Extra VIRGIN!

[ulterior epicure]

There wasn't a clunker in the lot.  I will say the octopus disappointed me a bit - perhaps because I had anticipated it out of all reasonable proportion - but I will give it another try now that I know what to expect.  It was just different than I had envisioned.

Are you going to leave us in the dark as to what you expected and what you received?

I've seen any number of octopus preps in "tapas" restaurants, but two are most common: alla Gallega (boiled and coated with paprika) and boiled and baked until tender and soft. What was the version you had?

My surprise favorite was the polenta with soft yokes and fontina.  It was a really blustery night and this may have redefined comfort food for me.  Simple yet elegant and very satisfying.

Please tell me you meant "yolks."

Edited January 4, 2009 by ulterior epicure (log)

[Twohearted]

My wife and I had dinner at Extra Virgin a couple nights ago for her birthday. I gave her the choice or Le Fou Frog, Michael Smith or Extra Virgin (all places we had not been to yet) and she chose Extra Virgin since she's a fan of tapas.

The short: It was great for the money and we'll be back again.

The long: Personally I was dreaming of a quality tapas bar similar to the ones you'd find in Spain so I went into it with very high expectations. Of course, that's rather unrealistic for Kansas City. Anyways, we had quite a bit of food (keep in mind these are small plates):

braised pork cheeks - I thought it was little tough and had a bit too much salt, but the white beans were good with it. I saw somebody in this thread refer to Central and Michel Richard's braised beef cheeks are out of this world.

beef marrow bones - excellent, but needed more radish on the plate

hamachi ceviche - very good and I especially liked the texture with the corn nuts

duck confit corstini - excellent

beef empanadas - good, but I still like the ones I make more

braised escarole with rice and parmesan - just OK, but I'm not a big fan of escarole in the first place

white sardines - excellent with some garlic, tomatoes, oil from the can and a salad pepper

On top of this we had 4 glasses of wine between us. All told we spent $115 not including tip. Considering that we were ordering many of the more expensive items off the menu and had a couple drinks each, I was pleasantly surprised that the bill was only that much. Of course I had higher expectations and some of the dishes didn't meet those expectations, but considering what we ordered and how much we paid I think it was right on. You can certainly spend $115 at other KC restaurants and do much worse. We will definitely be back to Extra Virgin. We are both dying to go there for their half-priced happy hour in the summer time for a First Friday with friends.

Edited January 22, 2009 by Twohearted (log)

[ulterior epicure]

hamachi ceviche - very good and I especially liked the texture with the corn nuts

I'm not sure if this is traditional tapas (I'm guessing not), but it sounds like something I had at Alma de Cuba once. Inventive.

[Twohearted]

hamachi ceviche - very good and I especially liked the texture with the corn nuts

I'm not sure if this is traditional tapas (I'm guessing not), but it sounds like something I had at Alma de Cuba once. Inventive.

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Yeah, I doubt it, haha. I think the interesting thing is taking the tapas concept and applying other types of cuisine to it.

Edited January 22, 2009 by Twohearted (log)