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Eostrix a gastropub worth trying
By Zeid Odeh, Jordan News
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New year, new me. We have all heard it before. Many probably are signed up at gyms, daydreaming about summer bodies and picture-perfect Instagram posts. I am starting 2022 with a different mindset, of going to various restaurants and pushing my comfort zone of social hiding and little more social interaction, and reconnecting with those I have been putting on the back burner. اضافة اعلان
Eostrix is the perfect spot for an early dinner, family get-together, or a unique dinner date. (Photo: Zaid Odeh/Jordan News)
My first 2022 experience starts at Eostrix (pronounced yo-strix), located on the second Circle. I have been a fan of this place for quite some time now, and every time I try to experience one new dish on their menu.
Eostrix is a gastropub; besides being a fun word to say, a gastropub is a pub that serves high-quality food. A step higher than the typical bar food that most pubs have.
Eostrix is the perfect spot for an early dinner, family get-together, or a unique dinner date. (Photo: Zaid Odeh/Jordan News)
I checked their website before my visit to understand what my expectations are set to and what I do experience eventually. The menu is found on the website, where you can either order directly or make a reservation. Some information can be found on the website about the concept of the place; with some digging, one would understand clearly the type of food they are serving.
Personally, the journey of an experience does not start with the food; it begins with the experience before even entering the restaurant. The parking is a little bit of a hassle, given that I am not a fan of valet parking, which they do offer, and prefer to park the car myself, even if that means that I need to walk a few minutes; I think of it as my pre-workout.
Eostrix is the perfect spot for an early dinner, family get-together, or a unique dinner date. (Photo: Zaid Odeh/Jordan News)
Once we reached the main entrance, the host opened the door; very hospitable, and a chic modern vibe is the first thing that would come to mind while looking at the interior and the ambiance as a whole. Upbeat subtle music is playing, and various seating options are available: couch, table, or high table.
This place is perfect for an early dinner or a dinner date, friends gathering, or family dinners. It might get a little crowded around 8:30 pm. so, it will not be suitable for families with children around that time, especially since smoking is permitted in most restaurant seating areas. Second-hand smoking is not a habit one wants their kid to adopt early on in their life.
Eostrix offers breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. The breakfast menu looks extensive, with egg dishes, manakeesh, and healthy breakfast items. Their menu changes seasonally. This way, the chefs can ensure that guests are not bored of the same menu items and have the freshest ingredients, and thus a higher quality of food.
Eostrix is the perfect spot for an early dinner, family get-together, or a unique dinner date. (Photo: Zaid Odeh/Jordan News)
The menu has a good selection of appetizers, shared items, pasta, steaks, chicken and seafood main courses, and desserts. They also have a well-designed bar that serves alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, including some house specialty cocktails.
The dinner menu has a considerable influence of Italian cuisine, which is one of my favorites and which I criticize the hardest. I started with a seafood salad as a cold appetizer, mushroom soup, fried risotto balls, buffalo chicken flatbread, and two desserts. If you are concerned about the calorie intake, I was sharing it with a friend.
The mixed seafood salad had a great portion of mixed leaves and seafood items, such as shrimps, calamari, grilled octopus, and mussels, tossed with a lemon vinaigrette. I enjoyed the light vinaigrette dressing on the salad; it gives it a little kick with the seafood. A highlight of this dish was the grilled octopus. Octopus is not easy to cook; it needs to be cooked enough that the flesh is not chewy, but tender. Grilling it gives a sweet char flavor balance. However, the other seafood items needed some seasoning to enhance the dish’s overall flavor.
Eostrix is the perfect spot for an early dinner, family get-together, or a unique dinner date. (Photo: Zaid Odeh/Jordan News)
I would personally cook the seafood items with a little bit of butter, garlic, some parsley, and seasoning before placing them on the salad. Salt enhances flavor, gives life to food.
