{"id":2485,"date":"2015-02-05T08:00:55","date_gmt":"2015-02-05T14:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=2485"},"modified":"2015-09-02T11:22:58","modified_gmt":"2015-09-02T16:22:58","slug":"restaurant-calla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/02\/05\/restaurant-calla\/","title":{"rendered":"RESTAURANT CALLA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"calla3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Well, I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I’m sure we’ve all eaten more food than we should have.<\/p>\n

I must share the wonderful dining experience I had with my family the other night. Chelsea and I took my sister Tricia, my niece Toni, and Amber and Amber\u2019s husband Beau, out to dinner at Restaurant Calla. Chelsea and I had been before with some other friends, but I got so caught up in eating and visiting that I didn\u2019t take any notes or pictures.<\/p>\n

Since the menu does change some from day to day, I didn\u2019t want to half-way do the article. This time I came prepared. I got all my pics and I requested to take a current menu with me when I left.<\/p>\n

I must say the ride up in the elevator is almost a tease to your senses, since you can smell a smoky aroma coming from the kitchen that has you wanting to start eating before you’ve gotten off the elevator.<\/p>\n

I had a chance to sit and really take in the vibe of the place since we arrived around 5:30 pm, and it hadn\u2019t quite started to fill up yet. I had a chance to just see how nicely laid out the room was for the overall size of the place.<\/p>\n

While we were waiting for my niece to arrive, we decided to get the cheeseboard that came with crackers, pineapple chutney, and Dijon mustard. There were two cheeses on the board, and while they both were very good, the \u201cRedneck Cheddar\u201d was just fabulous. I don\u2019t know if it was the smoky flavor of it that I liked so much, but it has a soft bite on the back end that I just really enjoyed.<\/p>\n

\"calla2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Chelsea and I decided to have the Pork Blade, which came with saut\u00e9ed green beans, potato salad, salsa verde, and pickled jalapenos. Now, that pork was cooked to perfection and the seasoning had a nice taste of pepper cooked into the meat. Combined with how juicy the meat was, the ensemble made for an excellent dish.<\/p>\n

I love it when chefs use fresh vegetables that are cooked correctly. The green beans on this plate were bright green, and they had just a slight pop to them when you bit into them. There was just a little seasoning to enhance the beans’ natural flavor.<\/p>\n

The salsa verde was a different twist on the plate. When I ordered it, I really didn\u2019t see how it was going to fit. But I’m always happy to be wrong when the foods end up having perfect ingredients blended together.<\/p>\n

We also ordered the beef tenderloin steak tartar, which was said to have a perfectly cooked 63-degree egg. The dish came with Dijon and toast. Now, I don\u2019t know whether the egg was a perfect 63 degrees, but it looked perfect sitting on top of that tartar.<\/p>\n

I’m not sure what writing this article did to me, but I’ve become a raw food-eating maniac, and I can only imagine that I’m making myself more open-minded about food and allowing my food pallet to grow.<\/p>\n

Enough of that rant. The point was that the tartar was uncooked to perfection, and the cracker, tartar, egg, and Dijon combo was a slam dunk all night.<\/p>\n

Tricia and Beau both had the filet of beef topped with bone marrow butter and served with creamed kale and potatoes. The filet was seared perfectly, and the juices poured out of it when you cut the meat. Add a touch of that marrow butter, and the meat explodes in your mouth. I worked for a great chef named Gianni Fassio; he was the first chef I met who used marrow butter on all his steaks. I compare the earthy taste to that of fresh truffles.<\/p>\n

\"calla1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I was curious to try the creamed kale, as I’ve always used kale as a garnish. Over the past couple of years, I’ve eaten it in salads. But I’ve never had it cooked.<\/p>\n

I must say Restaurant Calla has that recipe figured out, because I’ll order that kale anytime it’s on the menu. It has a slight bitterness to it, but it\u2019s not bitter in a bad way, if that makes any sense.<\/p>\n

Beau ordered a bowl of the sweet potato chips. I don\u2019t usually eat sweet potato fries or chips if I didn\u2019t make them myself. But I must admit the way the cooks at Restaurant Calla shave the sweet potatoes for the chips was genius, and I’m mad I never thought of it. The chips were so light and airy tasting that I found myself with my hands in Beau\u2019s chips more than his were. Anyone who knows me knows I love dipping things in sauces. But anything other than the chips the way they were prepared would have been an injustice to the chips.<\/p>\n

I love seeing classy places like this open in our hometown. The place has an inviting feel to it. It also has great taste in management. Haylie Loftin worked for me at one time, and was an amazing pastry chef and manager, not to mention an amazing friend. Her enthusiasm about the place makes you love it before you’ve eaten the first item. She truly makes you feel like you’ve been there a million times.<\/p>\n

I can’t stress how important it is to get out and support these local restaurants. These places are our city\u2019s hidden gems, and they really show how much talent we have in SWLA when it comes to food.<\/p>\n

That reminds me that the ladies from Nina P\u2019s will be opening at the beginning of Feb., so please get out there and show Fallon and Paulina how much we’ve all missed their great food and friendly faces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I’m sure we’ve all eaten more food than we should have. I must share the wonderful dining experience I had with my family the other night. 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