Flatbreads + Aioli Restaurant = Lunchtime Awesomeness

There are a few things that separate a good restaurant, from a great restaurant. Spectacular service. Fantastic food. Ambiance. Parking (lol - having had someone hit my car which was parked on the street, while I was inside eating, makes this very critical for me these days).

But seriously, one other thing that keeps me going back to any restaurant is when the establishment 'keeps it fresh' and by this I mean, you are not eating the same pasta dish for a year because the menu is in a chronic state of paralysis.

And this brings me to Aioli, located in Ellerslie Plaza in Maraval, which is still my fave restaurant. With the lunch menu being revitalised earlier this year, Aioli is keeping it fresh once again. Every time I go, there is something new, and something different for me to try, and I appreciate this, and I bet the Aioli-ites appreciate this as well. It is also a great way to entice new and emerging Aioli-ites and entice they did, when I was invited to join a great gang of foodie types, to try out Chef Johnny's brand new flatbread menu. 

The menu was created for the lunch time crowd, those busy corporate types like myself who want a great lunch experience but in half the time; and really, it's perfect for just about anyone who likes great food and anyone who loves a bit of adventure with their food.

The flatbread menu we tried yesterday, which is reasonably priced in my opinion,  consisted of:

Margherita - homemade marinara sauce, buffalo mozzarella, fresh purple and green basil. For those who may still be a bit hesitant, and need a little nudge, a margherita flatbread is a good introduction, until...

Garden Flatbread - zucchini, eggplant, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, Humboldt Fog Cheese, homemade marinara sauce, Villa Manadori Balsamic. I loved this, primarily because the balsamic gave it that something special. For the meat lover like myself, this 'something special' made this veggie option a winner!!

Sardinia - Mozzarella cheese, buffalo mozzarella, micro basil, thinly sliced garlic, homemade marinara sauce, marinated white anchovies. Not much of an anchovy lover, but this was a great little flatbread. For me, the garlic...the garlic...the garlic. This was a wonderful blend of flavours - anchovy meets garlic. Amazing.

Chorizo di Funghi - Baby bella mushrooms, spicy Spanish chorizo, mozzarella cheese, homemade marinara sauce. I love chorizo, so this was bound to be good. Add the baby bella mushrooms and I was a happy flatbreader.

Shrimp and Manchego - Grilled shrimp, mozzarella cheese, Manchego cheese, fresh cilantro, meyer lemon. - Wonderful flatbread for the non-meat eaters, with that lemon zing giving the taste buds a real sucker punch.

Blue Steak Flatbread - Grilled sirloin steak, blue cheese, roasted garlic, caramelised onions. No wonder it's listed last on the menu. This is the king of the flatbreads - a real OMG moment. Seared ever so delicately with a blowtorch, the steak, combined with the blue cheese, with the caramelised onions and the roasted garlic - the highlight of the afternoon. Words cannot describe this epic creation and I loved it, and will hopefully be loving it some more, and then some more again.

And when we thought it could not get better, a special treat, and when I say special, I mean special. As a notorious pork lover, the introduction of the Carolina styled pulled pork on hops, served with a Cajun aioli, cole slaw and breaded and fried ochroes sent the table into a bit of a frenzy. This dish is trininista-certified for awesomeness - a platinum standard for anything pork! While it is actually NOT a menu item, I hope the response will get it on the lunch menu in the very immediate future.

The only bad thing about yesterday is that once again, I had to go back to work after the last morsel was consumed. 

Keeping it fresh - that is what it's about. Keeping the experience new every single time. I appreciate that and Aioli continues to do it extremely well. Cheers.

Read more »

The Tough Week That Was

High heeled life is often taxing and tiring. This was a really really REALLY hard week. I worked late almost every day this week, and today, I woke up with a headache, back ache and completely exhausted. It was also a challenging week for the "Bringing Sexy Back" mission. Like today. I woke up feeling sick and also with an uncanny, mind numbingly overwhelming craving for something I hardly ever eat - KFC. So I had it. I had it and I enjoyed it. Every last greasy fry, and every crumb of my one greasy chicken leg. Fail.

