Hamilton’s hamiltonsonmagnolia.com

Wednesday 11/7/12

My husband Scott and I have been to Hamilton’s on Magnolia a few times for dinner, and we’ve recently re-discovered it for lunch, especially on days we expect downtown Auburn to be quiet.  The service is quick and attentive for a full-service restaurant, but with parking meters ticking down from sixty minutes outside, there is little time to linger.

I pushed my love of carbs aside (after I knew for sure Scott would order fries) and ordered a salad.  Now, even though I’m primarily vegetarian, I don’t really love salads.  They're different at Hamilton’s, though, and even the house salad is based on baby greens and with no mention of cucumbers.  

I chose the most unique salad option on the menu, Basil and Peaches.  This salad of baby greens is topped off with grilled peaches, queso fresco, pickled onions, and spiced pecans.  The basil is in the vinaigrette.  Nothing about this salad was boring, and the only thing I left on my plate was one unwieldy sprig of frisée.  I could have eaten the spiced pecans by the handful, and our cute and perky server mentioned that she had in fact done that, and soon regretted it due to the abundance of cayenne pepper.   She’s right - the pecans are best eaten one or two at a time along with the other salad ingredients, especially with the cooling effect of the queso fresco.   My least favorite ingredient of the salad, though I believe I can acquire the taste and will try again, was the grilled peaches.  They had a pleasing firm texture, but a definite smoky grilled flavor that I couldn’t quite reconcile to the sweetness. 

Scott ordered shrimp tacos with a side of fries.   The skewer of tacos boasted big chunks of avocado and tomatoes.  The shrimp was nicely grilled and not too big, so that the tacos could be eaten in small bite sizes.  I helped with his generous portion of fries, of course, only in the interest of the blog.  Yeah, right.

I hope the below pictures do our dishes justice, especially my excellent salad.