Day 315: Something New To Me!

As an open minded, experimental eater, it's not often that I run into menu items that I have not tried or at least heard of - but tonight was one of those occasions.  

One of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, Bistro Aix, introduces seasonal dishes to their menu on a daily basis.  Today, they featured a salad with agretti with shaved parmesan and lemon juice.  The waitress described agretti as a sea grass with a similar texture to seaweed but with a flavor similar to asparagus.  Well, I love seaweed and asparagus and so I thought I'd give it a try.

I didn't get asparagus flavor.  In fact, I didn't get much flavor at all, other than maybe a grassy taste.  But when paired with a bit of the cheese and lemon juice it was pretty tasty.  I wouldn't suggest that you hunt down some agretti and try it immediately, but if you see it on a menu it's worth a try.

I followed the salad up with my beloved bouillabaise - a mix of calamari, clams, and halibut in a light tomato/fennel broth with croutons and chunks of potato.  This is my very favorite dish at Bistro Aix and I order it nearly every time we go there.

So, a mix of the something well known and something brand new tonight.  Not a bad way to approach dinner!