The mushroom soup was topped with sautéed mushrooms, and a red sauce which I later found out was a strawberry reduction with lemon, rosemary, and vinegar. A twist on a classic soup, if underestimated, can quickly go south. The earthiness of the mushroom in a velvety, creamy soup was all the umami I needed to dig in for another bite. I’m sure one would question the strawberry reduction, and no, it was not a typo. Surprisingly it works; the sweet-sour drizzle adds a nice balance to the overall flavor profile of the dish. I would start digging into flavored oils and drizzle a beautiful infused thyme olive oil on top to bring this dish up a notch.
The fried risotto balls, also known as arancini, are usually stuffed with mozzarella cheese, deep-fried, and served with marinara sauce. However, it is done a little differently here. The deep-fried rice balls are stuffed with mozzarella, served with blue cheese and spinach sauce, and drizzled with strawberry reduction sauce. Maybe we should not re-invent the wheel on this one.
Eostrix is the perfect spot for an early dinner, family get-together, or a unique dinner date. (Photo: Zaid Odeh/Jordan News)
The trick with the arancini is that the size of the ball needs to be just right. If the balls are too big, the golden crust will form before the cheese melts inside it if the fryer’s temperature is too high. So it needs the right temperature and size ratio.
On a lighter note, the buffalo chicken flatbread, which will always be one of my favorite items on the menu, is a great item to share with a good amount of topping, creaminess of the sauce, and the spiciness of the buffalo. I would prefer the dough to be thinner, but again, that could be a personal preference.
I have a sweet-tooth; I always say dessert goes straight to the heart. At Eostrix I ordered the chocolate mousse and the trifle.
The chocolate mousse was a simple, rich, creamy dessert with a velvety texture, topped with whipped cream that thankfully was not too sweet and had a perfect balance between the mousse’s creaminess and the whipped cream’s fluffiness.
The trifle was a beautiful mess of syrup-soaked sponge cake, whipped cream cheese, a berry compote, and strawberry sauce, which in this case is in the right plate. The mixture of sweetness, sourness, and creaminess was a winner for this beautiful mess of a dish, and now, as I am thinking about it, I would want to experience it again.
Other items I would suggest having that I have tried on several other occasions are salmon tartar and the beef carpaccio. If you have the will to try raw meat, they are a must.
The overall experience of Eostrix was delightful. The servers were amiable, hospitable, and attentive, the ambiance is chill to have a conversation with a friend and relaxed enough to not be overwhelming. Definitely worth a try.
Read more Lifestyle
Eostrix is the perfect spot for an early dinner, family get-together, or a unique dinner date. (Photo: Zaid Odeh/Jordan News)
My first 2022 experience starts at Eostrix (pronounced yo-strix), located on the second Circle. I have been a fan of this place for quite some time now, and every time I try to experience one new dish on their menu.
Eostrix is a gastropub; besides being a fun word to say, a gastropub is a pub that serves high-quality food. A step higher than the typical bar food that most pubs have.
Eostrix is the perfect spot for an early dinner, family get-together, or a unique dinner date. (Photo: Zaid Odeh/Jordan News)
I checked their website before my visit to understand what my expectations are set to and what I do experience eventually. The menu is found on the website, where you can either order directly or make a reservation. Some information can be found on the website about the concept of the place; with some digging, one would understand clearly the type of food they are serving.
Personally, the journey of an experience does not start with the food; it begins with the experience before even entering the restaurant. The parking is a little bit of a hassle, given that I am not a fan of valet parking, which they do offer, and prefer to park the car myself, even if that means that I need to walk a few minutes; I think of it as my pre-workout.
Eostrix is the perfect spot for an early dinner, family get-together, or a unique dinner date. (Photo: Zaid Odeh/Jordan News)
Once we reached the main entrance, the host opened the door; very hospitable, and a chic modern vibe is the first thing that would come to mind while looking at the interior and the ambiance as a whole. Upbeat subtle music is playing, and various seating options are available: couch, table, or high table.
This place is perfect for an early dinner or a dinner date, friends gathering, or family dinners. It might get a little crowded around 8:30 pm. so, it will not be suitable for families with children around that time, especially since smoking is permitted in most restaurant seating areas. Second-hand smoking is not a habit one wants their kid to adopt early on in their life.
