Kate: Cheese Tasting and Eggplant Ravioli Parmigiana
Well... it was kind of a special night, I guess. Actually, Paul and I are making pretty much any outing a special/date kind of thing as we know that our ability to do that will soon be limited by Baby Y! I advise a student dance troupe at the College where I work, and it was their big spring concert. I have performed in this concert in the past. However, being 6 months pregnant, I was able to anticipate that it might not be a good idea to attempt that this spring. I did, however, choreograph a jazz piece, revived it actually from about 5 years ago. And, the Choreography Class that I taught in the winter had a piece they were presenting as well.
I spent a good bit of time in rehearsals this week with the students, not nearly as much as they did, but enough to be able to assist them in pulling off a successful production. Wednesday night was double dress rehearsal, and I sat quietly and took notes on the show that I then shared with the whole cast. I hope it was useful...
Anyway, back to food... so, Paul and I were planning a night out. Dinner and then the show. And, we initially thought we might meet up with some of my colleagues for dinner. That didn't work out, so we were on our own. We started thinking about where to go and checked our coupons and our Restaurant.com gift certificate stash. We found a $25 certificate for Zazios located downtown Kalamazoo in the Radisson Hotel.
Now, we had been to Zazios once before. They have a chef's table offering that friends treated Paul and I to one time. I would have blogged on the amazing experience, but a) I would have never remembered everything that went into that meal, and b) since we did the wine pairing too, I REALLY wouldn't have remembered everything. And, I certainly didn't want to look like a weirdo sitting and taking notes on the whole experience, so I opted to just enjoy it.
But, here we were, walking into the Radisson for what was certain to be an excellent meal. And, that it was. Zazios is one of the nicer places in Kalamazoo, I would say. The decor is elegant, and a little posh, the menu changes often and I have never heard anyone say anything bad about the food. The head chef gets out into the community a good deal, and even plans food getaways to Italy that anyone can buy tickets for (gift idea for this foodie?).
Our server, Whitney started us off with Pellegrino and lime and house made bread with a garlic white bean spread and a olive tapanade. Now, I am not typically an olive person, but, these two together were magic. The bread had a slight herb to it, and the saltiness of the olives blended with the creaminess of the beans was perfect.
Then came our cheese plate... with ricotta, pecorino, and Gorgonzola with apple slices and a fig mostarda. All of the cheeses where delicious. The ricotta was subtle and paired well with the apples. The pecorino was salty, and was great on its own or on a cracker. The Gorgonzola was sharp and when paired with the figs was heaven. The figs toned down the sharpness and made this combo my favorite on the plate.
When it came to ordering, I was torn between a few dishes, and had asked for Whitney's recommendation. Without hesitating, she said "the eggplant", so that it was. And, I don't think I could have been happier with this meal. The pasta was subtle with the perfect amount of eggplant, garlic, and basil stuffed inside. But, what made this dish was what was on top. Large shavings of Parmesan cheese, a sprinkling of bread crumbs that added the most perfect amount of crunch, and a light tomato sauce that brought everything together.
I savored every bite. And, was perhaps the saddest I have ever been to reach the end. This was, quite possibly, the best pasta dish I have ever had. And, that is saying a lot, as I have had a lot of pasta dishes in my time.
Paul was also very impressed with his Veal Parmigiana, which was almost a cross between Parmigiana and Saltimboca.
Sadly, there wasn't time for dessert as we had to get to the show (and we got there none too soon...it was a FULL house!), but we were so blown away by this experience, I imagine we will save up and make a least one more visit over the summer before Baby Y arrives!
If you are looking for amazing Italian cuisine in Kalamazoo served in a perfect date night (or fun night out with the girls) setting, look no further than Zazios.
five golden forks out of five
Well... it was kind of a special night, I guess. Actually, Paul and I are making pretty much any outing a special/date kind of thing as we know that our ability to do that will soon be limited by Baby Y! I advise a student dance troupe at the College where I work, and it was their big spring concert. I have performed in this concert in the past. However, being 6 months pregnant, I was able to anticipate that it might not be a good idea to attempt that this spring. I did, however, choreograph a jazz piece, revived it actually from about 5 years ago. And, the Choreography Class that I taught in the winter had a piece they were presenting as well.
I spent a good bit of time in rehearsals this week with the students, not nearly as much as they did, but enough to be able to assist them in pulling off a successful production. Wednesday night was double dress rehearsal, and I sat quietly and took notes on the show that I then shared with the whole cast. I hope it was useful...
Anyway, back to food... so, Paul and I were planning a night out. Dinner and then the show. And, we initially thought we might meet up with some of my colleagues for dinner. That didn't work out, so we were on our own. We started thinking about where to go and checked our coupons and our Restaurant.com gift certificate stash. We found a $25 certificate for Zazios located downtown Kalamazoo in the Radisson Hotel.
Now, we had been to Zazios once before. They have a chef's table offering that friends treated Paul and I to one time. I would have blogged on the amazing experience, but a) I would have never remembered everything that went into that meal, and b) since we did the wine pairing too, I REALLY wouldn't have remembered everything. And, I certainly didn't want to look like a weirdo sitting and taking notes on the whole experience, so I opted to just enjoy it.
But, here we were, walking into the Radisson for what was certain to be an excellent meal. And, that it was. Zazios is one of the nicer places in Kalamazoo, I would say. The decor is elegant, and a little posh, the menu changes often and I have never heard anyone say anything bad about the food. The head chef gets out into the community a good deal, and even plans food getaways to Italy that anyone can buy tickets for (gift idea for this foodie?).
Our server, Whitney started us off with Pellegrino and lime and house made bread with a garlic white bean spread and a olive tapanade. Now, I am not typically an olive person, but, these two together were magic. The bread had a slight herb to it, and the saltiness of the olives blended with the creaminess of the beans was perfect.
Then came our cheese plate... with ricotta, pecorino, and Gorgonzola with apple slices and a fig mostarda. All of the cheeses where delicious. The ricotta was subtle and paired well with the apples. The pecorino was salty, and was great on its own or on a cracker. The Gorgonzola was sharp and when paired with the figs was heaven. The figs toned down the sharpness and made this combo my favorite on the plate.
When it came to ordering, I was torn between a few dishes, and had asked for Whitney's recommendation. Without hesitating, she said "the eggplant", so that it was. And, I don't think I could have been happier with this meal. The pasta was subtle with the perfect amount of eggplant, garlic, and basil stuffed inside. But, what made this dish was what was on top. Large shavings of Parmesan cheese, a sprinkling of bread crumbs that added the most perfect amount of crunch, and a light tomato sauce that brought everything together.
I savored every bite. And, was perhaps the saddest I have ever been to reach the end. This was, quite possibly, the best pasta dish I have ever had. And, that is saying a lot, as I have had a lot of pasta dishes in my time.
Paul was also very impressed with his Veal Parmigiana, which was almost a cross between Parmigiana and Saltimboca.
Sadly, there wasn't time for dessert as we had to get to the show (and we got there none too soon...it was a FULL house!), but we were so blown away by this experience, I imagine we will save up and make a least one more visit over the summer before Baby Y arrives!
If you are looking for amazing Italian cuisine in Kalamazoo served in a perfect date night (or fun night out with the girls) setting, look no further than Zazios.
five golden forks out of five
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