Taverne of Richfield

We visited the Taverne of Richfield for dinner on a beautiful Tuesday night, so we took advantage and dined on the patio. Our whole experience from atmosphere to drink to food to service was excellent. This is our second dinner outing at the Taverne of Richfield, and it gets better every visit.

The patio is very large and nicely landscaped and sectioned with stepped up areas, trellises, and a fountain surrounded by foliage. The fountain wasn't running but I imagine it is on more crowded evenings. It seems like this would be a fabulous happy hour or night out on the weekend.

Our evening started off with a glass of Chardonnay with their complimentary warm house-made bread. An amazing blend of crusty on the outside and moist and buttery inside. This was accompanied with with a bright, lemon-basil olive oil dip. We would come back just for the bread and dip alone! Next we had an equally refreshing green apple / cabbage salad with goat cheese – a frequent and welcome ingredient on their menu. He had a generous portioned, pecan-crusted chicken with goat cheese on top.  Served with thinly sliced, crispy fingerling potatoes and baby carrots with a tasty butter-sage sauce. Moist and delicious, with nice presentation. I had gnocchi which was super flavorful and lemony with roasted tomatoes. My only criticism is I wish there were more vegetables in the dish to offset the denseness of the gnocchi. Don't get me wrong – they were very good, but another texture and flavor would have been welcome to lighten it up – especially as the only vegetarian entree.

As always, we asked many questions about the line up of evening entertainment, menu items and happy hour deals to which our server josh, never flinched. He was very knowledgeable and attentive and clued us into all the happenings so that we will surely return to try them out.

For those living in the surrounding areas of Richfield, this is a gem right in your backyard. Embrace it. The restaurant is located at the corner of Rt. 303 and Broadview Road with great parking and old inn vibe. Definitely worth the drive from anywhere. Enjoy.

The D.C. Pasta Company

We recently checked out The D.C. Pasta Company in Strongsville with a group of friends and had a wonderful time. We've been to Dante's other restaurants and were excited to try his Italian concept.

D.C.'s wine list has a great variety and features an extensive selection of "under $25" bottles. We started with the Rubus Zinfandel (lush) on the menu, but our server alerted us to a special bottle of Tempranillo (El Cortijillo) that was out of this world. It has the most amazing cherry finish. D.C. had bought the last 2 cases of this vintage, and after a glass, several of us bought bottles to take home!

The food menu is an adventure, in that there are many ways to mix and match. Pastas come as a $5 taste, $10 appetizer, or $15 main course. There are soups, salads, antipastos, and various meatballs (even ricotta for us vegetarians) to add in. Everyone at our table pretty much started with a Tuscan bean soup, ordered 2 pasta "tastes" with a "meatball", and ended with dessert. This seemed to be a good way to order and was plenty of food with great variety. The pastas were all perfectly al dente and flavorful and the desserts were fabulous. We will definitely return to try more combinations!

The wait staff was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and accommodating - especially to the various dietary needs in our group!