Trip to Oxford

I've never spent much time in Oxford, MS. Even though I've lived in Memphis for 8 years, & heard how Oxford was a cool little village, I never really had the urge to go. Kelly & I took a quick trip down there this past Saturday & had a great time. We stayed at ravine, a very quaint, cute, cozy & nicely designed bed & breakfast that also happens to be one of the best restaurants I've ever been to. It is just outside of the city limits (barely 10 yds from city limits sign) so it is a brown bag restaurant. We traveled with our friends Marlinee & Max, therefore we needed some wine. We like to drink some wine! The choices for the evening were Treana 2001 (in magnum), Scharffenberger Brut NV & Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards 1999 Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

The food was exceptional! Chef Joel Miller started us with seared scallops on preserved lemon risotto that were seared to perfection. He also sent out some kobe beef shortrib stuffed ravioli that were stupendous! Next we had fresh oysters with a champagne mignonette, grilled quail, shrimp cakes with red pepper coulis & mini burgers. For salads, Kelly & I split the poached pear & blue cheese salad & Max & Marlinee had the spinach portobello mushroom salad.

My entree was a special that night, seared striped bass with orange couscous with the most crispy skin I've ever tasted. Kelly had handmade pasta with pesto, manchego cheese & braised mushrooms, Max had the hangar steak frites & Marlinee had the rack of lamb with blueberry chipotle sauce & polenta fries.

Every single thing was cooked perfectly, the proteins were juicy with crispy exteriors, the sauces were sublimely flavorful, seasoning was balanced. Simply, a beautiful meal. On top of that, the room we stayed in was beautifully designed, homey & comfortable, so comfortable that I really didn't want to get out of bed this morning. Maybe that had something to do with being hungover....but anyway.

I will be returning to ravine as soon as possible & I highly recommend it to everyone who reads this blog.