Dinner at Lantern

After work yesterday (the day after Valentine's) , I made up my mind to go for a fancy dinner. I had made some sort of vague dinner plans with Alli W, but didn't reaffirm it with her (She happened to have left her phone in her room, so dinner with her was a no-go).

I strolled out of the Art building after work, and after finding out from Emily that Blonde Redhead and Interpol are playing at Disco Rodeo the weekend after next weekend, I walked leisurely up Franklin street toward Carrboro. (Sidenote: anyone want to see Blonde Redhead and Interpol with me? Tix go for, oh, say $18?)

I contemplated restaurants like Lime & Basil, 411 West, Tallulah's, but somehow made my way into the empty bar at Lantern minutes past 5:30pm, right when the place opened. Maybe I should have gone to Crook's Corner instead, or perhaps Fuse; I would really like to try somewhere new.



It was just me and my notebook at the round table, where I ordered a fuchsia pink Singapore sling, crab and shrimp stuffed spring rolls in Bibb lettuce wrap and fresh herbs, and a chanterelle, black trumpet & shitake mushroom hotpot with homemade tofu dumplings, local squash, hand-cut soba noodles and mushroom dashi. There were enough food to feed two, which sadly means I would have to save dessert for my next trip.

The Singapore sling was tasty, a little too much alcohol and not quite as tart as ones I had in Singapore. The alcohol left me a little tipsy for the rest of the night, even through Joan Nathan's lecture on Jewish food in America several hours later.

The springs rolls were delicious. Three little rolls, filled with a fragrant blend of crab and shrimp meat, as well as fresh basil and herbs (could it have been mint?) are fried until golden and flaky. You then wrap the rolls in a large green leaf of Bibb lettuce, with a few sprigs of sliced green onions, and small leaves of fresh basil. The dipping sauce which came with the dish was too pungent and tangy for my taste.

The Shiitake mushroom hotpot was standard fare. In it, I found thin, noodle like slices of egg skin, julianne bits of orange colored squash, mushrooms, and wide, rather floury hand-cut noodles. The broth had an overwhelming shiitake flavor. The fried tofu dumpling, of ground tofu, spices and (I believe) squash, was the highlight of the dish. The rest was, *eh*.

Conclusion: Next time, skip the entree all together. Just drinks, appetizers and desserts. It was still a very satisfying meal, and I would definitely dine by myself more frequently from now on. I would like to take more solo ventures to fancy restaurants, courtesy of my father's credit card. ($38 for a one person dinner is an extravagant expense for a "poor college student.")

Upcoming food ventures (hopefully) : Sage Cafe, Oishii, Crook's Corner and Fuse.

Just ordered takeout from Burrito Bunker. Tarheel Takeout is so overpriced, yet it's one way I can exploit parents' money using my One Card. Shame on me.