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| - An anniversary dinner and a James Beard nomination (nom-nomination) finally got us to PIAFC. Two apps, three small plates, a bottle of wine and dessert. Any place that serves sardines, in this case pickled and lightly smoked, is starting on the right foot, as far as this guy is concerned. The pork rillete was very tasty once it warmed up. The grilled octopus with a spicy red sauce on chick peas was outstanding. A red beet plate with pistachio 'soil' was an excellent palette cleanser before the venison raviolis. We ended with a high-end, fancy version of donut-holes (5) with chocolate sauce. Do not miss this desert! I managed pics of almost every other dish but these almost disappeared before I regained my composure and remembered to grab a shot of the last one.
This is foodie territory. No burgers, cheese curds or Walleye here. Beautifully presented (eat with your eyes, then your mouth), intensely flavored .... good stuff. Decent, Italian-leaning wine list. Since it was an anniversary dinner, I toyed with the idea of bringing a special bottle of wine. When I queried about a corkage fee, they replied "$25/bottle, two bottle minimum". Why not just say, "f*ck you, drink our wines". I'm still getting used to Midwest attitudes about wine and food.
A wonderful dinner. A little over a hundred bucks and worth every penny. We'll go back for the large plates soon.
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