LRP Redux* installment 5: Basil Bowl

 

Basil Bowl features Thai, pho, and grill, including other Vietnamese dishes. It is located at 1302 Centaur Village Dr., at the SE corner of Centaur Village and S. Boulder Road. We made a dinner date with some friends who were also interested in this restaurant, and we brought a takeout order to their house.

Online ordering shows up as an option on the website, but it was turned off, and I couldn’t reach the restaurant by phone. After trying for about 20 minutes and alternately receiving a busy signal and “Your call cannot be completed as dialed,” I checked the website and Facebook page to make sure it was open and finally drove over to place the takeout order in person. I never found out why the phone wasn’t working, so I don’t know whether that is a common problem. I have encountered similar issues with other restaurants in the past few months owing to staffing shortages, so maybe they were just busy. The restaurant is quite small and had five occupied tables (out of six) when I arrived. The man whom I spoke to, who was the only employee in sight, was very nice, put the order in immediately, and brought the food out to my car when it was ready. The wait was about 25 minutes.

It turned out to be worth the extra effort, as we all thought the food was very good! Here’s what we had. G asked me to surprise him, so I got him green curry with beef, which he said was delicious. He always wants the highest spice level, so I requested level 4, “fire” (there are actually five levels, but “no spice” is 0), and it definitely pushed his boundaries a bit. But he ate two helpings and finished off the leftovers the next day. M had Vietnamese egg rolls and ginger chicken (mild). She said the fresh ginger flavor was very strong, which she liked because she loves ginger, and the egg rolls were good too. S had the tofu veggie and peanut sauce (medium), and she said there was a nice assortment of fresh-tasting vegetables, and the texture of the tofu was excellent. I had the pad thai with chicken at a medium spice level, which was just about the right spice level for me—maybe at the high end of my tolerance. The noodles were cooked just right, not too chewy or mushy, and the flavors were great. It reheated well the next day too. G and I split an order of chicken dumplings, which were also tasty.

I wanted to try the mango sticky rice, but they had run out. Fortunately, S had made some scrumptious peanut-butter cookies (not pictured).

As it happened, none of us tried anything from the Vietnamese side of the menu, but we would definitely sample those dishes another time. G likes pho, but when you order it as takeout, it requires some assembly, so I opted for something simpler this time.

* Lafayette Restaurant Project Redux: visiting all the new places that have opened since the ending of the previous round of the LRP.

Basil Bowl on Centaur Village Drive

Green curry with beef

Tofu veggie and peanut sauce

Vietnamese egg rolls and ginger chicken 

Pad thai with chicken and a side of chicken dumplings 

With my pad Thai and dumplings

LRP Redux* installment 4: Mumtaz Mediterranean Food

According to its website, Mumtaz is owned by Hiam Jamell, who grew up in Lebanon not far from the Mediterranean coast, and operated by her and her family. It is located at 588 US 287 #100, just north of the intersection of Baseline and 287. It is an outlier in this portion of the project because it is not a new restaurant—it will turn 15 in April. However, when we were wrapping up the original LRP back in early 2020, it closed temporarily owing to pandemic shutdowns just a week or so before we would have gotten to it. It reopened a while ago, but with somewhat shorter hours—10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except Sunday (closed). I have been there before, but it had probably been a couple of years.

My friend Deb and I had a lunch date, so we decided to incorporate it into the LRP, but we stuck to takeout. Deb picked it up on her way over and kindly took some restaurant photos for me. I remembered that the gyros pita wrap is very good, but that is usually my go-to at Mediterranean places, so I decided to get the grilled chicken pita wrap instead. Deb had the kefta pita wrap (something none of us had tried before), and G had the gyro pita wrap. We all added the feta cheese option to our wraps. We also got a basket of fries to share as well as an order of cheese sambusek, a side of two falafels so we could sample them, and two kinds of baklava for dessert.

I thought G’s gyro was delicious, as always, but my grilled chicken wrap was probably just as good, although I might favor the tzatziki sauce over the zesty garlic sauce that came on the chicken and kefta wraps. The kefta didn’t look as we expected it to—the menu describes it as seasoned ground beef minced with parsley, onions and spices, so we thought it would be loose, but it is apparently re-formed into a sort of log shape before being wrapped (probably so it won’t fall out). I had a small taste of it and thought it was good, but I liked the other two better.

