As with many things in the past year, our tenth anniversary was colored by the ongoing pandemic. A number of our local restaurants in Tallahassee have reopened with limited seating and schedules. Most have been very transparent about publicizing their safety protocols for staff and guests. After reviewing feedback from folks on Tallahassee Foodies, I made reservations for our anniversary on Friday, February 12th at one of our local favorites, Savour, which is owned and operated by Drew and Kim McLeod. We were looking forward to an evening out.
Unfortunately, the day before our anniversary, one of the staff members at Savour was exposed to Covid. I received a personal call from Chef Drew to tell us they would be closing down for the weekend until their staff could be tested. We were disappointed but appreciated that they prioritized safety. When we checked other venues in town, they were all booked. My wife did a post on Tallahassee Foodies to see if anyone had an available table and the team from Rootstock Pours + Plates responded and told us they had an opening at 6 that Friday. Rootstock had been on our “Try It” list since they had opened and they were featured in Tallahassee Magazine.
As always, getting around and parking in Tallahassee is pretty simple compared to Miami. We were downtown in about 10 minutes and found a parking spot around the corner from Rootstock. We were one of the first parties of the night. The staff welcomed us and got us seated. They were masked and observed social distancing. They brought us a “Happy Anniversary” card and one of the owners stopped by to introduce themselves and thank us for coming. As other parties came in, they had everyone spaced out well.
Teresa and I like to share dishes. We started with “Oysters Three Ways”. One was raw, one grilled, and one was baked. The baked Kimchi Butter one was a perfect “bite”. We then had the “Roasted Beet Salad”. It was presented well and we enjoyed it. The next course was pasta. We had the “Bucatini Carbonara”. This was an interesting dish with a poached egg on top that you broke over the dish. It was well prepared, but it could have used a bit more “heat” for us. We then had the “Surf and Turf”. This dish was a miss. The small tails were overcooked and all you could taste was the “smoke”. The steak was well cooked, but the presentation on top of mashed potatoes took away from the dish. We finished up with the “Molten Lava Cake”. We enjoyed it, but thought it needed ice cream instead of whipped cream for balance.
We know how tough things are for everyone in the hospitality business. We appreciated everything the teams at Rootstock and Savour did to help us celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. I am glad we had the opportunity to support them. We have them and their families in our prayers.