starlite

30Mar08

Tonight’s dinner was courtesy of Patrick’s mom and a Restaurant.com coupon. Sorry, no pictures because I feel kind of weird taking pictures of food at a really nice restaurant. I’m kind of afraid the people there will think I’m some poor child who has never had a 40 dollar dinner before. Also because the lighting is often really poor and lastly, because most of the time I’m just too impatient to take out my camera; I just want to dig in.

Starlite was ranked number 9 on last years Austin360 XL dining guide, although… I think maybe they should have ranked higher. Wink (old post) was ranked 5 last year but really I think Starlite was just as good. My first impressions were over the phone, calling to say we were going to be late for our 6:15 reservations. Now I always hate telling people I’m late when it comes to these things. Patrick’s mom says its because I expect a lot of my waitstaff and in return, I expect myself to uphold to those standards as well. Really I think its more than I thought a top 10 restaurant would be annoyed/pissed off/put me in the blackbook of people who they won’t be taking reservations from anymore. But instead, the man on the phone was really chill and said no problem, thanks for letting us know.

Parking was atrocious, as it is always weekend nights downtown, luckily there was a lot just next to the building. Decor was a minimum, utilizing large windows to let natural light do its thing. It is an upscale place, but not pretentious at all. I don’t feel like I have to put on a skirt heels and a sparkly shirt to come eat here, which is always a plus. But I can if I want to, which is also important.

Onto the food- I won’t try to describe everything the 3 of us ate, just highlight some of the main points.

Appetizers- wild mushroom risotto with black truffle oil and balsamic dressing (absolutely divine), and mussels (I can’t have shellfish but Patrick and his mom seemed to enjoy it)

Bread- mediocre. very plain.

Entrees- pan seared salmon with capers and napa cabbage salad, veal with some random tart cherries and breaded sweetbreads (patricks mom had no idea what these were and tried to tell me it was chicken. And then when the waiter told us it was sweetbread, she thought it meant testicles. =) , sea bass with sweet potatoes and cooked spinach. The salmon was very nicely cooked, the capers absolutely lovely (but I am so very partial to capers), and the napa salad extremely creative. The veal was so tender it could pass for slow cooked pulled- pork, the cherries were very random in that I wasn’t sure what to eat it with, if anything at all on the plate, and the sweetbreads… I passed on. I have trouble eating things off animals that aren’t skeletal muscle explicitly. I didn’t really eat off Patrick’s plate but I think he enjoyed.

Presentation was  the key component here, although I wouldn’t under appreciate the taste of the food. Besides the plain roll, everything here was very pleasant and enjoyable. The food came out on an assortment of plate- square, rectangular, clear glass, which always pleases me.

And dessert, key lime tart with homemade ice cream and blueberry compote. The crust was a little thick and I thought the custard was on the thick side, but Patrick begs to differ. I think he liked that part the best.

The decor, the service, the presentation, the food, all way better than the last few places I’ve shelled out $40+ at lately. Overall, I give this place an 8.

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