I didn't get there till around 4:30 or so and got myself all settled in, looked at my computer a bit to see what I wanted to do on Friday, changed my clothes and went off to dinner at Cooper's Hawk Winery in the Easton Town Center.
I've been to the shopping plaza several times with friends but we have always had our meal at Brio's which I love but I wanted something different and was very happy with my choice. They are a chain restaurant and somewhere I suppose there is a Cooper's Hawk Winery. I think they maybe told me it's in Chicago but the grapes come from mainly California. I didn't see all of it and didn't see any sign of a buffet. You go through their tasting room/gift shop area first and then I was seated in the small bar area.
The bar room - I liked the big wine barrels up on the shelf and all the sparkling glasses - a very convivial setting.
I decided since I was celebrating a holiday, I'd order a glass of Prosecco (bubbly) before dinner. It arrived and was delicious! I've learned I like Prosecco better than champagne and this was maybe the best one I've had. Once I ordered my food (three different appetizers), I poked around in the tasting room/gift shop area and noticed that all the wines they were selling were from their winery and there was Prosecco! So I asked the man at the counter if that was what I was enjoying at my table and he said yes, so I bought some.
The big lit-up space in the center is I think a main dining room probably. I was right around the corner to the right which was much nicer for a solo diner, I think.
I ordered three appetizers because when I'm at a nice restaurant eating by myself it gives me more variety than just one entree. With friends, you tend to share a little but alone you don't have that variety. I would have only ordered two if I had known that they were going to bring me a big, delicious, dark brown and salty pretzel bun when they brought the Prosecco. I tried not to eat too much of it but oh, my - it was good! And the whipped butter was wonderful.
My appetizers were a roasted beet salad with arugula, whipped ricotta(!), and a balsamic drizzle. Very, very tasty. That white sort of worm-looking bit in the front is the whipped ricotta. A little strange looking but it went well with the salad. And, yes, this is a horrible picture but it wasn't the best lighting.
My second and favorite appetizer was Mexican drunken shrimp which looking at the menu just now, I see was bacon wrapped, jumbo shrimp with a tequila lemon sauce and little balls of guacamole. I had forgotten about the bacon and told my sister they were fried until the shell got real crispy and you could just eat it all (I had just read about that idea a week or so before). But that's probably one reason why they were so incredibly tasty - the bacon must have been very thin because it really did just look like crispy fried shrimp.
And the plate in the back was the third appetizer and was my least favorite mainly because it was so hard to eat - had a large amount of the whipped ricotta which made everything slide off as soon as you picked it up. I'm not real sure I got what I ordered but fortunately, after the pretzel bun, the beet salad, the shrimp (which I ate every last morsel of) and two or three bites of the bruschetta (which was tasty) along with another glass of Prosecco, I was ready to stop. My waitress was very nice and attentive and the guy in the tasting room/gift shop was also very pleasant. I really think I made a good choice - especially for a holiday meal. The restaurant was full as far as I could see and I imagine the others in the Center were also. Makes you wonder who was eating at home!
My motel was only about 5 miles or so so I got back quickly and safely and had a long and good sleep. I'll post Friday and Saturday next.
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