Dan R.
Yelp
Evergreens offered a Prix Fixe Christmas Eve Dinner -three courses, complimentary mulled cider or eggnog, plus entertainment and caroling for just $49.95++ per person. How could we pass that up?
We ascended the lobby's grand staircase and walked to a dining room on the right side of the second floor. First impressions -the room was beautiful! Two acoustic guitarists were playing and singing a mix of Christmas and pop songs.
We looked at the menu and saw the same basic dinner details we'd seen in the newsletter ad a few days ago. The "starters" were Frisee & Arugula Salad, Spinach Salad, or Butternut & Apple Bisque. The main courses were Pecan & Dijon Crusted Rack of Lamb, Roasted Tenderloin of Beef, Cider & Spice Pork Loin Wrapped in Bacon, Roasted Vegetable Wellington, or Lobster & Crab Stuffed Dover Sole. And the desserts were a Warm Plum Cobbler or a Chestnut Chocolate Torte. What a great menu !
When our server asked about cocktails, we asked about the complimentary cider or egg nog we saw in the newspaper ad, but which curiously didn't appear on the table menu. She said there were no complimentary drinks included. Now, both of us had seen the ad (Page 7, Yankee Flyer North, December 14, 2016) but apparently either the wrong ad was printed or the staff didn't know about it. We even asked our server to check with someone else, but that didn't work either. Oh well, I ordered a glass of wine and checked out the music.
The acoustic duet featured West Hartford's Jen Lowe and a male guitarist whose name I didn't catch. They were wonderful -super entertaining, funny, both had great voices and picked those acoustic guitars beautifully. They reinvented some pop classics from the Stones, Beatles, Bob Marley and turned them into gorgeous acoustic versions (ever hear an acoustic take on "You Can't Always Get What You Want?"). They mixed in a Christmas song or two, but the pop music and a funny Jenn original were the highlights.
Twice during the evening, seven or eight Santa hat clad teenagers from Simsbury High walked in to lay some Christmas carols on us and they passed one of the Santa hats to collect donations for Loaves and Fishes in Hartford.
And our dinner? It was great. We both had the Butternut & Apple Bisque served with "Crispy crumbled bacon & goat cheese". It was hot, with a great creamy taste and plenty of bacon. The serving size was pretty generous too.
We decided on entrees of the Cider & Spice Pork Loin Wrapped in Bacon and served with "Pumpkin & cauliflower mash topped with crispy onion straws, shaved Brussels sprouts with dried cranberries & balsamic caramelized onions" and the Lobster & Crab Stuffed Dover Sole served with "Citrus Buerre blanc, pumpkin & cauliflower mash topped with crispy onion straws & sautéed garlic honey broccolini".
I loved the Dover Sole and everything on my plate. The fish was cooked just right, there was plenty of crabmeat in the stuffing, the pumpkin/cauliflower mash was delicious, and the broccolini was tender. I tried a forkful of the Pork Loin and it was tender and flavorful, really good !
We tried both of the offered desserts - a Warm Plum Cobbler (Warm plum compote topped with brown sugar cake enhanced with ginger, nutmeg, cloves & cinnamon. Served with toasted almond ice cream & candied almonds) and a Chocolate Chestnut Torte (Spiced cocoa crust topped with layers of mascarpone caramel, chocolate ganache). Both were ridiculously good.
All in all, we had a wonderful time. The music, the atmosphere, the food were all stellar. And my glass of wine ended up being comped!