Have a recommendation? We'd LOVE to hear it!
Salutations Readers!

Kalamazoo has good food.
Great food, in fact. We have made it our mission to check out all the local eateries one at a time - and more for our own poor memories than any other reason, we'll be chronicling our adventures in food here. And some places float our boats way more than others, which is why we have developed the very scientific
five golden forks rating scale. Ok. It is not scientific at all. It is actually quite unscientific. But, it is something. And now, you can search all of our reviews by the forks rating. YAY!


But, wait! There's more!
Kalamazoo Foodies no longer just eat at restaurants then review them. There are recipes posted, some easy, some less easy, all delicious. There are, or will be, book reviews, the new
Foodie Movie Review-y which will focus on movies about food or ones that have a lot of beautiful food in them. There are other food musings, and hopefully soon contests and so much more. But, Foodie Friends, it is all about food. Because we love it!
And, we want to hear from you!

We want to hear your comments on our recipes and reviews. We want to know where you love to eat. And, we are looking for GUEST bloggers to broaden our horizons a bit. And, if you haven't found us on Facebook, you should do that too. Like our page for other fun Foodies stuff like photos, polls, and more.


SO KALAMAZOO PATRONS - where do YOU love to eat? Because we'd love to check it out and share our thoughts here. Give us a comment below, and quickly! Our tummies are grumbling in anticipation.

A Note from the Foodies about our typical fair:
So, you may notice as you read our blog that we often order the same thing wherever we go. OK, maybe not quite, but we do often order similar things. Kristin has her caprese salads and mushroom dishes. Kate has her baked goat cheese and things with tofu. Well, readers, we wanted to let you know that this is absolutely intentional. A) We love those things, so why not order what you love? And, B) It is a lot easier to compare apples to apples than it is to compare apples to comquats. So, we like to order similar things to have a good sense of how to compare them. Just wanted to let you in on that little secret. Bon appetit!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Wine Loft

Kristin: Chardonnay flight, Wild Mushroom Bruschetta, Artisan Cheese Selection, and Caprese Salad (with Tiramisu for dessert)
READERS! It has been sooo so long! Kate and I humbly apologize from the bottom of our souls! And of course, we thank you for sticking around while we did our over the holidays hibernation.

We figured we needed a Ladies Night Out, both to resurrect the blog, and also because we wanted to get all gussied up. And let me tell you - we gussy very well. (aka - we looked HOT.)
Headed to the Wine Loft, because it's a classy joint, and because Kate had a coupon. (Coupons are always classy. Take note restaurants!)
For a little while, Kate and I got the entire upstairs "loft" area all to ourselves. It's a really nice space - I personally think Kate and I should through a joint birthday party there this summer. (You're all invited of course). Eventually some other patrons came upstairs and sat across from us - they were very friendly though, so that was kind of cool.
I tried a Chardonnay flight - a trial of three different Chardonnays that the WL offers. I'll be honest in that the first two were just NOT my cup of tea - but the third one was really tasty - a lot more citrus taste to it (of course I forgot to write down the name of it.)
We had an appetizer kind of dinner. Kate and I split the cheese board and the bruschetta. Both were WONDERFUL. The mushroom bruschetta were really large, and really fresh, and really a great flavor for those of us who love mushrooms. The cheese selection on the artisan board was well varied - there were a few harder, aged cheeses (which were not as sharp as I expected them to be) and then two that were a little on the creamier side. I really wish I had a good enough memory to remember what the kinds of cheese specifically were, but if you end up ordering the Artisan Cheese Selection, I have two notes for you: 1. Immediately ask for more bread. What they give you is not enough. and 2. There is a spanish cheese that comes with something on top of it - almost a jelly that's reddish in color. I don't know what it exactly is, but it goes with that cheese SO well. At first I brushed it off and was going to just totally ignore it, but once I got brave and gave it a try, it was easily my favorite thing on the board.
Past that - who honestly thought I wasn't going to order the caprese?! You haven't been reading close enough. For shame.
Folks, it was breathtakingly beautiful when they brought it out: the mozzarella was in tiny balls with grape tomatoes that were the exact same size as the cheese - with shredded basil tossed throughout and a drizzle of vinaigrette atop the whole creation. All served in a glass bowl so you could see all the red and white play off of each other. I thought to take a picture of it about halfway through my eating it - so no pictures were actually taken. I know, sad day.
The fun part for me was that their two listed desserts were Tiramisu and Creme Brulee. How perfect is it that they serve both our favorites? And they were good - though I'm still reeling off of how good the Caprese was, so I'm a little fuzzy on the dessert details. (Clearly I'm a little rusty on this describing food thing. I shall polish myself for the next post!)
five golden forks out of five!

