New Years Eve at Olive's Restaurant

NEW YEARS EVE, 31 DECEMBER 2011

Last night Tony and I spent new years eve at Olive's in downtown Frederick. Olive's has been open since the summer of 2010 and is one of our favorites in Frederick. Jay, the owner, recently purchased the building and had part of it converted to a banquet hall.

Dinner with a premium bar was $100 per person (plus tax and gratuity). There were 49 guests. Davide, the chef, put on a huge spread of foods.

Appetizers included raw oysters, smoked salmon canapes, various bruschetta:





A variety of salads:

Main entrees:

Roasted ham; Baked salmon; Penne pasta.

Spaghetti di Mare; Ravioli di zucca (pumpkin filled) - my absolute favorite of the night!

Chicken Marsala; Steak Florentine

Mashed potatoes and polenta; Cotechino Stew (sliced sausage and lentils).

Delicious desserts: Tiramisu, chocolate cake, limoncello cheese cake, fresh fruit, and chocolate-filled canapes.


Everything was delicious, but as I previously stated, the ravioli was the best!

Fun times!
with Keva & Liz
Tony & Jay (owner of Olives)
The band

with Lianne
with Davide, the chef

Olives
http://www.olivesfrederick.com/
301-378-2045
info@olivesfrederick.com
137 N Market St.
Frederick, Maryland 21701

Brunch at Olive's!

Today was the second time Olive's Restaurant served brunch. It's a wonderful new feature at their restaurant. For only $21.95, you can select from a variety of tasty foods along with either a mimosa, screw driver, or bloody Mary. Additional drinks are just $5. You can also order omelets at your table, which is a nice touch instead of standing in line waiting to have one made.



Here are some photos of the foods we enjoyed. I didn't take photos of every single item. In addition to below, there were waffles, salmon, lasagna, sausage links, etc.

This is a delicious corn, crab, and avocado salad. Lots of lump crab!
Garden salad; corn/crab salad; pickle spears; a wonderful salmon mouse with fresh baked bread.

Potatoes with vegetables; asparagus topped with parmesan cheese
Rice; mixed vegetables

Breaded chicken breast topped with cheese


Ray carving the turkey

Omelet made to order:

My plates:


Our friends Eddie and Vanessa joined us. His dessert - baklava! That's all he wanted after his huge meal. Pastry chef Andrew makes some of the best desserts in town, including baklava, a recipe from his grandmother.


Carrot cake! Scrumptious! A nice selection of fruits


Vanessa at the dessert table.

All in all, this was a delicious brunch and I look forward to returning again soon.

For reservations:

Olives Frederick
http://www.olivesfrederick.com/

301-378-2045

Brunch: Sundays 11:30am to 3:30pm.

Just Another Bistro

12 February 2011:

Tony and I dined at Wild Tomato, a new restaurant (7945 MacArthur Blvd, Cabin John) in Maryland along with friends Bruce and Marcia.

It's a small restaurant that seats about 45 people. Reservations are not accepted, so we waited about 45 minutes. There is a small bar at the back of the room, which was filled with customers waiting for their tables. In fact, the entry way was crowded with customers with no room to stand comfortably.

It took a while for our waitress to take our order, as there were only three waiters taking care of this packed restaurant, one being the hostess.



Tony and I started with the Thai mussels, which were tasty. The mussels were plump and tender. The broth was rich and I enjoyed the flavors of lemongrass and Thai basil. Included were a few slices of crusty bread for dipping into the broth.

Bruce and Marcia ordered the fried clams. I had a taste and thought they were the best I've ever had. The clams were not over cooked, so they didn't have a rubbery or tough texture. Both Tony and I thought the quantity of the appetizers were very small for the prices they charged ($12 for the mussels and $11 for the clams).



For my entree, I ordered fish tacos, which were highly recommended and I agree, they were excellent. The white fish was lightly battered and served in soft tortillas with guacamole, shredded cabbage and carrots, and a chili mayonnaise. The tacos were served with a side of fresh-made salsa and chips. I was stuffed by the time I finished my meal, although I did have some help. I will say my food was cold, but I'll come back to this later.


Tony had a burger with a side of fried onion rings. He asked for it medium-rare and was pleasantly surprised it was cooked to order. The onion rings were thinly sliced and lightly battered and were not greasy at all.


Bruce had the pizza with three types of meats, which he enjoyed.


Marcia ordered the 1/2 chicken, also good, but wow, it must have been a 1/2 chick.

Okay, so the food was good, but here are the negative points of this place and why I say it's "Just another Bistro."

1. Expensive appetizers for the portions you get.
2. Wine list. Ridiculous! $8 for a 3.5 to 4 ounce glass for a house Pinot Grigio. The prices of bottles of wine started at $34 and went too far up in my mind for a bistro.
3. Very long wait to get a table.
4. A very long wait to get our food. The waitress had told us, "I'm sorry it's taking so long but we had a huge take-out order." What!?? Shouldn't a restaurant take care of their in-house customers first? And if not, shouldn't she have kept her mouth shut? It made us feel as if we were the last on their mind.
5. My tacos were cold.
6. Tony's hamburger and onion rings were cold as well.
7. As a beer snob (Tony), their beer list is sorely lacking.

Overall, it wasn't worth the wait for just another bistro.