I love the Langosta Lounge in Asbury Park and I seriously think about it all the time. I browse their menu online and then I get all hungry and text my sister about how starving I am.
Well yesterday, I"m checking out their menu online and I notice that Wednesdays are Mexican night and margaritas are $5 and that they'll be featuring Mexican dishes.
So right away I text my prospective dinner date with --
"Want to get dinner tonght?"
He texts back, "Sure."
"Good because I'm hungry," I replied.
"It's 8:30 a.m." he texts back.
Well I know that, I think. I just felt like planning ahead.
Anyway we get there and we don't have to wait for a table. (Oh, it's not 8:30 a.m. anymore.)
I love the poshy atmosphere at the Langosta Lounge. Their servers wear all black and have tattoos.
Just walking in the place boosts my cool factor by like 5 points.
They have a killer cocktail menu with all kinds of interesting things like hibiscus infused vodka. Who wouldn't pay $10 for something with that in it?! Also, their sangria is out of this world.
Dinner date springs for the $5 margarita on the rocks with salt. It is so sour that I pucker for like four seconds after having a sip. I get a glass of Pinot Noir that looks damn sexy in one of those trendy stemless wineglasses.
Before we ordered, the waiter at one point said, "You cats have any questions or anything?" and I was just completely thrilled.
"Did he just call us cats?" dinner date whispers.
"That's why I love this place," I tell him.
We talk about how much I've always wanted a restaurant and I tell him that I want to go to law school but the LSATS are always on my b day.
"Does it bother you that I don't take anything you say seriously anymore?" dinner date asks.
"I really am going to go to law school," I assure him even though I have no intention of doing so.
We order guacamole with chips and the guac is cold, fresh and limey just how I like it. The chili peppers and cilantro are chopped ruggedly and that makes every scoop taste different. What? I'm something of a guac connoisseur.
The bread basket they place on the table includes a dainty loaf, those hard little breadsticks that could chip marble and a small ramekin filled with two cloves of roasted garlic, olive oil and some sundried tomato paste.
Dinner date dives into the tomato paste with a bread slice, looks up and says, "Oooh you'll like this."
I ordered the duck dish without looking at the contents (I have attention span problems.)
Dinner date orders the lobster encheladas which are downright orgasmic.
Sooo good.
His plate is ginormous and smothered in cheese with rice and beans on the side.
Huge chunks of lobster clawmeat are poking out of the corn tortillas and I am dying for a bite.
Seriously, it melts in my mouth.
The enchelada sauce is on par with my Mexican mama's and she can make a damn good sauce.
"I want to switch dinners," I tell him. "My dinner makes no sense."
I examine my dinner.
Whoever designed this dish took the USDA's food pyramid a little too seriously.
You don't need every food group represented on one plate.
Crispy-edged roast duck pieces rest over raveoli with a globs of brie cheese dotting four corners of the plate.
The duck is a little overdone for my liking but it is still delicious. A sweet cherry sauce pools at the bottom and it's a nice change from the orange glaze that usually accompanies duck and my wine (recommended by our awesome server) pairs fantastically with the meat.
Those raveolis didn't do anything for me. I've never had brie before, and it looks like butter, but I try it.
"At least now I know that I don't like brie," I say to Dinner Date.
My dish also featured some runty green beans and kale(?) sauteed and plopped in the middle. They were saturated by the cherry sauce.
I would have been happier with the standard, protein, carbohydrate and veggie. My dish should be redesigned to have sliced duck breast over cherry sauce, with mashed potatoes and green beans.
But my slight dissatisfaction with my dish of many colors was overridden by my amazing wine, the poshy ambiance and my Dinner Date's fascinating conversation and his orgasmic lobster enchiladas.
I left there once again happy that I came.
I'll be back Langosta Lounge.
But next time I'll stick with the sugared short ribs.
**Image borrowed from Langosta Lounge.