We all liked the sambuseks (“A mix of feta and other Middle Eastern cheeses, parsley and spices wrapped in a noodle then fried”) very much; they are sort of like Mediterranean wontons. I am not a falafel conoisseur, but I noticed that these falafels were a bit different than what I have had in the past, chewier and with a thick, crisp shell. The fries were basic but good. The baklava seemed fairly typical—again, it is not something I have eaten a lot of, but we liked that the filo pastry was crisp even while it was oozing the rich honey filling.

There are many more options on the menu to try—I would like to order the mezza sampler another time to try a taste of several things that we didn’t get to today!

* Lafayette Restaurant Project Redux: visiting all the new places that have opened since the ending of the previous round of the LRP.

Deb said there was a fair amount of lunch traffic, even though she was there on the early side.

The seating area of Mumtaz. We didn't dine in today.

Our takeout haul. The wraps all look the same because the meat is on the bottom! However, from top to bottom, they are gyro, grilled marinated chicken, and kefta. The other items are two falafels, a basket of fries, cheese sambuseks (looking like wontons), and two kinds of baklava.

Two kinds of baklava

Me with my chicken wrap, some fries, and a cheese sambusek.

LRP Redux* installment 3: Ruby Ru’s Street Eatery

Ruby Ru’s is Chris Rubeck’s place, and for a long time it was a food truck that was very well known in the area. Last year, it settled in a storefront location at 1280 Centaur Village Drive, Unit 1. The truck still keeps a roving schedule, but at the moment, it just has a couple of dates posted in February. I’m sure there will be more!

Coincidentally, I was just chatting with Chris on FB about Ruby Ru’s last week, and then it was the next one to come out of the hat! So we ordered takeout on this snowy Tuesday evening. I wanted to try the bourbon chicken (chicken over rice with bourbon sauce) because it is the main house specialty. I expected it to be saucier, but in fact the sauce seems to be mostly absorbed and to caramelize on the lovely crispy edges of the chicken. Some of it does soak into the rice. I am not a big fan of bourbon on its own, but I do like it in things, and it is brilliant in this sauce. This was an amazing dish, possibly my favorite thing I’ve eaten recently. The bourbon chicken comes with a choice of two sides. I tried the mac and cheese and the coleslaw and thought they were both very good. The mac and cheese noodles (actually cavatappi) were a bit more al dente than I would make them, but the scratch-made cheese sauce was delicious. The coleslaw is mayo-based and more on the dry side, which I like. You can see in the photo that the main dish and sides all come in one container, and I am sometimes a bit picky about my food touching, but I was relieved to see that the container actually had separators between the sections. G tried the Philly sandwich (thin-sliced ribeye on a soft hoagie roll with cheese, peppers, and onions), and he said it was a good steaky, cheesy, peppery choice. We got an extra side of grilled zucchini, which was very good too. We were in the mood for dessert, and there were two choices: cookies or brownies. The cookies are baked in house, although the dough is not made there, but we can’t report on those because we didn’t try them. The brownies are not made in house, but they were excellent. There are plenty more options on the menu to try (tacos, banh mi bowl, jerk chicken bowl, sandwiches, etc.), so we’ll be back! I might have to stick with the bourbon chicken, but I can always try it in taco form.

* Lafayette Restaurant Project Redux: visiting all the new places that have opened since the ending of the previous round of the LRP.

Ruby Ru's on a snowy February night

Our takeout haul, clockwise from top left: Philly sandwich, bourbon chicken with sides of mac and cheese and coleslaw, brownies, and grilled zucchini

G's Philly sandwich (ribeye, cheese, peppers, onions)

Me with my bowl of bourbon chicken and sides (I do have leftovers for later)

G liked this rainbow decoration inside the restaurant

The counter at Ruby Ru's

LRP Redux* installment 2: Mono Mono Korean Fried Chicken

Last week, I was hunting around for anything open on a Monday night, so I had to pick a place on that basis for installment 1. But this week, I put all the names into a bowl and drew one. Otherwise, I might have given Mono Mono a bit more time because it opened so recently that it is still in the “soft opening” stage. It has not yet posted regular hours and is still trying to hire staff. It is located where U Turn BBQ used to be at 599 Crossing Drive.

I borrowed this photo from the Mono Mono website.

On Monday, I was poking around the website trying to figure out if they were closed or just not doing online orders, and I couldn’t find any info, so I sent a “Contact Us” message and got an immediate reply. This week (and probably in the coming weeks as well), they are open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and they will be closed on Mondays until further notice. We used the online ordering system to order takeout on Tuesday, and our order was ready a few minutes before the estimated 45-minute pickup time. G went to get it, and he said the place was hopping. There has been a fair amount of hype because I’ve seen probably a dozen social media posts, so I’m not surprised that it was busy.

