This weeks restaurant... El Jardin in Old Town Columbia
Excited about an evening of SRT - Cash 'Ring of Fire' - my husband and I found ourselves in Columbia extremely early. Much to my dismay we were too late to shop as most of the shops were closed, but luckily my second favorite thing to do was readily available...eat!
El Jardin seemed to be in close proximity of the Fallon so we decided to give it a shot. We had not heard anything about this restaurant before so this was a 'going in blind' experience.
As first we thought how brilliant we were to dine before a play, however we quickly discovered the foothills are full of brilliant people. Once we entered the garden like setting of El Jardin we realized we may have a bit of a wait. Surprisingly there was available seating outside. Though the tables are close the outside patio setting with plenty of foliage and forest-like ambiance allowed us to feel as if we were in a more intimate setting. Dress code was from pearls to Birkenstocks and everything in between.
Service was relatively quick considering the packed house. The beer was exceptionally cold and the wines offered were mostly local... good thing as I love Ironstone symphony. The salsa was homemade and full of big yummy chunks of fresh tomato and finely chopped onions. A side bowl offered an interesting shredded cabbage concoction that was delicious on chips with a bit of salsa.
Venturing from my tame 'a quesadilla please' order I went all out and ordered carnitas. Am I glad I did. The carnitas was fall-off-the-bone tender in just the right amount of sauce that when loaded on the warm flour tortilla with some pico de gallo and some beans that just a bit of the hot liquid would run down my hand. That to me sings perfection. Running to your elbow...too watery, not runny at all...too dry, just running to the wrist...perfection!
I am sorry to say that I was in such carnitas heaven I completely forgot to ask my husband how his meal was. Suffice it to say there was little or no conversation as we ate, which of course means, it was good.
The wait staff, overworked with the crowd, served with a smile. Refills were a bit slow as the restaurant was swamped. The seating, though it offered a nice ambiance, was uncomfortable and small. Not enough room on the table top for basic food stuffs. As with many of the restaurants I have critiqued in the foothills, the portions were huge, yet unlike other restaurants, the prices seemed a bit high for the meal.
However, all this said, I would definitely dine at El Jardin again.
By, Charity Maness
(My little disclaimer: 'To dine or not to dine' is meant to be a
helpful - and humorous - informational piece only. I receive no monetary
compensation for this column nor do I endorse any one eatery. This
is simply my opinion. My tastes will be different from others and I
readily admit that I have no culinary background, but I am pretty
confident I know when food is cooked correctly or not, whether a drink
is poured well or not and especially whether wait staff is
first-rate or in need of a career change.)
