|
By Christine Anne Piesyk | July 26, 2007
Tumble into The Looking Glass and
let your senses savor its unique decor and often exotic cuisine.
This Warfield Boulevard restaurant is housed in a small
modern plaza that could be Anywhere, USA, but that’s this
eatery’s only resemblance to the rest of the region. Step inside
The Looking Glass and whirl into the whimsical, a colorful
kaleidoscope of mismatched chairs of all shapes and sizes,
unique tables, sheer tablecloths and eccentric dolls garnished
with tulle and feathers perched on mini-columns, set and ready
to eavesdrop on your conversation over dinner. Frosted ornaments
spill from the ceilings in random patterns. One wall of glass
with a quiet table for two is highlighted by a pair of stained
glass hangings of lush wisteria; another is tucked beneath a
wedding-like garland of illusion veiling and white ornaments.
Hand-painted chairs with gentle messages grace still another
table. A deep leather couch invites one to linger over morning
coffee and pastry. It’s craft and class pulled from a Lewis
Carroll collection of magical stories.
My companion and I decided to sample a variety of foods. Our
sweet and unsweet peach teas (mine with a slice of lemon) were
rich and refreshing, the ultimate sip-able on a hot afternoon as
we browsed the menu. Choices. Choices. We sampled “leftover”
breakfast pizza squares that could easily have become dinner. We
were both tempted by the asparagus soup, a creamy concoction
served in a bowl on a plate surrounded by a dozen slices of the
bread of our choice: sourdough slices for me, French bread for
my companion. The soup was thick, hearty and delicious, but
could have benefited from the inclusion of chucks of asparagus
(so speaks the asparagus fiend). I can never get enough
asparagus.
Our gracious server, Tiffyalena, brought out salads with a
fresh mix of greens with sliced tomato and slivered carrots, and
a rich, seeded raspberry vinaigrette dressing, almost liquefied
raspberry preserves that danced across the tongue with a a
savory sweetness.
We both chose entrees made with a touch of coconut. My
companion selected a melt-in-your-mouth coconut shrimp,
butterfly shrimp dipped in a coconut batter and lightly deep
fried to golden crispness — with not a touch of oil (left
above). I chose a coconut-pecan chicken, which was in fact two
boneless, skinless chicken breasts dipped in a batter with
coconut and chopped pecans, again deep fried to a golden
crispness (right above). The uneven slicing of the chicken left
the very edges a bit too well done, but the flavor and moistness
of the majority of the chicken was quite good. The sweet and
savory dipping sauce was a plus, though both chicken and shrimp
could be enjoyed with or without it. My companion added a dash
of salt and pepper to his entree, but I skipped those extras and
found the taste perfectly suited to my palate.
Our side dishes were slightly varied: a creamy fresh
potato-egg salad for me, marinated sliced tomatoes for my
companion. Neither of us could resist the temptation of
asparagus spears as our second ’side dish’ option. Coming from
Hadley MA (the asparagus capitol of the world) , I grew up on
asparagus and could eat it by the pound (dripping in butter, no
salt) to the exclusion of everything else in the kitchen. I
savored the opportunity to add these succulent stalks to my
evening meal. The temptation to raid the kitchen for more was
great.
Friends who have dined there also recommend the Hawaiian
Rib-Eye Steak made with pineapple and served with garlic mashed
potatoes, and the Salmon Wellington, a baked salmon in pastry
puff served with the house sauce. Other house offerings are a
5-Pepper Chicken, Portabella Garden, and a Seafood Diable (mix
of mussels, shrimp and scallops).
We reserved the dessert option for another day, though the
display of Tiramisu, Rum Cake, Turtle Cheesecake, and delectable
truffles were akin to the devil tempting Eve. Again, friends who
dine there highly recommend the carrot cake.
The restaurant also serves a wide variety of deli sandwiches
and wraps, a selection of salads, and offers soup in a bread
bowl as well as the traditional serving. Appetizers include a
spinach/artichoke dip, grilled chicken quesadillas, guacamole
and mussels Provencal (mussels ina butter wine sauce). My last
experience of the Provencal dish involved my harvesting the
mussels at the seashore, scrubbing off the beards, and cooking
them in an herbed white wine and cream sauce into which I dipped
French bread chunks. with butter. It was a delight to see that
delicious item on the menu and not have been the one spending an
hour or two preparing it.
In addition to the imaginative indoor dining room, The
Looking Glass has an outdoor patio surrounded by tall bamboo
fencing. A water garden is overflowing with lotus and pond
plants, driftwood and stone, sculpture of herons in flight and
poised at water’s edge. Tall tables (one set under a rusty arbor
with a kerosene chandelier) rim the garden, which can also be
accessed through an ornate gate from the plaza. Music (first
middle eastern, then a bit of Pachelbel) created a soothing
background of soft sound that made conversation easy. |
