I was at St. Petersburg, FL, the last Friday in February, and found myself at The Birch and Vine Restaurant. This is a restaurant that is inside The Birchwood Inn and has a highly delectable dragon-berry mojito. The restaurant has a motto from Virginia Wolf:
“One cannot think well,
love well,
sleep well,
if one has not
dined well.”
Well, well, well. Now I know what my problems are. 🙂
Roasted Red Curry Chicken Spring Rolls: Cucumber kimchi, peppadew coulis, cilantro-jalapeno puree, scallion. Anything would taste good when you are starving. But I believe this was more than hungry satisfaction. The spring rolls were not greasy but crisp. The jalapeno puree, peppadew coulis and the kimchi cucumber combination made me lick up all the sauce on the plate.
Chicken Fried Calamari: Carrot puree, pickled okra, thyme scented honey, bourbon smoked peppercorn gravy, house made hot sauce.
The Birchwood Cobb: McGregors’ hydroponic romaine, duck confit, grape tomato, crisp pork belly, gorgonzola fritter, avocado, chopped duck egg, preserved lemon & fine herb dressing. Best part of this is the duck confit and then the gorgonzola fritter. When you bite into the fritter, the explosion takes you by surprise. Never knew gorgonzola would taste not so stinky. This is one of the more sophisticated Cobbs out there.
Dragon-Berry Mojito: Bacardi dragon-berry rum muddled with fresh berries, mint, and lime, a splash of house made simple syrup, topped with soda. We ordered this mojito virgin. mmm. mmm. Birch and Vine knows their cocktails.
Highly recommend this establishment. Next time, I should order the mojito with the Bacardi rum.
This experience took place at
THE BIRCH & VINE RESTAURANT
340 Beach Dr, NE
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
727-896-1080
Peilin Corbanese 