This sounds like a NO BRAINER doesn't it? In life there are certain truths that we hope to hold self-evident like: You "don't tug on superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger"........and you don't put marinara sauce on butternut sqaush ravioli with sweet pumpkin filling! Seriously, one would think that this subject would never be up for discussion!
And yet, here I sit discussing it with you. This is the story. After spending a week recovering from a health issue, I found myself, sitting at home alone. I hadn't even been out of the house for a week. My fear of becoming a complete shut-in became stronger than my fear of going out alone, so I made a plan. I would attend a local art show and treat myself to dinner out.
So I showered, put on my "glad rags", some lipstick and headed out. I decided to stop at a local bistro that I've enjoyed. It looked particularly inviting with twinkling votive candles aglow in the windows. As I entered, I was met by delicious aromas, it was cozy warm inside and there was live music! A local woman, Donna Barnes-Roberts was singing with her lovely soft toned voice filling the space with ambiance. My evening was off to a delightful start.
I was given the menu, with it's simple and appealing offerings. I needed to look no further than the roasted butternut squash ravioli with a Cesar salad and my mind was made up. I was gleeful -- great ambiance, great music and one of my favorite dishes! The waitress brought a plate with 2 small slices of zucchini bread and 2 small slices of white bread and butter. Both breads were delicious, and minutes later my Cesar salad arrived. It was good too, with a mix of baby greens, croutons, Parmesan cheese and a perfectly salted dressing. I couldn't have been happier.
Shortly after clearing my salad plate, my waitress arrived with my main dish ravioli. When she sat it in front of me, I was immediately taken aback. The butternut squash ravioli was covered with MARINARA sauce! And to add insult to injury, tossed on top of that was a white cheese of indeterminate origin. It was semi melting, giving the dish the look of enchiladas. I said to the waitress as she started to leave, "Excuse me, is this dish supposed to come with a red sauce like this?" She assured me that it is always served like that, except normally they grate a harder cheese on top -- but they were out of it. So -- I continued on. I was all ready skeptical, so I tasted the marinara alone. It was very good, tasting of fresh ingredients, tomatoes, garlic, onion.....delicious. Then I cut into the tender perfectly cooked ravioli. To say that the flavor combination that met my palate next was jarring would be an understatement. The ravioli filling was sweet!! Like pumpkin shmear from Einstein Bagels sweet!!
I would have found a sweet filling like that somewhat irksome, even served in a white sauce or a butter sauce with parsley -- but the combination of the sweet filling in the butternut squash pasta, covered in a tomato/garlic marinara was, in a word, WRONG!! It was so bad that I ate three bites to REALLY make sure that it was bad. The thing I found more surprising is that anyone would MAKE and serve such an odd combination of flavors. Would you offer fresh Marina sauce to accompany pumpkin pie? So ODD!
Then I was in a conundrum! I didn't want to make a fracas, someone I knew was singing, so I decided to not send it back and ask for a to go container. I secretly wanted to take it home to get other people's opinions about it. I ordered coffee and a piece of carrot cake. The coffee was delicious and so was the carrot cake. The cake itself was VERY good with a "frosting" that is probably all cream cheese with a tad of sugar added. It makes for a lovely presentation and isn't overbearingly sweet. It was a redeeming finish.
I went on to the local art show that I enjoyed. I met some interesting new people. I had to laugh though as I met this new group of people with newly graying temples and beards. They look the age that I imagine myself looking. HA! As I was talking to one of the artists, his wife came up and took his arm and said, "Oh yes honey,......this is Daron's Mom." Daron by the way is my 33 year old son. Hey, how did his friends become my age? HA!!
Later that evening, after I returned home, my 18 year old daughter and her entourage of ever energetic friends came home. They were scouring the fridge for food and found the ravioli container. They asked what it was and upon hearing ravioli, opened it and dove it........I waited. Within seconds......"Ewwww, what the heck IS THIS?" ...................At least it wasn't only me!!
No comments:
Post a Comment