GLASSHALFULL

Over the past few years tapas have become all the rage.  Tapas bars have sprang up all across America, and countless fine dining establishments have added a small plates section to their menus.  To me, tapas are a double edged sword.  They are perfect for someone with my inability to choose one item off of the menu, but they often end up wreaking having on your wallet.  Recently the concept of the wine bar has supplanted tapas bars on the scene, but in name only.  They are basically the same thing, except tapas are now called small plates.  I have visited more than a few of these establishments, and Glasshalful in Carborro is definitely my favorite. 

I made my first trip to Glasshalfull last weekend with my roommate and my sister, two of my most consistent dining companions.  We shared five different plates, four from the small plates menu and one large plate.  The large plate was a NC Bouillabaisse, with shrimp, red snapper and mussels, simmered in a crustacean fennel broth with leek and saffron.  It was unbelievably full bodied and flavorful.  Was it a large plate?  I don’t know about that, but it definitely was a great plate. 

Small Plates:

-Crispy Calamari with peppadew peppers, garlic butter and parmesan cheese.  You could tell the calamari was local because of its smaller size, and you could tell it was fresh because it’s amazing taste.  Lightly breaded, cooked to perfection, this was some of the best calamari I have had in a while.  With just a squeeze of lemon, it was to die for.  I am glad, because the aioli was not doing it for any of us.  

-The Cheese Plate, with spiced Chevre, sheep’s milk Manchego, and Ba Ba Bleu, which is also a sheep’s milk cheese.  The cheeses were served with Morello cherries, quince paste and shaved pear.  All of the cheeses were delicious, as were their accoutrements, the Manchego was my favorite, but it almost always is. 

-Grilled Chicken Brochette Oreganato, which are herbed crusted chicken skewers, served with artichokes in a chicken jus.  Chicken is probably the meat I eat the most of at home and order the least of at restaurants.   This chicken was perfectly spiced, perfectly cooked and a surprisingly good if not uninspired, choice from my roommate. 

- House Cured Gravlax, my favorite dish of the night, lightly cured salmon, salty capers, tangy pickled shallots, cool crème fraiche and tasty buckwheat blinis.  This was the definition of a well put together dish.  All of these ingredients were tame on their own, but together they form a symphony in your mouth. 

For desert we had the chevre cheesecake, and the homemade banana pudding.  There are some things that cannot be churched up; banana pudding is one of them.  They tried it with butter cookies instead of Nilla Wafers, somehow just not the same, too hard, not as good.  The cheesecake on the other hand, was a hit.  I have had many a goat cheese, cheesecake, never one that I did not enjoy. 

With our meal we had a great Spanish Red and a nice Pinot Noir, unfortunately we had enough to where I cannot remember much about these wines, other than the fact that they went down very easily.  Glasshalfull is a wine bar with a great atmosphere, upscale décor, a nice bar, delectable plates and of course, awesome wine. 

-J