The Jealous Crumpet

A sweet little blog


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Ricatoni’s Italian Grill

Ricatoni's Italian GrillI don’t remember my first visit to Ricatoni’s Italian Grill, but over the year’s I have dined there many, many times. I have celebrated numerous friend’s birthdays at the restaurant, as well as my own. I’ve dined there with new friends and old friends, co-workers and one time a really awkward date. When I graduated from college Ricatoni’s is where I came to celebrate and two years later, when my brother graduated, we went again.  It is comfortable and familiar. Though I am sure it has changed over the years, the general ambience is always the same and it feels a bit like going back home. I say all of this because I cannot give an unbiased review of the restaurant, as I love it too much and will fail to see it’s faults, if their are any.  Ricatoni's Italian GrillRicatoni’s Italian Grill opened in 1996. The resturant was created by Rick Elliott, also known as Ricatoni Valentino. It’s been a few years since I’ve lived it Florence, but when I was in college Ricatoni’s had the most wonderfully eccentric advertisements on television.  

That brings back memories! I don’t know Rick personally, but he must be fun at a party!

feature9Ricatoni’s has a fun, social ambience. It is a narrow restaurant with an open kitchen so you can see your meal being cooked and plated. The servers are always pleasant and the food is always tasty.feature10There are fun touches throughout the restaurant, including local artwork, murals and uniquely painted tables. I notice that the table next to us had spaghetti and meatballs painted on it. I could be wrong, but I believe the meatballs had Ricatoni Valentino’s face on them.

feature4I’ve include a photo of Rick from the restaurant’s website next to the meatball. You be the judge.

Untitled-1When you first sit down the server always brings you a white paper bag filled with warm bread and a plate of herbs.

feature5There is olive oil on each table to pour over the herbs and dip your bread in. We were going skip the bread (don’t want to fill up on the free stuff) and dine on our appetizer, but instead we ate the bread and still ordered an appetizer: Bruschette Ricatoni. Bruschette RicatoniThis dish had two types of bruschetta, a set with tomato and pesto and a set with mushroom and fontina cheese. Both were great!ricatoniThere seem to be many wonderful dishes on the menu, but I have never tried any of them as I always get the Ravioli Ricatoni.  I say I’m going to try something new, but then I change my mind and go for the tried and true. The ravioli is simple, creamy and delicious, the perfect comfort food.

Ravioli RicatoniAfter a short debate we ordered the tiramisu, which was the perfect sweet end to Florence Restaurant week.

tiramisuDisclosure: I was invited to participate in Florence Restaurant Week by Florence Main Street. My hotel was paid for by them to make it easier for me to participate and I received a $20 gift card from Ricatoni’s Italain Grill. I paid the remaining balance out of my own pocket and all thoughts and opinions about the restaurant are my own.


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Singin’ River Brewing

Singin River Brewery

….At times soft and quiet,
other times loud and boisterous.
This was how the Yuchi Indians
described the Tennessee River
as it poured over the rocks and reefs
of the shoals.

                                                           − Singin’ River Brewing Co.

Singin River Brewery FlightMy first leg of the Florence Restaurant Week blog tour began at Singin River Brewing Co. and it was the perfect way to start.

Rob and Michelle Jones started the Singin River Brewing Co. just over a year ago.  They celebrated their 1 year anniversary May 1st. Rob has been experimenting with brewing since the 90’s and Michelle discovered her love of craft beer through Rob after they started dating. The two of them have been touring craft breweries throughout the States since they met. Their shared passion for craft beer turned into a career with the creation of Singin’ River Brewing, Florence’s only craft brewery!

Singin River BrewingMy husband (Olivier) and I visited the brewery/taproom early Friday evening, when it was “soft and quiet”. I’ve been to Singin’ River when it was packed with loud, boisterous patrons and though that’s a fun time to visit, it isn’t very conducive to good photography and leisurely chats with friendly bartenders.

feature7The taproom is gorgeous, which if you visit a lot of taprooms, you’ll quickly find this isn’t always the case. There are beautifully designed rustic tables and chairs throughout.  Carefully matching artwork adorns the walls and the bar is a stylish combination of corrugated metal and raw wood.

Singin River Brewing

The flight (from left to right): Handy’s Gold, Dopplemaibock, Renaissance City Red, and Porter.

When I visit a taproom the first time I usually start with a flight of flagship beers so I can get a feel for the general style of the brews. It is a great way to try a little bit of everything without emptying the wallet and over-indulging. The flight cost only $5.

