First Street Chop House Dinner

Veal "Awesome" Bucco
Grilled Pear Salad
Lobster Gemelli
Rice Pilaf
Jack Daniel's Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Raspberry Bread Pudding

Our Protagonist has, indeed, made many trips to this restaurant; he admits to having a soft spot for it, and appreciates that it has a menu that can actually be sampled over several visits, rather than the myriad choices at, say, Sangria, where one would simply have to move in for awhile to get a handle on things.  Today, he ventured into some unknown parts of the meal, but also visited some old favorites.  He had been hounded by servers to get the "Awesome" Bucco.  Unfortunately, the Veal was not as awesome as name suggests; it was quite average, really.  If only it tasted like the veal equivalent to Moroccan Lamb Mechoui...The Grilled Pear Salad was a "redo" from the lunch where he was still suffering from burned taste buds.  It featured nicely crisp pears, lightly seared, so it was true to its name sake (without needing to add hyperbolic adjectives, such as "awesome").  The Lobster Gemelli is, and continues to be, the best riff on mac and cheese Our Protagonist has ever tasted.  Case closed.  Which was good, because the rice pilaf was, well, pretty much just rice.  The gemelli, however, redeems most sins culinary; it is that good.  On to dessert, which was "something old, something new."  The Jack Daniel's Chocaolate Cake is for icing lovers, especially considering it's the icing that gets the whiskey spike.  However, Chocolate Raspberry Bread Pudding cannot be beat; surprisingly light for a bread pudding and featuring a beautifully executed sauce, this is one of the best renderings of what could be considered an overdone restaurant offering.

First Street Chop House

1296 1st Street
Sarasota, FL 34236
941-554-4375