Restaurant Review: The Blue Stove, Thousand Oaks, California

My father and I decided to try a new restaurant on our lunch date today; I suggested The Blue Stove, a restaurant hidden in the back of the second floor of Nordstrom in The Oaks mall.  I must admit, I believe it is a rarity to find a restaurant worthy of review in Thousand Oaks, but I was impressed.

It is a casually upscale-looking restaurant, comparable to the decor and lighting of P.F. Chang's.  As it is tucked away behind the Brass Plum teens section of the department store, I was surprised to see how crowded it was at 1:30 in the afternoon on a weekday.  We waited for about five minutes before we were seated, and then proceeded to brood over the menu, unsure of what to order.  The menu is organized into sections: the first is salads and such, the second is heavier dishes, and the third is small sharing plates.  My only complaint is that their setup makes it difficult to order; the menu is not exactly cohesive, with tortillas and green mole co-mingling with lamb, risotto, and pot chicken.  It's very tapas-style.

We settled on the caramel chicken wings, pea and asparagus risotto, and lime and cilantro chicken tacos.  We were served quickly, and although I was at first surprised by how small the tacos were, my father and I were delighted by how satisfying they were.  Apparently, they are the most popular item on the menu, and it is obvious why.  I am not a fan of lettuce and I had planned on only eating one, but they were DELICIOUS and I ended up eating two.  The taco shells were extra crispy and warm, and the queso sauce, lime, cilantro, chicken, and peppers blended perfectly together.  The lettuce was left behind on the plate.

Next, we received the pea and asparagus risotto.  Sublimely enhanced by the lemon included on the plate, I found that the rice and asparagus were both cooked perfectly and the flavors were harmonious together.

Finally, we were served the chicken wings, which packed a flavorful punch.  They were incredibly messy and my sloppiness felt out of place in the restaurant, but they were divine.

The plates were very small (through not incredibly expensive--about $6 each), and so we had plenty of room for dessert.  I had trouble deciding between the pineapple ginger sorbet, banana chocolate creme brulee, and chocolate raspberry cake.  My father chose for us the creme brulee, which was served in a large, flat dish with fried bananas and chocolate syrup on top.  I have never been a huge fan of creme brulee, but the banana-chocolate combination intrigued me; I was very pleasantly surprised by how delicious it was.  A bit too much sugar coated the custard, but the bananas really made the dessert quite excellent.

I left the restaurant just full enough; if anything I might have gone with a lighter dessert, but all of the food we ordered was incredibly savory and flavorful.  I am happy to know that there is a yummy and relatively fair-priced restaurant within my grasp here in Thousand Oaks--and since I just applied to the Nordstrom accessories department, I could very shortly have a discount there.