A trip is most wonderful to me when full of excellent food experiences. Food and good restaurants make the travels richer and full of delight. The perfect moments in life seem to be spent sharing food and fellowship with family. Discovering the delights and unexpected tastes of a new place make it a deeper and fuller experience.
A rainy night is not the typical time to go out to dinner in my opinion, especially when a restaurant has outdoor seating that cannot be utilized. However, that is exactly what I did last week. Needless to say a cozy French restaurant was a perfect choice. We ended up heading to Terasol, self-described as “a place where the arts marry, whether of the table (arts de la table) or unique handcrafted creations and live music.” As no one was particularly starving, we were going out to eat more for the experience than the food, but we ended up with a feast. We started with a shared cheese plate (even though typically I would have ended with it). It had a nice combination of three different cheeses along with fruit and sun-dried tomatoes. The plate was simple, yet well-balanced; delicate and enjoyable.
My sister and I then shared two dishes. It is more fun to have tastings of multiple things. I ordered a warm lentil salad with arugula. Again, the dish was simple, yet hearty and just what I expected it to be. Not all that exciting in itself, it had a warmth and a comfort that was true and honest. The excitement of the night came with the special we ordered…smoked salmon. Typically smoked salmon is not something I would get excited about, nor would I actually order over other more tempting entrees. However, the magic word was lavender.
Lavender has an almost captivating appeal. It was more curiosity then anything that made me want the smoked salmon. Not only was my curiosity satisfied, but I discovered a new joy! The chef did a wonderful job of creating the dish, which consisted of two smoked salmon filets. One with lemon foam on top, the other poppy seeds. Sprinkled delicately around the plate was the lavender. The finishing touch though was the dill cream. Truly an interesting and captivating dish! Well done Terasol and my thanks for an unexpected and splendid meal….Virginia
