One of my favorite co-workers (ever!) changed jobs shortly after Memorial Day. We shared laughs and a cubical and I missed her dearly, personally and professional. So when my co-worker J suggested that a bunch of girls from the office meet for her for drinks and nibbles on Friday night I was game!
Plans were for me to ride to our destination with J and have my sweetie meet us there later to drive me home. J recently purchased a lovely Cadillac Escalade. It is shiny black and sans spinners but you can't help but walk with a certain swagger as you approach her new set of wheels. On our ride to South Hadley from Springfield we listened to some music to get us in the mood to par-tay.
Our first stop was the Yarde House. We got a great table on their huge patio, which is mostly covered by a tent. We ordered our first round of drinks and some appetizers. I had a rough week so a dirty martini was in order. We decided on some of awesome calamari,seared tuna and spinach artichoke dip. The calamari is nice and crisp, tossed with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese, cherry peppers, scallions and my favorite...capers. The tuna is seared after it has been coated with pepper and spices. It is served over a lovely asian slaw with a wasabi dressing drizzled on it and a ginger aioli on the side. The spinach artichoke dip was the perfect thing to round out the nibbles. It was a perfect combination of spinach and artichoke pieces. After we finished the first round we ordered some more spinach dip and tried the smoky kettle chips with blue cheese dressing. The chips were good but i wish they were warm or if the blue cheese dip was warm vs. cold salad dressing.We had a very attentive server and she was able to keep up with us. All in all everything was great. The food, the friends and the laughs.
My sweetie arrived as we were ordering our second round of drinks. I told him we were going to have one more round and then we can go inside and have dinner. Welllll that didn't happen. He is such a good sport. He is also lucky that he was hanging out with 5 lovely women all night and he knows a good thing when he sees it! After that round we decided to go across the street to Food 101. Nibbling and drinking all night with my homies? I am game.
I have eaten once at Food 101 and enjoyed it. That time was with a few other couples and we sat in the dining room and had a lovely time. I was looking forward to trying it once again.
It was a little active in the bar and we opted to sit on the patio. It was a perfect night and the patio has a great atmosphere. J is a huge fan of Food 101 and had some recommendations. One of them was the Wild Mushroom Ravioli with a Shallot Cream Reduction. For the 6 of us we ordered 3 servings. I could have eaten a 4th by myself. Little pillows of heaven on earth. They are a mushroom lovers dream.
We also had some oysters on the half shell. A few at the table were oyster shootin virgins which is always fun to be with someone when they shoot their first oyster.
We also ordered some frites that are served with a side of spicy ketchup and wasabi mayo. Nice and crispy and I really loved the wasabi mayo. I love how they are presented in the cone with the paper with a bit of parsley sprinkled over them.
and last but not least a lobster crab cake with a spicy coleslaw. It was a very good portion and both the cake and slaw had a lot of flavor.
Then there was THE drink. My new favorite drink for the summer. It is vodka and lemonade with fresh basil. I have been drinking them the whole time I have been writing today. Refreshing, light and it screams summer celebration!
Basil Lemonade Vodka (they have a fancy name for it but I just can't recall it)
3 oz vodka
3 oz Newman's Lemonade
1/2 oz. simple syrup (you don't have to have this)
3-4 fresh basil leaves
In a shaker, bruise the basil with a muddler, add ice, vodka, lemonade and syrup. Shake it all together until frothy and cold. Poor into glass, ice and all. Cheers!
Our server was wonderful. She was attentive, made suggestions and even did a jig for us when we asked her to. (yes, an actual Irish jig).
I would highly recommend both the Yarde House and Food 101. Different atmospheres, both with good food and good service.
I also highly recommend hanging with your homies as often as possible. Life is short. As Winston Churchill once said "When you are going through hell, keep going"...and try to keep you friends with you when you go.
