Saturday, October 13, 2007

Lili's Bistro

I took the missus out for the anniversary last night. We met Pete and Jenna for a drink at Finn McCool's before heading over to Lili's Bistro for dinner.

I smiled when I walked in because the place was packed. Evidently, the greatness that is Lili's isn't a secret.

The special -- sold out. Chef Walter’s Tenderloin Tips & Spätzle -- sold out. You gotta get there early. We started with the Escargot and Portobella mushroom sautéed in garlic butter, topped with parmesan cheese and panko. The portobello makes a huge difference.

My wife had Lili's Seafood Trio -- a Thai chili-glazed salmon filet, an Asian crab cake, and a shrimp boat, served with red cabbage and green apple hash and white rice. I had the Paella-Stuffed Roasted Poblano, loaded with chicken, shrimp, sausage and broiled frog legs (I like eating weird creatures) stuffed into a roasted poblano pepper. Both were -- of course -- fantastic.

For dessert, I had Emeril's Italian Cream Cake with pecans and coconut-pineapple frosting and my wife had. Ally's Apple Pie, topped with brown sugar, cinnamon, a Brandy butter sauce and vanilla ice cream. What impressed my wife about the pie was the crust -- it was buttery and crumbly goodness. My wife is still talking about it today.

Before we left, we spoke with owner Vance Martin and thanked him for a wonderful evening. We talked a little bit about what's going on along Magnolia Avenue. I told him I thought it was the epicenter of cool in Fort Worth. "Absolutely," he agreed. "Look at everything going on up and down the street -- Spiral Diner, Nonna Tata, Panther City Bikes, The Chat Room. A lot of those are FWWeekly Best of Fort Worth winners."

One thing that impressed me the most about what he said about his restaurant was his reason for opening it. "I said the only way I would run another restaurant is if I did it my way." It's not something he has to do, it is something he wants to do. And let me tell you, his way is pretty damn good.

If you haven't been to Lili's, do yourself a favor and drop by sometime soon. But get there early.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lili's = teh awesomz. It's like a koala bear, painting a rainbow.

In your mouth.

Bret Starr said...

Really good eats at Lili's. I'm glad their in the hood. Folks from my company eat there every day. Quality.

Anonymous said...
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Steve-O said...

I have deleted the previous very unfavorable comment from bruleegirl because there is no way to confirm or deny the nature of the complaint. If the person who left this comment wants to contact me about their complaint, I am happy to discuss for a follow up. However, for the time being, I think it is suitable to remove the comment.