This is the third Mono Mono location after the two that opened in Denver just last year. It’s owned by restaurateur J. W. Lee, who also owns (or has owned) several other Denver restaurants. As far as I know, this is his first foray into Boulder County.

The website says that Korean-style fried chicken is fried in two stages at a lower temperature to render out the fat from the skin and transform it into a thin, crackly crust. The menu offers many different styles of chicken, and we wanted to try several, so we ended up ordering Combo B: half dry and half sauced, choice of mild or spicy (we picked spicy): 6 pc teriyaki soy wings (sauced), 2 pc drumsticks (dry, and we actually got three ), 3 pc tenderloin (dry, and we actually got two), saucy popcorn chicken, seasoned fries, and coleslaw (we did not get any coleslaw, so I can’t report on it). The menu says the combo serves two to three, and it was definitely too much chicken for the two of us, even though G had seconds and maybe thirds! I put a sample of all four chicken types on my plate, and it was all delicious.

The spicy sauce was a little sweet and quite hot—maybe a bit too hot for me, as I prefer a medium spicy level. Ultimately, my favorite was the dry fried chicken, especially the drumstick. Nevertheless, I liked it all! The seasoned fries were a big hit with both of us.

There are quite a few things on the menu I still want to try (kimchi fries, for instance). So we’ll be back! Note that there are some grilled options as well as all the fried choices. 

* Lafayette Restaurant Project Redux: visiting all the new places that have opened since the ending of the previous round of the LRP.

Trying to look "less goofy," per G's instructions.

Sauced chicken: wings and popcorn chicken

Dry chicken: drumsticks and tenderloin. It came with 2 pieces of grilled bread that I did not end up eating. 

Seasoned fries

A little of everything. We did not get any coleslaw, but we did get 2 carrot sticks and 2 celery sticks, so we could say we had some veggies.

LRP Redux* installment 1: Ghost Box Pizza

Some of you may recall our Lafayette Restaurant Project (LRP), which ended a couple of years ago just as the pandemic was starting: dining at and reporting on every restaurant in Lafayette that wasn’t fast food or a national chain. We started with Public Road and then made a circuit of the rest of the city. All of the reports from the two-plus years of that project are preserved in blog format here. I recently went through the blog and updated the restaurants that I know have closed or moved since the reports were posted.

Now that some time has passed, I’ve counted at least 11 new places in town, which seems to call for an LRP Redux! We made a couple of attempts to start but kept finding places closed owing to pandemic issues, staffing shortages, weather, holidays, or just Mondays (or in some cases Tuesdays, common days for weekly closures). However, this past Monday, we were finally able to order takeout from Ghost Box Pizza, a project of the same team that created Acreage at Stem Ciders. It started as a pop-up pizzeria during the pandemic and recently opened a permanent location in the spot where Miller’s used to be, 103 S. Public Road. This is a nice choice because we noticed, after Baseline Italian Bistro closed, that there was no pizza place remaining on Public Road, although there are several in other parts of Lafayette.

The restaurant is open for dining in, but we are not quite ready for that given the omicron surge and certain risk factors for me. However, the pickup order was ready promptly, about half an hour after I submitted it online, and the pizza was still warm when G brought it home.

We ordered the Detroit-style pizza (they also have wood-fired pizza and various other menu items). I wasn’t sure exactly what Detroit style meant, except that the photos showed that it is rectangular, so I looked it up on Wikipedia and found this definition: “a rectangular pizza with a thick crust that is crispy and chewy. It is traditionally topped with tomato sauce and Wisconsin brick cheese that goes all the way to the edges. This style of pizza is often baked in rectangular steel trays designed for use as automotive drip pans or to hold small industrial parts in factories. The style was developed during the mid-twentieth century in Detroit before spreading to other parts of the United States in the 2010s. The dish is one of Detroit's iconic local foods.” Who knew? On my one brief visit to Detroit a few years ago, I never happened to hear of it.

We ordered the spicy pepperoni pizza, and we loved it. The crust is very thick and chewy but also light, with crisp edges. It reminded me a little of foccaccia. At first I thought the crust-to-toppings ratio was going to be too heavy on the crust side, but I ended up liking it that way. The pepperoni was slightly spicy and very flavorful, and each slice had a dab of ricotta in the middle of it. We also got the caesar salad, which was delicious, with plentiful large parmesan shavings, big chewy croutons, and nice fresh romaine plus a side of anchovies ($2).

