Saturday, June 03, 2006
Kalamatas: The best restaurant in FW where nobody is eating.
Upon the recommendation of our friend, Cody Hickman (owner of the Blue Grotto Bar located on University next to Sardines), FWJoey and I had an excellent dinner last night at Kalamatas. Based on the crowd, this restaurant is, without question, one of Fort Worth's must underrated restaurants. It is located downtown on the second floor of the Renaissance Worthington Hotel. The decor and atmosphere were lovely, but the standout at Kalamatas is the amazing food!
FWJoey and I did not have high expectations for the food. We expected it to be good, but probably not great. Boy, were we wrong! The food was amazing! We started with a "tapa" sized portion of the crab cakes ($5). They had everything you want out of an appetizer because they were reasonably priced, not too large of a serving and packed with fresh tasting ingredients.
The special of the night was the chilean sea bass ($23) served with Sautéed Hearts of Palm, Artichoke Hearts, Fingerling Potatoes and Ratatouille. Ohmygosh! This was probably the best piece of fish I have had in Texas. Loved it! And the accompanying flavors blended perfectly together. I would expect to pay more for this entree so $23 felt like a real deal.
Considering how much I loved my sea bass, it is hard to imagine that FWJoey's steak could be the star of the night...but it was! He ordered the beef tenderloin ($27) and it was cooked to perfection. The inside was so tender that it reminded us of butter melting in your mouth. It was delicious! Better than what we have had at the Silver Fox or the Chophouse.
We visited Kalamatas on a Friday night around 7:15 and there were not many other diners surrounding us. As the evening went on, the tables started to become more occupied, but overall the crowd was unimpressive. That is a real shame because this restaurant should be pulling in a crowd! We definitely give Kalamatas two big thumbs up and look forward to visiting it again!
FWJoey and I did not have high expectations for the food. We expected it to be good, but probably not great. Boy, were we wrong! The food was amazing! We started with a "tapa" sized portion of the crab cakes ($5). They had everything you want out of an appetizer because they were reasonably priced, not too large of a serving and packed with fresh tasting ingredients.
The special of the night was the chilean sea bass ($23) served with Sautéed Hearts of Palm, Artichoke Hearts, Fingerling Potatoes and Ratatouille. Ohmygosh! This was probably the best piece of fish I have had in Texas. Loved it! And the accompanying flavors blended perfectly together. I would expect to pay more for this entree so $23 felt like a real deal.
Considering how much I loved my sea bass, it is hard to imagine that FWJoey's steak could be the star of the night...but it was! He ordered the beef tenderloin ($27) and it was cooked to perfection. The inside was so tender that it reminded us of butter melting in your mouth. It was delicious! Better than what we have had at the Silver Fox or the Chophouse.
We visited Kalamatas on a Friday night around 7:15 and there were not many other diners surrounding us. As the evening went on, the tables started to become more occupied, but overall the crowd was unimpressive. That is a real shame because this restaurant should be pulling in a crowd! We definitely give Kalamatas two big thumbs up and look forward to visiting it again!
Taverna: Downtown Fort Worth's New Favorite Place to Dine!
Taverna Pizzeria and Risottoria has been opened in downtown Fort Worth for less than three weeks, yet I have already visited it FOUR times! Enough said! I love this new restaurant located at 4th and Throckmorton in the same space Zoe once occupied. The inside of the space has been fully renovated since the days of Zoe. It is much more warm, more vibrant and more inviting.
My first visit to Taverna was during lunch with my coworker, PAJosh. It is worthy to note that this was only the second day for Taverna to be open for lunch; however, you could not tell. The service was impeccable! Prompt, prompt, prompt and friendly. Our tea and water was always full despite the growing crowd that quickly occupied the restaurant.
PAJosh started with a caesar salad that was unusually fresh. He was very pleased. Since I had ordered a pasta entree, my lunch was served with Taverna's fabulous foccacia bread (complimentary with an entree during lunch, but will cost you $4 at dinner). What a great way to start things off! PAJosh and I enjoyed the appetizer which is the same size as one of Taverna's gourmet pizzas and is cooked in the same wood fire grill as the pizza.
For my entree, I ordered the spinach gnocci in a bolognese sauce. I was in heaven. It was absolutely delicious. The sauce was a creamy red meat sauce that was better than most. PAJosh enjoyed a sausage and red pepper pizza that was also wonderful. We both left Taverna looking forward to our next visit. Now that, is how it should be!
On my next visit, the fabulous couple, FWJanet and FWGlen, joined FWJoey and I for dinner. FWJanet and I started the night with a fabulous Raspberry Lemondrop Martini from the bar! It was delicious as ever because our old friend and favorite bartender, Bill, personally made them for us. What a treat! You should know Bill and his killer martinis from Angeluna and Blade's Prime Chophouse. Bill is one of the managers at Taverna which helps explain why the place is so incredible!
