Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:
Yesterday, I saw the final performance of Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" at South Tampa's Stageworks Theatre at Grand Central in the Channelside district. The play was directed by Ron Bobb-Semple. I had seen Mr. Bobb-Semple as Hedley in August Wilson's Seven Guitars at American Stage Theatre in St. Petersburg. I was rendered speechless at his amazing performance, so I knew his version of "A Raisin in the Sun" would be awe-inspiring as well. (And I was not wrong!)
Also starring in Stageworks production of "A Raisin in the Sun" (and also American Stage Theatre's Seven Guitar) is the delightful and multi-talented actress Tia Jemison. Check her out here.
After the show, my friend and I decided to grab some appetizers at the restaurant Cena, which is located next door to Stageworks Theatre. But when we saw the table next to us getting the most gorgeous and elaborate looking desserts, we knew we would have to get dessert as well.
Let's start with the appetizers first ...
Mushroom arancini with truffle fonduta - I was really excited to try these because I love arancini - rice balls filled with peas, cheese and other various fillings coated in bread crumbs and fried. There are three rice balls per order, but I was so greedy I snatched one off the plate before thinking of taking a picture!
The pros: these arancini are a nice size with a tasty crispy coating and a delicious sauce. The cons: the rice was very hard, I am used to a creamy risotto like consistency. I also could not really taste the mushroom and while I could see the peas, I couldn't taste them either. They were a nice treat, but if you pick yourself up a box of Trader Joe's frozen arancini, you'll have just as good of a treat at less than half the price.
Fried eggplant. I am not a big eggplant fan, but my dining companion selected this item and I am glad she did, because I enjoyed it. The sauce was very similar to the sauce that accompanied the arancini, so much so that I thought it might be the same.
The eggplant had a crisp coating and the cheese was particularly flavorful. However if you paid me a million dollars I couldn't guess that this was eggplant. It could have been veal, it could have been tofu - all I tasted was fried crispy cheesiness. Which is not a bad thing, but if you're an eggplant purist you are not going to find intense eggplant flavor here. I would definitely order the eggplant again.
Prosciutto-wrapped scallops with pasta and mushroom salad. This appetizer was a special and not on the regular menu. The pros - the scallops were cooked perfectly. The prosciutto was crispy with a nice flavor. The mushrooms in the warm salad accompaniment (chanterelles, I think?) were delicious.
The cons - the scallops were crazy salty. I have a feeling they salted the scallops before wrapping them in the prosciutto. I like salt as much as the next person, but these were borderline inedible. The pasta in the accompanying warm salad was too al dente - very hard. The garlic and rosemary was overpowering - and this from a person who loves garlic.
Tiramisu. My friend ordered the tiramisu and once I saw it, I immediately wanted to distract her and switch plates. Sadly I put friendship over dessert, this time.
However I will return to Cena just to get this dessert and eat it greedily all by myself. It really is worth the trip just for this one dessert.
Cena's tiramisu reminded me of Salvador Dali's Geopoliticus Child Watching The Birth of New Man. From as far as I can tell it is a deconstructed tiramisu - a mascarpone egg stuffed with espresso-soaked lady fingers on a bed of crispy chocolaty cookie crunch. It is beyond delicious. If you like tiramisu, you have to try Cena's version.
Boccocini Con Crema. Two caramel crusted cream puffs with mascarpone fluff, strawberries and pistachio cream.
This dessert was also a feast for the eyes. Two hard candy coated cream puffs stuffed with chopped strawberries and cream. Topped with a macaron stuffed a strawberry slice with a chocolate accent. I love strawberries and cream. The cream puff filling and the macarons were the best part. The macarons had both the crunch and chewiness of a perfect macaron. The caramel crusted cream puff pastry didn't do much for me. It was a fine dessert, but when you're staring at the gorgeous tiramisu while eating it ... well you feel like you missed out.
Service: our server seemed new but I don't know if that was truly the case. The other servers around us seemed to be more at ease in discussing the food and truly upselling it. Our server read directly off her specials card and didn't seem to know what she was talking about when reading the descriptions of the food.
Overall: There were some pluses and minuses at Cena, but the true winners were in the dessert department. The prices were on the higher end side, but is a great place for after-theater drinks and dessert. I would definitely visit Cena again.
