Bovine and Pisces

Clever, eh?

The possibilities are almost endless:  Dogies and Dogfish, Hereford and Hake, Charolais and Catfish, Angus and Angler, on and on….

You might get the drift that we revisited Cow and Fish the other night, which would be true. We were pleased to see that some improvements have been effected since our earlier visits.   Timing was much better this time, no long periods between courses, and entrees did not arrive on top of appetizers, and no incessant “how is everything?”.  Although we had a different server, ours did not ask me to cut into the steak to "see if it was okay".  The other server did ask an adjoining table that question.   I am of two minds on that issue, I would prefer the former approach showing confidence in the kitchen to produce the degree of doneness requested (although I admit that it is a bit subjective), but it does save a potential round of sending things back (which should be rare (ha ha) and hope that your dish is well done). 

This time a bartender was on duty (I asked) and did not do the drink test, rather asked for a Gin Martini, up with a lemon twist. Unfortunately the choices of Gin were only the first two of the holy trinity (Bombay, Tanqueray, Beefeater).  I suppose in a smaller venue, having a bottle of some esoteric brand gathering dust isn’t economical..  Anyway, I chose Bombay and received

Although I prefer a classic “up” glass, the stemless version is increasingly common. I suppose it is driven by less breakage, less trouble for the transit from the bar to the table, etc.  It certainly can't match the beauty of a well turned out Martini.  However, that is NOT an unripe lemon, nor a slice of jalapeño which it resembles, but in fact a “twist” of lime.   At that point I figured citrus is citrus (plus I was thirsty) and didn’t object. MFO had a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

I don’t believe their menu has changed since day one (as evidenced by the tattered edge creeping into the picture above), but they do offer specials, I think maybe three or four on that evening…We decided on a starter of the always reliable Patatas Bravas, and I chose of the of specials, a “blackened” rib eye, and MFO selected grilled salmon from the main menu.  Neither of us selected a side salad as one of the “sides” that came with, but I thought I spied one going to another table (I always look at other tables).  Here is one of their salads as served back in April of 2016

Which makes a very nice presentation with those tomatoes at the cardinal points.  This time I thought I saw a salad arrive in a plain bowl.   Too bad if true.   All of the food had very good flavor, and my steak was medium rare and also “lightly blackened” as I had requested.   The owner stopped by the table and just chatted, without questioning the food, also a welcome touch.  My second glass of a Rioja was served from the bottle, a nice refinement which I wish would be repeated more often elsewhere…

There were perhaps four other tables and three ball caps in the restaurant, sigh.  

As an aside, one of the reasons we wound up at C&F instead of our usual haunt of the Dry Dock, is that their menu has not changed for months.  Being a regular, we have pretty much exhausted each item.  Yes, they have specials as well, but there seems to be a cycle there as well.  Of course one of the attractions for us is the “Cheers” phenomenon, greeted at the door, drink almost as you sit down, and continued pleasant service.    Sometime we can get into the relationship between quality of food and quality of service.   Bad food; great service?  Come back? How about great food; inept service?  Mediocre food; just good service?   What’s your rules?

And lastly I got a very nice note from somebody I used to work with regarding my little (Super Bowl) “observation” on violence in our culture.  While I didn’t intend to impugn “guns” or venture into the quagmire of “gun control”, my friend pointed out how much he enjoyed the sporting aspect of firearms (target, skeet, etc.,), and the fact that the NRA has lots of programs to promote safe handling, keeping, and general safety of firearms. 

Oh and cycling back to the Kow and the Koi, we are addicted to “Morse”,  a John Thaw (RIP) program on WETA UK that airs at 8pm, so we took home a slice of lemon cake and had a sip (well many) of FOJTE’s Valentine’s gift to accompany it.

Nice wrap up to the evening, and of course we were

DFC&F

PS, again spying on an adjacent table who ordered (off the menu?) crab balls, which arrived looking delicious, not your usual SOMD golf ball of crab stuff, but more like a Chinese dumpling one might see on a Dim Sum cart..  Think we’ll put those down instead of the Patatas next time..