Daniel was our very helpful bartender. In addition to bar tending he is also a photographer (what luck!), so he was able to give me beers that were tasty, as well as beautiful. He also helped me scope out good locations to photograph them in.

The flight (from left to right): Handy’s Gold, Dopplemaibock, Renaissance City Red, and Porter.

Olivier and I have very different palates, so usually if he isn’t thrilled with a beer I know I’ll love it and vice versa. This makes us the perfect drinking partners! I loved all the beers, but my favorite was the Renaissance City Red and Olivier’s was the Dopplemaibock.

feature4I also tried the Hard Pear Cider, which was nice and light. It was a perfect ‘summer evening watching fireflies on the porch swing’ drink. It was very bubbly, which gave it a celebratory feel. I really wish they bottled this one. (hint hint)
feature5For my last drink I had the Cornbread Saison, which was interesting in a good way. It is brewed with jalapeños so it has a spicy kick to it, which sounds weird, but it is actually really good.

feature6The taproom has a television to watch various sporting events and steel-tiped darts, with dart boards, of course. They frown on you throwing the darts directly into their walls.

After Daniel explained to us how to play Cricket, we played darts for a while.  Sadly, I lost, but it was a close game (mostly because I was cheating).

We had a great evening and will definitely be back the next time we are in Florence!

feature9

Make sure you read the other bloggers posts from Restaurant Week: Dirt Plate and Friday Date Night

Taproom Hours:

  • TUE 5PM-8PM
  • THUR 5PM-9PM
  • FRI    5PM-9PM
  • SAT 2PM-9PM

Disclosure: I was invited to participate in the Florence Restaurant Week by Florence Main Street.  My hotel was paid for by them to make it easier for me to participate and I received a $10 gift card from Singin’ River.  I paid the remaining balance out of my own pocket and all thoughts and opinions about the brewery are my own.


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The Charities of Florence Restaurant Week

Top-5-Charities-542x1024

When you eat at the participating restaurants of Florence Restaurant Week make sure you ask for a ballot and vote for your favorite charity.  The winner will receive $5000 from McDaniel Window and Door Co.  Go Vote Today!

You can check out the charities with the links below.

Room In The Shoals

One Place of the Shoals

The Healing Place

P.A.W.S (Pets Are Worth Saving)

Shoals Sav-A-Life


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Cooking with Craft Beer: Porter Braised Brisket Sandwich

Mmmmmm! Brisket is way better than Campbell's soup to stay warm.

Mmmmmm! Brisket is way better than Campbell’s soup to stay warm.

So this week every state in the US hit freezing level temperatures. Even Hawaii! Brrrrrr!

In southern states we are ill-equipped to deal with frigid weather, so people are pretty miserable.  Not Buffalo, New York, 7 feet of snow miserable, but still cold enough to complain loudly about it to whomever will listen.  To help us all get through what promises to be a chilly winter here is a recipe for a delicious and more importantly warm sandwich: the Porter Braised Brisket Sandwich.  It is made with craft beer, so you can sip on the leftovers and get toasty.

Singin' River Brewing Company

Singin’ River Brewing Company

This recipe was created by the super-talented Lily Plauché.  The recipe was originally posted in a craft beer article in NoAla magazine.

Singin' River Brewing Company

Singin’ River Brewing Company

The recipe features beer from Florence, Alabama brewery: Singin River Brewing.  The brewery was super fun, with excellent beer and super stylish decor.  It is an hour and a half drive for me, but well worth the trip.feature3

Porter Braised Brisket Sandwiches

Recipe by Lily Plauché

Serves: 8

The main purpose of the beer in this recipe is to tenderize the meat while providing another layer of flavor. Use the meat for these sandwiches, in quesadillas, or serve as a stew over potatoes or rice.

4 pounds beef brisket, trimmed, cut into 3-inch pieces

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1 cup Singin’ River Porter

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cups beef broth

8 sandwich buns

Slaw

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Sprinkle brisket with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large ovenproof Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add half of brisket, browning on all sides. Remove brisket and set aside. Brown remaining half of brisket in Dutch oven; remove and set aside.

2. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pot; cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add beer, stirring to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in tomato paste and broth. Return brisket to the pot, nestling it nicely into the liquid. Cover and bake until brisket is very tender and can easily be shredded with a fork, about 3 hours.

3. Shred brisket with 2 forks; serve the meat on buns topped with slaw.

Stay Warm!

Stay Warm with Beer!

Stay Warm with Beer!