Zaytun Mediterranean Grill

http://consuminglouisville.com/2009/03/where-to-eat-in-louisville-zaytun-mediterranean-grill.php

While trying Zaytun based on two friends recommendations, we found the restaurant empty on a Thursday night. The emptiness of the place had scared us away once before when we were walking by at the lunch hour, but saw no one inside. Not to compare the place to La Bamba on Bardstown Road, but we were wondering about the quality of the food if no one was around.

Before our food came a couple of Kroger shoppers came in and got to-go orders and two couples came in and sat down. Our food came out beyond quickly – our salad came immediately and our entrees followed soon after. I was impressed by the ambiance in the place: the color tones are chic and inviting, you get to look out large store-front windows onto Bardstown Road, you can kinda see back into the kitchen, they have televisions and pop music playing to delight your eyes and ears. The restaurant could use a tinge more warmth added to it, though. For instance the walls are a little shiny and abrasive. They could be warmed by some velvety furniture or more carpet coverings on the floor.

One part of the meal that was sub-par was our wait staff. They were attentive, but awkward as could be. My waitress spilled water all over my jeans and then wanted to blot it up with napkins. I kindly refused this weird offer and she disappeared and we found ourselves with a new waiter.



Inside of the Restaurant (from Aaron M.'s Yelp.com posting)














On to the important part: we ordered a hero gyro with standard toppings (tomatoes, onions, lettuce), a house salad, and a sampler plate of the vegetarian items (Egyptian-style hummus, baba ganoush, and falafel). The food was unique above all and very tasty. The bread and pita that came with the gyro and sampler plate was warm and sweet and one of the highlights of the meal. The meat was zesty and very flavorful and I would put it second to none; however, to me it tasted as if it was made good by the fattiness of the items (or rather adding butter or grease to them in key spots). The difference between this meal and a meal at Yafa’s, for example, is that Yafa’s never leaves a sour feeling in my stomach – Yafa’s can’t, it’s just fresh food always. Here I was glad and very surprised I didn’t burp my brains out when I went to the gym for my 8-miler afterwards.

Regarding our vegetarian sampler, nothing was lacking in terms of flavor or complexity. However, nothing was outstanding. The baba ganoush, which I had already had some of Yafa’s tops ganoush earlier in the day, was fresh but not quite as tasty. The Egyptian hummus I liked, but had that odd oxidized taste to it that kind of drives me bonkers (is it just a lot of lemon, or what?). The salad we had was phenomenal. It’s dressing was simply unbeatable – it was a simple salad, though, not too much outside standard Greek salad toppings.

There is a constant debate among middle-eastern and Mediterranean foodies about where to find the best falafel in town. My high school French teacher and agree that you can find them at Yafa’s at Theatre Square on Fourth Street; however, Zaytun did offer up some fresh and tasty falafel. I admit I am not partial to their style which tends to be more cooked than not, but their seasoning was scrumptious and their presentation amongst the other items on the plate was perfection! The appearance of the falafel itself is a little questionable: it looks more like a hushpuppy than anything... it’s like a big fried dough ball. But the innards are yummy and warm and the taste is there.

Winston’s Restaurant

www.sullivan.edu/winstons

Last Saturday evening I dined in the calm ambience of Winston’s restaurant, part of the Sullivan culinary school. Chefs serve up plates at Winston’s before graduated from the school and matriculating into real world fare. Our meal on Saturday was nothing less than excellent.

The menu features two types of items: small plates and large plates. As shared appetizers several of us ordered some small plates and sides to share. These included the pave beet salad, truffle fries, sweet potato fries, scallops, scotch egg, and the half not brown. All were decadent and good. I highly recommend the scallops, truffle fries and scotch egg especially.

The scotch egg was a hardboiled egg seasoned and served in a flavorful, but not spicy cream sauce. The egg was encrusted in a panko bread crumb mix before frying and had some country ham around it (what’s known as country ham sausage). It was one of the more unique and tasty items on the menu.

The truffle fries consisted of little potato fries cut into tiny pieces and salted, then served with a truffle mayonnaise. These fries were different from other truffle fries I’ve sampled in that they were not sprinkled with truffle oil, but came with what’s known as a truffle emulsion that was mixed with a mayo-like aioli (it was aioli, but more like mayo in texture and taste). All the sauces they served with items scallops, fries, and sweet potato fries were divine! Accept their offer to bring you some sauce with your fries, should you dine there.

Finally the scallops I had were excellent. They didn’t compare with scallops at limestone and weren’t quite as large or flavorful as those at bonefish, but were served in a lobster butter sauce that wasn’t overpowering and was just right. They also came with a spicy sauce and a ginger sauce, both of which were fresh and exquisite, but neither quite hit the spot like the butter sauce they were drizzled in. I would definitely make a return trip for the scallops!

For our entrées we dined on the mojo risin’ meat mixture served in a plastic bag, vegetarian stack, not brown, and pan seared salmon. I enjoyed my pan seared salmon – the cream sauce, again, was stellar. But the salmon itself lacked in flavor. I want to think that I don’t have to garner anything from a rich sauce to enjoy my meat or fish, but in this case I did. So in that aspect my meal was subpar. However in the sauce were yellow bell peppers and new potatoes that were cooked perfectly, as well as country ham that was a little too salty for my taste. I don’t think I’d order this entrée again even though the sauce was very fresh and yummy, just because its “meat” was lacking in flavor – and it was probably fatty!



The not brown and vegetarian stack disappeared from our table quickly, as did the mojo risin’. However, I thought the whole concept behind the mojo risin was weird. Sure it makes sense that you should bake these meats together (shrimp, lobster, crab) in a sauce and seal in the flavor. But it looks very unrefined to serve someone a plastic bag. Maybe if we were trick-or-treating and begging for food…

For dessert we tried the crème brule, cheesecake, and orange-chocolate cake. All were excellent yet my favorite was the cheesecake (no surprise here!). Good cheesecake gets me every time. It was served with a strawberry sauce that was sweet as well as with fresh strawberries on top. The crème brulee was a little too grainy and not creamy enough for my tastes. The chocolate cake was whoaaaa decadent, but gets high marks! I loved the mixed custardy orange center. That cake can show up in my fridge anytime!

Our wine favorites for the evening consisted of all reds: I picked the mysterious Chilean’ “Chono” wine, which was a hit, while others tried its white sibling and a cabernet sauvignon called “canyon road.” I think the cab was my favorite wine of the evening. It was well balanced and flavorful without being too fruity or front-of-the-mouth.

To all current and former Sullivan students: Wow! You really got a lot going for ya. Eat on!