Monday, August 5, 2013

Two Kitchen's, One Roof, One Goal!!

As most of you know, we have a new restaurant in the area, Fisher's!! It is a great establishment and one that is needed...and wanted. It is located at Orange Beach Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama. There is a nice, white tablecloth restaurant upstairs and a more casual one (family-friendly), Fisher's Dockside as they call it, downstairs. We have dined at both and have had a great experience. Like any new restaurant, they are still working out the kinks, but overall the food and experience (lovely decor and views of the marina) have been enjoyable. Recently, we had the pleasure of attending an amazing (sold-out) event hosted there, and here is how it played out...

It was a Monday night. Just a simple date night for Darling Husband and myself. He arrives home from work (30 minutes after he had planned...standard). He is dressed in sport coat casual with hair a little disheveled from the stress of the day. He picks out a dress for me as I make the finishing touches, and we are ready to go!

Babysitter arrives. The departure is drama free. With a cocktail in hand, we start our drive to Orange Beach, Alabama. We have nice conversation on the ride over, with only one work call for my handsome date. The weather is nice and the sun is setting. No rain in the forecast...yet!

We arrive...15 minutes late as usual. We find a parking space and climb the stairs to our final destination. We are greeted by a handful of hostesses, only to be taken away by the one and only, charismatic, Johnny Fisher, who happens to be one of the owners (creators) of this new establishment. Johnny is an very talented local restaurateur, who is also behind the brilliance of The Gulf, The Hangout and the new LuLu's. We are very lucky to have he and his family in our area!!!

We are escorted away into the gorgeous dining room, decorated by the amazing, Melanie Martin, of Melanie's and MII at the Wharf, and are greeted once again by servers offering two yummy looking cocktails. Decisions, decisions...they both look heavenly! 

Darling Husband grabs the pinkish red one, called the July Julep (watermelon, mint infused bourbon and lemon bitters), and I grab the minty green one, called the Something Cool (vodka, cucumber juice, mint demerara syrup and tonic). After trying both, I knew we were in for a treat for the rest of the evening.

We go our separate ways for a bit, saying our hellos and having good small-talk among the other patrons. It's a good crowd! All the men dressed "beach-smart" and giving each other pats on the back, as the women check out each others attire and rave about the beauty of the furnishings. The ever-so charming, Beth Fisher (Johnny's equally talented and lovely wife), spots me out in the crowd. We hug as I rave about the restaurant once again, and she so humbly says how they are still working out the kinks, but gives me many thank yous!! She is whisked away, as we are shown to our table. 

To my surprise, as well as Darling Husband's, we are seated with a large group of our friends. We were expecting a single table to ourselves, but were excited about the company we were sharing this night with. Each of us spoke of the cocktails we had already devoured and took a look at the menu for the evening. 

There were ten items on the menu prepared by the amazing chef, Bill Briand who trained under Donald Link (Herbsaint, Cochon and Butcher). One appetizer, one soup, one salad, three entrees, three sides and one dessert. All fresh and local ingredients from farmers and fisheries in the area. Everyone was asking each other, even the foodies sitting across from us, "Do we have to choose?" Again, to our surprise, we were served all ten. Granted, for our large table of twelve, it was served family style, but each item was amazingly, but not surprisingly, delicious! Fried Oysters, Golden Tomato Gazpacho, Heirloom Squash Salad, New Orleans Style BBQ Gulf Shrimp, Grilled 5 Spice Swordfish and Brown Sugar BBQ, Roasted Mahi Mahi, Gulf Shrimp, Japanese Eggplant Dressing, Dirty Rice, Heirloom Tomato and Cucumber Salad and if that is not enough, top it off with a Chilton County (is there any other kind) Peach Cobbler!!! And, each serving had a wine pairing. Needless to say, we all had a great evening...all plates clean and all glasses empty!

The evening ended with a performance by Willie Sugarcapps, which was perfect because our table was beginning to get a bit loud!! After a final glass of Champagne, Darling Husband and I were ready to hit the road. The evening was a success, and of course, it rained on our way home!

Fisher's motto on their Facebook is "Two Kitchens, One Roof, One Goal - To Make You Smile!" Well...I'm smiling!! If you haven't tried it...go!! If you have...make the trip back!! 

Check out pictures from the evening at Janie Long Photography on Facebook!!

xoxo, 

Dixie Chic


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