Monday night, the Shop Tart was ready to party. In an age appropriate way, of course. People her age go out to eat when they want to go nuts. Lucky for her, her husband is a teetotaler during Lent. The Shop Tart chooses not to abstain, because someone has to model responsible drinking behavior for the children, n’est-ce pas? Her husband, the non-drinker, was glad to serve as the Shop Tart’s driver on Monday, which was a good thing, because she hadn’t had an adult beverage in a week, not even coffee*. They bellied up to the bar, where Mr. Shop Tart ordered a club soda with lime and his lovely wife ordered a bottle of Drappier Brut. With a straw. Just kidding. She had a glass along with the bottle. Earlier that day, she had received and printed an emailed coupon from Solstice offering half-off any bottle on the menu, so how could she resist? Mr. Shop Tart’s drink…

And the Shop Tart’s bottle…ahem.

Mr. Shop Tart chose the $30, four-course menu and spent plenty of time considering his choices, because all he could do is eat. Round one consisted of the wedge salad - one of the most divine creations of modern times - and some shrimp and kale egg rolls, which he generously shared with his wife, who was becoming increasingly intoxicated charming as she tumbled off the wagon. Loved the touch of balsamic on the wedge.

The shrimp and kale egg rolls, as you can imagine, were finger-licking good. The basil-orange aioli drizzled beside them was superb.

After the first course, the drunk woman and her poor husband happy couple moved to a table. Before we go on, the Shop Tart would like to offer you a tip about tipping: She loves starting her meal at the bar and moving to a table later. It feels festive and is a nice change of scenery. The bartender in most restaurants will happily transfer your tab to a table. Do not forget, however, that he or she served you drinks and perhaps part of your meal. Tip the bartender accordingly, even if you don’t settle your tab. And when you tip your server, don’t be too picky about what he did or didn’t serve you (i.e. don’t subtract what you had at the bar) when you decide on the tip. If you can afford to go out to eat, you can afford a few extra dollars for your server. Really. Back to our regularly scheduled program…

At their table, bottle in tow, they were offered two glasses for their Champagne. Just one, thanks, for the wild woman. For his next course, Mr. Shop Tart ordered the prosciutto-wrapped tripletail, a fish similar to grouper. Look at him, all ready to go with his fork.

The Shop Tart chose pan-seared mahi mahi, a favorite that did not disappoint. The pesto was as fresh as the one she makes at home…yum!

While they waited for the fish, two irresistible treats arrived. (Shop Tart Tip: If you didn’t order it, it’s a gift. Forget watching calories; be polite and eat up!) The first was a pasta dish, gnocchi with porcini mushrooms. Mr. Shop Tart, who is rarely allowed to eat pasta since his wife can’t eat it and maintain her not-so-girlish figure, was beside himself, as was the Shop Tart, who loves an excuse to dig in to some pasta. Can’t be rude, now can we? The small plate was perfect.

The second treat was so good the Shop Tart gets teary just thinking about it. At the gym recently, she caught an episode of Top Chef. Branford Marsalis was the one non-chef judge. In response to one of the chefs claiming (rather obnoxiously, if you ask her) that he was over foie gras, the brilliant Mr. Marsalis objected and said he’d be happy to eat it every day. Amen to that. These scallops, topped with seared foie gras, were obscene they were so good. No way does a picture do them justice.

After the main course, they boxed up their food to take home so they’d have room for dessert. Just before the Key Lime Cheesecake they ordered arrived, they were treated to these truffles. Much like the scallops, they were indescribably delicious. Chef Blythe Kelly came out of the kitchen to recommend they shove the truffles in their mouths whole. Don’t be shy, now. Oh mercy, was she ever right. Mille mercis, Blythe!

The Key Lime Cheesecake was a perfect end to a perfect meal, not too sweet and not too rich, just like the Shop Tart.

The Shop Tart loves going to places where the staff is nice. Back in the 80’s and 90’s, this wasn’t always the case. But nice is the new mean, y’all. You heard it here first. Everyone at Solstice has a smile on their face and wants you to be happy, which isn’t too difficult. Speaking of happy, the Shop Tart is insanely jealous of all you folks with little children. Why? Because Solstice is having another “Babysitter Night,” next Tuesday, March 10th. Make your reservation between 5 and 7 pm - babysitting services end at 8 pm - and enjoy a fab meal while your children are fed and entertained in the large room normally reserved for private parties. You know how much you love the child-care at the gym? This is even better.

For the record (and for the Shop Tart’s mother, who might be reading), in addition to boxing up part of their meal to take home, the Shop Tart re-corked the second half final third of that bottle to take home and enjoy another time. Her 10 year-old son, who is somewhat of a food snob as first children will be, was thrilled with the leftover fish for dinner the next day. The Shop Tart enjoyed the last part of her bottle at Bunco, where all her friends were jealous. She was afraid to even tell them about the scallops with foie-gras…

In other news…

• Speaking of foie-gras, the Turner to Cézanne exhibit opens on Friday at the Columbia Museum of Art. In case you were not aware, this is a big deal and will be fabulous. We are so lucky in our mid-sized metropolis to have the museum and the committed staff and patrons who make it great!
• Don’t forget the big party at Lola and Kicks of Lexington tomorrow night. Chō on Main, where the Shop Tart got her beloved lash extensions, will be there too. We love a party (especially when it comes with a discount on clothes and shoes!) Stop by after work with the girls.

  

• Correction: The Shop Tart told you about the NuFace micro-current gadget at Pout. She was told the excellent gadget cost $650. As it happens, it’s only $350, the lowest price she has seen anywhere, even on the internet. Hooray! You should stop by Pout anyway, as they have new shipments of Mario Badescu and Susan Posnick.



• VanJean has new Phillip Lim 3.1, Mint and Rebecca Taylor. The Shop Tart will try to resist, but probably won’t. Ha!
• Coplon’s has new shoes by Loeffler Randall. The Shop Tart would like these in a 7.5, please.

  

  Both Coplon’s and VanJean are carrying Loeffler Randall shoes now, but it looks as though they have different styles. The Shop Tart wants them all!

• Looking for dinner tonight? Cellar on Greene is hosting a Pietra Santa Tasting and Mini Wine Dinner ($5 for the tasting and $25 for the Mini Dinner, très reasonable!) It’s hump day, y’all!
• Let’s say you didn’t get a ticket to the opening reception at the museum Thursday. If the Shop Tart were you, she’d go straight to Tombo Grille for a free beer tasting from 6 to 8 pm. She would also stay to watch the game and have dinner. They’ll be showing the USC/Tennessee game and they always have excellent dinner.

Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!

* Caffeine, by the way, is still absent from her diet. Not sure how long that will last, though. She’ll be in Paris for a few days in July, where it would be wrong not to have at least one steaming cup every morning, n’est ce pas?

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