By Scott Smith
The evening began with tender, marinated grilled beef skewers on a bed of onion curls, progressed to a cup of mushroom and brie soup, followed by a hearty “farmhouse” salad, and concluded with broiled salmon and hollandaise sauce.
The brownie á la mode with hot fudge sauce? Well, perhaps that was a bridge too far.
Howard County Living adapted the progressive dinner to some of Kokomo’s independent eateries, and the result, according to tasting couple Katryna L. Bandy and Benjamin B. Booker, was sensational.
Katryna and Ben traveled to four locally owned eateries in succession on a cold Wednesday night, progressing through a five-course meal along the way.
“It’s hard to find a good place to go and just get a good meal that’s not a chain restaurant,” Katryna said as she waited for appetizers to arrive at The Quarry, the moderately upscale restaurant in Forest Park Plaza.
By the end of the evening, both Ben and Katryna had changed their minds on that point.
The couple was new to The Quarry, so owner Scott Futerfas, who had graciously agreed to serve the appetizer course, led them through several selections.
The couple sampled beef satay, the above-mentioned soy-and-ginger marinated skirt steak skewers, which both pronounced excellent.
Katryna said the exotic name of the dish, along with the butternut squash and goat cheese ravioli (another house specialty Futerfas brought out) might have pushed her toward the more typical appetizer choices on the menu — nachos, quesadillas, etc.
Both of our tasters were glad, however, Futerfas brought out the skewers. Something new tried, something new to treasure. The ravioli, house-made and sautéed in cream, butter and a touch of brown sugar, melted on the tongue with sweet, savory creaminess. A layered shrimp cocktail provided a bit of a spicy counter to the savory apps.
Then it was time for the soup course, so Ben and Katryna traveled south on Dixon Road to Serendipity Ice Cream, Coffee and Confection, owned by Anabel Hackett.
The restaurant, located on the east side of Dixon, just south of Defenbaugh (next to Arby’s) is gaining a reputation for Hackett and Caroline Cragun’s collection of more than 26 soup recipes.
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