The Top Five...

On the eve of going to Trenchermen, which is a restaurant that was recently opened by our former chef at The Signature Room and his brother, I bring to you... "Dan and Tracy's Top Five Meals of the Summer."

Now I am so very excited about going to Chef Pat's new place tomorrow, I've been anxiously waiting since he told us the news that he'd be leaving to start this new adventure. I've never been to a restaurant where I knew the Chef before, unless you count Fernando at "Harry's" or Paul at "Paul's Bar." I'll have a full update this weekend, but for now we happily, and with our mouths watering look back on our favorite meals of the summer. In no particular order...

Shack Out Back Raw Bar, Hyannis, Cape Code

This was the most fabulous outdoor beach bar that served freshly shucked oysters, sushi, and lobster rolls, lobster tails, lobster salad, lobster anything. We spent the Fourth of July here and enjoyed every minute of our stay. Since we were there the majority of the afternoon and didn't want to give up our spot for the fireworks that we taking place that night we drank and ate our way through almost the entire menu. I made it my mission, while we were on the East Coast, to eat a crab cake a day, and this I did. At the Shack Out Back I had a crab cake sandwich that was as big as my head, with the largest chunks of crab I've ever seen. And Dan, Dan ate a $19.00 grilled cheese sandwich... filled with Lobster. I've never seen a happier guy in my life, and he wouldn't even give me a tiny little bite of his sandwich.

~Insert Honorable Mention Here... The Black Cat, owned and operated by the same people that own The Shack Out Back. We went here for our dinner the second night in Cape Code. I had lobster raviolli and Dan had a burger topped with friend oysters. It was very good, but the reason it made it to our honorable mention list was the entertainment. The owner of our bed and breakfast sent us there because Erica was singing that night. She was amazing. As our dinner was ending she broke out with "I Will Always Love You" and I was crying by the end of the song. Dan gave the lady a standing ovation, and every time I hear that song I now think of Erica and the glass of pinot grigio I was drinking and the carrot cake with the most delicious whipped cream cheese frosting Dan was enjoying~

Little Italy, Boston, MA and New York City, NY

I'm combining these two into one because they were both wonderful meals in great atmospheres with delicious wine and true Italian men as our servers. Little Italy, anywhere I believe, is a treat in itself, just to walk through. In New York, Dan and I could hardly decide which restaurant to go into for dinner, but we decided on one because the sign promised a 100 seat outdoor patio, and that patio delivered! You wouldn't even believe that you were in the middle of the city on this patio and the food... delicious. From the fresh bread to the red sauce that was almost silky it was all top notch. Dan enjoyed the Little Italy experience so much that he wanted to try Boston's. I have to say, I enjoyed Boston's better. Some friends that we made at The Shack Out Back suggested the place we go, it was off the beaten path, and I'm sure we wouldn't have found it, but the search was worth it. At this place they took us to the basement to dine. It was so dark down there and romantic. We ate at this tiny little table and drank red wine. There was so many fantastic looking things on the menu... I couldn't decide. So, believe it or not, I went with the safest thing on the meanu, Lasagna. It was the best decision I made the entire trip. It was so good, I almost cried, literally. I would pay for a plane ticket right now to Boston to eat this lasagna again. But wait, that's not the best part. Just down the street is this place called Mike's Pastry. This place is famous, it's a little pastry shop that churns of cannolis all day long. I don't like desserts, but these were definitely something to write home about. Any trip to Boston would not be complete without a trip to this little joint.

The Lobster Shanty, Wellfast, Cape Cod

I know, I know, you are probably getting tired of East Coast dining experiences, but I just loved this little place I made Dan pull into. I wanted to eat lunch here because of the yellow awnings on the joint. Little did I know about the treasures inside. Upon arrival I, of course, asked if we could sit outside. We were taken to the beautiful little yellow picnic table, which Dan quickly looked at and decided he wouldn't fit in it and we had to be moved to a different, bigger table, but I quickly noticed that the ground was covered in shells, just like one of my favorite places in South Carolina, Pepper's Porch. We checked out the menu and I couldn't believe my eyes, lobsters were $16.00 per pound. You have got to be kidding me. Dan quickly ordered a 1 1/2 pound lobster with all the fixins. I got the biggest bowl of clam chowder and the crab cake appetizer... with the hopes of half of the lobster tail. Did our little yellow awninged road side stop deliver? Absolutely, just like every quality road side lobster shanty should. The soup, delicious, the crab cake, perfectly cooked with a spicy aioli on the side, and the lobster, huge and intimidating since I can't say we typically eat whole lobsters, but the tail and the claws were well worth the struggle.

Ertle's Winery, Batesville, Indiana

We put this one on our list because it was so unbelieveably unexpected. I've been hearing about this place for quite some time, but never have gone. Finally, I asked Dan if we could go with his parents when we went to visit in the early summer. They gladly took us and it was such a trip. They had a great bottle of Cabernet and we were in luck, it was Friday evening so a buffet was in full force. I couldn't decide on one menu item because I wanted to try so many different things, so I went with the buffet. I couldn't believe the types of food I was seeing. There were delicious cold salads including a beet salad, tomato and mozzarella, and a seafood salad. There was a roast beef carving station, a made to order pasta station, and the chef was also making sesame seared tuna to order with seaweed salad on the side. There were crab legs, fried oysters (which to me, always taste like heaven), and many different kinds of fish. Oh, and the jambalaya, that may have been my favorite. I was so pleasently surprise with this place and can't wait to go back for a Sunday brunch in the near future. But just to add to the amazing experience, the location. It sure did take us a while to get there, but it was beautiful and quiet and walking through the grapes sure was nice.

Red Seven, West Lafayette, Indiana

We both totally agreed that this was one of our more enjoyable meals of the summer, not so much because of what we ate, but because of the company. Now I do have to say the cocktails were delicious and everyone really enjoyed their meals. We had these really yummy potato skins with spicy pulled pork piled on top... hello! But having Kaitlin and Adam meet us half-way between our homes was such an amazing treat. I so enjoyed seeing them both and all of our conversation. It's nice talking to another married couple that is our own age and experiencing some of the same things. These two are such fantastic friends and I wish we were closer so we could meet in the middle more often. Definitely a meal that I remember when I think about our summer.

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Here's to many more fabulous meals and more top 5 countdowns to come, you know I love a good Top 5. Cheers