The Purple Olive by Annette

I had the pleasure of dining at the Purple Olive of St. Augustine this past weekend. There are plenty of eateries to choose from, but this one caught my attention from the positive reviews on both Urban Spoon and Yelp.

Florida has to be the strip mall capitol of the world. Like many hidden gems, don't let the location put you off. Yes, it's in a strip mall. When you open the menu, you forget all about the location.


When we first sat down, we were treated to a small bowl of some deliciously marinated olives. I tasted a little fennel and mint in the olive oil, being an olive lover I was very happy to see these little gems right away. We were so impressed with them in fact, we started with an Olive and Cheese plate from the appetizers. This was a huge plate, easily enough for 4-6 people. Unfortunately the olives from the first sitting didn't make it on to the appetizer plate. We did have some black olives stuffed with sun dried tomatoes, and what I would call nicoise olives those were the highlight. There were some Spanish olives on the plate that seemed to be extra salty. I wish those had been marinated or in a different brine.

Another shiny delight was the sesame cilantro marinade on the house salad. WOW. I would have walked out with a bottle of that stuff if it were possible. It was lightly gingered, just enough to give flavor and a little bit of heat. The sesame and cilantro worked so nicely together, it was just delicious.

For dinner I ordered locally caught Triggerfish that was served blackened with wok-fried veggies and I opted for a side of kale with golden raisins and pine nuts over the cashew pesto linguine. It was topped with a lump crab slaw that was siracha spicy and simply divine. I really couldn't get enough of this, but also couldn't finish (damn those tasty olives!)



Steven opted for a classic dish from the menu, lamb shank over mashed potatoes. The meat was prepped skillfully and just fell off the bone. Sometimes lamb can be fatty, but this was cooked perfectly and the gravy was very tasty.

This is certainly a place I would teleport to Orlando if possible, in lieu of that, I'll definitely return when traveling to St. Augustine.

Blood Into Wine

Alright all you Tool and A Perfect Circle wine fans out there! There will be one showing of the new documentary, "Blood Into Wine", at Enzian on Wednesday, March 24th at 6:30pm.

"Blood Into Wine" is a documentary about the struggles of making wine. It tells the story of Caduceus, the winery in Arizona owned by frontman Maynard Keenan.

I won't be able to make it to the showing....but will definitely catch it on DVD.

Altos de la Hoya

Well, it turns out you can't go wrongo with the Monastrell in general.

I first tasted this grape years ago, after I read a description that compared it to chocolate milk. (At the time I was in a low carb phase. I hadn't had chocolate or milk for quite some time. Hence why I tried the wine.) I was so impressed by the subtleties that I bought a case and gave many bottles out to friends for the holidays. And at usually under $10 retail, you really can't beat that.

The grape itself originates in the Rhone Valley of France where it is called the Mouvedre. Like I tell my students all the time: Same grape, different country, different name. You might have already tried it and not realized it as the Mouvedre is one of the 13 varietals that are permitted in Chateauneuf du Pape.

We ordered the Altos de la Hoya at OLV the other night with dinner. I do have one (or two) gripes with my new favorite restaurant. Remember OLV, all of your customers are not idiots. This wine was listed as a "Spanish Red" with no further information about the grape. However, the region Jumilla was listed on the menu so I was able to deduce that it was a Monastrell. Our server, however, was unable to answer our questions, even though the grape was listed on the front label.

Regardless, I loved this wine! Easy to drink with not too many tanins, it was a perfect match with our Beef Skewers. The wine had hints of black pepper and a fantastic grape flavor. I know what you're thinking. Grape flavor? But it was more of a rich jam-iness with some plums thrown in. I give it two thumbs up.

Food Fight Online Challenge

This was kinda fun. An online Food Fight bracket challenge to find the most popular food in America. My final round was Hamburger vs. Bacon. Guess what I put down for America's favorite food!

http://www.tourneytopia.com/WhereTheLocalsEat/food/default.aspx
The overall champ gets an Apple Ipad!

You Can't Go Wrongo with the Dongo

A friend of ours coined that phrase when trying the 2007 Monastrell from Wrongo Dongo. It's a flavorful yet inexpensive red wine from Spain that is light enough to compliment just about any dinner, but strong enough to enjoy on its own. Fruity, a little smokey, not real sweet.

Last night we sampled the 2008 with a fancy new label and much higher price point (when ordering at Dexter's, that is). For me, the first taste was more tart than I expected, but as the wine sat, the subtle fruit flavors I remembered developed and was a nice addition to the meal. Retail seems to be under $10\bottle, so like we said, you can't go wrongo!

Baldwin Park Food and Wine Fest

So...I'm seriously considering attend the event this year. Anyone interested? I had fun the last time that I went. At least from what I remember I had fun. It is all you can eat and drink after all.