Chomp!
October 25, 2013
By Ron Aiken
October 25, 2013
Seafood! Duck Fat! Pumpkin Bisque!
It occurs to me that I haven’t been to or mentioned one of my all-time favorite Columbia restaurants, Gervais & Vine, in far too long a time.
There are several reasons for that Chomp! won’t bore you with, but suffice it to say let’s rectify at least part of that right dang now, ok?
First, STARTING NOW you can indulge yourself with two-course dinner specials on Mondays and Tuesdays for just $18 a person. Titled/themed Autumn Escapade (spiffy!), you can have your choice of starters – a Pumpkin Sage Bisque with Greek yogurt and fried prosciutto, Duck Fat Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with feta and pepitas (aka pumpkin seeds) or Mixed Artisanal Greens with roasted filberts (aka hazelnuts), mandarin oranges and dates. Of those three, I’m definitely doing the bisque. Or maybe the potatoes. Probably, Chomp will take his girlfriend and get both.
Let’s plan that main!
We have a choice of the following: Veal Ravioli tossed with apples, sage and beurre brun (aka brown butter); Grilled Turkey Breast with bourbon cranberries, Bleheim Ginger Ale gravy, mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts; or Cornbread & Chestnut-Stuffed Acorn Squash with apple cranberry salad and brussels sprouts.
Hmmmm….I think Chomp! Would most enjoy the squash. However, with Thanksgiving up and Chomp! On self-appointed turkey duty, I probably could learn a thing or two from the turkey preparation, not to mention the fact I want to flat out STEAL that recipe for Blenheim Ale mashed potatoes.
You can add a glass of house red or white wine for just $4, so there now exists no good reason not to plan on doing this on either a Monday or Tuesday. I’ve always thought there was something magical about G&V in the fall, especially around the holidays. It’s about the best place I can think of to relax and meet friends after doing some holiday shopping. However, I know some of you need a special occasion to get out, so I’m going to give you one: this coming Monday, Oct. 28, Gervais & Vine is hosting a Sustainable Seafood Dinner, y’all!!! You can partake of Shem Creek Oysters with piquillo peppers and peri peri sauce’ a Bruised Kale Salad with house-smoked Rainbow Trout, pickled shallots and Marcona almonds; Seared North Carolina Farm-Raised Catfish with Castelvetrano olives and tomato concasse. A wine pairing and dessert is included! Price is to be set, so to find out and sign up, go to gervine.com or call 799-8463!
Chomp! goes to the State Fair!
Some days are sadder than others. Other days are the saddest of all, and the latter is what befell me at the South Carolina State Fair last week as I went with high hopes for low food and was roundly disappointed, with one notable exception.
What I most craved – an elephant ear – most disappointed. Instead of a light, flaky, powdered delight you feel like you can eat 10 of, I got a disc of dough that was basically a piece of re-heated pita bread with powdered sugar on top. It was so bad we took it back, and then, of course, got another example of the same thing.
I don’t mind telling you I got it from Lordy’s Elephant Ears, a big, red behemoth of a vendor, because I want them to go out of business until they reinvent all their methods and change all their sloppy ways.
Here’s a picture I took of the disgusting-ness:
The joy came from something I didn’t expect – fried mushrooms. I mean, when you have so many ridiculous fried things on order – oreos, snickers, butter, etc. – who goes for the mushrooms? My lady does, that’s who! And thankful I am for that, because they were probably the best I’ve ever had. I don’t know how they did it, but the flavor in their batter was beyond belief. So deep, dense and packed with subtleties of seasoning, so tender the mushrooms inside, so wonderful the combination of crispy batter with moist mushroom. And when it’s delivered to you by someone as beautiful as my girlfriend, I dare you tell me you wouldn’t feel the same way.
How lucky is Chomp!? Sensationally lucky, that’s how lucky.
The other disappointment was the fried okra. As you know, I’ve been on about fried okra lately, and so at the fair I saw some and had to eat it. As you can see from the picture, the breading was bland, giving the okra no flavor whatsoever. A real let-down, it was:
Thankfully, Chomp! reader Herb Brantley sent me his interesting recipe last week, so let’s all try this together, shall we?
From Herb:
My okra recipe is the best.
A mess of large (at least 3 inches long), mature okra with some stem left on.
Wash okra, pat dry, drizzle with Italian salad dressing jacked up with some Louisiana hot sauce, and grill on a hot grill. Dust with smokey paprika.
Enjoy by holding the stem and eating like a corn dog. Way better than wet peanuts!
There you go! Have a great week!
Follow Chomp! on Twitter @RonAiken and on Facebook. Email Chomp! at [email protected]. He even answers his phone sometimes: 803-200-8809. Cheers!
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