Nurturing my inner... a toast to toasted

Monte Cristo.  Ever heard of it?  Me neither, until recently.  Never had one.  So when I went out with some friends to celebrate another friend's birthday and I saw this on the menu, I said to myself, "This is your chance!"  (Plus I let the birthday girl have a say so in my choice as she was up for some plate sharing.)

Tallula in Arlington.  I love that sign with the silver font.  Snazzy.  Can I get a job designing restaurants without having a degree in architecture?  I could make it look gorgeous!  (But it's doubtful the place would have any load bearing walls or meet fire code under my watch.  That could be an issue, I realize after talking this out with you.)

Why am I always taking pictures on angles?
Oh yeah, makes it visually interesting!

Dig the interior.  Greys and cherry wood.  Nice contrast.  Wine rack, red glass pendant lights, waiters in black.  Very mod.  We moved right on to mimosas shortly after being seated to toast the birthday girl!

Swanky textures and colors.

After we ordered, these beauties unexpectedly came out to us.  Homemade doughnuts in a light maple syrup.  Warm.  (It's almost too much to handle as a freebie.)

The pre brunch bite.

My monte cristo arrived.  I have no other comparison, so I can only take it at face value.  It was ham and Gruyere cheese nestled into two warm pieces of soft, eggy french toast.  Americans cleverly called this the "Toasted French Sandwich" in cookbooks from the 1930s - 1960s.  (That name clearly took a lot of thought to come up with.)  It came with a little cup of strawberry preserves, which added a lovely sweet punch to the meat and cheese.  Side salad of field greens and a light dressing to balance out the richness of the sandwich.  I managed to work my way through about three quarters of it, but that took some real effort.  I really needed a junior-sized version.  (This was a totally stuffed sandwich that left me totally stuffed!)

A formidable opponent. In the end, I didn't
exactly win. I'd say it was a draw.

The man at the table went for chicken and waffles.  This is on my foodie bucket list for another day.  Some people want to dive out of air planes before they kick it; I want to eat all cuisines known to man.  (Uh, except bugs.  I will not eat a deep fried or even chocolate-covered hoppy thing no matter how "tasty" someone says it is.  I have a line to draw.  And on the other side of that impermeable, unerasable, indelible line stands insects as snacks. *Blech and more blech*!!)

Collard greens & gravy. Warm syrup too!

The birthday girl got a dessert which we all had a bite of.  (As if she had a choice.)  Bittersweet Chocolate Souffle Cake, pistachio ice cream, apricot compote.  SO fantastic!  Good thing I didn't have my own or I would have eaten every bite of it alone!
 

They even made some pistachio brittle that
is tucked into the ice cream.

What is it about an establishment that plates a dessert like this, that makes it even more appetizing?!  The chocolate pistachio combination is always a winner with me, but the tart fruit taste of the compote was a welcome addition.

From doughnuts to dessert, Tallula was a pleasant experience all around.