After cocktails, we devoured the delicious Bruschetta. The bread and the tomatoes were so fresh and the flavor was so tasty that it left us wanting more. For our main entrees, FWGlen and I had the Paglia e fieno which was a linguine dish with creamy white sauce covered with fabulous pieces of grilled chicken, mushrooms and truffle oil. It was delicious, but if I had to choose, I would go with the spinach gnocci again! FWJanet tried the seafood pasta dish (something "de la mar") and enjoyed it, but she seemed to enjoy our Paglia e fieno just a little bit more! FWJoey tried one of the specials which was a risotto that contained fresh crab meat, grape tomatoes and truffle oil. This entree was the winner of the table in my opinion! The grape tomates were especially tasty and the crab meat was not an overpowering flavor.
Taverna also serves fresh fish and steaks. I have tried the tilapia and it was wonderful. We haven't tried the ribeye, but we watched many of them being served and everyone who consumed it looked like they were very, very pleased!
For dessert, I recommend the balsamic ice cream topped with strawberries. This dessert is not one I would ordnarily choose, but one of the managers, Fabian, did a great job describing it and telling us how wonderful it is so we tried it and learned he was absolutely right! The balsamic flavor is similar to that of a mild cheesecake. The icecream was smooth and creamy and delicious! We have also tried the Tiramisu, the chocolate cake and the sweet pizza. The sweet pizza is topped with baked pears and drizzled with nutella! Yummy!! This was my second favorite dessert behind the balsamic ice cream.
Taverna is certain to become the new gem of Sundance Square. With managers like Bill and delicious food, everyone will be pleased.
My first visit to Taverna was during lunch with my coworker, PAJosh. It is worthy to note that this was only the second day for Taverna to be open for lunch; however, you could not tell. The service was impeccable! Prompt, prompt, prompt and friendly. Our tea and water was always full despite the growing crowd that quickly occupied the restaurant.
PAJosh started with a caesar salad that was unusually fresh. He was very pleased. Since I had ordered a pasta entree, my lunch was served with Taverna's fabulous foccacia bread (complimentary with an entree during lunch, but will cost you $4 at dinner). What a great way to start things off! PAJosh and I enjoyed the appetizer which is the same size as one of Taverna's gourmet pizzas and is cooked in the same wood fire grill as the pizza.
For my entree, I ordered the spinach gnocci in a bolognese sauce. I was in heaven. It was absolutely delicious. The sauce was a creamy red meat sauce that was better than most. PAJosh enjoyed a sausage and red pepper pizza that was also wonderful. We both left Taverna looking forward to our next visit. Now that, is how it should be!
On my next visit, the fabulous couple, FWJanet and FWGlen, joined FWJoey and I for dinner. FWJanet and I started the night with a fabulous Raspberry Lemondrop Martini from the bar! It was delicious as ever because our old friend and favorite bartender, Bill, personally made them for us. What a treat! You should know Bill and his killer martinis from Angeluna and Blade's Prime Chophouse. Bill is one of the managers at Taverna which helps explain why the place is so incredible!
After cocktails, we devoured the delicious Bruschetta. The bread and the tomatoes were so fresh and the flavor was so tasty that it left us wanting more. For our main entrees, FWGlen and I had the Paglia e fieno which was a linguine dish with creamy white sauce covered with fabulous pieces of grilled chicken, mushrooms and truffle oil. It was delicious, but if I had to choose, I would go with the spinach gnocci again! FWJanet tried the seafood pasta dish (something "de la mar") and enjoyed it, but she seemed to enjoy our Paglia e fieno just a little bit more! FWJoey tried one of the specials which was a risotto that contained fresh crab meat, grape tomatoes and truffle oil. This entree was the winner of the table in my opinion! The grape tomates were especially tasty and the crab meat was not an overpowering flavor.
Taverna also serves fresh fish and steaks. I have tried the tilapia and it was wonderful. We haven't tried the ribeye, but we watched many of them being served and everyone who consumed it looked like they were very, very pleased!
For dessert, I recommend the balsamic ice cream topped with strawberries. This dessert is not one I would ordnarily choose, but one of the managers, Fabian, did a great job describing it and telling us how wonderful it is so we tried it and learned he was absolutely right! The balsamic flavor is similar to that of a mild cheesecake. The icecream was smooth and creamy and delicious! We have also tried the Tiramisu, the chocolate cake and the sweet pizza. The sweet pizza is topped with baked pears and drizzled with nutella! Yummy!! This was my second favorite dessert behind the balsamic ice cream.
Taverna is certain to become the new gem of Sundance Square. With managers like Bill and delicious food, everyone will be pleased.
