Beast & Bounty

Foodie girls night!

The only way I can go out these days is with my girlfriends because we don’t have a babysitter.  Ugh.  I could write a essay about why we don’t have anyone to watch our kids, but the reality is I’m just making excuses for not making it a priority.  The kids have attachment issues so it’s not for lack of recommendations…blah.  We were doing okay for a while (omg I just looked it up and it was last winter!).  We went out a few times over the span of a few months (once a month is/was our goal) but then Spring arrived and our sitter was too busy with school….and then she graduated.  🙁 And since then I’ve done zero in the way of exposing my kids to anyone new.  Sooo…all that is to say, Kyle watched the kids and I went out to Beast & Bounty to get my foodie fix.

The idea is that everyone should be able to eat together, regardless of your dietary preferences. Herbivores, carnivores, everyone.  The “beast” portion of the menu is for those who eat meat, obs, while the “bounty” offerings are plentiful and feature so much produce from local farms.

You can’t find the menu online, but thanks to Yelp I had some insight as to what to expect (I also went a few weeks ago for drinks and peeked at the menu then).

Everything with quotes around it (ie “cheese” is actually a dairy free house made version).  Most seemed to be nut derived, but it’s hard to say.  Anyway the menu was SUPER easy to navigate if you are dairy free.  Gluten free peeps, however, would not have as easy of a time.

The bread above smelled heavenly, but I didn’t partake and they had no alternate option.  I’m not too bothered by passing on bread though.  I’d rather save my allotted wheat for something more special.  Like the fritters below (pickled veggies fried in a tempura batter), which were so unique and interesting.  I love pickled things and the tangy flavor really came through more than anything else, and they didn’t feel heavy or oily or anything like that despite being fried.  Yum.

My favorite dish of the night were the falafel.

It came with “yogurt” tzatziki, hummus, feta “cheese” and mint.   They were salty and divine and 100% the best thing I ate that night.  I even used a spoon to polish off every last bit of the dairy free sauce accompaniments.

The charred octopus had pickled potatoes, chorizo, and an aioli, but I think there was too much hype around this dish.  It was ok, but didn’t wow me.

We split the New York strip, which was fine, but the potatoes were definitely the best part.  They were cooked perfectly and dragging them through the sauce was soooo good.  We had heard really amazing things about the dry aged rib eye, but it was $91 and that is just too insane for me, even if it is split four ways.

This is the broccolini and yams.

And this was the grilled cauliflower.

And for dessert we got a “donut” (which was not a donut at all!).  We were all a little miffed about this, because it was labeled as GF which is why we ordered it (my friends wanted me to be able to have some).  And the waiter knew all this, and yet still didn’t think to mention that it was actually just white chocolate molded into a donut shape and filled with jelly.  When you go to bite it, you crack into it and all the jelly oozed out and it was just very bizarre. Not really my thing.

In the end, the food was fine, but I’d prefer to go back to other places more.  Like Echo & Rig.  That place is also doing an awesome job of creating a menu for vegetarians and carnivores alike, and I thought all the side dishes I got there were OUTSTANDING.