Strolling down the boardwalk leading to Circles Restaurant, I was already excited.
The small retention pond underneath the planks leading to the door gave the establishment the appearance of “Key West style.”
Windows were illuminated softly from within and the scent coming from the open door was enticing.
I was immediately greeted by an older gentleman, who seated me promptly in a small alcove.
The restaurant had been a former house, as was apparent from the layout of the rooms.
The rooms had old-fashioned, wood-framed windows along the walls; one could gaze around the entire place almost, without moving.
It created a comfortable atmosphere and an “at home” feeling.
The tables were set with white tablecloths, black linen napkins, silverware and giant, stemmed wine glasses that tempted the diner to peruse the wine list that sat on the table.
The bar was in the next room. I could see it through one of the windows.
It was beautiful, with back-lighting illuminating the contents of a multitude of bottles.
I scanned the menu quickly in preparation for the server’s appearance.
They offered many different styles of dishes, Thai and American.
By the time she arrived, I knew I wanted to try the Brussels sprouts with Nueskes smoked Applewood bacon and an iced tea to drink.
The appetizer arrived quickly on a beautiful plate with the greenest sprouts I had ever seen.
They were cooked just right — hot and easy to chew, but still with a little crunch to them.
The bacon was thick-cut, tossed in an olive oil and garlic sauce.
The dish had a unique and zesty flavor I never knew Brussels sprouts were capable of producing.
For my entrée, I ordered the braised lamb shank with mashed potatoes and broccoli almondine.
I opted for their famous lobster bisque, which was $2.50 more than the soup of the day, but the vegetable soup did not sound as appetizing.
The bisque arrived with a basket of rolls.
It had a pleasing orange hue to it and just the right hint of sherry — it thankfully did not overwhelm the creaminess of the bisque.
The soup itself was delicious, but the lobster was a little overdone and chewy.
It took a little longer to come out than usual, but the braised lamb was worth the wait. It also was pleasingly presented, atop potatoes and broccoli.
As the meat was, of course, still on the bone, I asked my server for a steak knife, something I thought should have been brought out with the dish.
The mashed potatoes were light and creamy and seasoned with garlic.
They were an excellent addition to the lamb, which had been braised in a stew that had been left on the plate along with the sides.
The broccoli almondine, however, did not fare as well amongst the other items.
It was soggy and the almonds were strange amongst the home-style foods.
The waitress had not brought my steak knife and had not appeared again, so I began attempting to eat the lamb with a fork and butter knife.
It was fairly easy to do, as the meat was tender and juicy from the braising.
It had a wonderful flavor, but it was a lot of work to get through the fat and fell (a thin, membrane-like covering over the surface, occurring naturally on lamb meat).
I discovered this term while doing some research after my trip. It is normal for this cut of meat to contain that substance, but had I known that before I went, I would not have ordered the dish.
I was glad there had been several other dishes to curb my hunger, or I would have been frustrated trying to isolate the meat from the fat and gristle.
When my server appeared, I repeated my request and she finally brought the knife, but I had eaten most of the decent parts already.
It seemed that after all the picking through to avoid the parts that were inedible, there had not been very much meat on the cut.
Overall, I was a little disappointed with the dish.
To give them another shot, I ordered the chocolate torte served chilled with whipped cream and strawberries for dessert.
The cream was fresh — a perfect compliment to the denseness of the torte.
With a thick chocolate icing on top and two layers of fudge-like cake, I was in chocolate heaven.
The dessert was impressive and the most reasonable size — neither huge nor tiny — I had seen a restaurant serve in some time.
With my stomach full and a happy, easy feeling, I exited Circles, hoping to try them again soon.
Moriah Parrish can be reached at mparrish@spartans.ut.edu
I feel as if the title does not reflect the content of this article.
Also, you contradict yourself when talking about the main course. You started your lamb review with “It took a little longer to come out than usual, but the braised lamb was worth the wait” and ended with “Overall, I was a little disappointed with the dish”
The only significant negative part of your meal, as you reported, was the broccoli dish. Aside from that, you only seem to have disliked the chewy lobster and the fell on the lamb. If you did research afterward and note that lamb shanks typically have that membrane, I do not believe you should penalize the restaurant.
In this particular case, it is clear that the good (brussel sprouts, bisque, meat, mashed potatoes, torte) far outweighed the bad (broccoli, lobster).