What's better than waking up to a breakfast of fresh biscuits, sausage gravy, and poached eggs? Not a lot. Especially when you wake up to good friends who are ready to assist you in cooking such a tasty meal!
While I got to work on the sausage gravy, my friend Molly prepared the biscuits using a recipe from the Betty Crocker Cookbook. With the oven preheating to 450° she mixed together:
2 cups of flour
1 tablespoon of sugar
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
Next she cut a 1/2 cup of shortening into the flour mixture by pulling two knives through the ingredients in opposite directions. Once the mixture turned into small crumbs she stirred in 3/4 cup of milk.
Then the dough was placed on a floured surface and kneaded about ten times, rolled flat until 1/2 inch thick, and cut into circles using a water glass.
To finish, they were baked in the oven on an ungreased cookie sheet for ten minutes.
I started to make the sausage gravy by browning some breakfast sausage. When it was cooked through I removed the sausage and left the grease in the pan. Next I added a couple of tablespoons of flour to the grease and mixed it together for a few minutes until it was brown. Then I poured in a cup of milk and stirred it together until thick. After that I added the cooked sausage back into the gravy and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Simple yet delicious.
Waaalllt! That’s my baaaarrrr! Sorry, you know I can’t resist a LOST reference. When I walked up to Walter’s, and hopefully to the amusement of my companions, I couldn’t help but echo Michael’s overused yelling for his son. Located at 2 Portland Square, Walter’s is a classy joint with its sleek interior, seasonal menu, and excellent bar.
For my cocktail I ordered a Wild French Ginger—Citadelle French gin, domaine de canton French ginger liquer, and candied ginger. I always applaud bars when they are able to make delicious cocktails without overloaded them with cloying syrup. The Wild French Ginger was thankfully not overly sweet and it had a nice kick from the ginger.
Jonah Crab Claws were the first appetizer we sampled. The claws were ice chilled, which contributed to their distinctive texture—the flesh was smooth and cold and had a sweet, oceany flavor. They were served with a South Beach dipping sauce.
Next up was Greek lamb sliders. These little beauties were crafted with Greek sausage, Camembert, and a spicy Cara Cara orange gelee on flaky rosemary biscuits. These were the sliders that inspired us to have our own slider throwdown. Cara Cara apparently is a type of red Navel orange—it made a delicious sweet and spicy gelee topping for the slider that combined smoothly with the rich and buttery Camembert. The sausage was moist and flavorful and paired nicely with the biscuits.
Last on our order was oxtail spring rolls, which were prepared with roasted corn, poblano peppers, and smoked mozzarella, with a spicy avocado crema and tamarind yuzu ponzu dipping sauces. The combination of these ingredients gave the spring rolls a smoky and spicy flavor, but I didn’t get any distinctive taste from the oxtail. I’d never had it before, so maybe I just couldn’t gather the flavor of it in the midst of the other intoxicating scents and tastes within the spring rolls. Having two options of dipping sauces was a nice touch, and I favored the smooth and creamy avocado crema.
I would definitely revisit Walter’s to sample some of their other cocktails and extensive bar menu. Their entrees sound delicious as well, but if you can’t go wrong with a couple of small plates and drinks at their classy yet comfortable bar.
"We ordered out for mindless dribble,
Overused, half wit, ishkabibble,
Corner store junkies giving advice,
We ordered out for paradise.
Apple butter toast is nice,
Envisioned on a third wind twice,
My fine breaded friend was denied by the vice,
And they missed the perfume."
--Disco Biscuits, "Mindless Dribble"
