Tarrant's Does It Again

May I just state for the record that I am not enjoying this weather? I'm fine with gray and overcast, but cold and windy two weeks before Halloween just won't cut it. I spent the day reading the Post and baking cupcakes from scratch, just for the pleasure of having the oven on, I think...not that I expect it'll be tough to find willing recipients to hand them off to.

My friend Holly and I had plans to meet up tonight after her wine tasting event, so we decided on Tarrant's. She's fond of saying that she's loved everything she's ever had there and I'd promised my bartender friend just last weekend that I'd be in to visit soon. We went the sandwich route: I had the BLT with avocado wrap and she had the Tarragon chicken salad; we were both smart enough to get the home-made chips for our side. Man, there's nothing like potato chips fresh out of the fryer, still warm and covered in salt. I ate my as-is, but Holly went all out with a side of ranch dressing for dip. Oh, and my sandwich and hers were very good, continuing our streak of Tarrant's as a place we return to for the quality of the food.

The bartender has personal knowledge of my fondness for dessert and made a suggestion of one of tonight's specials: chocolate cannoli. I'm not usually a big cannoli person, but I don't often get offered a chocolate version, either. Holly agreed to share it with me, which is really saying something, since in all the times we've eaten together, she's never once had dessert. The filling of mascarpone and ricotta surrounded by that dark chocolate pastry was so rich I can honestly say I could never have done justice to this dessert all by myself. Luckily, Holly did her part and we even gave a bite to the bartender for his enthusiastic contributions to our conversation.

Gradually, the staff began to leave and we realized it was just us keeping the place open, and the door had been locked some time ago, so we said our good nights and walked out into the swirling dust of the Broad Street repaving project, replete and having had another excellent evening at Tarrant's. They know we'll be back.