've come to expect.

My main course, as Joe perfectly stated, was unremarkable.  In fact the proportion of pasta to sauce was off.  There was a lot of the sauce left over and it was not something to be scooped up and eaten. There was nothing bad about it, just nothing terribly great about it.

I have to say, I have been here before, although it was Joe's first time.  I didn't love it the first time either, but I will return with Joe for his second try (my third) and see what happens.  We had a great evening with our friends and that's what it is all about!

Thanks Kate.  We certainly did have a good time!

We give Caiola's 3 stars on this visit.

Until next time, Cheers everyone!

~Joe and Kate