"Rich" weekend pt.2

As if I didn't consume enough tasty food on Saturday I had already planned a "girls night" for Sunday evening at Bacchus. I consider Bacchus to be one of my absolute favorite resturants in the area and whenever the craving for mussels hits I know exactly where to go. Sadly, as I walked in the door Sunday evening I was informed that they were out of my favorite appetizer, but not to worry, they had plenty of clams to go around (blah!) After holding back a few tears we decided on the antipasta plate and caprese salad.

Once again, my disdain for balsamic vinaigrette arose as it was scattered throughout the caprese salad plate. But once again, I made sure I was caught up in the moment of eating and decided to partake in one of my favorite dishes and put the thought of actually tasting the balsamic out of my head. It worked! I suppose having a plethora of basil on the salad didn't hurt either. As for the antipasta plate, well it is certainly meant to be shared in that it is huge! Complete with true pickles, beets, spicy peppers (that I thought were tomatoes, yikes!), roasted red peppers, anchovies, and a number of other things I never even got around to... In addition to the appetizers we were given the bread du jour. Normally I will pass on the bread basket. Don't be fooled, I LOVE bread, but in the scheme of things I would rather derive my calories from my vodka soda or beer then from my bread. However, I noticed that the bread was cornbread and it looked as if it had been grilled. I dove in and ate every crumb!

Since I know Bacchus to be one of the best in town for seafood I opted for the Red Snapper fillet (generous fillet at that) topped with a shrimp and lobster cream sauce and accompanied by some julienned zucchini and squash with some fresh green beans and asparagus tossed in there and fluffy (but real) mashed potatoes. Wow, I felt like I was going to get the gout just from the sauce alone, but I couldn't stop. The fish fell apart at the touch of my fork and the sauce included 2 jumbo shrimp and a strong flavor of lobster. I even ate all my vegetables that were perfectly seasoned but had to quit halfway through my potatoes, I do have limits after all. We collectively decided to pass on dessert for another cocktail and chatted the rest of the evening away.

All in all, I was completely devastated at the lack of mussels that evening, but will most certainly return. The evening ended on a wonderful note though when we decided that our next "girls night" will be held at Cafe Rustica. Yum-O (my terrible Rachel Ray reference....)

Bacchus
2 N. Meadow St.
Richmond, VA
335-9919 (they do take reservations)