Hello my Foodie Followers…I apologize for the longer than normal delay in our postings. We will try to get back on schedule. Tonight we dined at Garces Trading Company (www.garcestradingcompany.com). We arrived on time for a 6pm reservation, a little earlier than we like, and met with our server, Elyssa aka Cathy. She was witty and fun, a total delight…and told us to wait for the smarter host to arrive…sad to say..he was not, although cute, and played with the computer trying to determine where to seat us for 5 minutes. Quick note: the restaurant was nearly empty. Where we asked to be seated by the window it “was unavailable” and by the time we left…still had not patrons were seated in our request..moving on…we were seated and Elyssa came over to offer bread, water and cocktails. She explained the menu to us along with specials and zoomed off to begin our meal. We started off with good old Philadelphia tap water and a bread basket with olive oil for dipping. We chose not to do traditional entrees but did most of the appetizers, salads and soup. To start off our cocktail order arrived. Al had a sly fox beer, a fruity and slightly floral lager. I had an usual beginning and chose a house cocktail called a Rosemary Greyhound, raspberry vodka, elderflower, grapefruit and rosemary. It was lightly sweet, fruity, and refreshing. A delightful warm weather cocktail. We started our food order beginning with grilled cauliflower with black garlic pesto, green onions and tarragon. A very savory bite to say the least. This followed by an endive leaves with sevilla orange slivers, Bucherondin, Golden Raisins, Anjou Pears. Very lightly dressed. The raisins and the pears topped this dish off. Our next small plate was a house made mozzarella, slightly warm with a drizzle of olive oil and topped with cracked black pepper. The cheese was creamy to the bite. An olive serving in an olive oil was brought. A mix of different olives for the choosing. A romaine salad was served next with layered leaves by size, largest on bottom moving to smallest. A creamy garlic dressing topped the salad with parmesan shavings. The dressing was delicious but I felt it was a tad more than needed. The romaine lettuce was crisp, green and fresh. A second round of cocktails were served, Al repeated his beer and I had the usual, Ketel One, up, shook ice cold with one olive. vichyssoise chaude Potato Leek Soup, Black Truffles, Chives, Bacon was served next. Two grilled scallops were served in the center. The soup, usually served chilled was served warm. A perfect pairing with the bacon and the scallop. We ended with an Italian sausage flatbread. Out of all the items served, this was my least favorite. I felt it was a touch to salty and the sauce or gravy that was served with it wasn’t tasty in my opinion. I must note to my readers that I rarely order a tomato gravy item, outside of pizza, being raised in an Italian household where Mommy made her traditional gravies. Also, my followers know that I prefer a salty savory dish over a sweet dish and this was too salty for my liking. Although Al did seem to enjoy it. As dinner ended, we shared a macaron plate with assorted flavors. The lavender macaron was amazing. Very floral…a kiss of spring. I sipped an espresso while nibbling on my macarons. Al finished his dinner with his sly fox beer. With our bill, Elyssa, brought over another treat. An almond cookie with pine nuts for each of us..a simple thank you for dining with her. This cookie brought me back to christmas time, a traditional Italian cookie. Elyssa was fun..full of energy and I highly recommend asking for her when you dine at Garces. I award Garces Trading Company 4.5 out of 5 Diva Crowns! Bon Appetit!