Don't judge me.

Still, the week had some moments. My extraordinary friend's extraordinary birthday dinner at Aioli, which also greatly tested my willpower - a test I failed I admit. I mean, it's Aioli for crying out loud. It's kinda hard to not fail the willpower test with a menu as awesome as theirs. I did well to stick to protein as my main but this was the downfall right here.

Aioli's awesome Napoleon

This, and the strawberry mojitos and Prosecco - my first alcoholic drinks in over 2 months. On a work night. Fail.

And I did not make it to the gym the morning after, or the morning after that and I was too tired to really make a solid sweat investment the morning after that as my Savannah run became a Savannah nightmare and every step felt like I was running through quicksand. Fail.

I will however give kudos to Allister, our server, who held up extraordinarily well against the cheeky, good humoured assault from 14 mischievous women, with yours truly probably being the worst offender. He was a good sport though (but I did hear him utter "My God" under his breath, just behind me, after about an hour and a half...and I don't blame him one bit. I laughed) and proves me to that brilliant customer service is not dead.

Shopping deliveries are always a highlight as well - especially when they are speedy.

Gotta love a sale. And friends who facilitate your lack of retail willpower in the face of company's reluctance to accept international credit cards. Do better than this, NY&C I have supported you so well for so many years, so let's work on this. Fail.

Kudos as well to my skybox delivery guy - a guy I have had run-ins with in the past for his farseness and general outta-timing behaviour and comments. Even when he called a few days earlier to attempt delivery on a sick day, he was just generally obnoxious. But this time, when he came to make said delivery, he was as sweet as that Napoleon. It was bizarre but in a good way. Again, my hope for great customer service was boosted.

And speaking of sale...one sale in particular has gotten me thinking of my vacation of nothing again. I think it is meant to happen, so I better just make it so - especially with more tough weeks ahead.

Read more »

Sensuous Lunch-Time Getaway at Aioli

Truffle fries - delicious

So as many of you know, I love food - good food - and so restaurant adventures, among other foodie outings, are always a great thing. So when friend extraordinaire, Leslie Ann invited me to Aioli again, having missed the first opportunity because I was chained to the corporate grind, well...I was certainly not going to be a fool twice.

My first outing to Aioli was fantastic and so I was very eager to see what was in store today. The good folks at Aioli are preparing to launch a new lunch menu, with brand new options, unlike anything on their awesome dinner menu, but just as fun and exciting. Food should always be fun and exciting. What is even more exciting is being among the first to test and taste the menu-to-be as guests of the Chef's Table. Small yaaay.

The menu supports quick lunches, which are perfect for those of us who have really busy days and short lunchbreaks. First there are french fries. French fries, you say aloud. Yes. French fries. But not every french fry is the same and this truth was confirmed the moment I sampled the truffle fries - "crispy truffle infused shoestring French fries", and my personal fave, the Tuscan fries - "Extra Crisp Baton cut French fries tossed in garlic chevril butter and shaved parmagiano reggiano". 

The Tuscan fries were my winner among the three, which also included classic french fries. I had most of those Tuscan fries, friends. I confess. The diet went on a break around 12.30 this afternoon.

Up next - pasta. I love my pasta, so I was eagerly anticipating the pasta options on this test menu, which the table shared. First up, a lovely Pasta alla Marinara - a wonderfully fresh combination of pasta, tossed with fresh garlic, Shallots, Marinara and cherry tomatoes and garnished with parmagiano reggiano and micro basil. I loved the freshness of the ingredients, with those cherry tomatoes being the most succulent gems ever.

Pasta alla marinara

Then there was the poulet y pesto. I love pesto but had actually never had a creamy pesto but I did enjoy the fussilli pasta tossed in a creamy pesto with moist cubes of chicken.

