This was a wonderful restaurant that had the charm of the South, located in a building that once housed a Blacksmith Shop.  It was a restaurant that was the darling of the area, winning awards with an upscale casual atmosphere.  Their motto was “Black Tie food at blue jean prices.”

We followed the lead of people that had dined there before and partook of their suggestions for dinner.  The restaurant’s menu was rather eclectic as they offered dishes that had Asian and Italian influences for a new American Cuisine.  We started off with two diverse appetizers that evening.  My Bride had Coconut Shrimp with Asian dipping sauces, while I went more Italian with the Calamari, which is not one of my usual go to dishes, but I was informed that we had to try it.  It was much better, than a lot of Calamari dishes that I have had, even up to today.  For our entrée selections my Bride went with Stuffed Chicken Breast with Saffron Dumplings which had a very unique twist to a more prosaic dish.  While I went with a Five Spice Pork Tenderloin with a Fig Balsamic reduction sauce that offered some tang and a mild sweetness to this dish.  For dessert we shared a slice of Derby Pie with ice cream and caramel sauce.  If you have never had a Derby Pie, think of a great walnut tart and chocolate in a pastry pie shell with Kentucky Bourbon.  It is a wonderful pie that is so popular that one can actually buy it at the market frozen, waiting to baked a home.

Our wine selection to go with this hodgepodge collection of dishes was a Pinot Noir wine from the Burgundy region of France.  The wine is from one of the districts of the Cote de Beaune, namely Santenay.  Santenay is a district that one does not encounter as often from the Cote de Beaune, because some of the other districts are much more famous such as Aloxe-Corton, Savigny-les-Beaune, Beaune, Pommard and Volnay.  The wine was a Santenay Bouchard Pere & Fils 1999.  This was a very charming and agreeable wine that did not over power the dishes, but had that wonderful appeal of a French Burgundy wine.