Taverne Guildhall à Poole Quay

For today's blog post, you will need Google Translate!

That is, of course, unless vous parlez francais! In which case, lisez la suite!

She Said:

"Les... Pois...son, Les Poisson, how I love Les Poisson!"
- The Little Mermaid, 1989

Quand je pense à la cuisine française, fruits de mer est rarement la première chose qui me vient à l'esprit ... qui est, bien sûr, en dehors de cette scène brillante à partir de mon film d'enfance préférés, The Little Mermaid.

Eh bien, tavern Guildhall à Poole Quay aimerait me donner tort.

Ce restaurant de fruits de mer français, situé à quelques minutes du quai au coeur de Old Towne Poole offre un vaste menu qui comprend localement atterri délicieux poissons, le crabe et le homard, préparé dans une eau à la bouche et le style typiquement français.

Ils doivent être bien faire les choses, parce qu'ils sont classés n° 1 sur les restaurants Poole 122. C'est formidable!

Lorsque Brett m'a amené ici pour Date Night, je ne m'attendais pas à la magnificence au premier regard.

L'extérieur discret crée une façade pub-like, pas un de cuisine française fine.

En entrant, vous remarquez subtile décoration française, mais sans le arrogance du "kitsch" que vous pourriez trouver dans un restaurant italien ou mexicain ... les Français sont un peu moins évidente.

Nous avons été accueillis et installés immédiatement, et a assisté à des détails du reste de la soirée. Le personnel était attentionné, sympathique, charismatique, et utile - et authentiquement français!

Le menu est vaste, avec l'option de produits laitiers ou sans gluten sur plusieurs des articles - comment très anti-français pour encourager la commande spéciale! Si j'ai essayé à Paris, je serais expulsé!

La taille des portions aussi défient la norme française - ils sont massifs. Nous avons commencé avec une sélection de canapés pour £ 2.90 par personne, incluant soupe à l'oignon française, saumon en croûte, grillades gambas et pâté. Tous étaient délicieux.

Pour notre secteur, Brett a ordonné au Carré d'Agneau Dorset (£19.95), alors que j'ai choisi deux entrées, l'une Moules Marinier la (£7.75) et une Gambas Mauritienne la (crevettes tigrées, £7.95). Brett principaux inclus frites françaises et le choix de salade ou de légumes frais. Une fois que tous nos aliments sont arrivés, notre table était couverte. Nous avons essayé de notre mieux, mais ne pouvait obtenir par environ la moitié de celui-ci. Et il était ridiculement délicieux.

Tout cela la nourriture incroyable, plus deux verres de vin et deux bières est venu à un peu moins £70! Quelle belle surprise!

Outre une expérience fantastique globale, taverne Guildhall offre également plusieurs événements spéciaux manger chaque mois - dégustation de vins, ainsi que d'une Soirée dédiée français, où vous pourrez déguster de délicieuses spécialités françaises avec un menu unique, musique live, et un quiz en français, vous émergents dans la culture française. [Réservations nécessaires.]

Nous recommandons vivement cet endroit pour la nourriture incroyable, super service, et un peu chaud française au milieu de cet hiver froid anglais.

Datante Heureux!

xo,
B et M

Restaurant information:

Guildhall Tavern

15 Market Street

Poole, Dorset

SatNav: BH 15 1NB

T: -1202 671717

Opening hours: Tu - Sat 11.30a to 3p, 5.30p to 10p.

(closed Sundays and Mondays for private functions.)

Menu: click here.

L'Assiette in Southbourne

She Said:

Brett's turn to plan date night took us to a sweet little French restaurant over in Southbourne called L'Assiette (French for 'the plate'). He found this place on Trip Adviser - as it is rated NUMBER ONE! of all local restaurants. You can see all the great reviews here! And, we're about to add to them.

This place was spectacular!

We visited on a Thursday night around 7pm, and had the place to ourselves! For such a highly-reviewed restaurant, we were surprised it wasn't more crowded - and it's a tiny spot. Probably no more than 15 tables total. But the fact that we were their only patrons (for about a half hour, then it started filling up), the service we received was impeccable.

Now, as you have read in our past posts, service in England isn't anywhere near what it is in the states, due in part to the fact that tips aren't really a driving incentive over here. But this place - this place breaks the mold. The service was better than most places we'd been to in Seattle!

Once seated, we were immediately brought over a jug of water, and amuse bouche's from the chef - i LOVE this!

Our waiter was quick to help us decide what off the menu to order (as EVERYTHING sounded amazing!). We were sitting by a little window that looked into the kitchen, and was fun to watch the chef hard at work - and the kitchen was impeccable! Spotless.

The menu changes weekly depending on what is in season. We started off with some Parmesan Cheese and Basil Risotto Balls (£5.45) and they were PHENOMENAL. Hot and crispy on the outside, with oozing cheesy rice in the center.

For our mains, Brett ordered the Rib Eye steak (cooked to perfection!) with portobello mushroom (£18.95), and i ordered Pan Fried Fillet Sea Bass with bouillabaisse sauce (£17.95). The fish flaked off the fork, and the sauce was so rich and amazing - brilliant drizzled over the vegetables and potato that accompanied. We also ordered a side of Mediterranean vegetables (£2.50) - but we barely touched these, as we were so full from the rest of the meal!


At the end of the meal, our waiter brought out some homemade shortbread cookies and bon-bons as a post-meal treat. It just kept getting better and better!

