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| - I arrived before my sis-in-heart to celebrate her birthday. I mentioned the occasion so that we could have a table that wasn't stuck in the midst of a bunch of tourists, nor did I want to sit near the bar; we wanted to take our time and enjoy the evening. When the hostess sat us, she found for us a table sort of center-stage... in other words, we could see everything going on and had a fantastic view of the whole place.
As soon as we sat down, we were offered water and a wine list and the Restaurant Week menu. As that is how my sis chose this place, we were just fine with that idea.
We also noticed a birthday card from the staff. Details, people, details!
Getting to the good stuff (well, mostly):
Duck-fat Fries (3.5/5) - The truffled fries were amazing but their accompanying bleu cheese sauce was bland and boring. The herbed fries were, ironically, refreshing, with a simple ketchup (keep it simple, STRIPSTEAK!). The last one, I can't remember what it was, was good with the grain mustard sauce (the best sauce offered, just flavorful enough without putting off people [my sis] who don't like mustard).
Foie Gras Sliders (1.5/5) - Ordered off the main menu as an extra, we originally wanted the grilled foie gras they list as an extra. We were told it was a single piece, but if we order the sliders there are 2. OK, we thought, we'll try it. Spoiler alert! It was still a single piece, just sliced in half. This made it too thin, overcooked, and dry. The bread (I tasted it, to be fair) was dry and pretty bland. The garnishes were OK. A single piece of arugula and a bright little cherry gelee of sorts. Overall, high hopes dashed.
Duck Spring Rolls (3.5/5) - Generous portion and, I was happily surprised, not too heavy. The wrapper was thin and crispy, although a tad (a smidgeon?) too oily. Again, however, it was not heavy. The crisp veggies did well to set off the richness of the duck. The meat was well seasoned and had a great flavor. It was a bit dry in spots. I am going to blame presentation and delivery (heat lamps?) versus cooking as it was mostly at the cut edges of the rolls.
Heirloom Tomato Salad (8/5, yes, seriously) - Fresh, fresh tomatoes, creamy, rich burrata cheese that didn't weight it down in any way, and the perfect amount of a tangy, sweet, beautiful 25-year old balsamic vinegar that has had me drooling for the past 12 hours.
NY Strip (4/5) - Slightly overcooked based on our order. We were a bit surprised as the server said they tend to undercook slightly... still, it was a fantastic cut of meat, very well seasoned, and perfectly tender and flavorful. The sides of sauteed mushrooms (another 8/5) and creamed corn with jalapeno (4/5) were great complements.
Roasted Chicken (4/5) - A tad on the dry side in places, the overall dish was fabulous. I love that they left the skin on; I don't eat the skin, but it imparted a rich flavor to the meat and left those portions really juicy and tender. The truffled mac n' cheese (4/5) was really good. Almost too much truffle, not enough cheese, and because it was used as the bed for the chicken, it picked up other flavors (meat, greens, sauces) that detracted from it's own amazing profile.
Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee and Biegnets (5/5) - The brulee was creamy, perfectly flavored, and delicious. The biegnets were expertly fried, hot and cripsy and dusted with powered sugar without being overly dressed. Another detail we thought was fantastic, sis's dessert came out presented with the words Happy Birthday in a sweet, dark chocolate!
Wines (5/5, nail on the head every time). We started with a pinot gris and a viogner, then with the help of Gabriel, the sommelier, chose a fruity, dry-ish Oregon pinot noir to go with the meal. We spoke for a moment on trying something new, price points, and flavor profiles (what we liked AND what we ordered). Given the whole picture, his recommendation was well received and the perfect wine for everything we ate.
The service was good, though the server could have visited us a little more often. There were a few large parties so we were happy to wait a little here and there, and as other staff were also happy to smile, ask if you needed anything, and be of service, it was not a dark spot at all.
All in all, a solid, enjoyable meal.
With the Restaurant Week menu (50.11 each), the 2 wines by the glass and the bottle, plus the additional foie gras, our total was $300 and change. Bonus tip: they are on restaurant.com so another $50 saved!
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