After our first afternoon at the Biltmore Estate
and walking throughout the gardens,
we were hungry.
We went for supper at Rezaz,
a Mediterranean restaurant a street over from
the entrance (or exit) of the Estate,
depending on which way you're heading.
Excuse me.
Make that
Rezzzahhhhzz Mediterranean Restaurant and Enoteca.
I had to google "enoteca."
Enoteca is an Italian word
which literally means "wine repository."
Upon entering,
we were scanned up and down
by the host
and asked if we had reservations.
"No."
"Well. That's not really a problem."
I friggin' guess not since there were
only 2 parties there.
We were asked whether we wanted
the Italian menu and seating on the right hand side
or the Greek menu and seating on the left hand side.
I asked to see the menus
and we opted for the Greek on the left.
We were seated
and immediately served water.
Our waitress recited the night's specials.
I had to strain to hear her.
Sorry for the quality of the pictures,
but it was extremely dark
in the restaurant.
Also, the tables were very close together
and naturally we were seated directly next to the only
other party in there -
a table of 4 adults with a six-month old child.
Oh joy.
Here's the menu:
Here's the dinner menu.
When we were looking at the menus
the host offered us,
I dumbly asked him
what the
"one," "two," "three," and "four"
was all about.
"The courses, ma'am."
Again, I ask you,
who the hell can eat four courses like this?
Upon being seated,
we were served assorted breads
with a delicious, fruity olive oil.
I asked the waitress what type of oil
and she came back with the name written
down on a piece of paper.
It was Nicaniella Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
I will need to look for this.
The service was excellent,
but then it should be.
Mr. Hawthorne ordered the Caesar.
The romaine was grilled (nice touch),
the dressing pretty good,
but Mr. Hawthorne said there wasn't enough of it.
And it came with a slice of prosciutto
and a toasted bruschetta.
I ordered the Onion Bisque.
Vegetable stock,
three types of onions, including fried leeks,
and some type of cheese.
When I asked our waitress
about what type of cheese it was
(I didn't particularly care for the taste of it.),
I was told it was creme fraiche.
But creme fraiche doesn't get stringy, melty
like this was.
She also told me there was thyme in it.
I tasted no thyme,
but did notice the menu said there was dill.
No taste of dill either.
And she told me there was no cream
in the "bisque" and that it was
thickened by potatoes.
I thought a "bisque"
by definition had cream,
but what do I know.
Didn't enjoy the soup.
Too heavy-handed.
Mr. Hawthorne's entree was the wild mushroom rotollo
with filled pasta, crimini, spinach, ricotta, Parmesan,
and marinara.
I had a bite and I wouldn't have been able
to eat this.
Extremely salty.
Mr. Hawthorne enjoyed it
but acknowledged it was
super salty in places.
Maybe I had a big chunk of Parmesan.
Who knows?
I ordered the crusted sea scallops
with a very creamy and lemony risotto.
You know me and lemons,
so I liked the risotto.
I thought I was eating crisp strips
of zucchini, but according to the menu,
it was cucumber and dill.
Tasted no dill,
but I liked the diced tomato on top.
The scallops were only crusted on one side
which was good,
since I didn't like the crust.
Not bad.
But I like my scallops better.
This meal set us back about sixty bucks.
Not worth it.
Snooty atmosphere.
Or as Mr. Hawthorne calls
this type of place -
"pretentious bull shit."
oops...they changed the menu and when we went it didn't have Italian and Greek...and jacked up the price!!!!! I think I agree with Mr.H. Guess I am batting 50%.And we will not be going back there either!
ReplyDeleteIt's the newest pretentious trend to describe your dishes by simply listing the ingredients. I know of another one that does this. Sorry Carol.
ReplyDelete