Dining Out Southeast: Old Town Stock House, Guntersville, AL

Dining out on Valentine's Day? The pros and cons are rampant. I've had very unsuccessful dining experiences on Valentine's and then there are those wonderful dinners such as the one we enjoyed at Old Town Stock House. Of course, the restaurant was crowded and busy.  It was Valentine's after all! But on the positive side, there was fun energy in the hustle and bustle.  The building was built in 1901. One of the things I like most about this restaurant is they incorporate seasonal menu items. With each changing season, the menu changes as well. There's always new beverages to try to compliment the menu.

Last night our server was Destinie and she was very knowledgeable of the menu and offered suggestions as needed.

We started with a Long Island Iced Tea for Harold and an individual bottle of Lamarca Prosecco for me.

There was a special Valentine's menu and as we sipped, we discussed and debated several choices.

I was torn.  Look at the selection:

Baked Feta with roasted tomatoes, grapes, house pesto, pine nuts, served with flatbread; 

Duck Rillettes with pickled mustard seeds, orange zest, Spanish olives, served with toast points; 

She Crab Soup, crab broth, roe, lump crab, and sherry (this one almost drew me in!); 

Crab Cakes, lump crab, poached egg, chive hollandaise, caviar; and last but certainly not least, 

Lobster Salad, lettuces, lobster, asparagus, radishes, croutons, spicy lemon vinaigrette.  Oh my.  See the dilemma?

Harold chose the crab cakes and I snuck as many bites from his plate as possible. There was very little filling. The flavor was fresh and light and the poached egg with hollandaise added such a touch of elegance to the dish.

When I chose the Lobster Salad, I anticipated a small mixed green salad with a few scant pieces of lobster scattered here and there on the plate.  As you can see, this salad could easily have been a full course entree'! Huge pieces of lobster topped a bed of fresh greens. My love of lemon / vinegar was complete with the spicy vinaigrette. That dressing should be bottled for retail sale! 

Now on to the entrees. 

Here were the choices:

Pappardelle pasta, local mushrooms, shallot and red wine cream, arugula, parmesan;

Fresh catch (choice of sea scallops or Chilean Sea Bass) with whipped truffled potatoes, spinach, lobster cream, local micro greens;

Chinese marinated lamb chops, sauteed scallions, Mongolian sauce, brown rice, fried rice noodles;

8 oz. grass-fed, center-cut filet, potato gratin, asparagus, truffle and compound butter

So many delicious selections!  

Harold was sold as soon as he saw Chilean Sea Bass on the menu. He was very pleased. The fish was perfectly cooked and the potatoes were served hot. One of his pet peeves is room temperature food. That was NOT a problem with this dish.

I was torn, as I normally am when presented with so many wonderful selections. How can you choose one over the other? It's like asking a parent which of their children is their favorite!

And my decision was.......the Chinese Marinated Lamb Chops. I chose wisely. The chops were cooked to a perfect Medium Rare. The sauce had the proper amount of heat without being overbearing and the presentation was just lovely.

I suppose you can understand why we didn't have dessert. Here were the selections in case you wondered.

Chocolate Creme Brulee with chocolate covered bananas

Assorted berries with champagne whipped cream and cocoa nibs

Cheesecake with raspberry coulis

I cannot urge you enough to give this restaurant a try. Beautiful atmosphere, attentive service, delicious drinks, and amazing food.  Trust me, you'll love it.