Amazing ambiance in this sweet little French spot - impeccable service, sweet little surprises, and melt-in-your-mouth food - L'Assiette is definitely one of Bournemouth's best kept secrets!

Bon Appetite!

L'Assiette
www.lassiette.co.uk
141 Belle Vue Road
Southbourne
Dorset
BH6 3EN
01202 420537

Seattle Date Night: Oui, Oui, Ew Ew!

November 7th, 2009:
Bodies Exhibit and Chez Shea

She Said:

So this weekend, Brett and I decided to take our own dating advice. We both love gross things. We both love bodies. We both love the show Grey's Anatomy. We both love downtown Seattle. We both love beef jerky. We both love Monster Trucks. SO, where can you find all of these things minus the Monster Trucks in one place? Why, the Bodies Exhibit of course!

Saturday night, we headed down to 5th and Pike Street (the old Adidas building across from Banana Republic) and, for $19/per person, gained access to some of the most gruesome and awesome sights of our lives.


We went into this exhibit with only minimal knowledge: We knew that it was a display of once-alive human bodies. We knew we would have access to sights that most people don't get to see without an MD... or jail time. We knew that there was some controversy surrounding the exhibit. Apart from that, we didn't know much. The space was small but held a ton of information. About 7 or 8 full human bodies posed in positions that showed how the muscles and bones and joints work... They had on display black lungs, a cirrhosis liver, a breast tumor, both sets of reproductive organs, gall stones... It had an entire section that showed the nervous system (no idea how they did this... was amazing) and of course, the famous 'body slice' guy...well, a couple of them.


WOW.

Was pretty amazing. VERY gross, but also pretty amazing to see the insides of my body. There was also a booth where you could go and actually FEEL some of the body parts. Yes, Brett and i held brains and liver. We immediately sanitized the bejeesus out of our hands...

...Before heading out to eat dinner!

Brett's original plan for dinner was Sushi. I however, had some apprehension on eating Sushi after seeing what we were going to see ... Once he'd been through the exhibition, Brett agreed. So instead, we decided to wander down Pike Street towards the Market.

We settled for French food at Chez Shea instead (thank GOD!).

We were able to snag the last table in the lounge (lucky... we didn't have reservations and it was 8.30 on a Saturday night!). Chez Shea is a cute little French bistro located above the Pike Place Market. It is small and cozy. The wait staff is super friendly.


We ordered a half-carafe of wine each (Brett the red, me the white) for only $5 per (they each hold about 2 glasses of wine). The white was beautiful! I ordered my meal from the special 2+1 for $25 menu, and got mussels, a crab salad, and small cheese plate. Brett ordered the rack of lamb ($29). Our bread and herb-infused oil arrived and we dug in.

We started to talk about the Bodies exhibit and how we thought it was strange that all the bodies were all clearly of Chinese descent. This of COURSE made Brett want to research it instantly, so he whipped out Wikipedia on his iPhone.

We soon learned that the Bodies exhibit that we had attended was one of two Bodies exhibits touring the world. One (Body World) used full-consenting donors for the bodies displays. The other (Bodies, the Exhibition... the one we went to) was rumored to have used bodies who were once Chinese prisoners that had been executed. And sold to the exhibit. Without consent. On the Black Market. For $300.

Brett and I were flabbergasted! We couldn't' believe what we were reading. It made the whole experience that we had just been through all that more creepy and gruesome!

Brett seriously couldn't shake the feeling. Until, of course our mussels arrived.

(Yes, i started making EXTREMELY crude jokes about 'mussels' ... and the bodies we had just seen... to where Brett almost punched me in the face across the table.)

But all jokes aside, the mussels were AMAZING. They were in a warm butter broth with chunks of chorrizo. The combination of the spicy chorrizo, the salty mussels and the rich broth worked magically together.

Brett's lamb arrived along with my crab salad. Neither of us were overly impressed. Brett was expecting more than just two small pieces of lamb for the $29. My crab salad was tiny and not very flavorful... and it took quite a while for us to get our food. The waitress (she was very sweet!) had to apologize twice for the wait. No matter, we weren't in a hurry. But just make note of that if you're headed to a show or a movie or Showgirls afterwards.

We finished the meal with a small cheese plate that was part of my 2+1 for $25 dish, and Brett had an espresso. We nibbled on 3 amazing cheeses and finished our wine. The bill came and there was a mistake on it (they had charged us for 2 of the 2+1 for $25 AND for Brett's lamb) so we alerted the waitress and she was mortified. Made the change immediately.

We left full and satisfied, and headed home after an interesting evening.

I highly recommend seeing the Bodies Exhibit, even though it did leave both Brett and me feeling a bit dirty.

However, there isn't a lot of opportunity in life to see what we saw on Saturday night... we learned a lot, and i can say it is one of the most memorable Date Nights I've ever had!! (A tip, though -- do NOT go to Sushi for dinner afterwards!)

**Also of note! Chez Shea is participating in this month's Dine Around Seattle: 3 Course Meals for $30! Check out their offerings here!

RATINGS:

Romance: Bodies exhibit: 2/Chez Shea: 5

Cool Ambiance/Interior: Both: 4

All Around Service: Chez Shea: Slow service, but very friendly: 3

Cost: Bodies exhibit: $19ea/Chez Shea: ~$35ea

Would we recommend it? 4: Yes on both, but keep an open mind.

**Photography wasn't allowed inside the Bodies Exhibition, so photos via, and via. Chez Shea photos via and via.