We did some serious eating over the weekend! I had my first tapas experience at Isabella's in Frederick, Maryland. They say "small plates," & they are, but I was stuffed by the time we finished lunch! Each of us made a few choices, & then we split the items.
The waitress recommended that we order 2-3 items per person to make up a full meal. We wound up getting 6 total plates to share + dessert. :-)
For our first round, we ordered soup, cheese & a portobello mushroom cap. Our second round was from the vegetable column. There were plenty of vegetarian options, which is pretty rare.
To go with the meal, we had red sangria. I'm not used to wine with lunch...it was delicious but it made us all pretty drowsy.
Still, we had plenty of energy to eat! This is the "Garlic Grilled Portobello Mushroom with Wilted Spinach, Roasted Red Pepper and Melted Cheese." It tasted way better than it looked. The Roasted Red Pepper sauce was amazing! I used it with the cheese, too.
The cheese plate was "Fried House-Breaded Cherry Glen Farms Goat Cheese and Almond Fritters with a Tangy Shallot Vinaigrette."
The Bup wanted to try the "Fresh Andalusian-Style Gazpacho with Olive Oil-Roasted Croutons and Vegetable Brunoise." I took a few tastes, but it wasn't my favorite. I don't think cold soup is my thing.
This is the "Sauteed Baby Green Beans with Roasted Garlic,White Truffle Oil, and Grilled Ripe Tomato." I was really excited to see these on the menu! I think this was my favorite dish. The green beans were cooked just right, so they were still crisp & I loved the combination of flavors.
Most disappointing was the falafel ("Traditional Chick-Pea Fritters Lightly Fried with Tahini and Tomato Relish"). I've always wanted to try falafel & trying it as a small plate sounded perfect. It was a bit dry & didn't have a lot of flavor. I'm not sure if this is normal or this was unique to this batch.
Has anyone out there tried falafel? What are your thoughts?
Our waitress recommended that for our final option we try "Isabella’s Signature Crispy Panko Crusted Asparagus 'Fries' with Smoked Tomato Alioli." I'm not big on fried anything, especially veggies, but since she said it was great, we tried it. The asparagus taste was still apparent & I was pleasantly surprised. As for the smoked tomato alioli...Connie put it best: "You can call it aioli all you want, but it's still mayonaise." Ick.
Connie's dessert: a brownie with hazelnut ice cream & caramel sauce.
My dessert: Homemade ice cream! 1 scoop each of chocolate & oatmeal cookie. The chocolate was very dark, which I love!
The Bup's dessert: apple pie a la mode
It was fun to experience tapas style dining. Lunch was leisurely & I got to taste some items without committing to an entire meal of something new. Frederick is a really cute town with a lot of great dining & shopping options. Thanks for taking us, Connie!
Didn't you try falafel with us at Pita Pit that one time? I think it's pretty good, but gazpacho is terrible. I try to like it, but I just can't. I think it might be because everywhere I've been forced to eat it, the veggies are raw and I'm not a fan of raw onions and such. If it were actually cooked soup that was chilled (like cold tomato or chicken noodle), I'd like it I think.
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