The Detroit-style pizza is a little on the pricey side compared to other local pizzerias, but it is substantial, and we got two meals out of the large we ordered. The pizza reheated well in the toaster/convection oven! We definitely want to try some of the other combos, particularly the intriguing potato-rosemary and the mortadella & melted onion. Note that Ghost Box has a gluten-free option for the wood-fired pizza and vegan options for both pizza types.

* Lafayette Restaurant Project Redux: visiting all the new places that have opened since the ending of the previous round of the LRP.

The front of Ghost Box Pizza, with a nice fire pit on the deck.

Detroit-style spicy pepperoni pizza

Caesar salad with a side of anchovies

I was trying to show how thick the slabs of pizza are, but I didn't quite get the right angle.

SBRRP redux: Amanecer Mexican Food Truck

I have included food trucks in the restaurant project if they are always parked in the same place, as this one is. I saw someone mention it on social media recently and realized I had missed it when we did the SBRRP a few months ago. It is located on the southwest corner of 120th and South Boulder Road in the Lafayette Lumber parking lot.

I visited on a Monday morning about 10 a.m. in search of breakfast burritos. The cook had a mask, and there was a barrier in the window so that customers don't communicate directly face-to-face. When I ordered, he asked where I was parked and then brought my order to the car. There was a fairly steady flow of customers (who were giving each other plenty of space), but my order was ready in what felt like just a few minutes.

The breakfast burritos have eggs, cheese, potatoes, green chile, and your choice of bacon, sausage, or chorizo. I got two with chorizo, one medium spicy for me and the other hot for G. They were nice big, stuffed burritos for only $3 apiece, and they were delicious! I thought the ingredient ratio was just right (I like lots of egg), and the medium-level green chile was also just right for someone who likes a little heat but does not like her face to melt off. G liked the spice level of his hot breakfast burrito as well.

Amanecer also offers the usual tacos, tortas, burritos, quesadillas, and a few other specialties. I'd be happy to try one of everything. The Juarez hot dog looks intriguing!

Food truck with 120th St in the background 

The Amanecer menu. Breakfast burritos were listed on a separate board.

These are on a small plate, but they were big and nicely stuffed.

Delicious breakfast burrito with chorizo!

PRRP Redux 2: Teocalli Cocina

Teocalli is another restaurant that opened on Public Road (in summer 2019 in the location that was formerly Black Diamond) after we did the original PRRP. We actually ordered curbside pickup a week ago yesterday, but I am just now getting around to posting about it. The curbside menu is on the website (https://www.teocallicocina.com/), and you can either order online or give them a call. I called and was told the food would be ready in 20 minutes, and G walked over to pick it up.

We'd been to the restaurant a couple of times in the prepandemic days, so we tried to pick some new and different (to us) dishes. For an appetizer, instead of the salsa trio, which I know features some interesting flavors, we got the Teocalli guacamole (shallots, jalapeno, lime, green chorizo, pickled fresnos, cotija), which came with a big bag of warm chips. We also got the large kale salad with quail eggs. I just noticed this salad is no longer on the curbside pickup menu; perhaps it wasn't selling as well as other things because it was a bit pricey, but we thought it was delicious with its spicy, creamy dressing, and it was big enough that we had leftovers to eat with dinner another night.

We each selected three tacos, which come on house-made corn tortillas: for G, de birria (short rib, caramelized leeks, tomatillo sauce), grilled chicken (adobo chicken thigh, salsa verde, red onions), and pescado (mahi mahi, kale salad, avocado espuma), and for me, shrimp (chipotle butter, oaxaca and chihuahua cheese, jalapeno cremosa, all grilled), carne asada (chimichurri, cheese crust, smoked onion), and carnitas (pork shoulder, roasted tomatillo, pickled onions, cilantro). We also got a side of Mexican rice. Friends, this was too much food! I had to save two of my tacos for the next day, though I tried a bite of each first to ensure that they were all tasty (they were). G ate two of his and saved the third. Fortunately, they reheated well. It was a great, flavorful meal, and we will be checking out some of the other menu options next time.

We put all the tacos on one plate, so you can't really distinguish them, but in summary, one each of shortrib, grilled chicken, fish, shrimp, carne asada, and carnitas, all on house-made corn tortillas. Also on the table (from top): guacamole, chips, a side of Mexican rice, and the chopped kale salad with quail eggs.

