New in the city - The Bayou

Linda took me to this exciting new little place in downtown right near her office. We had dinner on Friday night. The Bayou has a wonderful New Orleans feel and a menu to back it up. The service was good but you can tell they are still working through the opening weeks with a new staff. The menu is extensive with the usual selection of seafood items : appetizers- crawfish tacos, oysters on the 1/2 shell, seafood and artichoke dip, stuffed portobello, shrimp and andouille nachos. The sandwich selection was a total Po-boy bonanza - great choices and even a Muffaletta and then the entree selection looked wonderful with etouffees and jambalaya's. We can't wait to try more of the menu since what we had was so darn tasty. Make sure you sit downstairs to get the full feeling of the place - upstairs did not have the warmth and atmosphere!

What we ate

Blue point oysters - with bloody mary sauce and Champagne mignonette
- yum but the sauces need a little work to deliver on the expectation

Blackened Crawfish tacos - yum - the two of these were tasty - add one more for a meal

Bourbon St Po-boy - a dressed po-boy with shrimp and crawfish (could of used a little more seafood) with remoulade sauce

Sweet Potato Fries - amazing fresh cut and lightly dusted with seasoned flour - these are great!

Check it out we can't wait to go back!

Spring time is salad time - big flavors

Here is one of our favorite salads - a great way to enjoy steak without feeling overly filled up. Give it a try - the recipe calls for tenderloin but any left over steak works well for this - strip, sirloin. Enjoy and happy eating!

Jim & Linda

Asian Beef Salad servings 4


1 lb Beef Tenderloin, grilled and cooled
1 Cucumber, peeled & seeded, sliced
½ Red onion, shaved
1 Carrot, julienne
1 Red Pepper, julienne
¼ cup Cilantro, chopped
2 Green onions, sliced
2 cup Salad Greens

Dressing

1/4cup Lime juice, fresh
1/4cup Rice Wine Vinegar
2 T Thai Fish Sauce
2 t Splenda
2 t Red Pepper Flakes


Take the chilled grilled tenderloin and slice into very thin pieces and set aside.

In a large bowl, place the sliced cucumber, carrot, red pepper, cilantro and green onions – toss to evenly distribute the vegetables.

In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for the dressing and mix well with a wire whip.

Add the meat to the bowl containing the vegetables, add half of the dressing and toss to mix.

Add the greens to the large bowl and toss to completely coat and evenly distribute the salad mixture.

Divide the salad between four plates and drizzle the remaining dressing over each salad.


Per serving

Calories282.25

Fat 12.33

Fiber1.375

WW Pts6

Spring is here - at Lombardino's

It is spring for sure - the outdoor farmer's market starts this week. But on last Friday night we experienced the new spring menu at Lombardino's. Oh my too many good things to try in one sitting. Here are the highlights - we will do a full review soon.

BEEF TICINO
Thinly pounded beef tenderloin quickly grill seared & served with baby arugula, lemon, olive oil and Tuscan pecorino $12

ASPARAGUS alla MILANESE
Sauteed asparagus topped with an olive oil-fried organic egg* garnished with Sicilian lemon oil, Garden to Be micro greens& Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese $9

CREAM of FENNEL SOUP
with spicy fennel sausage, tarragon oil and snipped chive $6

SPRING LINGUINI with CLAMS Littleneck
clams sauteed with zucchini, white wine, butter, sweet chili and lemon $20

PHEASANT RAGU
Braised Wisconsin pheasant with white wine, thyme, spinach, pancetta and peas, topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano $19

Can't wait to try the Asparagus, the Spring Linguini and the Pheasant Ragu - just to say the Fennel soup and the Beef Ticino were spectacular. You got to go and try this menu is up until early June.

Happy eating with love
Jim & Linda

We are back with tons to share

Where have we been? – It is April and we have not been on the blog for awhile – it was just a darn busy March. Lots of thing work related, lots of house renovating and improvement projects waiting for spring to break. Well we are back and have some pretty cool things to share over the next several entries as we catch you back up. He is a short list of what to look forward to:

· Lots of dining out: Sala Thai, Jolly Bobs, Sardine, Lombardinos
· Events: A few: Madison Malt Society whiskey tasting – more to come - still recovering
· Travel: Chicago, Milwaukee more trips to come!
· New finds: Templeton Rye Whisky – my (Jim) new favorite
· Best Late night eats in Madison Wisconsin
· Top 10 wines under $10 - why spend $15 to 40 when you can enjoy amzing taste at a value
· Spring recipes for the bounty of the Farmer’s Market – opens 4/18 Woo Woo!

Happy Spring

Jim & Linda