My Last Restaurant Meal of 2012

I've been hesitating to write this post. On one hand, it's because it cements the fact that the year is coming to a close. A year that has allowed me to enjoy some very fine dining experiences that I will replicate to the same scale in 2013 (Wine Club is going back to hosting at our homes for our sixth year.) And on the other hand, I don't want this little secret gem to get out too well-known.

D and I enjoyed a lovely evening with his sister and her husband at a quaint little place called Phil's Tara Hideaway. It's a tiny log cabin in Stillwater. We went there on a Thursday night - they don't take reservations - and when we arrived, it was crazy crowded. We put our names down and were told we had a 90-minute wait. So we headed over to the local Mexican restaurant for cocktails (the bar at Phil's was far too crowded for us just to wait there.)

We came back about an hour later and were promptly seated. The energy of the place was palpable, and you could tell that since it was the holidays, everyone was sharing this little gem with their own family members. I started my meal with a grilled octopus:

This was the most amazing appetizer I have ever eaten. It was truly grilled perfection - and then sprinkled with lemon juice. I could have just eaten five plates of this and been perfectly happy. I also enjoyed a light, dry Greed red wine with my meal. I ordered it because I've never had Greek wine before and it was delightful.

For the next course, I had a crispy skin and duck confit salad. Now, I will say that I think this is the one place where the waiter failed to listen to my request about being gluten-free, but I removed the battered fried item from the salad and enjoyed the rest of it.

I loved the duck confit and the crispy skin and mushrooms. Yummy. My mother-in-law says that this restaurant has the best duck she's ever tasted. Unfortunately it came on a bed of gnocchi ... and since I didn't want to get the dish as it was not intended, I instead went with the Tara Steak Gorgonzola. The steak was perfectly cooked ... it melted in my mouth like butter, it was so ridiculous. The Gorgonzola sauce added a nice complement, but what I really loved were the sauteed wild mushrooms and caramelized onions. The Parmesan potato puree was a nice complement as well ... but my full belly didn't allow me to consume it all.

D enjoyed bread pudding for dessert, and the other couple enjoyed a butterscotch budino. They both looked amazing. I was far too full to eat another morsel. But I did cap my night off with a bailey's Irish cream. (And yes, I was taking a risk with the alcohol since they don't claim to be gluten-free, but after reading such a diverse response to if it affects those with gluten intolerance, I decided to risk it and fortunately, no adverse reactions! Yay!)

So, again, I wasn't sure if I wanted to share this little gem, but if you happen to be in Stillwater and want to try some of the most amazing food out there ... then Phil's is where you should go!