My plate of food. I had to save some of it for later, for obvious reasons.

PRRP Redux 1: Tip Top Savory Pies

My Baseline & 287 Restaurant Project came to an abrupt halt because the last two restaurants that I planned to visit for takeout, Mumtaz and Adesso, both closed (temporarily, I hope). To finish up the circuit of Lafayette for now, I thought we should loop back around to the few new places that have opened on Public Road since we did the PRRP in 2017-2018--that is, if they are open for takeout. The first one that occurred to me was Tip Top. The tiny shop at 105 N. Public Road is closed, and they are doing frozen deliveries only, but they are doing them in an incredibly wide area--86 zip codes! You have to order by midnight on Thursday, and they will deliver your order over the following Saturday, Sunday, or Monday: https://www.tiptopsavorypies.com/delivery.

Not all the pies are currently available frozen--for instance, the breakfast pies are not on the delivery menu--but most of the savory pies are. In addition, you can order sausage rolls; nippers (small pastry pockets stuffed with mac and cheese); and apple, cherry, or peach sweet pies. You can also order the ruff puff pastry by itself and make your own pie! The Tip Top pastry is a beautifully flaky yet sturdy version that is perfect for their handheld, New Zealand-style pies. 

I had had Tip Top pies several times in the pre-pandemic days, but there were quite a few things I hadn't tried before. We set up a video dinner date with our friends Deb and Dave because they had already ordered some Tip Top pies. There's no way to predict precisely when your order will arrive, but we live in Old Town and got ours at about 4:30 p.m. on a Saturday, and Deb and Dave live in Broomfield and got theirs at about 4:30 on a Sunday. We had some overlap in our orders because G and Dave both wanted a steak & ale pie. Deb had a steak & mushroom pie, and I tried the beef ragu pie because it was new to me. Each couple had a mac & cheese nipper with bacon to split. For dessert, G and I shared a cherry pie, and Deb and Dave shared a cherry and a peach (and might even have had leftovers for later).

We all loved our pies! The steak & ale pie has slow-braised Colorado beef, local hand-crafted ale, peas, carrots, and scratch-made gravy (descriptions from the website). The steak & mushroom pie has the same beef and gravy with glazed mushrooms (I have tried the meatless mushroom & ale pie in the past, and it is amazing if you love mushrooms). The beef ragu pie (also known as "mince") has slow-simmered ground beef in a creamy tomato-based gravy. I loved the texture of it and thought the flavors were delicious. The nippers are stuffed with mac & cheese made with a creamy bechamel sauce, and we got the kind with bacon crumbles. The cherry pie is on the tart side, which we all liked. It would have been excellent with a little ice cream, and I was envious that Deb and Dave had some in their freezer! They said the peach pie was also good, but they slightly preferred the cherry.

Overall, this was a great comfort-food dinner. Next time, I'll be adding some sausage rolls to the order!

I'm not putting the map in at the moment because the shop is currently closed.

Screen shot of Deb and Dave showing us their pies

Deb and Dave's pies: coming out of the oven (top), Deb's steak & ale pie and half a nipper (bottom left), and peach and cherry pie quarters (bottom right)

G's steak & ale pie

My beef ragu pie and the mac & cheese nipper with bacon (before I gave G his half of the nipper), plus a side of steamed broccoli (which did not come with the pies)

Our cherry pie

B287RP installment 3: Proto's Pizzeria Napoletana

Just a reminder that we decided that takeout should count even though I can't report on the ambience, décor, or service at the actual restaurant. The food is the most important thing, right? I'm sorry we did not get a look at the kitchen conditions today because Proto's does curbside delivery where they will actually bring the order out to your car. Plus, you can pay over the phone so that you don't have to make any contact while there.

We ordered over the phone at about 6 p.m. on a Sunday night. The order could have been ready in 15 minutes, but I asked for a slight delay because we had a virtual dinner date with some friends at 7. G said they brought the food out as soon as he arrived. 

I believe the Proto's Lafayette location was the second one to open, not long after the original Longmont restaurant. We used to visit quite often, but as with other restaurants out of walking distance, our attendance has decreased in recent years. I ordered the things that were our favorites in the past: a Caesar salad (which comes with anchovies, thin slices of Parmesan, and slices of crisp-baked pizza crust in lieu of croutons) and the Proto Pie (mozzarella, tomato sauce, fresh basil and Italian sausage). I don't recall having dessert there very often in the past, but this time I ordered one serving of tiramisu (the only dessert option tonight), and I also got a can of Avery White Rascal beer because recently, on one of those days when it was actually warm outside, I was yearning for a beer. Everything was great. I like the Italian sausage, which is not spicy but nicely flavored; the Caesar came with not one but TWO anchovies, and the tiramisu was excellent. The Proto's pizzas have a thin, crisp crust with a little charring, which we like (to be honest, we like almost any kind of pizza crust). 

