Friday - Out to dinner at Shango

When Flynn read our post back from April when we went to Shango, she commented that she wanted to try it too. So here we are with her visiting in August and we're back. First, the food was excellent again. Truly not a misstep from the marinated olives and vegetables to the entrees. That said, we had two problems - one minor and one major. The minor problem was that we forgot they didn't serve cocktails (only beer and wine) and we wereall in the mood for a cocktail before eating. Had we remembered, we would have stopped somewhere first. The second problem was muchmore serious and that was that we all felt a bit rushed. We had 7:15 reservations and were hoping for a relaxed meal to spend adult time with our visiting friend. We got our appetizers before the wine even came and the moment the appetizers were cleared the entrees went down. We were done by 8:30, which must be a record. In fact the hurried nature of the meal really contributed to our decision not to have dessert there, but to head back towards home and have coffee and dessert at Creekview. Though I am certain we'll go back to Shango for the excellent food, the hurried feel makes it seem like some different management decisions are in order.

Wednesday - Out to dinner at Shango

Wednesday was date night this week and M and I tried a new-to-us restaurant, Shango, in the University Heights area. Shango is semi-upscale with a Creole influence. We've been wanting to try it since we arrived in Buffalo and were not disappointed. The meal starts with a little olive melange and wonderful breads served with a crelo seasoned olive oil. They serve wine and beer and have extensive lists of both, though fewer Louisiana beers than I hoped for (being a fan of Blackened Voodoo and Crimson Voodoo, neither of which are fatured). We split an appitizer special of mussels in a spicy tomato broth that was out of this world and required more bread for dipping. For entrees I had the creole seafood pasta and M had a pork chop cooked in rootbeer. Everything was extremely well prepared. M thought the chop ended up a bit sweet for his taste, but felt that was a personal preference and not a flaw in the dish. All in all, very yummy. We will be back.