#32: Meritage

As the gift cards are starting to diminish, Brendan and I decided to finally use one that we had been saving for the right night. Meritage was perfect for a rainy Friday since it is located 3 blocks from our house, on the corner of 20th and Lombard. This was the only gift certificate that I had located in Graduate Hospital so it was one I was looking forward to. Meritage is wine bar with a contemporary menu. We arrived for our 8pm reservation and were the only ones in the dining room, but that quickly changed and before we knew it the place was packed.Meritage had very dark lighting and portraits of women on the walls, which gave it an interesting twist. I enjoyed the atmosphere, it was struck a nice balance between romantic and social.

We started off with the Red Beet Deviled Eggs & the Mussels. The deviled eggs were delicious, and the color of the beet gave the dish a pop. The filling had a bit of a spicy kick to it as well. The mussels were also great. I have to say they were..huge. I pride myself on being somewhat of a mussels connoisseur in the city, we rarely go out without trying them if they're on the menu and I've never seen mussels so juicy and thick anywhere else. 

For my entree I got the Salmon with snap peas, fennel salad, caramelized fennel puree, gin beurre blanc (whatever all of that means). It was good, could have been cooked a little bit more but not enough to send back. Brendan got the Grilled Petite Sirloin with roasted potatoes, grilled scallion, grilled ramps, ramp chimichurri. By his thumbs up in this picture, I assume he enjoyed his meal.

 

And we couldn't not get dessert, so we ordered the Warm Bread Pudding with brown sugar,vanilla, cinnamon, brandy maple cream, which we devoured. We decided that we didn't leave the restaurant completely full, so that shows that the portions were on the smaller side for us. That being said, we do eat a lot. 

I enjoyed Meritage but felt that for the price, we should've gotten more. With the gift card we ended still paying close to $100 (tip included). We also didn't get a chance to really explore their wine menu or try any of their cheeses, which is something I would like to do in the future. Really convenient spot for us, but I don't see us making this our go-to Friday night restaurant.