Recently a good friend and I were looking for a place to have some appetizers and catch up. We originally intended to have sushi on the west coast but clearly forgetting that it was high season we gravely underestimated that the restaurants would have any availability for us to dine. Long story short, after calling around several options on the west to see if there was any restaurant not fully booked out, we got lucky with Scarlet, who although they were quite busy, were willing to find space for the two of us at the bar.
We arrived within minutes of our booking the reservation and placed an order right away (my friend was starving). I ordered the Thai Chicken Wontons with a side of Scarlet's Macaroni and Cheese, while my friend ordered the Lemongrass Salmon Skewers.
We admittedly had quite a lengthy wait before we got our meal; it was almost an hour before we were served. However we understood that the place was quite busy and apparently my macaroni pie alone came with a 25 minute wait time. The staff were quite apologetic and attentive during this wait and even gave us a free portion of their infamous Truffle Butter Popcorn to hold us until the meal came.
Now, once that food came and we tasted everything, I wasn't even bothered about the wait anymore. My friend's salmon (because of course I tasted it) was melt in your mouth soft. I low-key wanted to take it away from her. SO GOOD!
Because I tasted her food first I started to wonder if maybe I had done myself a disservice by not ordering that Salmon. You know how the Grass is Greener syndrome works. I reluctantly gave her her food back and turned to focus on mine.
The chicken wontons were really good. Had I eaten them first I would have been content but they were no where near as good as the salmon. I was ready to begin negotiations on how I was going to get more of my friend's meal but then...I tried the macaroni pie. BITCH!!! Let me tell y'all something!!! I have spent my entire life telling anyone who would listen that my uncle makes the best macaroni pie on earth. There is no pie that has ever compared and I was willing to take that to my grave. But you see this pie at Scarlet? That pie??? That Macaroni pie there??? I had a tear in my eye it was so good. It was honestly the most perfect pie I ever had. The top had a nice, cheesy crust, well baked, and then the inside, just soft and creamy, sigh...just excellence. Priced at $15 I fully expected to just have a small portion of pie to go with my wontons. Nope...a personal sized skillet, so deep that I was genuinely unable to finish it in one go. Talk about value for money!
To finish the meal off my friend ordered a Frozen lemon and Gingersnap Pot for dessert. It was cool and refreshing, like a deconstructed lemon meringue cookie; very enjoyable.
Instead of dessert I chose to have one of Scarlet's nibbles and quite honestly the MAIN reason I was excited to go there in the first place. Remember that Truffle Butter Popcorn I mentioned earlier. It is to die for. It's so good, that even though we were gifted a complimentary portion for our wait, I was happy to pay for another set. I don't know how to describe it to you. It's honestly just something you have to try. But if you're a popcorn lover like me there's no way you won't absolutely love it.
All in all dinner was great and I now know the EXACT dishes I will be having the next time I go back. Yes, I should probably try something new to come back and let you guys know how it was. But I won't. When you find perfection you don't go looking elsewhere.