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| - A 3-course meal at L'Albatros for $25? Only during Restaurant Week! Some fellow students and I jumped at this chance to fine dine in style without starving for a week to foot the bill (I jest, truly). We had reservations through OpenTable and were treated with utmost courtesy from our arrival.
The dining area is dimly lit - good for blurring imperfections from your date or business partner, but not so great for pictures. It's also the place where you get the feeling that the waiters would silently be judging you for being on your phone anyways. A glass or two of wine certainly complements any meal here, so take your pick from the wine menu. If you're on a budget (which probably shouldn't be used in the same sentence as "I'm dining at L'Albatros", but whatever), some wines are available by the half-bottle, which we chose to split.
I had a hard time ignoring the regular dinner offerings in favor of the Restaurant Week menu because everything sounded hearty and delicious. Cassoulet, duck confit, a variety of vegetarian and pescatarian-friendly options - worthy of a revisit when my pockets are deeper. For my three courses, I got the Gnudi, Grilled Swordfish, and Lemon Poundcake w/ Strawberry Ice Cream. Gnudi are gnocchi's lighter, chewier cousins, served in a mixture of savory vegetables and mushrooms. I found it a little on the richer, saltier side, but I tend not to use that much salt or butter in my own cooking. The swordfish was cooked evenly through and through, with perfect cross-hatching grillmarks. I probably could have inhaled it all in 3 bites, but etiquette and company demanded that I savor each bite. It was a very balanced dish, the only fault being that I wished the cherry tomatoes were fresher and juicier. The Beef Shortrib dish some of my other friends chose was divine. It was just an hour or so short of being pulled pork consistency; so tender, and a surprisingly large portion. It was served atop goat cheese potatoes au gratin, so definitely a heavier plate which made it difficult for them to finish dessert. I was thankful for the citrus tang of Lemon Poundcake and fresh strawberries to round out these flavors at the end. The Creme Caramel option looked and tasted a lot like flan.
While eating we were definitely people-watching, and I couldn't help but notice the cheese cart making its way around. I don't even like cheese, but the fancy display and obvious pride in which the server presented options for tasting for those who ordered it made me curious.
Throughout the meal the staff was wonderfully attentive even though they had a packed dining room to deal with. Complimentary bread and olive oil w/ salt and pepper was kept on our plates, water glasses never ran empty, and dishes cleared promptly. There were a few amusing instances of waiters in training awkwardly reaching around to deliver bread or being reprimanded for stacking plates on the tabletop, but it highlighted just how seriously they take the dining experience. Even though the setup forces you into close proximity with other diners, the service made it so each table felt like the center of attention.
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