The Original Tasting Tour

Dessert with Pastry Chef Sally Bowers

Last night, The Original hosted a media-only tasting tour to introduce their new menu. I must admit I'd never been there before, though the restaurant has been open since 2009, which is mainly due to the second half of its name: Dinerant, a word that rubs me the wrong way. However, it describes the establishment's food well. It takes diner classics and raises them to quality you'd find at a higher class restaurant. As head chef Ryan Bleibtrey noted last night, the kitchen starts with "things my mom cooked," like recipes that "called for two cans of cream of celery soup." It's also about using good local ingredients, bringing them up several notches. Good food and drink are more important than a name anyways.

We started with Limoncello Cosby Shots, a fancified version of that frat classic, the jello shot. It was named in honor of Bill Cosby's advertising choices, and had a delicate lemon flavor. Next up were homemade sodas. The Pomegranate Thyme was my favorite, the flavors in the name enhanced by a touch of chili to make a rich, satisfying drink. Then came the cocktails from lead bartender Lee Watson. The Sin in Sioux City stood out, featuring brandy and homemade sasparilla from the bar's soda line. The cocktails and sodas, we were told, are inspired by the creativity of old fashioned soda jerks.

Next we moved to the dining room for breakfast, lunch, and diner in rapid succession. We started with Tomato Baked Eggs to represent the breakfast and brunch menu. These were good, but were quickly overshadowed when lunch came out in the form of the Fried Chicken Double Down, ala KFC, but with real, moist chicken as the “bun” and a taste reminiscent of a Chicken Cordon Bleu. I can't imagine eating a whole one, but it was good to try. This was accompanied by Cheese Curd Stuffed Pretzels, which were saltily yummy, and great snack, and finally Oysters Rockafeller.

For dinner, a Homemade Chicken Pot Pie, Braised Short Ribs, and a sampling of the restaurant's many sides were brought out next. The short ribs were perfectly tender, and topped with garlicky mashed potatoes that complimented the ribs well. Of the sides, the Chili Rubbed Heirloom Squash was my favorite: sweet, rich and spicy. The Braised Kale with Bacon and the Spice Roasted Applesauce were also quite nice.

Finally we were taken upstairs, where lead pastry chef Sally Bowers ambushed us with a table full of desserts, too many to list or try. All of them that I managed to sample were great. A Strawberry Cheesecake Parfait was a highlight, with a sweet brightness. Cake pops were fun and tasty. Interestingly, Bowers said that the secret to her best cakes were that they were vegan, though the frostings were not. Eggs, she claimed messed with cake. Her cakes, such as the Mocha Layer Cake, were moist and delicious, and it was hard to believe they were animal free. Another Cosby Shot, this one Amaretto Vanilla Bean Pudding, washed everything down.  As good as the savory food was, it was in the desserts where The Original really shone.

This tasting made me wish I drank downtown more often, so I could stumble in and order Curd Stuffed Pretzels or a Cake Pop when all the bars had closed (they're open until 4am on Friday and Saturday night). You can find The Original, stumbling or not, at 300 SW 6th.