In like a what?
They say that
March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. I don’t know what they say about April. I don’t even know who they are. But by their anonymity and disregard for the fourth month, they have left the door open for me to make up my own proverb, so here goes: April came in like a monkey and went out like a mousse. With some shrimp and chicken in between.
When I took Daughter to the Ole Alma Mater at the beginning of the month, we had an opportunity to eat one breakfast there, and one of my favorite breakfast stops in Oxford is the Bottletree Bakery. Daughter got a blueberry muffin and a chocolate croissant – classics, especially when done right. I particularly liked the blueberry muffin: if I understand the terminology correctly, it was dense with a heavy crumb, and the top had a sugary, almost crispy topping. I chose a ham and Swiss baby quiche because I felt like I needed some protein to sustain me - we were headed for some long walks. I also got a personal-sized monkey bread which I’d never seen before. But given the addictive qualities of monkey bread I think the smaller, finite size was a brilliant idea, and I can assure you that not a single flake of cinnamon-laden crunchy glaze that fell of the bread and into the box went uneaten. The best, however, may have been the ginger scone. It had a flakier texture than most scones, with big chunks of candied ginger strewn throughout. And since ginger has so many health benefits, I am confident it completely offset any damage the monkey bread may have wrought on my pancreas.
Whenever I stay with College Buddy and his family I take a host/hostess gift, and it’s always edible. He and Mrs. College Buddy are good friends and say, “You don’t have to bring something every time” but it’s become a tradition now – a challenge, even – to find new gifts to bring. Normally it’s something local; I’ve taken Biscuit Shop biscuits, MAFES cheese of various sorts, Buck’s One Stop caramel cake, and a ginormous round of bread from DeRego’s. This time I took a bag of DeRego’s crackers. This turned out to be providential, because CB had some chicken salad in the refrigerator he wanted me to try. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him so excited about food. Turns out there was a new restaurant in town, Chicken Salad Chick, which as you might imagine, is a restaurant that serves mainly chicken salad. If that sounds boring, fear not: they have a dozen different varieties to choose from. CB was one of the first 100 customers (#82, if I recall correctly) and thereby won himself a pound of chicken salad a month for a year. He said, “I’ve eaten there every day this week, and twice on Tuesday.” Tuesday was opening day, and he liked it so much he took the family for dinner.
Daughter and I had too many other meals planned out and didn’t have a slot for a chicken salad course, but I have learned to take a cooler to Oxford. And for reasons I can’t quite explain, we tend to come home with chicken salad – even before there was an entire restaurant dedicated to the dish. This trip was no different. We ordered the basic, because you need a baseline level for proper taste testing – the head Chick calls this one Classic Carol. Our other choice was called Fruity Fran, with chunks of Fuji apple, pineapple, and seedless grapes. Apparently all the varieties are named after friends of hers. Sounds fun. I’m looking forward to trying the Cranberry Kelli on my next visit.
Here at home, we ventured out to Restaurant Tyler to see what fun things they were doing for Starkville Restaurant Week. I had already spotted an Instagram picture of a shrimp corn dog in a sweet potato batter – that was enough for
me. Anything else was a bonus.
The corn dog, served as an appetizer, came out on a bed of pickled tomato relish which was a very nice, bright contrast to the sweet, rich flavors in the corn dog. We also ordered the barbecue okra, because we always order the barbecue okra. This is whole okra, battered and fried, dusted with barbecue seasoning - one of my favorite ways to eat okra. That probably seems like enough appetizers, but the Bacon Mousse was entirely too mysterious to pass up. This smooth mixture of confit of house-smoked bacon, goat cheese, roasted garlic, fresh herbs and bourbon, served in a little jelly jar with a layer of bacon drippings on top, was probably my favorite bite of the night. There was grilled sourdough bread to spread it on, along with pickled vegetables, and whole grain mustard. If bacon jam is the fun-loving member of the condiment family, then bacon mousse is the sophisticated cousin. A bigger jar and a couple more slices of sourdough and I would have been set for the night.
The dessert on the Restaurant Week tasting menu was a flourless chocolate cake. Truth: I normally wouldn’t choose that off a dessert menu, but that’s what came with the meal, and I trust Pastry Chef Bery. Once again, she impressed me. Her version had a texture that I thought elevated it above all other cakes of that sort I have tried. Our server mentioned it might make it to the permanent menu, and I would certainly encourage that.
A final word about Easter candy. I bought a small bag of carrot cake-flavored Hershey Kisses, risk free at 90% off. Next year I’ll pay full price and think nothing of it. They are that good.