Manny’s Tam O’shanter, Valentien’s and garlic-parmesan  popcorn

“I feel like a gangster that gets the entire restaurant to himself.”  And then I told Betty, “I feel like Alice in Wonderland and we just fell down a rabbit hole into this surreal dining room where we are the only one’s here on a Friday night.  What a trip this place is.”  The last time we were here was about 1988 when we entertained a couple on business.  The dining room is lovely and clean with table cloths and new red booths.  It’s very old school, 70’s vintage with wood paneling and stained glass windows.  Frank Sinatra was crooning at a pleasant level in the back ground.  There were 3 other people at this restaurant: Manny Mendez the owner, the waitress and the chef.  “It’s kind of weird being the only one’s here.”   But look at the good side, there are no obnoxious jerks and no noisy kids.  One guy walked in wearing surfing shorts and flip-flops and he picked up an order to go. 

Manny comes to the table and explains the menu.  I never had bone-in Filet mignon before, so I decided to try it even though it was $60.  Betty ordered the stuffed shrimp, but they were out, so she had the chicken cordon-blue.  We ordered wine by the glass.  The glasses were topped to the brim and only $6.  The red wine was quite good especially after it had a chance to aerate.  I picked up lovely notes of cherries and dark chocolate.  Betty enjoyed her Chardonnay.  The salads were extra but they were fresh and crisp with a wedged tomato and just the smallest slice of red onion.  The fresh rolls were warm and the waitress felt obligated to inform us that the green butter had food coloring in it.  Toward the end of my wine I could smell my 22 oz. Angus filet mignon cooking.  It was served hot with garlic mashed potatoes and sliced veggies, both of which were delicious. The steak was seasoned nicely and it was very tender and the sauce on the side was like browned gravy and added extra flavor.  I ordered it medium rare to medium. It was cooked closer to medium to medium well and a little longer than I would have prefered.  It was a bit rarer along the bone and over-all a very nice steak.  It is not a $60 steak through. 

The chicken cordon-blue was a large portion and served with the same sautéed veggies and rice pilaf.  Betty enjoyed it very much and we both cleaned out plates.  The restaurant.om gift certificate took a bit of the sting out of the high prices.  If you google Manny’s Tam O’shanter, you’ll find most reviews are not as generous as mine.  But it was a quite night out for us.  And it inspired me to cook my own steak and open some of my favorite wine for a great meal at home next time I want a great steak.

We also recently went to Valentien Restaurant and Wine Bar on Truxton Avenue recently. 

http://valentienrestaurant.com/

It is one of Bakersfield’s gourmet restaurants.  We had filet-mignon there also.  The food at Valentein is a step up the gourmet ladder and along with the Brochelle 2010 Zinfandel that we had there, the meal was superb.  The dining room at Valentein’s is kind of bland, however.  Our table was small and the concrete floor makes the atmosphere seem a bit cold and informal.  The service at Valentein’s is great and the food is wonderful.  If you get a chance to go I recommend the Brochelle Zinfandel.  The current 2010 vintage is a Brochelle classic and will make the meal an extra special occasion.  It is such a big wine and goes so well with the steak.  The tannins are almost non-existent, so the wine goes great by itself.  We ordered a side of cheese to pair with the wine also.  It’s $50 for the bottle at Valentein’s.  The basic wine club at Brochelle is a great way to get 6 bottles of the Zinfandel a year.  And wine club members, like me, also get the Ridge Top Reserve Zinfandel that is even more special. 

http://www.brochelle.com/

I have started making garlic olive oil and keeping it available to use in salad dressing, topping a steak and now over pop corn with parmesan cheese.  I dice up about 5 cloves of garlic and add it to a cup of olive oil and let it marinade in the fridge.  It’s great on salads and over meats.  We have been making pop corn in the microwave.  It pops in a brown paper bag beautifully.  Transfer it to a bowl and add a few spoons of the garlic oil and shake generously with grated parmesan cheese.  You gotta try it.  It’s even low cal.