Elegant Gold Coast restaurant Fig & Olive ( 104 E. Oak St.; FigAndOlive.com ) is still bringing the goods, this time with its summer menu.
Watermelon and asparagus are among the items emphasized on Fig & Olive's current menu, available through late September.
Things started off well with a raspberry mojito that was just on the right side of tartnessand I thank the server for steering me away from another drink ( First Light ) that sounded promising but turned out to be bland ( thanks to a small sample he brought me ).
Even the bread stood out, as the rosemary focaccia was served with olive oils from Portugal, Spain and Greece, and the tomato-watermelon gazpacho ( with squash seed and basil olive oil ) was an incredibly refreshing appetizer.
Rosemary was a key part of the savory lamb chops as well; I also enjoyed the ricotta gnocchi served with it, although I could've done without the braised honey eggplant. ( Strangely, it didn't seem to add anything. ) The conclusion of the meal was, for me, the best part, as the chocolate fondant was a bowl of fudgy goodness accompanied by candied orange and vanilla ice cream.
Add some cool chillout music courtesy of a DJ, and it was a very tasteful ( and tasty ) experience.
Taste of Andersonville Aug. 10
The annual Taste of Andersonville Dinner Crawl will take place Wed., Aug. 10, 6-9 p.m.
The crawl allows guest to enjoy returning restaurant favorites, find new spots to dine, and meet neighbors and friends along Andersonville's business district. Taste of Andersonville participants can choose from one of two dining routes: the vegetarian-friendly SALT Route or the PEPPER Route, both filled with bites from a variety of host destinations, including newcomers Goddess and Grocer, TrueNorth, Rare Bird Preserves at the Andersonville Farmers Market, Appellation and Elixir Andersonville.
Tickets for the evening are $30 for each route in advance and $35 on the week of the event ( if available ). Alternately, guests can dine on both routes with the THE WHOLE ENCHILADA ticket package, which is $55 in advance and $65 the week of the event ( if available ).
For more details, see Andersonville.org/events/taste-of-andersonville-dinner-crawl/ .