Yesterday, I saw the final performance of Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" at South Tampa's Stageworks Theatre at Grand Central in the Channelside district. The play was directed by Ron Bobb-Semple. I had seen Mr. Bobb-Semple as Hedley in August Wilson's Seven Guitars at American Stage Theatre in St. Petersburg. I was rendered speechless at his amazing performance, so I knew his version of "A Raisin in the Sun" would be awe-inspiring as well. (And I was not wrong!)
Also starring in Stageworks production of "A Raisin in the Sun" (and also American Stage Theatre's Seven Guitar) is the delightful and multi-talented actress Tia Jemison. Check her out here.
After the show, my friend and I decided to grab some appetizers at the restaurant Cena, which is located next door to Stageworks Theatre. But when we saw the table next to us getting the most gorgeous and elaborate looking desserts, we knew we would have to get dessert as well.
Let's start with the appetizers first ...
Mushroom arancini with truffle fonduta - I was really excited to try these because I love arancini - rice balls filled with peas, cheese and other various fillings coated in bread crumbs and fried. There are three rice balls per order, but I was so greedy I snatched one off the plate before thinking of taking a picture!
The pros: these arancini are a nice size with a tasty crispy coating and a delicious sauce. The cons: the rice was very hard, I am used to a creamy risotto like consistency. I also could not really taste the mushroom and while I could see the peas, I couldn't taste them either. They were a nice treat, but if you pick yourself up a box of Trader Joe's frozen arancini, you'll have just as good of a treat at less than half the price.
 |
| Arancini from Cena |
Fried eggplant. I am not a big eggplant fan, but my dining companion selected this item and I am glad she did, because I enjoyed it. The sauce was very similar to the sauce that accompanied the arancini, so much so that I thought it might be the same.
The eggplant had a crisp coating and the cheese was particularly flavorful. However if you paid me a million dollars I couldn't guess that this was eggplant. It could have been veal, it could have been tofu - all I tasted was fried crispy cheesiness. Which is not a bad thing, but if you're an eggplant purist you are not going to find intense eggplant flavor here. I would definitely order the eggplant again.
 |
| Fried eggplant from Cena |
Prosciutto-wrapped scallops with pasta and mushroom salad. This appetizer was a special and not on the regular menu. The pros - the scallops were cooked perfectly. The prosciutto was crispy with a nice flavor. The mushrooms in the warm salad accompaniment (chanterelles, I think?) were delicious.
The cons - the scallops were crazy salty. I have a feeling they salted the scallops before wrapping them in the prosciutto. I like salt as much as the next person, but these were borderline inedible. The pasta in the accompanying warm salad was too al dente - very hard. The garlic and rosemary was overpowering - and this from a person who loves garlic.
 |
| Prosciutto-wrapped scallops |
Tiramisu. My friend ordered the tiramisu and once I saw it, I immediately wanted to distract her and switch plates. Sadly I put friendship over dessert, this time.
However I will return to Cena just to get this dessert and eat it greedily all by myself. It really is worth the trip just for this one dessert.
Cena's tiramisu reminded me of Salvador Dali's Geopoliticus Child Watching The Birth of New Man. From as far as I can tell it is a deconstructed tiramisu - a mascarpone egg stuffed with espresso-soaked lady fingers on a bed of crispy chocolaty cookie crunch. It is beyond delicious. If you like tiramisu, you have to try Cena's version.
 |
| The most gorgeous tiramisu |
Boccocini Con Crema. Two caramel crusted cream puffs with mascarpone fluff, strawberries and pistachio cream.
This dessert was also a feast for the eyes. Two hard candy coated cream puffs stuffed with chopped strawberries and cream. Topped with a macaron stuffed a strawberry slice with a chocolate accent. I love strawberries and cream. The cream puff filling and the macarons were the best part. The macarons had both the crunch and chewiness of a perfect macaron. The caramel crusted cream puff pastry didn't do much for me. It was a fine dessert, but when you're staring at the gorgeous tiramisu while eating it ... well you feel like you missed out.
Service: our server seemed new but I don't know if that was truly the case. The other servers around us seemed to be more at ease in discussing the food and truly upselling it. Our server read directly off her specials card and didn't seem to know what she was talking about when reading the descriptions of the food.
Overall: There were some pluses and minuses at Cena, but the true winners were in the dessert department. The prices were on the higher end side, but is a great place for after-theater drinks and dessert. I would definitely visit Cena again.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Lily On The Lam wants to hear from you ... Seriously, she does ...