Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Q Reviewer splurges The Restaurant Review by ADAM DAWKINS This past weekend, four friends and I decided to treat ourselves and splurge on a nice dinner. None of us had ever been to Garibaldi’s, so we decided to try it. We ended up having one of the nicest evenings I have spent in a long time, and it was certainly one of the finest dining experiences I have had in Columbia. As we sat down, we were greeted by one of the best servers I have come across anywhere. It is not my usual cus tom to point out individuals in my column, but Canty, our server, was fan tastic. This gentleman knows his stuff, from all the points of attentive service to specifics about wines and all the menu selections. It was nice to find service like that in a city where it is often nor mal to find lax waiters and waitresses who have no clue about hospitality. We ordered calimari as an appetiz er. Calimari is fried squid and is very tasty when done properly. It was served with a dijon mustard dipping sauce, which complemented it well. It was a lighter appetizer and was just enough. When Canty began to tell us about the evening’s specials, I noticed a ravenous yet puzzled look come over the faces of everyone at the table. Garibaldi’s is known for fantastic seafood creations, but none of the specials are listed on the menu. When you go to Garibaldi’s, don’t make any decisions based solely on what is listed on the menu. Wait to hear the specials. I think all five of us had decided on some thing in the menu, but when Canty had his soliloquy on the specials, we all ordered from his suggestions. My friend Deah ordered the salmon steak, which was served over pasta with mixed steamed vegetables. This is a dish that is easily found at most seafood restaurants; however, Deah said that this was_some of the best salmon she had eaten. It was served with a light citrus sauce, which complemented the fish very well. While she said it was a lighter dish, it was also satisfying and filling. When a Floridian says this is excellent seafood, I tend to take her word for it. Another friend, Lanier, ordered the grouper, which was served in a barbe cue style, over grits with an apricot sauce and mixed vegetables. She said that the apricot sauce was out of this world and went well with the grouper. My roommate Morgan and friend Kasey both ordered the flounder. It was the whole fish, minus the head, scored, lightly floured, flash fried, and then pan seared to finish. It was served with a Thai apricot sauce, mixed vegetables and pasta It looked very interesting, but both Morgan and Kasey agreed that it was exquisite. I had something a little different. I had sushi-grade tuna steak, served rare, encrusted in sesame seeds with a citrus and wasabi sauce. It was absolutely fan tastic. The best thing, though, was that it was not too filling. I was completely satisfied after the meal, and wasn’t mis erably full. In keeping with my promise to al ways save room for dessert (much to the dismay of my waist size), we all or dered something for afters. The table’s favorite was the creme brulee, which three of us ordered, including myself. It was interesting, because normally, one finds creme brulee served in deep er, narrower pots. This was served in a shallow, wide pot, which I’ve never seen before. It didn’t change the flavor at all, but it was still interesting from a pre sentation perspective. To add a little col or, I might have placed a couple of black berries or strawberries on top of the warm caramelized top, but it was still verv tastv. Lanier ordered the mud pie, which was an ice cream dessert. She said it was also very nice, and I thought the pre sentation was especially appealing. Dealt had the lemon sorbet, topped with fresh fruit. Morgan, in a wave of extravagance, ordered a chocolate martini with his dessert, which consisted of Grey Goose vodka and Godiva liqueur, shaken, and served in a chided martini glass with chocolate sauce around the rim. The five of us ran up a check of $ 195 that evening, and not one of us begrudged a penny of it, as it was certainly one of the finest and most enjoyable dining ex periences I have had in a long time. The food, the service and the company were all superb, and I highly recommend Garibaldi’s to everyone. Rouse seems far away from home by Peter Johnson Gamecock Critic Josh Rouse of Nashville’s Slow Riv er records returns Home, following up his critically touted 1998 debut Dressed Up Like Nebraska. Rouse did some side work with Kurt Wigner of Lambchop last year in creating an EP entitled Chester. Whereas Nebraska saw a bashful Rouse with his heart safety-pinned on his sleeve singing about love and his reservations about his roots with a sly naivete that was simultaneously charm ing and homely, Home expands into oth er reservations that Rouse seems to have with himself. For one, the prospect of Mure seems to bother him quite a bit. On “Laugh ter,” the opening track, Rouse sings “think I got it all figured out, I think my plan is safe from laughter” while strumming his guitar over a pulsating backing gui tar and bass line that create a mellow and nearly hypnotic feeling. More reservations about himself are revealed on “Afraid to Fail” when he howls “Give me something real on that FM stereo. It’s time I made myself clear, time I’ve made myself known” over a whiny twanged out guitar which echoes harrowing behind Rouse’s rhythm sec tion. At the bridge, Rouse takes a more subdued tone and continues, “not that I don’t want to, I’m just afraid to fail and I don’t want to.” “Hey Porcupine” has Rouse sarcastically singing to an old friend who led himself astray and is finally beginning to turn his life around at 25. Even though they don’t talk anymore, Rouse comes to the realization that he hasn’t ac complished much more. “Did it please you to know that I completed a show that’s sec ond rate?” Rouse seems to exempli fy a certain blue-collar poet appeal. He’s the guy scrib bling his thoughts on a drink napkin while sitting at the end of the bar alone. But don’t feel sorry for him, he’s content with it. Rouse relishes his feelings of in adequacy as we all should. He embraces the ups and downs of life and knows that it’s all part of the game. And through it all he wishes he were a child again, as we all do deep down inside. In a way, he is a lot like a timid older brother in the way he seems to reminisce with the listener. Like we all do, he struggles to Artist: Josh Rouse { Album: Home Rating: a-iV-a- out of a-fra-sfr ! come to grips with himself as the in nocence slips further each day. □ Bryan from page 4 of Charleston. The main focus of the station will be to return to the days when Mark was at USC. He said that each of the DJs will be responsible for playing, during the shows, 50 percent local mu sic and 50 percent college-radio style music. This is something that will let lo cal artists gain a major foothold on the radio time they receive and the support they get. Nearly all the ideas that will be used in starting this radio station will come from the students themselves, though. In looking to the future of the band, the guys of Hootie and the Blowfish are mainly spending the time with their fam ilies. Aside from the album that Mark Bryan just released, Darius Rucker is working on a side project of his own. According to Bryan, this is supposed to be an album packed with R&B, which is something that Darius has wanted to do for a while. The influences of this R&B style al bum may be felt on the next release for the entire band. Like the collaboration of Mark Bryan with several local artists, Darius is expected to draw from his ex periences to create this album. Mark Biyan is also to be one of the guest artists on the upcoming album. Along with Darius Rucker working on a new album, Jim Sonefeld is said to be working on a solo project of his own. The immediate future of Hootie and the Blowfish holds that the band will fi nally return to the stage at the annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival in Five Points this Saturday. Immediately following the St. Patrick’s Day festival will be the annual Hootie and the Blowfish Monday after the Masters Pro-Am Golf Tourna ment. This is held annually at the University Golf Club in Blythe wood, and will be followed that night by the concert. Per formers at this year’s show will include the likes of Edwin Mc Cain, members of Creed, and Sister Hazel. That show is ex pected to open its doors around 8 p.m. Bryan can be seen at Man ifest on March 17. This will be a CD signing and an in-store performance. That appearance will be followed by an appearance at the Colossal Music Crawl on March 25. Bryan will also make an appearance 3 p.m. Friday on the “!@$?...TGIF” show with Erin de Poix. Tune in to 90.5 WUSC-FM Columbia to hear Bryan talk about his solo album and the future plans for Hootie and the Blowfish. If you have any questions for Bryan, call 576-WUSC (9872) and have him field your questions live on the air.