Operation Dinner Out

We went out for dinner last night to the 113 Grill. It's just about the only decent restaurant in Seneca (there's another one that I like in Clemson, but that's about it). Btw, once you get past the annoying flash animations, you can take a peak at this restaurant's menus and wine lists online. This place is on Ram Cat Alley, same street where The Spot is, the bar we used to play pool at. Haven't been on the pool league for a while now, but that's another blog entry. Ram Cat Alley is a tough place to run a decent (read expensive) restaurant. If I remember correctly, about three different restaurants have tried but failed. Hopefully 113 will be here for a while because they serve good food and the atmosphere is good enough. To be fair, Copper River is another restaurant that recently opened in Seneca, so 113 isn't the only one, but Copper River isn't as nice. More like your average Outback.

Corey had the pan-seared tuna tataki to start and the scallops as the main course. The tuna was I think similar to "spicy tuna" that you'd get at a sushi bar, except here it was served sashimi style, without the rice. Which is just as well, the rice is really just filler. I was surprised she'd ordered this since she usually doesn't like sushi. But she liked it so whaddayaknow, maybe she'll be more open to trying sushi. If the water level ever comes back up I like going for sushi by boat to the Blue Heron. Next time we go I'll suggest the spicy tuna for Core.

I had the crab cake to start, followed by an 8 oz filet with shitake mushrooms and haricot vert. 113 makes a really good crab cake. IMO, the secret to a good crab cake is not over cooking it. It's best when it's crispy on the outside, but inside you have a sort of moist, creamy crab meat filling that isn't too dry. I've had stuff in places that call themselves seafood restaurants where they serve you this deep-fried hockey puck they call a crab cake. Nope, sorry, it's got to be squishy on the inside. I ordered the filet medium but I should have gone for medium-rare. I find that some places really under cook steak when you order it medium-rare so I usually now order medium. I prefer medium-rare but I just don't think many places do it right. Here I suspect they would have because the steak was medium, just as ordered. So next time I'll order medium-rare and I'm pretty confident I'll get medium-rare and not steak tartar. Getting an 8 oz cut left some room for a slice of chocolate pecan pie for dessert. Yummy.

For libations, I had a Guinness and then a glass of Sterling Napa Merlot with the main course. We split a baby bottle (375 ml). I prefer wines that are less tanic than Cabernet, so I tend to drift toward the merlots and pinot noirs. The glass went well with the steak. Then for dessert Core suggested a shot of Limoncello. It was a little too syrupy for me just on its own. I think it needs to be cut with something but I'm not sure what, seltzer maybe? Need to lookup some drink recipes for Limoncello, there's bound to be a good lemony drink with this stuff. After dinner a traditional coffee and Bailey's on the side, and then it was time to pay the piper.

To complete the dinner-and-a-movie evening we watched Borat again. "Yeees, I like." Although Spy Game was also suggested. Which is what the title of this post refers to. Operation dinner out was a terrific success, mission accomplished!