From our first dish to the very last drink, this was one great meal to recall.
The pressure was on for me, after all, these friends of mine work in the industry, and I did not want to let them down! On the Uber drive over, I did a light peek at the menu, to give myself an idea of what would spark my interest to eat – and it was NOT an easy decision. The burger, cavatelli, mussels, and fish and chips were all screaming my name.
Nothing compares to a great burger, and after asking our servers on this – especially when mentioning the aged cheddar cheese, my mind was dead set. The three of us agreed on a jar of pickles, mustard-glazed pretzel, and oysters as starters, with a lucky little pearl coming from one of the oysters! Portions were of no concern either, considering these three were "starters." The pickles had green beans, onions, and peppers in the jar and I made the moronic decision to go for red pepper, dealing with the burning fire in my mouth and watering eyes. The pretzel was at the perfect temperature with its smooth mustard flavor and welsh rarebit dipping sauce, and our oysters were super fresh – some would've thought they came straight from the water that day!
Sadly, I failed to record the beers I had that day, but for good reason because my company beat anything I could be possibly doing on my phone. Before we knew it, the food arrived – a gnarly 8 oz. Slagel Farms burger, bone marrow, and mussels. I have yet to try three different dinner entrees to realize later, "wow, I could have eaten any one of those." The juicy medium cut of the burger; a perfect spread of marrow on the triangle toast; and mussel broth of exquisite taste – words do not do any of this justice. And the food lovers we are we shared our meals because the food is about sharing and enjoying, together.
Desert came in two fashions: one included news that these friends would not be leaving the state until next winter; and the other was the carrot cake which reminded me of Market Day. For those of you who had Market Day, you know what I am referencing.
This meal is nothing short of an A meal, from the service to the freshness of food, and overall experience – next time you are considering a meal in the city, take a peek for Owen & Engine. You are in for a damn treat.