L'Shana Tova & The FIL's Birthday

[UsQuBa has closed as of March 2017.]

Went to the still-new UsQuBa to celebrate the FIL's birthday and Rosh Hashanah. Many food blogs described it as a 'Scottish restaurant' in June, but there isn't haggis anywhere on its menu, and oddly, four months later, its copy now indicates 'modern European dining' and somewhere there's something written about French cooking techniques and Asian influences.

Chef Guven Uyanik did pay attention to bringing in Aberdeen Angus beef and fresh produce, cheeses and seafood from Scotland. Good enough. Okay, looking at the menu, this is 'new Scottish cuisine'. Or maybe we could just term it more aptly 'modern European'. The food was fine. It didn't blow my mind, but nothing was overdone or undercooked. There were grilled racks of lamb and beef tenderloin. I enjoyed my whole ocean trout and the tender juicy grilled lobsters. Those were gorgeous.

Of course we were there to eat. But when we're not wine people, it's a bonus when a restaurant stocks decent bottles of whisky. All I need is that one or two lovely drams to take me through a mellow evening. Otherwise, I'd rather stick with iced water or whatever that's non-alcoholic without being ridiculously sweet. The restaurant offers VERY NICE tasting flights, along with a VERY GOOD LIST OF WHISKY. Woohooo.

The man even made it a point of going to UsQuBa earlier than the scheduled dinner hour to get some drinks in first. He had a superb sounding 'Elements of Islay Flight'- Elements of Islay Bw5, CI7 and Lp6. All familiar favorites. Next time, I'd like to taste the 'Samaroli Speyside Flight'- Tomintoul 1967 44 Y.O and a Tormore 1995 19 Y.O. I'd definitely rate this as a fabulous whisky bar with super decent food. If I'm there for drinks without dinner plans, I needn't head out to a separate venue to get satisfying grub. Hope the grill+bar lasts in this finicky market. One Fullerton rentals are crazy.

My delightful drams which I know well prior to tasting it at dinner.
It's the 'Glenglassaugh Flight'- Evolution, Revival and the 30 Y.O.