Christine’s Review of Restaurant Week [Pictures]

Restaurant Week Menu & my glass of Riesling [Christine George][/caption]My very first Restaurant Week and it was awesome! I had the opportunity to attend Acorn Grille at Thousand Oaks Golf Club. It was a really nice place and I felt fancy-schmancy. For starters let me just say it was really hard not to order off the regular menu because there were so many options and it looked so good, but I had to stick to order of business and order off the Restaurant Week menu. It did make it easier though because it limited my options.

Avocado Bruschetta [Christine George][/caption]I started off with the Avocado Bruschetta for two reasons: 1) I LOVE avocado & 2) I love bruschetta so it was the obvious choice. This is what it includes: Fresh Avocado, Garlic and Heirloom Tomatoes, Garnished with Chiffonade Mixed Greens Tossed in a Citrus Vinaigrette and Served with Grilled Breads. It was DELICIOUS! The bread was on point! Everything tasted so fresh but the only thing I would change is that there should've been more avocado. I expected more than there was but to be honest this was my favorite dish out of all three courses! Highly recommended!

Pork Belly & Vegetable Skewers [Christine George][/caption] My second course (the main one) was a toss up between the BBQ Pineapple Chicken and the Pork Belly & Vegetable Skewers but the pork belly won, mostly because it came with truffle fries and I love truffle fries! The dish included: Slow Roasted in House and Topped with a Cherry Balsamic Reduction. Served with Truffle Parmesan Home Fries. This dish was delicious and disappointing all in one. And the reason it was disappointing had nothing to do with the taste, it was because I wanted more :( The pork belly was so tender and flavorful! The balsamic reduction was a perfect dipping for not only the pork but the fries as well. Speaking of the truffle fries, they were giant (as you can see in the picture). They were soooo good I wish I had a basket of them right now.

Pork Belly & Vegetable Skewers [Christine George][/caption]Finally, for the third course (the dessert) I ended up ordering two out of the three because I couldn't decide. I started off with the Lemon Blueberry Tart: Tangy Lemon Tart topped with Fresh Michigan Blueberries. Hands down, the best tart I've ever eaten! The blueberries were so fresh and the whipped cream tasted homemade. I have no idea if it was but you can tell it wasn't the average whipped cream.

Lemon Blueberry Tart [Christine George][/caption]

Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwich [Christine George][/caption]The second dessert was a Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwich which was Homemade Michigan Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwiched between two Double Chocolate Cookies. This dish was delightful! The cookies were chocolate-y and warm although I would've preferred them more on the soft side. I can't say anything bad about this dish... it's an ice cream sandwich... enough said!

Smokehouse Burger [Christine George][/caption]I took my boyfriend with me and he decided to order off the normal menu because he was craving a burger and it was really good! I finished my main dish within like 15 minutes so of course I started eating off of his plate. He ordered the Smokehouse Burger: An 8oz. patty grilled and topped with caramelized onions, pepper bacon, smoked Gouda cheese, lettuce, tomato and chipotle aioli served on a toasted bun. This burger was AMAZING! It was so juicy and basically melted in your mouth. The bacon was crispy the cheese was cheesy and the chipotle aioli added the perfect amount of spice. Another highly recommended dish.

To sum it all up, The Acorn Grille was a great experience and if you've never been it's definitely worth to try, and not just for Restaurant Week. The menu offers a variety of food from sandwiches to salads to entrees. If you want to check out their menus (lunch and dinner) visit their website here.

If you want more information on Restaurant Week in general and all the participating restaurants click on www.experiencegr.com/restaurant-week/

Just a friendly reminder Restaurant Week ends Sunday August 23rd!