Tapas at Mosaix

Growing up Thai I've always eaten food that have complex tastes. Every Thai meal should be compiled of dishes that maybe sweet, salty, spicy, sour, and/or bitter. Most meals will consist of at least 3-4 dishes with dishes that strive for layers of different flavors all melding into something wonderful. Generally, dinners in my family would consist of a curry, a stir-fry or two, a fried dish, and a salad. These were served with corresponding dips and condiments to flavor our rice with. We would all sit down to dinner with a large plate of rice, take bite sized portions from the main platters of food, mix this bite with some rice, eat, and then chose a spoonful from a different dish. If you watch most Asian families when the dine in Asian restaurants you will see them sharing food this way. This way everyone gets a bit of this and a bit of that. I still have a hard time going to Chinese restaurants with most of my American friends as they usually order their dish and they don’t share :-( Or at least not as much as I’d like them to.

So where is this all going? Well I’m hoping by explaining how why I’ve always wanted to try tapas. [Click here for a definition of tapas] I just love the idea of sharing multiple little plates of highly flavored tidbits while drinking good wine. Combine this with a nice atmosphere, a great friend, and wonderful conversation and you have one of my favorite ways to spend an evening.

Yesterday for my birthday Emi took me to a fancy pantsy restaurant in town called Mosaix. I’ve always wanted to go there because I had read they had tapas. Mosaix is one of the higher end restaurant in towns and this might seem like a antithesis of the tapas that are found in Spain (generally bar food), but since the owners also own JT’s Wine and Spirits at least your guaranteed a great wine to go along with your tapas.

I found this was definitely the case when we started our dinner with a glass of wine each. Emi had a love reisling and I had a wonderful pinot noir from Australia. Bad food blogger that I am I didn’t manage to get pictures or the correct names for most of the dishes. I really need to work on that huh? But at least I can give you enough descriptions of the dish that you be able to order them if you choose to.

For our tapas we started with grapes rolled in blue cheese and crushed pistachios. Emi and I are big fans of blue cheese and we both were very interesting in trying this dish. Six of these tasty tidbits arrive on a platter of arugula with slices strawberries in what was probably my favorite presentation of the night. I loved biting into these as the combination of sweet grapes and tangy blue cheese went well together. The texture of the pistachios added a nice crunch to the dish.

Our second dish was grilled oysters with a dark sauce. I don’t quite remember what was in the dish but do know that one of the key compositions of the sauce was a soy sauce or worcester sauce. This was probably my least favorite and I thought the cooked oysters tasted gritty. The sauce had a good flavor though.

Our third dish was Gambas al Ajillo, a well-known tapas dish. I believe this is the spanish version of shrimp scampi. This was my favorite dish of the night and the one I wanted to try the most. Mosaix version had wonderfully large shrimp bathed in lovely garlic butter. I loved the simplicity of this dish. The shrimp was sweet and very succulent. This would have been even better if they had served some nice crusty bread to dip in the remaining butter.

Our fourth dish was Patatas Brava which I believe is another quintessential tapas dish like the Gambas as Ajillo. After the prior dishes it seemed a bit bland but as I cleansed my palate with another glass of pinot noir it became more flavorful. I liked the flavor of the potatoes with the sauce.

Next came blanched white asparagus with a aioli sauce and baked brie with onions and apples in phyllo dough. Out of all our dishes these two I think I could have done without. The asparagus was something I could do at home and I really didn’t care for the sauce. It was similar to what was served with the patatas brava but didn’t add enough flavor to the bland vegetable. The brie was lost amidst the overpowering onion flavor and the doughy tasty of the pyllo. I certainly noticed the apples in the dish but I really couldn’t taste them.

All in all, I had a great time but I think that was more because the lovely company, the good wine, and great conversations as opposed to just a fabulous meal. It has given me great ideas for what to serve at a wine party.