No Confusion at The Olive Room

I must confess. I love the Olive Room. It's not the trendy design, the "mafia room", the confusing bathrooms nor the candlelight that attracts me back again and again. It is the duck. Yes, I said the duck. The quack quack duck. Of course, the martinis are also good but many places in town can make a decent 'tini. They also have a very reasonably priced wine selection. So too other fine restaurants in the Gump. However, very few places in the Gump can serve up a fine duck. The Olive Room consistently serves duck the way I like it: sliced breast medium rare. I do not know where they get their duck, but it is always good--and good for you too. Duck at The Olive Room is a very lean red meat with the consistency of fine steak.

The other night, the chef prepared the "spiced rubbed" duck with a brown sauce that enhanced the meal.

The chef was kind enough to come out and speak with us. He mentioned, I believe, that he had come from Auburn where he worked at the popular Amsterdam Cafe. (If I have that wrong I hope someone will correct me.) About $24 per entree, the meal for four persons, with two $50 bottles of wine and martinis, was $230. Expensive but not unreasonably priced.

Although I would never suggest you visit The Olive Room just to see the architecture, it is funny to watch newbies try to determine which door leads to the M or W bathroom. One hint, if see this in the bathroom you are in the "M" room:

This is where the "M" are supposed to piddle.

They also have a nice jazz combo playing on weekends making The Olive Room one of the most romantic places to eat in the Gump. So if you are looking to impress a client or the little lady, this crusty old Irishman recommends The Olive Room without hesitation.
EDITORS NOTE: A hearty welcome to all attending the military computer thingy conference this week. We hope you enjoy your stay in the Gump!

En Jolla La Jolla

We love our friends even when they live on the wrong side of town.  Monday night, our friends from East Shorter held a birthday dinner for a member of our gang at La Jolla.  Accordingly, we held our breath and somehow got past the cameras at the Vaughn Road/East Boulevard intersection and snuck through the rear entrance of East Chase to meet for cocktails and dinner with 16 of our closest friends--one of whom just turned [CENSORED].  Because some in the group turn into pumpkins at 9 p.m., we met at 6:30 p.m. and had the only big table in the bar to ourselves until the "beautiful people" filled the bar stools.  Before the meal we enjoyed martinis with Ketel One at $8 a pop. Mine was not "straight up" as I ordered but the other ingredients requested were present so I went with the ice flow. A minor inconvenience.

Among our crowd are some fairly finicky eaters known to send back entrees at the drop of a hat for the slightest variation from expectations.  However, except for one "so-so" rating, most of the entrees were rated very good to excellent.  I ordered the wedge salad ($7) and the Grouper Yvonne with crab, scrimp, shrooms, 'chokes in a Hollandaise sauce ($23). The salad was better than most wedge salads you get in the area.  I liked the blue cheese dressing.  The fish tasted fresh and the sauce made the dish. My friend next to me loved the Blackened Elk Chops ($32) and, knowing they have a place in Jackson Hole and eat Elk, Red Deer, Buffalo and other western meats often, that rating registered as probably solid. The Grilled Beef Ribeye ($32) to my left was so large it survived the rather large appetite of another friend who said it was well prepared and a good piece of meat. At that price it definitely should be. A friend that does not like seafood although she grew up in St. Pete, ordered the Pork Scaloppini with lemon soy butter on a house-made pasta ($21) and declared it delicious.  So the verdict was 15-1 in favor of a high rating for the food.  The service was very good for a large group with 8 checks.  Our check was correct the first time and the 20% gratuity was clearly already added although you could add a tip to the check if you wished.

Some of our "outside the Gump" friends confided that La Jolla was their favorite restaurant and I could not argue the point.  If it were located closer to town I would no doubt visit more often.

Some fine desserts are available but the staff kindly let us bring in a birthday cake (prepared by one of our male members who loves to bake). I do not know if they charged a "corkage fee" for the cake but they did kindly cut and serve the cake for every one at the table after the [CENSORED] candles were blown out.

This was actually about the fifth-sixth time I had eaten there and I cannot remember a bad meal or experience.  A little pricey, but arguably one of the top five places to eat in the area.  If you are ready to spend about $100 per couple (with drinks), you will probably be pleased with your experience.  Actually, I am a little surprised that La Jolla has a rather low rating on Urban Spoon.  It must be the expense that turns some people off as the food, at least Monday night, was darn good.

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