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| - I was visiting D.G and she wanted to take me out and she chose Sonoma. I read the reviews and I was peeking at the menu in advance. The menu overall looked pretty solid, a few items that struck my fancy.
I was not in the mood for a cocktail, and sadly they did not have riesling, but our server reccomended something similar. Ehh, it wasn't as sweet as a riesling oh well. My friend got a delicious I think grapefruit martini. It was sweet and a pretty pink color.
We ordered the chilled crab salad for an app. It was tasty, though I did not expect it to be in a mayo type mixture but more so a nicely compiled mound of crab atop of the gazpacho. The gazpacho was delicious and the cucumber added a nice texture element. I did not detect any lime zest though so they must have forgotten or omitted it. Overall, I'd order it again.
For entrees I was in a fish mood. I'm always in a low calorie, high in fish protein mood. My selection was Pan Seared Carolina Trout, Pine Nut & Preserved Lemon CousCous, Spinach. My first impression on my plate arrived was, oh skin. I dislike skin, I'll have to pick around it. But I thought, it looks like it is crispy skin, so maybe I'll like it. Luckily, because they got a good sear and it was nicely crispy I was not turned off by eating the skin. I was very impressed with the 2 large fillet portions of trout served. I enjoyed (though minimal amount) of the lightly seasoned lemon couscous. The spinach was another item that was cooked very well. The integrity and vibrant color of the spinach was intact and gave the dish another element texture wise. It was sauted lightly, but it almost had a creamy texture because it was cooked so well.
My friend ordered the Grilled Lamb with Israeli couscous, pickled onions, and rosemary sauce. I am an extreme lover of lamb, but the trout called to me more and I am glad on that decision because i was not impressed at all. Though the lamb was cooked perfectly and to the medium-rare as requested. The meat was a little tough. The couscous was delicious and seasoned just right. I did not taste the onions or the rosemary sauce so I cannot comment.
I am either a lover or hater for dessert. It was my first night out in Charlotte, I was like lets do it. I was sadly the one who picked out the dessert because they all sounded pretty standard. Nothing really jumped out at me except the Pear Tart with vanilla bean ice cream. Overall presentation was a bore. Just a slice placed atop an oversize plate with a poorly (not smooth, nor an attempt to make it pretty) scooped out portion of ice cream. The textire of the tart was grainy, and you could not taste the pear which makes me think the pastry was overbaked. The ice cream was horrible to say the least. I've had better at ice cream shops by the scoop. The visual presence of vanilla bean was there, but the flavor did not make me think of vanilla at all. Overall unpleasant dessert.
For a first night out and being a restaurant of a nicer/classier variety I expected a bit more on the cut of lamb meat and the dessert. Decor and ambiance was nice. The restaurant was on the empty side, even though it being 8ish on a Thursday evening.
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