Everyone loves a good meal. The opportunity came along for me to try some of the offerings at a community dinner hosted by Hyatt Regency Austin Hotel's Southwest Bistro last week and I jumped at the chance. The restaurant itself had never been mentioned to these ears so my expectations filled with caution. Most of my friends talk of "The Roaring Fork" or "Finn & Porter" in the other hotels. The last time I was at the Hyatt Regency it didn't really have a restaurant but a little cafe that was OK at best. Once arriving the improvements could be seen. Decor is for others to describe. Let's talk about the food.
We started off with a small plate of seared scallops that was over orange, arugula, and grilled onion salad. My first bite had me craving the next. The scallops were delicious, and the salad with the orange and grilled onion complimented it well. I was never a fan of grilled onions until now. I could not wait for the next plate...
The appetizer was Wild mushroom raviolis with morel sauce. They were huge and the flavor was amazing. These disappeared off the plate rather quickly.
Next was a trio of entrée offerings. The descriptions are in the photos of the duck, quail, and swordfish plates prepared for us. The watermelon really made the swordfish's flavor come out. The duck was cooked perfectly and the orange sauce made the mouth water at every bite. The quail however was unbelievable. Stuffed with mushrooms and Brie it was moist with a lightly crisped skin. The cranberry gastrique made the quail's flavor sing and who cannot love blue cheese mashed potatoes. I am really at a loss of word to describe these as my vocabulary just isn't the kind to go into the nuances of flavor but just typing this my mouth is watering from the memories of tasting it.
Dessert. The strawberry shortcake prepared was probably the best this palette has ever tasted. Fresh Texas strawberries on an almond scone topped with Pure Luck goat cheese cream. As Peter from thetastingbuds.com said, "It has just the right amount of 'goat' to it" and I couldn't agree more. Delicious is not strong enough a word to describe this. I plan on bring a friend just to try this dessert when they have it,
I would also like to thank the Hyatt staffers Dawn, Sarah, and Christen for the invitation. A big thanks to their Chef Kevin and Connie our server for making the experience on to remember.
Definitely check out the Southwest Bistro at Hyatt Regency Austin. I know I will be back. Also the appetizers were around $12, entrée $27, and dessert $9. Great value for the quality.
