Menu Item Monday (July 23rd, 2012) Dinner is tricky with Patrick's & Patricia's

I scheduled the Patrick and Patricia dinner for Friday the 20th and that was a weird day. We had thunderstorms early that morning and a muggy overcast day. The energy was just weird and nothing went the way I planned it. I had 5 meetings scheduled for that day and all of them one by one rescheduled for next week. I wasn't worried about it at all. I was actually glad to have the day off. My schedule has been so packed lately that it was good to be able to just be home for a while. Luckily my spa appointment didn't cancel so I spent quality time with my laptop for the bulk of the day and the afternoon getting a body wrap at Clara Spa (more on that in my Wellness Wednesday blog). Time at the spa goes too fast so by the time I was done I had to high tail it across town to Over the Moon Cafe. I was absolutely starving and really looking forward to the dinner. I hope you won't be too disappointed by this next bit of news, only one of the Patricia's made it there. I told you it was a weird day. But the one that came was a really good one, it was Patricia Fong Kerth owner of another great restaurant, Old Milwaukee Cafe on 6th Ave. Everything happens for a reason, right? We had a great time and the food was beyond amazing! 

Over The Moon Cafe
709 Court C "Opera Alley" Tacoma, WA 98402 
http://www.overthemooncafe.net    
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Pat ordered the vegetable appetizer to start. (Sauteed mushrooms, red bell pepper, asparagus and red onion with a splash of lemon and parmesan). She said, "Loved the appetizer of the fresh veggies. But then, I love my veggies. Cooked perfectly - crisp tender. And the fresh parmesan on top - yum!"

This bread came with Pat's appetizer but she let me eat it. It was delicious with  my soup!

My starter was this Crab Bisque soup with tarragon and this was the surprise treat of the night. Everything was delicious but this soup was a revelation for me. I love crab but I usually only eat it in the shell, anything else seemed like a waste of delicious crab because I thought it would dilute the taste. I was so wrong. I could definitely taste the crab and the flavor was AMAZING! I wish I had another bowl of this in front of me right now! 

My main course was the slow cooked chicken with ragu red wine sauce, garlic, oregano, thyme, finished with cream, fresh parmesan and basil, over rigatoni. Every bite was heaven and I got three meals out of this portion! I would definitely order this again.


Patricia ordered the Wild Pacific Coho Salmon filet pan seared and served with an orange ginger sauce with white balsamic and scallions. She said,  "The salmon with the orange - so moist and tender. With the orange glaze/sauce - just a more summery feel to it. Served with the mashed red potatoes, cannot get better than that!"

 After dinner Pat give me a ride over to the Tri-Pod Show at Madera Fine Furnishings. My friend Linda Danforth was one of three people who were selected by Lynn Di Nino to give a slide show presentation. The theme this time was animals and Linda has collected photos of elephants on her travels throughout the world. I missed the first two presenters but made it just in time to see Linda's elephants. Afterward, Linda, Janie Morris, Michelle Thomson and I went over to Zara for Happy Hour. I checked my messages and I had one from Patricia saying that the waitress at Over the Moon Cafe had accidentally mixed up our leftovers so she came to Zara too so we could make the switch. Then there were 5 of us at Zara.

Zara Mediterranean Cuisine
15th and Commerce Ave
http://www.zaracuisine.com
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This is the Happy Hour Menu.
 We sat around a big round bar. I was too full to eat so I had a nice frosty glass of water with fresh homemade ice in the glass. My friends ordered food. Unfortunately the food came while I was visiting the ladies room so I didn't get a chance to take these pictures before they started in on it.










Here's a little bonus for you. My friend Linda took these pictures when she was visiting Adriatic Grill recently.

Spinach berry salad.

Half order of the Salmon Penne Pasta

I also had a nice home-cooked BBQ meal with food mainly from the Tacoma Farmers Market last night but I didn't take any pictures. We do this frequently on the roof of the Sky Terrace condominiums so next time I'll try to remember to take some photos. I love having such easy access to fresh organic locally grown food!

See you next time,


XOXO,
Duchess of Downtown

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