Primal Food & Spirits

Reviews about Primal Food & Spirits

• 4 / 5

  By ben moy
  Been 2 out of 3 attempted times. The middle time, they closed an hour earlier than the posted time, but on a dead night with terrible weather, I can't blame them. My wife is gluten intolerant, so this place has been on my list for a while. We went for the first time with my parents. I enjoyed a dry hard cider with the deviled eggs and GF bread basket. As a family that has tried cooking many gf breads before, their assorted breads were amazing. Perfect crust and crumb. The deviled eggs were topped with very generous pieces of bacon, delicious bacon. These were a big hit. We ordered the calamari, but it never came out. Not sure if the waiter misheard, as we didn't ask because there was plenty of food otherwise.
  
  For entrees, I ordered the short ribs and was able to try 2 temps of the salmon and a steak+shrimp skewer on special. The smoky wood and attentive cooking ie not too long, made the shrimp the best I've had. Seriously, the 2nd time I went, I requested it as a side (pleaded) and they were able to a la carte the shrimp. It was just as good, read: perfect, the 2nd time. I will get it every time they are willing to sell it to me. The short ribs were 4/5, with the gremolata and semolina both wonderful. The salmon (as other reviews mentioned) was quite excellent, being both fresh and cooked to temperature. I tried medium rare and medium and was happy to eat either. The steak was a lovely rare medium-rare.
  
  The 2nd time I went, this led me to the menu's coffee hanger steak. I like a stronger coffee rub, but the coffee flavor permeated the bed of jalepeno creamed corn, which gave me the strength I wanted when eaten in the same bite as the steak. The shredded tortilla adorning the dish, also nicely salted and cooked just right. Really, what stands out is that everything is cooked just right. With fresh ingredients, not much more is needed, right?
  
  Desserts, also great, especially for again being gluten free. Over the 2 nights, I had the coconut ice cream, strawberry shortcake, peach & granola crumble, chocolate flourless torte, and an off menu ganache. All of them outstanding, with the peach & granola (with coconut ice cream) being my favorite. The ganache was a very rich chocolate and went a long way, so a definite recommend for chocolate lovers. I look forward to returning a third time.
  
  edit: I've been back for a few brunches. The french toast remains great, but sometimes the portions can be underwhelming.
  May 29, 2016