Kate: Sauvignon Blanc flight, Wild Mushroom Bruschetta, Artisan Cheese Selection, and Crab and Corn Bisque (with Creme Brulee for dessert)
OK! So, I have been REALLY bad. My deepest apologies to our loyal readers. I can make no excuses and only say... SORRY!
Moving on... yes, this was a wonderful dining experience. Definitely worth blowing a good portion of the monthly dining out budget on, that's for sure. I have to say though, I was a little turned off by the loungeyness of the place. I don't think there is a single table and chairs combo in the place. It is all coffee tables and posh couches. Great for sipping wine and maybe enjoying dessert. But, it made sipping my soup a little challenging. Perhaps they should provide suggestions for how to eat certain things, lol!
I echo Kristin's comments on the bruschetta and the cheese selection. We all know I love cheese, this was bound to be good. And, yes, request more bread IMMEDIATELY. I don't know who they think is eating those cheese plates, but seriously, more bread! The bruschetta was delish! Really rich with all the mushrooms, a real treat. There were a few more appetizers on that list that also looked appealing, perhaps for the next visit.
The crab and corn bisque was very tasty. Just the right amount of punch in this creamy soup. It was a challenge to eat (see above about seating arrangements) but was worth the struggle. A perfect blend of crab and corn, not too much of either, which was perfect. And, it was a decent sized serving as well. I will admit, I was jealous of Kristin's caprese. As we know, I too love a caprese, and it was SO BEAUTIFUL! I would almost not want to eat it it was so pretty.
Sauvignon Blanc flight... really good. I enjoy a good wine flight to kick off the evening. Try some new things, you know. I love the presentation of their flights. They bring them out in this little metal stand that holds all three glasses. Very elegant. And, the details on the wines are laminated and slide right into the holder. Only bad thing about that was that I felt like I couldn't take the sheet with the info on the wines away with me. Sometimes that is nice, so you have the name of the wine, etc. But, with it being laminated in all, I didn't. I was good. But, it was a great combo of light whites, just what I wanted for the evening.
Ok, so I know you are all waiting for the creme brulee report... and ladies and jellyspoons, we have a winner. This is, I think, the best creme brulee I have had in Kalamazoo. Food Dance would be a very close second, but this was delicious. It had a few chocolate covered espresso beans right on top which added to the rich vanilla flavor well. I will return for their creme brulee. YAY!
Overall, a great girls evening. There are some pictures, somewhere, of us all dolled up. Maybe we will share them with our loyal readers. ;) But, keep coming back, we will get back on the foodies wagon, I promise!
five golden forks out of five!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would think that a true foodie would have a more inquisitive nature when tasting foods that they have no clue about (red jelly)with the spanish cheese which was probably Mahon or manchego etc. before writing a review. A simple question about the ingredients would be appropriate. It would also lend credibility to your reviews.

Kristin said...

You've got a point, I should have asked. Next time I will.
I argue though, that this blog is not here for Kate and I to branch off and become professional food critics, merely a light-hearted commentary for the everyday person.
There are definitely blogs regarding Kalamazoo's food scene that may better fit your style if you are so perturbed that I neglected to inquire.

Anonymous said...

I really like your blog! I am an "everyday person," and I like the fact that I can read this and understand it without feeling like a food snob. More updates!