Where to Eat - Baker & Banker

I am a huge fan of husband and wife team Lori Baker and Jeff Banker. Baker's desserts and bread are unparalleled. Banker's food is not only excellent but it's pretty cool to see an executive chef working the line on a Sunday night. Both chefs' habit of running food and circulating their dining room conversing with guests on their meal is refreshing. These are two people that really want you to enjoy their food.

I started with the below grilled Spanish octopus with green garlic aioli, crispy potatoes, and smoked paprika oil. The mixture of textures was very balanced and there was not a bit of chewiness to the octopus. The creaminess of the aioli, the sharpness of the greens, the crunch of the potatoes, and smokiness of the paprika oil was a heavenly combination.

Andrew started with the maple glazed pork belly and deep fried farm egg over spicy coleslaw. The bite I had was amazing. It was so good I would go back and order this as an entree. It was one of those dishes where if you took a bit of everything you got a great complete bite. The bite was basically the best bbq one could dream of.

I ordered the pasta special as my entree. The homemade pappardelle with butter, parmigiano and perigold black truffles was so simple, rich and delicious. Whenever I have homemade pasta I am always shocked at how much better it is then dried - especially the dried wheat pasta I usually have. The egg in the pasta with the rich butter, salty cheese, and earthy truffles was perfect.

Andrew had the slow roasted pork shoulder with mascarpone polenta, Bloomsdale spinach, currant-pine sofrito and baby carrots. He said it was delicious, but my bite tasted a bit dry. It could have been just in comparison with how great my pasta was.

For dessert I had the citrus trio, which included a creamsicle ice cream fruit, grapefruit creme brulee cupcake, and frozen key lime pie. All three were delicious and I really like desserts that have multiple parts - it's like lots of different tastes in one dish. I also really enjoyed the fresh taste of citrus rather than the richness of a chocolate dessert. My favorite was the frozen key lime pie. (It's always been a favorite of mine.)

Andrew had the coconut cream pie with macaroons, coconut brittle and almond cream. At a nearby table we saw all three diners order this dessert and eat them individually. I took a piece of the coconut brittle and dipped it into the cream pie. It was beyond tasty.