I hate being late.

I can’t say that I’m always prompt, but I usually arrive somewhere between “Wow you’re early!” and “Damn, why’d you even show up?” On this occasion, I was about 20 minutes late. It was one of those moments when I walk in breathing heavily (because I’m out of shape, not because I was running), flustered, and say something along the lines of, “This loser was so slow and didn’t know how to use a turn signal”. Thankfully, the hosts of the event Emily, with the PR agency, and Tara of The Food Pervert were understanding of the situation. Maybe they dealt with their share of in the way people too. Regardless, Tara showed me to the dining table, gave me a menu, and introduced me to the other foodies in attendance. I’m not going to lie, I took a second to fan myself with the menu before I even looked at it. With about 10 people in total, I found myself talking with Let Me Eat Cake, Tanaya’s Table, and The Salad Bitch. After a few introductions, the dishes started to make their way over.

The first dish to the family style dinner was the Baby Kale and Quinoa Salad ($13). The brightly colored dish had a mound of quinoa with pomegranates, persimmons, and candied ginger. I just recently started to fall in love with persimmons so this plate made me a little excited. Reason being, it wasn’t just one slice of the fruit, but a beautiful arrangement of them. I appreciated the attention to the visual appeal of this one, but hoped the exterior focus wouldn’t mean it would lack in flavor. With the first bite, I realized that wasn’t the case. The greens and the quinoa were simple and nice on their own, but when you add a fork full of the persimmons and the pomegranates then it became something that made it unique in comparison to something served at other restaurants. Especially as a person who loves eating hearty (let’s be real, I mean fatty) dishes, this one works well as it is packed with various ingredients to make me feel like I’m full. Based on the courses from the menu, I stopped myself before that happened since there was much more to come.

The second dish was the Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash ($8). Honestly, Brussels sprouts haven’t fallen into my “gotta have it” category yet, but they are growing on me. The ones served here were plated with pecans and a balsamic reduction. The chef cooked them just right so they weren’t too soft or hard, which made them perfect to absorb the vinaigrette. The slight sweetness from the pecans ended up enhancing what could seem as a bland taste from the vegetables. Overall, they were good, but pretty expensive. They’re not something that would compel me to return solely for it alone, but a good side to try.

The last of the appetizers was the Roasted Curried Cauliflower ($7). I’ve always thought that cauliflower was boring, lacked excitement, and was just a vegetable to eat if prescribed by your doctor. Here, the chef did a nice job at giving the underdog vegetable flavor to help you remember it. I wouldn’t have thought to curry cauliflower myself, but then again I’m not a chef. It was nice and went well with the other healthy options that were being served so far.

At this point, the entrees began to come out. The first was the Potato Gnocchi ($14). The pasta had gorgonzola cream and was sprinkled with walnuts. The sauce was incredibly creamy and thick. If it were a fabric, it would be velvet, but the kind that you could eat. The gnocchi itself were a great size and packed with deliciousness that I barely got any. Reason being, Let Me Eat Cake ate the majority of them and she was not sharing. Somehow I managed to steal a few and I’m glad I did, because they were wonderful.

The second of the entrees was the Roasted Organic Chicken ($25). A nice helping of chicken was served with cornbread-wild mushroom stuffing, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, pecans, and sage. As you can see, the appetizer made a second appearance. It worked well in this entrée as it felt like a thanksgiving meal. The chicken was moist, the stuffing was flavorful, and the veggies brought it all together.

The final entrée to arrive was the Roasted Pork Chop ($26). The pork was lightly smothered with a mustard smoked garlic sauce, olive oil and served with sides of potato mash and Brussels sprouts. Remember when I said I like my meals hearty? Well this is a perfect example of that. The pork chop was thick and oozed with juices when I cut into it. When I ate a single piece of it, my eyes almost shut just so I could inhale all the deliciousness of it. The minute I opened them, I immediately stacked my fork with the potatoes and sprouts and fully enjoyed myself–regardless of how barbaric I may have looked.

At this point, I was sure I couldn’t take any more and then they brought out cakes. Yep, plural. They brought out their Buche de Noel ($35 for 6 inch, $55 for 9-inch, and $75 for inch) in infinity and noir. The specialty cakes were so pretty as one was decorated with cinnamon sticks and drizzled with chocolate syrup and the other was covered with chocolate and looked like patent leather. Both cakes were equally moist and soft, but the rich decadence of the noir (patent leather cake) had such a bold taste that I couldn’t think of the other cake once having it.

I really enjoyed the dinner at the Little Next Door and was even happier with the great company around me. We cracked jokes, stole each others food, and didn’t even elbow one another to get a good shot. Add to that, the plates were filling and delightful. Sure, I may have showed up to the event a tad on the tardy side, but all the screaming at other drivers and struggling to breathe on my way into the restaurant was totally worth it once I got my heart rate under control and the first dish came my way. I would do it all again, but without the bad drivers and potential moments of asthma.

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