Good Eats

It’s rare Steve and I visit a new local restaurant, at least not during the first few months while they work out their kinks, but lately we’ve been venturing out into the world of new eats. First it was the south side location of Houlihan’s, which was good despite a few communication problems. This past Friday it was Savor, an upscale restaurant located on Commercial Street.

Savor has been in the news over the past few months as the owners have spent a lot of money completely restoring the space in a Victorian motif (not my favorite but it works here), and they will be on a reality show this fall. The result is a warm, glowing atmosphere that feels spacious and cozy at the same time. Each table has a train ticket that the server punches to commemorate the Frisco railroad line so you feel like you’re in the dining car of a very chic train. The restaurant will even be featured this fall on the Food Network program, The Opener.

Steve and I arrived before our friends and were seated in a spacious, private booth with a view of the street corner. We immediately felt like we had traveled to the big city. It was so nice! We ordered a couple of glasses of wine and were amazed that prices start at $5.50 per glass or $18 per bottle. Very reasonable for such a place. And it was good! We enjoyed a Parducci Sustainable Red which was soft and paired well with our Peppercorn Cheddar chips with homemade pimento spread. I hate pimento spread, but enthusiastically enjoyed every bite. The Peppercorn Cheddar chips were like cheese shortbread crackers – tender and delicious.

At this point, the rest of our party arrived and were also enjoying the chips. We made it clear we wanted a relaxed, slow meal and our waitress was great at not rushing us and allowing us to order the next course after we’d finished the current one. I ordered a simple arugula salad with blue cheese, bacon and a black cherry vinaigrette, Steve ordered the French onion soup, Duane ordered the mushroom puffs and Prudy ordered the lobster bisque. Everything was fresh and outstanding. Duane declared the mushroom puffs his favorite while I was pleasantly surprised the lobster bisque was so good. Most bisques are too creamy for my taste, but this one was a darker red and had large chunks of lobster. Steve’s French onion soup was rich and cheesy and the crouton on top stayed crunchy the whole time. Yum! I don’t normally like fruit vinaigrettes, but this one complimented the saltiness of the bacon and zing of the cheese. Very nice.

With all that food, we decided to split our entree. All of their beef is organic, grass-fed beef from a local farm. I’ll admit the menu is a bit beef-heavy, but they do have chicken and pasta options and are planning to expand the menu as they grow. Steve and I split the 8 oz. filet with a black cherry reduction and blue cheese crumbles. On the side we had the blue cheese mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese (a house made specialty). The filet was outstanding! It was cooked to perfection and the 4 oz size was perfect. The slight sweetness of the black cherries complimented the tanginess of the blue cheese. The mashed potatoes were great but the mac and cheese was just ok. Steve and I both felt the sauce was a bit grainy as if it had been cooked too quickly. Duane and Prudy split the ribeye and it was good, but I thought our filet was the best choice.

Of course we left room for dessert. The best part of their desserts is that the portion size is very small and a perfect way to end a meal. I got the triple cream cake, which was not what I expected. It was a slightly sweet cake that had been soaked in a cream resulting in a dessert that was a little wet. What I did like was that it wasn’t too sweet. The homemade butter brickle ice cream that accompanied it was outstanding. Steve got a rich chocolate cake made with Askinosie chocolate, a Commercial Street chocolate factory, and it was paired with another homemade ice cream in chocolate. It was a very small piece, but one bite told me it was just enough as it was very, very rich. Prudy got the bread pudding and it was fantastic, but she was disappointed it wasn’t served warm as it had been when she was there earlier. Duane won the dessert prize with the creme brulee. It was fantastic! Rich, but not too sweet, we all declared it the best of the lot.

I can only hope Savor maintains its commitment to great food. While the cost of our meal wasn’t cheap, it certainly was reasonable with all we ordered. We’ll be back.