I don't normally critique restaurants but this experience was so great that I just have to share with you all!! Living in Auburn makes being a semi-foodie difficult, we have some great restaurants but after you have lived here for a while there is only so much you can handle!! A lot of times Jamie and I will venture to Montgomery, Columbus or Birmingham for a great meal. Monday we had a business meeting in Montgomery and we had been wanting to try Central there for a long time, so we went! Since it was a Monday we did not make a reservation but I would imagine that on a Thursday-Saturday a reservation would be a requirement. Of course we did research the menu online before we went so we had an idea of what we were going to order!!!
First impression: VALET! It is in downtown Montgomery and as with any downtown locale parking stinks so this was great! The hostess opened the front door for us and was super friendly. Considering you can walk in the front or the back they also were extremely organized! The restaurant is beautiful. It has a dark ambiance, not too much light, which makes for a romantic dining experience. The walls were exposed brick with huge framed mirrors and very large lighting fixtures. The kitchen was semi-open so you could hear the sizzles and bangs of pots and pans. This place gets a A+ for atmosphere and decor.
Once seated, our server Tiffany brought over water, I love restaurants that leave it on the table! They do this at one of our favorite Destin restaurants and for someone like me who drinks ALOT I love it! She told us about the specials and brought us some wonderful warm bread with an amazing herbed butter!! We knew going in to this adventure that we wanted to sample several things and take the rest home so here is what we ordered.
SNACK: Pimento Cheese and Flat bread. The pimento cheese was very traditional, not to much mayo and was served with a crisp flat bread, more like a cracker in my opinion. This was Jamie's favorite and a steal at $5
APPETIZER: Braised Duck Won tons. A friend had posted a picture of this on Instagram so it was a must try for me. The duck was super moist and the won ton wrappers super crispy. But the winner for me was the Back Forty Beer Co. Honey Peach BBQ sauce that adorned the plate, it was divine. These were my favorite of anything we ate, the layers flavor was spot on.
JAMIE'S ENTREE: Wood Braised Short Rib. Jamie knew he wanted this when we looked at the menu at home. He is normally a steak guy so it didn't surprise me. This was a healthy portion of short rib served over a Yukon gold potato and rutabaga puree with roasted veggies and garnished with the braising jus that screamed ROSEMARY!! In my humble opinion this was the ultimate COMFORT FOOD and some of the best short ribs I have ever tasted, and that is all he let me have was a taste! HA!
MY ENTREE: Sweet Potato Gnocchi. Never have I ever had Gnocchi, I have always wanted to try it so since I wasn't starving, I went with it. And it was a heavenly bowl of creamy goodness. I don't see how anyone could eat the whole portion because it is super rich so I have most of it sitting in my fridge now. It was served in a Sage Cream Sauce with toasted pecans and shaved parmigiana reggiano. This dish was the perfect combo of texture. Creamy, crunchy and nutty. I could eat this everyday.
DESSERT: Pumpkin Cheesecake. I will say I was extremely disappointed that the Central S'more was no longer on the dessert menu but being a baker I wanted to try something! So we opted for the Pumpkin Cheesecake. The best part about it was not even the cheesecake (even though it was delicious) it was the nutmeg, cinnamon spiced whipped cream that was on top. It would be perfect served in hot chocolate and I would have loved to have it in my coffee this morning and I plan on recreating it in my kitchen this weekend!!
All in all this restaurant was everything I thought it was going to be and more! Now that I read back on our choices it was the perfect FALL meal. The one thing I walked away from the restaurant with besides a full belly, was the importance of spice in our everyday cooking. When Jamie and I were discussing the meal on the way home that was what we both noticed the most. Every dish was seasoned to perfection and all the spices seemed to work well together. The layers of flavor were great and you could tell that a lot of thought was care went in to making this menu. What says fall more than Rosemary, Sage, Cinnamon and Nutmeg? We will definitely be dining at this restaurant again SOON!
Here are a few of the other "foodie" restaurants we want to try in Alabama:
Spring House
Hot and Hot
Highlands Bar and Grill
Bottega
Here are a few of our favorites around the area that we have tried:
Rathbun's Steak (the best meal I have had in my LIFE)
Two Urban Licks
Café 123
and of course the newly opened ACRE here in good ole AUBURN!!
Sorry I don't have lot of pictures, I still feel like that obnoxious tourist when I take pictures in a restaurant!! But please go try CENTRAL @ 129 Coosa Street in Montgomery, AL, you will not be disappointed.
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