Poulet y pesto

My winner in the pasta competition was definitely the final pasta dish - Pasta di Funghi, which featured pappardelle pasta tossed with a sexy variety of exotic mushrooms, cream, parmagiano reggiano and truffle. If you are a mushroom lover, you have to have this. Your lunchbreak will never be the same.

Pasta di funghi

You may think it was over by now, but...it was not. We still had to taste the sandwiches on the proposed lunch menu. I had actually planned for today with a regular 5am workout, and a bowl of watermelon for breakfast.

So, the sandwiches. These were all taste sizes, mind you, and not regular sizes. I will admit, I am not a sandwich for lunch person, unless that "sandwich" is a wrapped roti. However, if you are indeed not averse to a sandwich for a quick lunch, then these three options were pretty damn good.

There was first, the Aioli Club -

The Aioli Club

...Aioli Club White Foccacia Bread layered with avocado, sliced turkey, sliced chicken, dehydrated bacon, Dijon mustard, Lettuce and tomato. That dehydrated bacon is the truth. It gave that sandwich a magic of its own - a really amazing flavour which I appreciated immensely.

Then, this was my favourite I think - the Reuben.

The Reuben

...Rye Bread layered with corn beef pastrami, swiss cheese, Saurkraut and dressed with Thousand Island. The dressing gave the sandwich a nice sweetness that complemented the savoury of the other ingredients.

And, the Louisiana Po Boy

Louisiana Po Boy

 ...Ciabatta Bread layered with Fresh fried Oysters, Cajun Aioli, Caper Remoulade, Butter Lettuce, Tomato and Pickle. Okay, this was awesome awesome awesome. The rest of the table thought it a bit too spicy but the kick I loved. Delicious.

Wicked LSJ also ensured we had dessert, and we shared a tiramisu cup, as well as a classic creme brulee and a Nutella brulee - delightful.

Creme Brulee times two

Lunch may never be the same again. The service as always was stellar so thanks to Marvin for being excellent. Apologies again to Jeremiah who let me call him Jeremy for about half hour without politely correcting me. And of course, LSJ for the awesome lunch experience and the power table of some of the amazing, beautiful women in my life.

And the cute chef for the eats and special care and hospitality afforded to us all. We had a great time.

And yes, I had to go back to work after all this. Isn't life hard?

Read more »

Foodie Review: Girls' Night Out at Aioli

So, with my BFF back on the island (happy dance), it was reason to celebrate...and eat, cause that is just what BFFs do. I was so happy cause we think alike and so I had a riding partner to try the new restaurant, Aioli.

I had previously missed a very early opportunity to dine at Aioli because of work (darn it), so was looking forward to trying the place and of course the food. I had only heard good things, and of course, with the seal of approval from superwoman and friend extraordinaire, LSJ, I knew I was in for a treat.

The plan was almost derailed by hectic flip flop life, with Saturday errands in the sweltering heat making its own meal of me, but nothing a shower, some well placed curlers and a shot of coffee could not fix. Gotta love those curlers!

So first off, Aioli is located in Ellerslie Plaza in Maraval, just upstairs Haagen Dazs. As we parked, we wondered where on earth was this place, and just as I was going to seek a security guard to give us some guidance, lo and behold, I had parked Sophie smack dab in front of the door. Fate! 

What immediately struck me was the sophisticated dark wood decor and the amazing lighting. Those light fixtures were stunning and held my gaze for most of the night. The interior is gorgeous to say the least. First win.

Then let's talk about the service. As you know, I am the Service Nazi. If you want to stay on my good side, be generous with the hellos, may I help yous and apologies, and don't be farse and bright. From start to finish, Dianna and Jeremiah (thanks LSJ) were top notch - attentive, courteous and helpful. Second win, and a major win at that especially as I am known to get on bourgie rancid over bad service.

But of course, it was the food. Aioli's fare is described as

A European fusion menu with a heavy Mediterranean base (Amalfi coast inclusive of Spain, France, Italy and Greece) with hints of influences from the rest of the world, prepared using classical French techniques.

