Sausage
All pork hot dogs, good things.
Taco Salad
Good as always.
Burgers
Beef, I got it in my mind to make some mini burgers, so I did so. Good meal.
Egg Sandwich (holy crap there was some lucky george bacon in the bottom of the freezer)
Bacon holds up well, happy with finding it at the bottom of the freezer.
Bangers and Mash with Guinness onion gravy
I think I’ll make this again, but, not use the Guinness to make the gravy, cause it’s a bit too bitter. When I was slicing the onion I was thinking about only using half of it, since it was a rather large onion, but ended up using the whole thing. Overall fairly tasty, but the gravy could use a bit of work. Crooked Gap Bangers, did work well, though.
Sweet Potato Ramen
I adjusted. I added a bit more broth, and boiled the sweet potatoes rather then baked some of them. Generally this worked out well, and the broth mixture was tasty and goes well over rice too.
Oak Park (DSM)
We went to the newly opened Oak Park on 11/4. This was the first reservation that we were able to get, that did not conflict with existing plans. We dressed up a little to go, and showed up just a little bit early. And after looking at the property from several sides, we headed in. So let’s talk about what’s important, the design.
Shannon had to listen to a lot of this already. So the normal ceilings are fairly tall, but in comparison to the center of the dining area, where the bar is, the space is compressed. This was something that was noticed a lot in the FLW houses where the entrances and other areas had a confining feeling then you get into the main shared area and it opens up with a much higher ceiling, but in this case you went from a normal, perhaps tall ceiling, to a very tall probably two story ceiling. We were led into our dining location, near the front windows, through the bar, so we had that opening up experience, but then got the feeling of compression as we headed out of the bar area. So my general thought was that it might be better to lead people through the windowed dining areas on the side, rather than to get that mild feeling of compression.
After we sat down, one of the first things I noticed was the inconsistency of the brick. About 5 feet from the floor the pattern of the brick changed a bit, which is fine, but that line didn’t continue with the serving stations, nor the line of the windows. And the serving station didn’t match with the windows. I kind of want that line at the base of the windows to go all the way around the space, to only be broken by the doors.
The brick, which may not have been actual brick, didn’t have the deep cut, and almost full line to reinforce the lines around it (re: Meyer May house, etc).
The on table candle was held in a container that had a sort of feel of the place with lines and patterns and I liked it. However the sconces at even placement around the area, seemed more Victorian-esque, then mid-century, so they seemed a bit out of place. Not that they’re not pretty, but it doesn’t quite fit in my mind.
The Champagne bucket stands, seem like they should have had a built in place for them to hide. While at hand for staff to retrieve for customers, it really seems like they should have had a nook to rest.
I noticed that the flatware had the line break up on most pieces, which was a continuation of that theme.
In watching the staff work, I notice more then once that someone would have to get pretty low to get something out of the bottom cupboard, so perhaps if it was a bit higher, they wouldn’t have to bend so low.
My complaints are just me being picky for the most part, mainly because this is a style that makes me feel almost immediately relaxed, in most places, even when it is outside my general comfort zone.
Generally, we were very pleased with the food and the excellent service. This will certainly worth a second visit. The food was presented well, interesting, flavorful. Cocktails were made well and other Sam is quite knowledgeable (we’ve met a few time and Grade A and Cheese Shop events).
My biggest note was that I chose a vegetable focused dish (Carrot Wellington), and was pleased with the decision over a more meat focused dish.
