Dinner: 1808 American Bistro

Tonight I had dinner at a favorite restaurant in my home town of Delaware Ohio. Now this town is not known for much. It is the home of Ohio Wesleyan University which graduated some very famous indivisuals--Wendy Malick being one such alumna. As for food, the purpose of this entry, Delaware is a crap shoot. I'll be honest there are a lot of local privately owned places but not many are worth the money. And even the chains aren't anything spectacular.

I have been eating my way around this town for years. I have eaten at every restaurant this town has had since 1995 (that's as far back as I can remember). Tonight was the first time I ate alone. I was watching "Sex and the City" a few days ago and decided with everything I have gone through I deserve to embrace myself and stop only going out with other people. It is actually okay to eat out alone. I also watched "Eat, Pray, Love" and decided the best way to enjoy food is alone. You can savor the flavors without distraction. And you don't have to impress anyone. It all makes for a relaxing dinner. And if it takes a few hours so be it.

I'll come right out and say it, as much as I love sharing food with friends, I love having dinner alone. I ate at the one truly fine dinning establishment in this town 1808. It does suffer a bit from an identity crisis--is it a steak house? Is it an italian bistro? Is it cajun? Regardless the food is always stellar. I have never had a bad dish. And the alcohol selection makes up for any short coming 1808 might have, but more on that it a moment.

Tonight I went in knowing I had the money to get whatever I wanted and I wanted a steak. Nothing too big but something that satisfied like nothing else. After the doctors appointment this morning I knew I was low on iron so I chose my meal accordingly.

To start I had the beef carpaccio. It was a double hit of iron with the beef slices and the spinach salad. This is what I want every day for lunch for the rest of my life. The beef was so tender it just fell a part as I picked it up off the plate. The balsamic reduction drizzled across the beef lended a nice sweetness to the rustic earthy taste of the beef and off set the nice salty capers. A little shaved parm enhanced all the flavors and added a little creaminess. I am serious when I say I could eat this appetizers every day for lunch.

For my main meal I went with the filet mignon. When ordering during the week you can order your meat how you want it cooked. On the weekends or whenever it is busy, order it under cooked as it will continue cooking so you get it at the perfect temperature. This is true at most places here in the midwest. The filet was amazing, cooked to a perfect medium. It melted on my tongue. It was during this one delicious slice of beef when I realized I am going to dedicate my life to writing about food. Yes it was a revolutionary piece of cow. It was topped with a small amount of hotel butter which gave the crispy slightly charred exterior a great bite of salty garlic. This was enhanced by the garlic potato mash served on the side. There was also asparagus but it is always over cooked, as most vegetable garnishes are in this area.

Dessert was my personal favorite and 1808 is the only place in town where I can get it--beignets. I fell in love with these puffy golden pillows during my first trip to New Orleans. So much so I will always say they are better than sex. I will always choose them over chocolate or some naked guy covered in chocolate pledging his life to me as my sex slave. And I am a confessed chocoholic. The beignets at 1808 are miniature versions of the original. They are also drizzled with honey before being covered in powedered sugar. The honey adds a lot of flavor to the fried dough pillows making me question which are better--1808 in Delaware Ohio or Cafe du Monde in New Orleans Louisiana? Even though they are served with an espresso getting a cup of coffee is the better way to go, especially if you share with someone.

For anyone who has eaten with me, I always have a drink or two with my meal. I choose based on what I want to eat, always. Is there a set rule I follow? Yes. I find complementary flavors between my meal and my drink. Sometimes I just pick the drink I want and tastes good regardless. Tonight though I chose carefully. I wanted the flavors. With my beef carpaccio I chose the Dr. Loosen Reisling. This sweet pear and citrus white wine was the perfect pairing with the sweet and salty flavors of the appetizer. It actually had a grass flavor on the front edge that was a very pleasant surprise for my tongue. It's a white I will recommend for summer dinners from fish to chicken and pork to beef and it would pair nicely with a fruit ice cream as dessert. It will be my go to summer table wine.

With that being said I decided to go spicier for and darker for my dinner. I am a huge sucker for big reds. Tonight though because it was one of the first warm nights this year I went with a red that had huge flavor but sat smaller on the tongue. The perfect wine for this was an Australian Shiraz. The Peter Lauhman Shiraz definitely had the bite only a drough ridden Australia can lend to its wine which made for an amazing experience opposite the buttery feel of my fillet and mash. The wine has notes of tart berries (as every red should) and amazing amounts of spice. I'm talking old world spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, and a little clove. On the back edge was a light soil and tobacco taste which paired so nicely with my whole meal. This is another wine I will recommend for summer enjoyment. Slightly chilled to about 57 degrees it would be amazing with chocolate pudding (which is amazing at 1808).

I was going to have a cocktail with my dessert but decided coffee is the only pairing with beignets. Black and hot to be specific.

An hour and a half dinner made for the best night I've had in a very long time. This is going to have to happen again.