Now this was always going to be a challenge, keeping in mind that I have been on a fat busting mission and just that morning had almost busted a lung on the hills of my neighbourhood. But the challenge was now magnified by 1000 when I studied the menu, because everything looked amazing. 

It was a great tragedy that my dinner mate does not partake of the pig cause I really wanted to share in the Jambon Iberico experience, but I am not worried as I am sure mi amiga, Sonso will make sure I do not miss out on it in less than 2 weeks. There were proscuitto wrapped scallops (sob), a delightful sounding seafood minestrone which featured the three major food groups - mussels, clams and scallops (sob sob), among others, and that's just for appetisers. However, in the end, hard as it was, I did make an attempt to become more intimate with the food offerings. 

Apologies in advance for the photos, which were taken with my smartphone, in horror, as I am always conscious that I am going to be THAT girl taking photos of her food. I also stuck to taking photos of what was in front of me and not my girlfriend's orders.

I started with the shrimp cocktail, which was served with a very sensational mango salsa. The mango salsa complemented the shrimp nicely, with a nice local touch.

On special for the night were the lamb meatballs, which my girlfriend started with, and these were phenomenal. A must-try. I was really impressed with these, with the flavours bursting in my mouth and of course there was a lovely spiciness which I of course appreciated. I will also add here that when we ordered our appies, somehow the meatballs got lost in technological translation, so that only my shrimp cocktail appeared initially. So while I expected and we got apologies, I did not expect the chef, John Aboud to personally come out and apologise for the mix up. Take note people - THIS is what you do. Don't start me.

For my entree, it was inevitable - no competition. The pork loin. Yes, I bow to the pig. But this...

...this was the highlight of my night, of my week (of my life?? okay, not quite but it was awesome). The pork loin was served with this incredible sweet potato and apple puree and a vegetable medley, and one could really tell that each item on that plate was specifically and lovingly put there to complement the other. That puree, with that lingering appleness, with that pork, with those vegetables - perfection. That puree that was just right - the sensual blend of textures and flavours, not too sweet, but marrying ever so wonderfully with the very succulent cuts of pork. I savoured this, bite by bite. So when as indicated on their Facebook page, the chef says "My cooking is my prayer", this is the kind of spiritual sensation we talking about. lol. It was the best pork dish I have had in a long, long time. It was the best part of my evening for sure. Ku-dos!

By this time, I was really conflicted because now would be the real test of character. Dessert or no dessert. I mean, I got up at 5am to run up hills, in a light drizzle, so dessert would be a travesty. But the bigger travesty was certainly going to be NOT having dessert. I mean, who does that? So I bit the bullet and true to form, ordered the Tiramisu Explosion, while my girlfriend had the Basil Infused Panna Cotta with Fresh Berries.

I must admit, I ate that entire thing, AND sampled the panna cotta, which was so interesting. I saw it and thought to myself "basil infused"? In a dessert? But it worked sooooo well and was delicious, as was my tiramisu, which is always a predictable choice for me, as I am the tiramisu master, but it was not at all disappointing. I promise though to try the Napoleon next time.

I ended my night with a shot of espresso to counter the effects of a long day, and the added effects of a full and happy stomach, to ensure I got my passenger and my good self back home safely. But I do HIGHLY recommend Aioli. I dare say, it has given my fave restaurant a good run for its money and I am excited to take other friends there.

Speaking of money, you must be wondering what type of damage a night like this would do to your wallet. It's not Breakfast Shed, kids, so please don't be confused. Appetisers were in the $75-$110 or so range; entrees in the $130-$230 or so range, and the desserts in the $55-$75 or so range. (please note the "or so"; I did have wine after all). And all delicious, served with the exceptional service that one expects in a fine dining establishment and in a place just compelling you to sit back and enjoy. 

Aioli - Ellerslie Plaza, Maraval

Phone: (868) 22-AIOLI (222-4564)

Email: aiolitt@gmail.com

FB: facebook.com/aiolitt

Read more »