The friends whom we video-dined with were not eating Proto's tonight, but they know it well. They are fans of some of the vegetarian options: the Ruby Pie (pesto, mozzarella, feta cheese, kalamata olives, and artichoke hearts), the Pontiff Pie (olive oil, garlic, fresh spinach, roasted tomatoes, mozzarella and feta cheese), and a third one I now can't remember. They also have fond memories of a dessert that was made of balls of gelato with something in the center and chocolate sauce drizzled on top; I never tried that one myself, so I can't describe it any better than that.

It was nice to revisit this old favorite on a snowy Easter Sunday!

Put

Caesar salad, Proto's Pie, tiramisu, and Avery White Rascal beer

Caesar salad: good dressing plus anchovies and lots of Parmesan.

Good Italian sausage and fresh basil!

The tiramisu was excellent. I dripped chocolate sauce on my computer when I tilted it to show it to our video dining companions, but there was still plenty left. Note to self: Do  not tip the tiramisu.

Me with my half of the tiramisu

B287RP installment 2: Sushi Aji

The restaurant project has been on hold since February, first because we were out of town and then because restaurants had to shut down their dine-in services. However, we decided that takeout should count even though I can't report on the ambience, décor, or service at the actual restaurant. The food is the most important thing, right?

We ordered over the phone shortly before 6 p.m. on a Monday night. The order was ready in 25 minutes, and G drove over for a contact-free pickup (he had to go inside and get the bag off the counter). If we hadn't been so hungry, I might have warmed up the gyoza, but they were good even lukewarm and had a nice dipping sauce, a little thicker than some I've tried in the past. I liked that because there was less spatter! The house salad was basic, just greens and carrots (no cucumbers even though they are in the menu description), but had a very nice ginger dressing.

All of the sushi rolls were delicious. I liked the simple yellow tail roll because the fish was fresh and delicious. The rainbow roll is basically a California roll with salmon, tuna, whitefish, and avocado layered on top. What's not to like? The demon roll has tempura shrimp and avocado inside and is topped with lobster salad, seared Cajun tuna, and spicy mayo sauce. It was just mildly spicy, and the combination was very good.

We'll definitely be returning to try more of the dishes from the extensive menu!

Since I didn't go in person, this is a photo by Adam Beck from usarestaurants.info

House salad, gyoza, and sushi rolls (rainbow roll, demon roll, and yellow tail roll) 

Happy

A95RP installment 8: 95A (CLOSED)

95A closed permanently in 2024.

---------------

This is the last restaurant in the A95RP subproject; after this, we just have to report on a few more restaurants at Baseline and 287, and we will have made a complete circuit of Lafayette!

We know 95A quite well, as it is a personal favorite for both lunch and dinner. They also serve brunch on weekends, but I've never tried that menu. We went early on Friday night because we knew it would be crazy busy later on, and we got a table in a reasonably quiet corner of the front room. We thought about trying something from the sushi menu, but we ended up getting the coconut shrimp appetizer instead. The coconut crust was nicely crisp, and the dipping sauce was tasty. I ordered an entrée from the specials menu, pistachio-crusted sea scallops with roast fingerling potatoes and beets and a side of watercress with a drizzle of pomegranate syrup. G ordered the Mediterranean lamb from the regular dinner menu: grilled lamb loin chops, garlic-studded spinach, zucchini-potato pancakes, and tzatziki sauce. We both thought our meals were delicious.

It was my birthday, so we shared an order of sticky toffee pudding for dessert. This was also very good, though not quite how I remembered it from a few years ago. David, our server, told us that the baked desserts come from the neighboring bakery, Button Rock, which is a relative newcomer, so it probably was different the last time. It came with a birthday candle and compliments of the restaurant. Thanks, David! The service was good. The noise level had gone way up before we left but was still tolerable. I had never been seated in the front room before, so I'm not sure how it compares to the back on a Friday night.

95A outside and the front room after it filled up a bit

There were more coconut shrimp on this plate, but we ate some before I remembered to photograph it.

G's Mediterranean lamb

My pistachio-crusted sea scallops

Sticky toffee pudding with a birthday candle