It was a perfect morning for being outside. There was a breeze but it was more of a pleasure on our run than a hindrance. Shane and I went through the Switchbacks, a hilly and wooded path weaving its way through the golf course.
Shane was running slow today and when we entered the Switchbacks I let him off the leash. He was stopping, sniffing, then racing to catch up to me. This was going to wear him out quickly and back on the leash he went. We made a couple of water stops and I doused him with anything left from what he didn’t drink, with the intention to keep him cool.
We only saw one other runner, no golfers, not even the maintenance crew. Maybe it was so quiet because it’s a long, holiday weekend and everyone has left town? Last weekend for camping? Time to close up the camp for Fall? Whatever the reason, it was quiet out there.
We ran 7.08 miles today which hit the 51 total weekly miles right on the nose.
Do you run/walk with headphones or prefer exercising with a partner?
SIMMER….. A new restaurant
Brasserie “A restaurant where beer, wine, cider and other drinks are served; the limited menu usually offers simple, hardy foods.
The new place in town: Simmer Brasserie in New Hartford.
We arrived at Simmer before six o’clock and were not ready to eat so we sat in the lounge area. It wasn’t a minute before we were handed a wine list. Recommendations were requested because there were too many featured wines.
It all began with the Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel: Robust berry flavors with exotic spice and rich in vanilla and chocolate.
Our favorite was the Hob Nob Pinot Noir (France) with its cherry essence and smooth, rich finish. That one we shared.
It was relatively quiet when we arrived except for the music which was jazzy and on the loud side, yet enjoyable.
Even though we hadn’t ordered nor looked at the menu, delicious fresh baked bread was brought to our table with extra virgin olive oil for dipping.
The menu (ala carte) had multiple options that both Ted and I could have entertained.
We shared a mixed salad with house vinaigrette
Since we do love our greens, we both ordered the Roast Beet Salad with toasted sweet walnuts, balsamic vinaigrette, and smoky blue cheese
Now we took a step back and asked…”Are we in UTICA?” (technically New Hartford). This food would stand up to the competition in any of New York City’s finest. I’ll show you why but you’ll have to believe me when I say the taste was an experience in Paradise.
The Skirt Hangar Steak for Ted served with a pot of herb fries.
The Carmelized Striped Bass with sauce gribiche and pickled cucumber papparedelle.
Gribiche is a cold French sauce based on a mayonnaise made with hard – cooked egg yolks instead of raw egg yolks and garnished with capers, herbs, and julienne of hard-cooked egg whites; served with fish. *I kept telling Ted it tasted like egg salad.
Papparedelle is Italian for broad noodles and used to describe broad, flat strips of pasta… or in this case, cucumber.
Naturally the dinner was followed by the smoothest tasting coffee…
Final words: It was pricey but worth every penny. You just don’t get any better than this. The restaurant is small and can get noisy as the crowd gathers. The staff is friendly. The food is incomparable and made to order (yes, they will customize the dish for you).
What a dinner! What an experience! What a night!
Is your favorite dining experience gourmet or family casual?
Joanne
Wow on that dinner! I had to laugh at wondering if you were still in Utica 😀
Sometimes a real pampering meal is great, but we tend to be a lot more casual eaters, although we don’t tend to like chain family eateries. As long as the food is really good, I don’t necessarily care if it is upscale or not.
We like a little of both. When travelling, I prefer gourmet: best of the best. When at home, I like tried and true and sometimes chain restaurants. It all comes down to our mood that night.
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What a dinner! it looked so good from the beginning to the end. I wish we had a proper French bistro here too, but so far no luck.
I prefer walking with a friend but since I have my new mp3 player it’s fun alone too 🙂
Actually, French has never been our favorite cuisine. Last night gave it a whole new meaning. But then again, I think the chef/owners are Italian so maybe they give French and Italian flare?
I love to run with friends, but when I’m on my own my iPod comes along!
Those french fries look TO.DIE.FOR. 🙂
I’m not a fry person but had to try those. There was nothing negative to say about them.. In fact, I took about 6 home for Shane and when giving him his dinner, stole 2 more. Gosh that’s bad! I’m eating the doggy food!
That Bass dish looks unbeliveable and I would say that was zucchini not cucumber.
I would have to say my ipod since now of my local friends run 😉
It was really amazing in flavor and texture.
Oh yum! I want Ted’s dinner. And the coffee looks delish and I don’t even drink it.
Great job on the run. So nice to run in the lovely uncrowded scenery. That’s a trick question for me. I like best to run with my hubs but with our Ipods. Jamming along, just knowing he’s there.
I like to walk with my hubby and always so we can talk. No music just each others conversation.
Joanne…your food looked so yummy…especially those fries! I love eating at really nice restaurants every once-in-a-while. I like saving my money for those special places because they are often so much more memorable!
They sure are.:)
Bravo to this fine chef! Your right you were not in Utica, lol. This was a little food but looked heavenly, not heavy. LOVE the bass, amazing juices and this is my kind of elegant meal…. looks like this will be on my list to visit next time I am up there…thanks for sharing this lovely time with us!
Next time you’re up here, we visit Simmer together. We can make the chef nervous with a lot of picture taking 🙂