inluminent

Wow.

Last night the wife and I went out on a celebratory dinner… just us. She’d mentioned that she wanted to have a good dinner. A Special Dinner. So, I turned to a list of the best restaurants in town and picked one that sounded like it would be special/romantic, and that had a great menu. I read a review of Hudson’s on the Bend and decided that it sounded perfect.

Parking was not what I expected (we had to park in a dirt/gravel lot and walk down a hill to get to the front door – which was really the back door). Once we were inside, we stood under a heater for a minute because it was freezing outside.

Once we were seated, we took in the menu and the wine list.

We chatted for a bit before ordering a bottle of Merlot, and then moved on to our appetizer, Omar’s Rattlesnake Cakes. Ummm… The texture was sort of like crab cakes, but all the more delicate, and slightly woody. They had sort of a smoked game taste to them.

For dinner, I ordered the Vennison Backstrap stuffed with Lobster Tail. Oh my, it was to die for. The Guava Soury Cherry sauce that it was sitting in was like candied cherries and complemented the superb smokiness of the lobster tail, which was truly juxtapositioned well against the meatiness of the vennison. Oh, and I could cut it with a fork… when’s the last time you could cut vennison with a fork?

The wife ordered the Tenderloin of Beef which was cooked to perfection. Medium on the outside and pink on the inside, but warm all the way through. It looked like a large filet, and had a lobster medalion (a big damn shrimp) on top of it as it came to the table. The meat was tender enough to be cut with a butter knife, and the accompanying vegetables were wonderful as well.

The most intriguing side dish was the mashed sweet potatoes, as they weren’t candied yams, but rather were woody smoked mashed sweet potatoes. They weren’t bitter at all, but also weren’t overly sweet, and they were dry versus sopping wet with glaze or butter. They were truly remarkable on the pallet. Our ‘99 Fall Creek Reserve Merlot complemented the meal quite well.

The waiter was great, seeing to our every need, and the Candied Ginger Cheesecake in Mango sauce was truly a perfect ending to a fabulous meal.

The final bill: $150 (tip included).

It was well worth it. I’d recommend Hudson’s on the Bend to anyone looking for a perfect special dinner (oh, and btw, their Valentine’s special is $150/couple and will fill up fast. Call ahead to make your reservation: (512) 266-1369.)