The weather has turned seasonably beautiful as of late, spurring us on to enjoy a leisurely walk to dinner. A mere 1.7 miles from our casa sits The Adam's Avenue Grill, yes on Adam's Ave, in the lovely little neighborhood of University Heights.
This is by no means a new establishment. I would guess that it's been here at this location, and under this ownership/chef (one in the same), and by this name for at least 15 years, if not more. I also believe that the chef is originally from Italy (also possibly wrong) and offers fresh seasonal fare from a menu that does not change often, but does sort of role with what he is inspired by and offered via his weekly specials.
All of the tables are covered in cloth and topped with white construction paper, a cup of crayons are positioned centrally for those who are drawn to create (pun intended).
1.7 mile walk, water please, and with a slice of cucumber of you have it.
Perfect and refreshing.
Let's just dive right in shall we?
These are risotto balls (what?)
Arancini Crispy Risotto Balls
Even though there's only one depicted, trust me, there were more. These are obviously made with risotto but also contain basil and red pepper and a slice of mozzarella cheese in the middle, among other various and sundry seasonings.
Absolutely perfectly cooked. A gentle golden brown.
And they were served at the perfect temperature as well. Not nuclear hot, and not cold. Just right so that there was no delay to the gullet. The risotto was cooked perfect, just a slight al-dente and moist and flavorful, big cheese rice flavors with a perfect crunch. A very well done starter.
One of the sound on the special menu was a turkey chili tortilla soup, or something along those lines. I looked on their website and alas, there is a new special menu so I don't have specifics for you. I am particularly bummed because this was terrific. It had really deep flavors but the broth somehow stayed very light. No greasy after feel. I literally tipped the cup up and drained it to the last drop. Tomatoey and bean and meaty and all in the right balance. And again, perfect temperature, hot but ready to eat. Someone is paying attention in the kitchen.
And because, for some reason, when we are at a new place we just HAVE to order a bunch of things, here is a salad (HG needed some greens).
Italian Kale and Peasant Crouton Salad
This really just tasted like a Kale Caesar. By the name I was expecting soaked croutons that were actually soaked, These were dry and normal crouton style. The dressing was good, tasted very much like caesar. All in all we liked it, it's just the name threw us off. I'm not sure what we wanted, but we felt kind of not too exited.
House Made Ricotta Gnocchi with Aubergine Sauté
This was a vegetarian offering. The look of it was fantastic and it smelled great too, but somehow the flavor was not as bold as the look and smell had hyped it up to be. It was tasty and the gnocchi were cooked very nicely, not at all gluey or gummy, nice texture, and the fresh veg was crunchy and felt good going in. But I wanted the broth to slap me in the face. I wanted to have to ask for a loaf of bread, yeah a whole loaf, and sit for an hour sopping up this stuff. In the end we took half of it home, which was cool, and also because we ordered so much we were truly full by this time.
And oh yeah, we also got this... Again from the special menu (so I really don't remember exactly)
It was a rainbow trout saluted in an amazing mix of spices accompanied by a rice that was a mix of quinoa and long grain and jasmine, probably the best rice I've had in quite a while. The veg was boring so no more about that.
The fish though, the fish....
The flesh peeled away from the bones like they had never known one another, simply absent bed fellows, rubbing shoulder but no actual embrace. Atop this pescetarian delight were sautéd onions and mushrooms. A bite containing fish, mushroom, rice, was simply divine. This we did not take home because there was none left.
Well, well, well worth the walk to and from this place for a meal, at any time on any day. And, if you are in the general area, they deliver! What up-scale restaurant in your area delivers? I'm not talking about Filippi's or Black Angus either, a nice restaurant.
Get out there and try some new food, if it's not this place then ANY place will do, even if it sucks. Experiences, that's what it's all about. You can gleam some morsel of goodness even from bad food, drink, or service. At a minimum there's a good story to be had. Every day and every way there is something to be learned.
Adam's Avenue Grill, Worth the walk.
DVA
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