Each course of dinner held so much visual appeal that you almost felt like you were tasting it…read morebefore you had taken a bite. Because I am a huge beet and feta fan, the appetizer was so adorable looking that I almost didn't want to eat it, but eat it I did! Along with that, we were brought out fresh breads made on the premises and (this part I could hardly believe, but) they actually churn their own butter there! What? Who does that? They do apparently. Something that added lots of depth to our dinner was the way that Chef Josh announced each course and most often regaled with a story as to what inspired that particular dish. His take on the "Frenched" Tomato Soup was unique and creative. My hubby, who is a huge James Bond fan, would have really liked the BLT Martini Salads.. with a Shaken but not Stirred Dirty Martini-like dressing prepared table-side. Cindy was such a good sport by partaking in making some of the ricotta cheese dumplings. I know that she and Josh both are from Italian families who like to cook, but it sure came as a surprise to me that they even make dumplings with ricotta cheese as a main ingredient. That was only one of many things served for the main course served family style: Crab and Sweet Corn Risotto (my favorite), Potato Crusted Chicken, Pork Milanese (yummy), Cavatelli, Gnocchi Bolognese, Chilean Seabass, Roasted Broccoli, and Steak Diane also prepared table-side. I never tire of seeing flames lapping high above the cooking pans. It's such a dramatic sight!
In between courses, I was able to ask Chef Josh if his grandmother was his inspiration in becoming a chef and he said that both of his grandmothers were. They must be proud of him! And just when you didn't think you could eat another bite, out came the trio of desserts! Affogoto, Tiramisu in a cute cup made of chocolate and a most deliciously light and moist cheesecake from Chef's Aunt Jean's Recipe. Before going home, we were each presented with 2 chocolate dessert cookies to go. They weren't like any cookies I had tasted before and were a delight. Cindy started us off with a fun ice-breaker of telling everybody something interesting about ourselves. What a fascinating ensemble of Yelpers there! To me, getting to meet other Yelper's is just as delightful as the meal itself. Thank you to Cindy and to Favorites at Belterra Park.