By the Tracks Bistro

My first experience at By the Tracks can only be described as blissful. It was the last in a long list of birthday restaurants, but it was by far my favorite. Being 22, I can't say that I found the atmosphere appealing. It's definitely for your middle-older aged patrons, but it was still very nice. Our waiter was very friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable. Definitely an A+ for service! Our group ordered the calamari for starters. (I've found that that tends to be our appetizer of choice and if a restaurant has good calamari, I usually like the rest of the menu, too). It was perfectly cooked, and the smoked tomato sweet and sour sauce was superb! It's absolutely a must if you're ever there.

We all ordered different entrees (which I enjoy because you get to try more dishes that way)! For my main course I ordered the Truffled Scallops. I'm no exaggerating when I say they were the best scallops I have ever tasted. They were perfectly cooked with a great sear on the outside and that amazing texture that can't really be explained unless you've had properly cooked scallops. As if I wasn't happy enough with my perfect scallops, the dish was served with creamed corn, sauteed carrots, sauteed spinach, and pickled red onion. Let's review in ascending order...shall we? Pickled red onion: different. I've never had it before, and it was not what I expected, still good though. Creamed corn: definitely a step above your mom's...still nothing spectacular. Sauteed carrots: fantastic! Who knew carrots could taste so good?!? Cooked carrots are not my favorite thing, but these were awesome. Sauteed spinach: my favorite thing on the plate besides the scallops. I love spinach anyway, but it does have a tendency to be a little boring when cooked and not seasoned properly. This was not the case at By the Tracks. If you like scallops, I'd absolutely advise ordering this!

The other main courses I got to try were the Fried Green Tomato plate and their special that day, seared Ahi Tuna, both of which were excellent. Fried green tomatoes have never been my favorite food, but these were definitely good. The tuna was amazing, perfectly cooked, and very flavorful.

Overall, By the Tracks gets a 9/10. If you have the money and want a great, gourmet meal...look no further than 5200 Kingston Pike.