So last night I received my Fightin Texas Aggie Ring! WHOOP! For those of you non Aggies the Aggie Ring is received after completing 95 credit hours and is the most recognized symbol and tradition of being an Aggie. Aggies worldwide wear their Aggie rings. Friends and family come in town for the event and then people proceed to dunk their rings in a pitcher of beer. Yes, that is a full 4.5 beers. You put your ring at the bottom of the pitcher and then chug as fast as possible. Don't ask how we got the tradition.
My mom took Brian and I to a well known restaurant in College Station called Christopher's World Grille. Most people say it's overrated but it's the most well known fine dining restaurant in College Station, so I decided to celebrate there. Although, I have to agree, the food is good, but not spectacular, especially for the price tag. The desserts, however, are to die for. We will get to those later.
Our appetizer was a guatamalan pork tamal: a banana leaf wrapped, tender pork with chile, garlic and lime in a cracked rice masa with mole sauce and beer shooter. Masa is Spanish for dough and is sometimes used for tortillas and tamales. The pork was the sort of fall of the bone tenderness that you come across when it is cooked very well. The flavor combination of the sweet mole sauce, the kick of the cilantro, and the smooth "corniness" (corny, I know) of the masa was delectable. The dish also came with a shot of Shiner beer. My mom had the idea that I should do a miniature ring dunk. I'm waiting until I turn twenty one to officially dunk my ring, so I figured why not. It would be a fun festivity to celebrate getting my ring. Now, I have never tried a soda in my life, so carbonation isn't exactly my cup of tea. I dropped my ring in the shot glass and proceeded to take the shot only to feel this burning fizzing sensation on my tongue. I immediately stopped taking the shot and could not even force myself to finish what was in my mouth. Brian had to take the shot himself in order for us to get my ring out of the shot glass, and so that I could spit what was in my mouth back in the shot glass. It was not a pleasant experience. Very good manners too...
You can just see the excitement in my face. At the end of dinner when the waiter brought out the dessert tray, I couldn't for the life of me decide which dessert to get. Who would have thought? So I picked my top 3 choices.
Polenta almond cake with fennel ice cream. When they presented this dessert, I was ecstatic. I had just been watching Iron Chef the day before, and the secret ingredient was fennel. I sat there the whole time watching the show dying to know what all the dishes tasted like, and I even remember saying that I wish I could taste the fennel ice cream that one of the competitors made. Someone was definitely watching out for me. Polenta is made from boiled cornmeal, which is ground maize. The texture of the dessert was divine. The cake itself had this grainy crumbliness. Paired with the creaminess of the fennel ice cream brought it to a whole other element. The cake tasted almost of a sweetened version of cornbread, and the ice cream was out of this world. Fennel is an herb that is used for many different things, and when eaten raw tastes like licorice. I am not a fan of licorice, but anything dessert related I am open to trying. The ice cream had a very subtle hint of licorice, but not overbearing. It was the perfect partner to the grainy sweetness of the polenta cake.
The second dessert was a pear almond tart. It was my least favorite of the three, but still delicious. It was your typical tart. It tasted of shortbread cookies and had a soft crunchiness from the almonds. The pear taste was evident, but every once in a while I would taste a hint of banana. Not entirely sure how that got in there..Honestly I was so concerned with inhaling the fennel ice cream and my third dessert that I wasn't completely focusing on the tastes of the tart. The creative caramel sugar piece on top of the dessert and the painted sauce on the plate made for a beautiful presentation.
The third dessert was a chocolate hazelnut sponge cake with espresso ice cream. It was the pinnacle of elegance. They took what could have been a basic chocolate cake and added textural and flavor elements that turned it into this succulent piece of art. There was a layer of chocolate cake and then almost a sort of thick ganache layer, that was not too rich, but just right. It was topped with a crunch hazelnuts nougat piece and paired with a small dish of espresso ice cream. The fusion between all the different pieces of the dish was beautiful. The espresso ice cream literally tasted like Starbuck's in my mouth. Just imagine the strong aroma when you walk in to Starbucks and put that with the creamy coolness of ice cream and chocolate cake. Perfection. You couldn't take just one bit. It was an addiction waiting to happen.
www.christophersworldgrille.com
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