Thursday, July 8, 2010

Stella 12 Beech Revisited for Dinner

Stella 12 Beech
Oxford, Ohio
February 20, 2010

This year for my mother's birthday I asked her if she knew where she wanted to go for dinner.  After pausing to think for a few seconds she replied, "How about we try out that restaurant that Stella's family owns?"  Knowing that I had wanted to try more than their alcoholic beverages for awhile now, I thought that was a fabulous idea. 

So in the spirit of full disclosure, I am acquainted with the family of the owners of this restaurant.  However, I'm also sure they didn't recognize me as we dined and therefore we received no partial service or treatment. 

As I've mentioned before (see An Oxford Night Out) the restaurant has a cosmopolitan feel, especially for the quaint Oxford, Ohio.  However, the welcome is always warm when you arrive.  The restaurant is on the small side and therefore reservations are recommended.  As we were seated I was impressed by the fresh and bright magenta flower on the table.  Such fresh color is a rarity in late February and had me thinking of the upcoming spring. 
We immediately started with drinks and my mother ordered a white wine (not sure exactly which one), Erik opted to try a Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, and I went with a vodka martini.  The majority of our drinks were what you would expect, but the Kentucky Bourbon Ale does deserve some special attention. 

I am not a big fan of darker beers and I was sure I would not like this one.  However, once it was brought out in its own special snifter glass it just looked impressive and gave off this warm spicy bourbon aroma.  I knew I had to at least give it a try.  I was pleasantly surprised, and Erik absolutely loved it.  It was the perfect drink to accompany a cold winter's dinner.  The bourbon aroma gave it a good start and then the beer had a very smooth finish.  Erik liked this beer so much he looked up the website when we got home and was disappointed to discover it was not distributed to any store around us (However, we later were pleasantly surprised to find it in May at the Grandview Carryout.  But I warn you, the drink is really not a warm weather drink and tastes much better out of the tap.  At first Erik was ecstatic to find it so close to home, but a few bottles still sit in our fridge.  From the bottle the sweet bourbon aroma was lost, but I'm hoping that maybe in October it will taste good again and we'll have to try it in a snifter glass and hope to replicate the restaurant effect). 
Bread service came out next and was composed of a few pieces of white and wheat that came out warmed.  The bread had a nice softness and just a slight chew to the crust.  This was served with a wonderful fresh herbed butter.  I know there were chives added into the butter, but I couldn't pull out the exact other herbs and our server wasn't sure either.  However, whatever herbs they chose the result was a wonderful herbaceous and buttery blend. 
For our entrees both my mother and Erik ordered the spinach and artichoke stuffed ravioli topped with a marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese.  The ravioli pasta was well cooked and the fillings had a nice texture.  However, I would have preferred more artichoke flavor.  The marinara sauce was very good with traditional Italian spices and nice chunks of tomato. 
I went with the Stella mixed salad and a seared crab cake.  The salad was very fresh and crisp with spring mixed greens and generous toppings of red onion, green and yellow pepper, and spiced pecans.  I chose a balsamic vinaigrette dressing which was lightly mixed in and allowed the fresh green flavors to shine through. 
The crab cake was huge and contained plenty of crab flavor.  It was nicely seared and served over a cold mix of a cucumber and carrot salad which added a nice crunch to the dish.  I especially enjoyed the spiciness of the chipotle remoulade that was presented on the plate for dipping.  This was definitely a solid dish. 
I had brought my mother a cake from the Suisse Shop for dessert, so we didn't get to sample Stella 12's delicacies.  Perhaps another time.  The cake from the Suisse Shop, however, was delicious! 

Bill Total:  1 Kentucky Bourbon Ale, 1 glass of white wine, 1 vodka martini, 2 spinach and artichoke ravioli, 1 Stella mixed salad, 1 crab cake, and tip= $86

Overall Rating:  3 1/2 buckeyes

Stella 12 Beech on Urbanspoon

No comments: