If your first thought is...hey, I think you've been there before...you are right and you have a better memory than Mike or me.
We went to Robust Wine Bar in mid-December of 2019, and I even blogged about it, but it wasn't until we actually walked in the restaurant did either Mike or I realize this. It looks soooo different outside than it did in on that dark, cold winter evening a year and a half ago. Yesterday the sun was shining and it was lovely outside. There were quite a few people outside and there were some guys playing guitars and singing.
Right when walked in, Mike and I both knew we'd been there and where we sat the last time. So, I pulled up the old blog. Yeah, I should have read it BEFORE we went. We didn't really like this place much the first time. The blog said the wine was fine, the meat and cheese trays were too small, and the entrees were WAY too small and over priced.
That did direct us a little. I had done my research on the wine, and we ordered a bottle of Barnard Griffin Merlot. It was fine, not great.
Then, since we thought the combined Meat and Cheese tray was too small last time, we ordered a full on Meat Tray and a Cheese Tray. Yeah, that wasn't really much better.
For almost $20 each they were still quite small. The meat tray had 3 pieces of salami, 3 pieces of capicola, 3 rolled pieces of prosciutto, and what they called pate. I like pate, and this wasn't pate. It was something they had homemade. It tasted like they had ground some kind of lunch meat (bologna?) and pressed it (along with some diced yellow peppers and diced olives and very few spices) into a loaf pan. Then had cooked it and cooled it. Then they sliced it. It was not soft and creamy like a pate. It was not good and not something we finished. The center of the meat tray had some whole grain mustard with 3 little cornichons (super tiny baby dill pickles) on it. Mike ate most of the mustard and I ate the pickles. But I do have to tell you one discovery I made. I have always hated yellow mustard. This whole grain mustard was just the mustard seeds pickled in a vinegar...so I tried it. I can eat that!! It is twangy from the vinegar and has the taste of the seed. Who knew that there was a mustard in this world that I would eat!!
On the cheese plate there was a very soft brie (I like brie, Mike doesn't) and a very twangy blue cheese (we both enjoyed that) and two semi-firm cheeses that had no distinguishing qualities whatsoever. One was a little dry and sharper than the other but both were really quite boring. In the center of that plate were some dried dates and apricots. I like dried fruit, Mike doesn't. Then there were almonds that were shiny. I thought they were candied almonds...yum. I was wrong. I think they had been tossed in a bowl with some kind of oil and then salted. So, they were shiny because they were oily. Weird!
We didn't order entrees, we read the old blog and decided to skip right to dessert. Mike had a dense brownie with ice cream, and I had the salted caramel pot du creme. I had this last time. Both desserts were good.
I'm sure you know the taste of a fudge like brownie. The pot du creme is like super thick pudding with a quenelle (fancy French word for a dollop that has been shaped with 2 spoons) of whipped cream and caramel sauce with flaked salt on top. Again, it was yummy.
Hopefully we will read our own darned blogs before we make reservations and go here again. There were 4 guys who came in as we were eating dessert. They looked like professors from Webster University. They didn't want any food. They said, "We are just here to drink!" They know what's what! That (and maybe dessert) needs to be what we use Robust for!
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