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| - I'd been meaning to try Le Baratin for a while - I'd enjoyed its previous incarnation, Bivy - and the Valentine's Day four-course dinner seemed like as good an opportunity as any.
We arrived a few minutes late for our 8:30 reservation and were shown to a table at the rear of the restaurant. Just as we got back there, though, the couple in front of us requested the table that we were supposed to get and we got theirs. Our new table was a small thing designed for people to sit side by side (gee, I wonder why that other couple didn't want this one?), which didn't remotely work for me so we used one of the provided chairs to reconfigure the layout and I had to sit at an uncomfortable angle all night.
Not the best start to the meal.
I ate:
Quenelle de St. Pierre à la crème de homard ("John Dory quenelle with lobster cream sauce"): This dish, which was provided at room temperature, was tasty yet far from mind-blowing. The cream sauce tasted like a lobster cream soup, essentially, while the quenelle was a fairly tasteless mound of whipped fish. There was nothing bad about this, but it was definitely not the superb starter I was hoping for.
Coulibiac de saumon aux poireaux ("Salmon& leeks in a puff pastry pie"): Again, a competent but underwhelming dish. Interestingly, the puff pastry itself was the best part of this concoction, as it was super flaky and buttery. The filling was just so-so and honestly tasted mostly of salmon. A little uninspired, to say the least.
Epaule d'agneaux confite, jus aux herbes, gratin de topinambour ("Lamb shoulder confit, herbs juice, Jerusalem artichoke gratin"): This was undoubtedly the highlight of the meal. The lamb shoulder was almost astonishingly tender and flavorful, while the artichoke gratin was cheesy and delicious and addictive. I could've eaten this dish all night.
Mad chocolate cake: This was a very rich chocolate cake, nothing more and nothing less. It was an exceedingly heavy end to a hit-and-miss meal.
I should note also that I would've ordered a second cocktail had I been offered the opportunity, but our waiter seemed completely overwhelmed by the packed-house ambiance.
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