Global Gourmet - Carbondale, IL

Date of dining experience: June 11, 2015

Place: Global Gourmet

Location: 102 E. Jackson St. in Carbondale, IL

Appetizer: Smoked Salmon ($11) - cucumbers, red onion, capers, dill sauce, and crackers. This is always a fantastic choice for an appetizer! I love my fishes and good salmon makes the Top 10. This is the first time I've had this dish with cucumbers and was hesitant. Surprisingly, the flavor actually adds to the complexity of each bite and accentuates the flavor of both the dill sauce and salmon.

Salad: Caprese Salad ($8) - fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil, and balsamic syrup. This is also always a fantastic choice! The basil and balsamic flavors really "pop" and enhance the flavors of the mozzarella and tomato. My only complaint for every restaurant at which I have had Caprese salad is that there never seems to be enough basil. It's not that I want a lot more basil, I just like for things to be proportionate. It always seems like there is an extra piece of both tomato and mozzarella that don't have a piece of basil. In order to get the full experience, you have to be stingy with your basil on at least two pieces. It wouldn't be that hard to put out the same number of pieces of basil as there is tomato.

Entree: Syrian Aleppo Pepper Chicken ($17) - grilled kebabs of free range chicken marinated in yogurt with Aleppo pepper, garlic, and lemon. I was skeptical of this dish at first, but the owner highly recommended it. And he was right, it is absolutely delicious!

Wines:
1. Picpoul Caves de Pomerols from France, Languedoc. This was a very nice, light starter wine similar to a Pinot Grigio.
2. Muscadet Domaine du Fief aux Dames from France, Listrac. This wine went very well with both the appetizer and Caprese salad. This is also a nice white, but more like a Sauvignon Blanc.
3. Blend (Merlot 80%/Cab 20%) - Chateau le Manceau from France, Bordeaux. This lighter Merlot-style dry red had the perfect amount of Cab-style "bite" to compliment the pepper chicken extremely well.

Dessert: Amazing coffee! And the coffee went well with the rum-based pecan pie I ordered and the blueberry creme brulee my wife, Audry, ordered. Both were delicious desserts, but we were expecting the creme brulee to be bluberry-infused. It really just had about six whole blueberries somewhere in the mix. Still, very delicious.

I feel it is important to note that Audry and I do not usually split our orders, so I usually write about just my own experience. However, for this particular restaurant, she really wanted the smoked salmon and Caprese salad. So, in order to get a taste of everything, we only ordered one entree and split all of the items.

Global Gourmet is a hidden gem. It is definitely the best restaurant/wine bar in Carbondale, but I'd venture to say it's the best in all of southern Illinois. The atmosphere is wonderful and the service could not have been better. The owner was sitting at the bar near our table and we talked for quite a while. It was a pleasure to hear about his past and how Global Gourmet started. The head chef also came over to our table and talked a lot about the foods. It was a great experience, and we found out she was a teacher before going to culinary school (Audry and I are both teachers, in case you didn't know that already).

If you ever find yourself in Carbondale, I highly suggest checking out Global Gourmet. You won't be disappointed. If you do visit, let me know what you think about it! Enjoy!