Kitchen String: Valentine's Day at Woodberry Kitchen

Last night we went for an early dinner at our favorite restaurant, Woodberry Kitchen. On most Valentine's days in recent years, the restaurant tables were turned and I was among the busy restaurant workers shuffling through crowds with a stack of plates, trying to ensure a special experience for the customers. So you can imagine how fun it was to be able to sit down and enjoy a fabulous meal with my sweetie.

Woodberry Kitchen has a "farm to table" philosophy which boasts fresh, locally grown ingredients, seasonally appropriate produce, and organic meats. It is housed in a portion of Clipper Mill with gorgeous brick walls, high ceilings, and a loft for additional seating. The exposed kitchen reveals a chef preparing meals in sizzling cast iron skillets at the mouth of a brick oven. Basically, I want to live there.

My favorite cocktail of all time is their Gov't Mule: vodka, house-made ginger beer, and lime-ginger syrup served in a copper mug. The drink is great, but the copper mug makes it simply luxurious.

My favorite dish came first. It was a tuna appetizer, pan-seared rare, with a unique dry rub of espresso and ground chilies. This was unlike any tuna dish I've ever had. It didn't rely on the sushi references, instead it had an earthy flavor, not overly salted, and melt in your mouth delicious. It was served with greens from Great Kids Farm, and roasted ginger slivers.

Next came the "truck stop spinach salad" with candied pecans and maple dressing, followed by oysters on the half shell.

For dessert, we ordered honey-apple cider sorbet, and chocolate mousse over rose cake. I'm not a fan of rose-scented things, but teamed with the chocolate mouse, it was fantastic. Again, very unique and memorable.