Drink + Eat + More? Yes, MORE!

In a city filled with so many incredible restaurants and bars, we have very high expectations, especially when the April 2007 edition of Seattle magazine lists the venue not once, but twice in "Best Restaurants 2007."

The venue? Oliver's Twist.

Their theme? "Drink + Eat + More."

We'll return to this theme.

I recently snuck away for a GNO with three of my friends. (That's Girls Night Out, for those who don't know, or for those for whom it's been too long.) We decided we would go to the much-hyped Oliver's Twist (http://www.oliverstwistseattle.com/). Afterall, we all enjoy a nice "grown-up bar," (quoted from Seattle) especially when said bar has Dickensian-named cocktails. (Did I mention that three out of four of us have Bachelor's in English?)

Drink
I had the Mr. Sowerberry. All three of them were quite tasty, thank you very much. I had three, not because I'm a lush, well, that's another story, but because the cocktails were...petite.

Eat
We made it in time for happy hour, which in the world of moms means that we were out for dinner. So we ordered some of the "Above-Par Bar Snacks" (again, from Seattle)--five plates from the menu to share. Having employed this eating technique in the past, we were certain we had over ordered.

The Garlic Truffled Popcorn arrived first, and was pretty good. $4 isn't a bad price, but we are talking about popcorn, which costs, oh, about a nickel. Maybe. We also ordered the Blue Cheese-Bacon Stuffed Dates & Marcona Almonds, with Warm Tomato Vinaigrette. All five dates (if there were that many) for $8, were delicious. Likewise, were all four inch-wide slices of Anchovy, Carmelized Onion, Reggiano Pizette. At $2/slice, not so much a bargain. The Mt. Townsend Camembert, Quince & Bacon Compote was one of my favorites of the evening--all three level tablespoons for $10. The final nibble was the Tomato Cappuccino with Mini Grilled Cheese Sandwich for $8. I'll give 'em 10 points for creativity there. The presentation was lovely. The tomato cappuccino was served in a demitasse cup. I never got to try it. When they say "mini," this place really means it.

More
Having eaten 1/2 cup popcorn, 1 date, 1 tablespoon of compote with a toast (forgot to mention the four mini toasts that accompanied the compote), and a "slice" of pizette, MORE is exactly what we all wanted.

I also feel the need to point out that none of us are big eaters. In fact, none of us are big at all, which is why I felt I needed to write about a venue where four women spent $100 and left hungry.

On the way home, I stopped and got a Dick's Deluxe.