Eostrix offers breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. The breakfast menu looks extensive, with egg dishes, manakeesh, and healthy breakfast items. Their menu changes seasonally. This way, the chefs can ensure that guests are not bored of the same menu items and have the freshest ingredients, and thus a higher quality of food.
Eostrix is the perfect spot for an early dinner, family get-together, or a unique dinner date. (Photo: Zaid Odeh/Jordan News)
The menu has a good selection of appetizers, shared items, pasta, steaks, chicken and seafood main courses, and desserts. They also have a well-designed bar that serves alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, including some house specialty cocktails.
The dinner menu has a considerable influence of Italian cuisine, which is one of my favorites and which I criticize the hardest. I started with a seafood salad as a cold appetizer, mushroom soup, fried risotto balls, buffalo chicken flatbread, and two desserts. If you are concerned about the calorie intake, I was sharing it with a friend.
The mixed seafood salad had a great portion of mixed leaves and seafood items, such as shrimps, calamari, grilled octopus, and mussels, tossed with a lemon vinaigrette. I enjoyed the light vinaigrette dressing on the salad; it gives it a little kick with the seafood. A highlight of this dish was the grilled octopus. Octopus is not easy to cook; it needs to be cooked enough that the flesh is not chewy, but tender. Grilling it gives a sweet char flavor balance. However, the other seafood items needed some seasoning to enhance the dish’s overall flavor.
Eostrix is the perfect spot for an early dinner, family get-together, or a unique dinner date. (Photo: Zaid Odeh/Jordan News)
I would personally cook the seafood items with a little bit of butter, garlic, some parsley, and seasoning before placing them on the salad. Salt enhances flavor, gives life to food.
The mushroom soup was topped with sautéed mushrooms, and a red sauce which I later found out was a strawberry reduction with lemon, rosemary, and vinegar. A twist on a classic soup, if underestimated, can quickly go south. The earthiness of the mushroom in a velvety, creamy soup was all the umami I needed to dig in for another bite. I’m sure one would question the strawberry reduction, and no, it was not a typo. Surprisingly it works; the sweet-sour drizzle adds a nice balance to the overall flavor profile of the dish. I would start digging into flavored oils and drizzle a beautiful infused thyme olive oil on top to bring this dish up a notch.
The fried risotto balls, also known as arancini, are usually stuffed with mozzarella cheese, deep-fried, and served with marinara sauce. However, it is done a little differently here. The deep-fried rice balls are stuffed with mozzarella, served with blue cheese and spinach sauce, and drizzled with strawberry reduction sauce. Maybe we should not re-invent the wheel on this one.
Eostrix is the perfect spot for an early dinner, family get-together, or a unique dinner date. (Photo: Zaid Odeh/Jordan News)
The trick with the arancini is that the size of the ball needs to be just right. If the balls are too big, the golden crust will form before the cheese melts inside it if the fryer’s temperature is too high. So it needs the right temperature and size ratio.
On a lighter note, the buffalo chicken flatbread, which will always be one of my favorite items on the menu, is a great item to share with a good amount of topping, creaminess of the sauce, and the spiciness of the buffalo. I would prefer the dough to be thinner, but again, that could be a personal preference.
I have a sweet-tooth; I always say dessert goes straight to the heart. At Eostrix I ordered the chocolate mousse and the trifle.
The chocolate mousse was a simple, rich, creamy dessert with a velvety texture, topped with whipped cream that thankfully was not too sweet and had a perfect balance between the mousse’s creaminess and the whipped cream’s fluffiness.
The trifle was a beautiful mess of syrup-soaked sponge cake, whipped cream cheese, a berry compote, and strawberry sauce, which in this case is in the right plate. The mixture of sweetness, sourness, and creaminess was a winner for this beautiful mess of a dish, and now, as I am thinking about it, I would want to experience it again.
Other items I would suggest having that I have tried on several other occasions are salmon tartar and the beef carpaccio. If you have the will to try raw meat, they are a must.
The overall experience of Eostrix was delightful. The servers were amiable, hospitable, and attentive, the ambiance is chill to have a conversation with a friend and relaxed enough to not be overwhelming. Definitely worth a try.
Read more Lifestyle
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