Not Loafin' the Meatloaf

Last week my favorite Peruvian and I went to lunch at the creatively named 18 Seaboard located at 18 Seaboard Avenue in Seaboard station.  It was a beautiful 72-degree afternoon so the friendly hostess gave us the option of sitting inside or outside so we chose outside. 

Unbeknownst to us, the outdoor seating was not just merely outside on a patio… it was open-air seating on the roof!  We were lead through the restaurant and to the roof and chose a nice table for two in the shade.

Our server was friendly and timely.  As always, I ordered whatever he said was the most popular item on the menu.  Unfortunately it was meat loaf.  Not only have I never tasted any meat loaf other than my own mother’s (unwillingly, of course…), I have never been a huge fan of the idea of meat coming in a loaf… especially if it’s smothered in sweet ketchup.  The idea of a loaf of meat has repulsed me for as long as I can remember.  I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I ordered it anyway.  If it’s a Raleigh favorite then I guess it’s worth a try, right?

I figured if I was going to try one of my top 5 least favorite entrees of all time, I might as well get my wine-o on a little bit so I ordered a nice, cheap, sweet pinot grigio to help ease the pain.

My food came out and to my surprise, my meatloaf looked nothing at all like the traditional meatloaf our moms and grandmas make!  It looked like a char grilled steak atop a mound of mashed potatoes with a side of spinach and house made Worcestershire sauce for dipping.

I was pleasantly surprised by the meatloaf.  It was packed full of flavor.  It was pretty salty but the bits of onions left a little bit of sweetness in it.  The Worcestershire sauce was nice for dipping since the loaf was a little on the dry side.  It was pretty salty and vinegar-y, so my sweet wine contrasted nicely with it… but I’m probably an idiot.  In my opinion, all wine tastes fine with all food. 

The spinach tasted like spinach.

THE MASHED POTATOES.  Heavenly.  I couldn’t put my finger on it until I was half way through them.  They were house made, made out of red potatoes with the skins left in (my favorite).  They were perfectly whipped so that they were soft and creamy with hunks and chunks and little bits of potato still left in and there was a little bit of tang in them.  As I was listening to a story about Peruvian cops or something (I wasn’t really paying attention), the tang hit me.  Goat cheese.  Wonderfully delicious goat cheese!  It said it right not the menu, apparently but I don’t even look at the menus when I go out for this blog solely to keep myself ordering outside my little box. 

Right before we ordered our checks, our server brought us some complimentary dessert samples!  He brought two little pieces of Reese's Peanutbutter cake!  I'm glad the portions were so small... it was definitely a nice treat after all of the food I ate, but i'm sure I could have easily crammed a little more down my throat had he brought more.

The prices weren't terrible for lunch but I wouldn't recommend going for dinner if you're on a budget.  If you want to splurge a little bit on yourself rather than getting your usual bar food, this is a nice spot.  It only paid about $5 more than I usually would on a meal (excluding that glass of wine).

Go to 18 Seaboard.  If your mother sucks at cooking, order the meatloaf, as I’m sure you didn’t get the mystery meat once a week growing up.  If your mother frequently made meatloaf for you, I don’t recommend it although it was still fine to eat.

I wrote a note to 18 Seaboard suggesting that they might try and make the delicious goat cheese redskin mashed potatoes into an entrée of their own.  Maybe they could serve them with a side of goat cheese redskin mashed potatoes.  Also, I apologize that I do not have a picture of these godly mashed potatoes.  I ate them before I could snap one.