Tasca

After passing by Tasca on 3rd St. and Crescent Heights hundreds of times, Chase (f.k.a. Griffin) and I ventured there last night and it was definitely worth it! It reminds me of a neighborhood NY or Italian restaurant with less than 15 tables and the large wine bar taking up near half of the restaurant. the vibe is definitely dark and cozy with lots of rich wood and mirrors across the inside. There is a small outdoor patio as well that they close in a tarp when the weather is colder. We called at 8:00pm on a Friday night and the host who answered the phone was more than cordial in saying that he'd get us a table right away as soon as we got there, which was delivered as promised. Our waiter was really nice, but spoke to each wine and dish a little too much, over-describing all of the wine and dinner specials. We had decided to have a few tapas and split an entree so we started off with a glass of wine and a small bucket of truffled potato chips. They were pretty much homemade potato chips with truffle oil drizzled on at the end, making part of the chip just a little soggy. These were so good, and so casual for truffle oil that you could still eat them on the side with a great sandwich and it wouldn't be too much. Our second tapa was the ceviche, one of our favorite dishes. This was served in a cup-like bowl on top of a bed of arugula. The fish simply melted in our mouths it was so fresh and delicious. Overall the dish was really light and a great palette opener for the final tapa and the entree. Next was the grilled white pizza with smoked mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, and basil, one of the night's specials. I really didn't know what to expect for a grilled pizza, but it was similar to a flatbread. There was no sauce at all, and though the pizza was extremely good,it could benefit from a garlic sauce. Overall, though, a very tasty dish. I really wanted to try the tortilla Espanola and the mussels, but with a full entree coming, it would have been far too much food. For our main course, we split the venison chop, which was served charred on the outside and rare on the inside. This is perfection. I've really only enjoyed venison in the form of a sausage prior to last night, but the chop was different than any venison I've ever had. First off, it was incredibly tender, which I didn't know the meat could be. Second, there was a little bit of spice to it, but nothing like the spiciness you normally get in a venison sausage. I will say that seeing the venison on the bone for me was a little sad because that kind of conjures up images of the helpless creature that had to die for my dinner, but I didn't let this get in the way of finishing the dish. One thing to note is that if you are going to go with just entrees, you'll probably need to order a side or a tapa as the entree is really just the main dish. We were pretty full but we split a creme caramel for dessert. For those who have never had this wonderful concoction it's like creme brulee without the hard top. Instead, they gave us a crispy caramel candy that looked pretty much like glass, but tasted like heaven. So we all know the food, the wine, the decor, and the service was great, now let's talk about price. It's not cheap, but food prices, particularly those of the big plates, really aren't bad. Tapas range from $7-16 or so, with the meatier selections such as the New Zealand lamb and the steamed mussels being on the higher side. Most of the entrees are in the low $20 range, with some pastas and other dishes at around $15-18. Desserts are $7 each. Where things could really get expensive is on the wine. Each glass is approximately $10, and they have some really nice bottles that can get quite expensive. If you just need a little or want to sample a few, they do have about 10 wines for tasting. Parking at Tasca is like everywhere else on 3rd, difficult unless you valet. We were lucky enough to find a spot on our own, so I didn't check how much the valet was. Tasca was terrific all around and somewhere I definitely recommend to anyone looking to enjoy a great meal.

http://www.tascawinebar.com/index08.html