Best "Local" Meal Yet!

So, we went down to a restaurant in our downtown area (only about 2 miles away) called Orso. They had this special tonight (ok, "tonight" was around 2/5/10):

Fresh Fare Travels to Spain and Portugal

Fresh Fare continues its travels this winter by visiting the wild, diverse and beautiful countries of Spain and Portugal. The location lends itself to a rich history with a natural bounty. The diverse regions produce phenomenal wines which complement the wide array of flavorful profiles. It’s a resilient and sophisticated cuisine, yet simple in execution as nothing but the best will do.
Prix Fix Menu 65.00 with wine

Shrimp and Reindeer sausage skewer
Dusted with star anise and grilled. Served over a shaved fennel, orange and olive salad. 9.95

Albariño, Legado del Conde ‘08, Rías Baixas 8.95

Alaskan Pork Belly
Apple braised, complimented with an Alaskan razor clam topped with shaved apples and fennel. 9.95

Grenache Syrah, Almira “Old Vines” ‘08, Campo de Borja 8.95

Umpquah Valley Lamb Chop and house made Linguica
Simply seasoned and grilled. Served with a stew of pearl onions, chic peas, figs, kale and linguica. Finished with a Pedro Ximenez-fig glaze. 31.95

Rioja, Martin Códax ‘06 6.95

Bizcocho Borracho (Olive Oil Lemon Cake)
A light moist cake made with olive oil, lemons and yoghurt. Soaked with our ORSO ‘09 Roof Honey, cinnamon, and brandy. 5.95

Cream Sherry, Solera 1847 6.95

So, since we've been to Spain, and we've recently vowed to do our very best to eat local, this was VERY exciting for us. Even better, the meal was fabulous.

The lamb was exceptionally tender, and this was my first time tasting figs with meat, but it was very nice. I particularly enjoyed the stew with chick peas and kale--very much my style.

The Alaskan sausages and shrimp skewers were juicy and a wonderfully tasty combo. My favorite wine was the Grenache Syrah--incredible wine! Great depth of flavor, very smooth (which is my favorite when I find it in wine, I don't know how else to explain it, it's just not too bitter or alchol-ly).

The olive oil cake is simply the best cake we've ever had. Incredibly moist, but not rich, it was simply a delight to eat. Matt likened it to a tres leches cake, without the leches. 

The low-point of the meal was the cream sherry, but that might just be because Matt and I are not sherry drinkers. After sampling all the fabulous wines with the meal it was a big, sweet let down.

 We split the meal, so it was a little more affordable, and the wine parings were excellent. I left the prices just so you can get a feel for what prices are like in Anchorage, this is NOT the most expensive restaurant. But, YUM! (or, to use Jen's new word: YUMB!) 

Orso is an modern Italian restaurant that tries really hard to use local ingredients (this is more of a challenge then you might realize in AK!) The cozy, rustic/contemporary interior is always a pleasant complement to the food. They consistently have excellent wines, and we've found some incredible (and not so incredible) meals there. The local fare are the wine keep me coming back.