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| - Paul's Yelp Elite Rating: 10 STARS! Well OK 5 because Yelp is limiting me! LOL..
Well this is my first time back at Passion8 since they moved to this new Elizabeth street location, and WOW is this a HUGE improvement over the old Fort Mill setting......like night and day! This place is open, very modern yet cozy and romantic. The first thing you notice is the really cool "hipster" bar. Not huge but I had the pleasure of having a drink here last week after my dinner at Carpe Diem next door. They have 3 large dining areas, 2 on the first floor and a nice Mezannine area. Dimly lit but you don't need to use your Smartphone camera lights, so A+ on Ambience IMHO.
Went here with my friend Melanie for Restaurant Week. As you've read me say like a broken record, Restaurants can be hit and miss during these frenzied times, but I've been lucky this week with now my FOURTH RW meal. And it looks like I saved the best for last! Oh where do I start....
Like 3 courses wasn't enough....I have recently discovered (thanks to my buddy Chef Josh from Johnson & Wales U) how good Calamari can be, and Passion8 delivered a GREAT dish of Calamari with Jalapeno and Honey Citrus Butter. This was a great balance of "sweet heat" and it was really delicious....but this was just the beginning of what was to become a phenomenal meal!
How about the appetizers, Course #1. Melanie got the Scallop with smoked onion, "Foie Mousse" (like a slight Foie Gras flavor in a white mousse setting), roasted brussel sprouts and arugula. Scallop was cooked to perfection, and that Foie Mousse was unique as I've never had anything quite like that before. It was sublime! I got the Cauliflower soup with pickled onions, walnuts and carmelized cauliflower. This soup was borderline ridiculous (in a very good way). It was so good it should be illegal. Subtle hints of butter and cream, but not at all overpowering or "in your face." This soup was all about restraint and subtlety, and it simply was fantastic!
Course #2. Melanie had NC Fresh Catch of the day, which was an Amber Jack (a meaty whitefish) over risotto, baby carrots and "tea fish veloute" sauce. Now THIS was a serious fish dish, as all the flavors harmonized perfectly. I got the Braised Beef served with a Mushroom Ragu, purple potato, broccoil with a truffle demi sauce. WOW was this ever phenomenal! Take a look at the picture...they gave me THREE good sized pieces of beef, and it all "melted in your mouth." I had the Braised Beef at Georges during this RW, and while Georges also was superb, this was as good but more than twice the amount of beef! No skimping here! Just an incredible flavor profile on every component.
Dessert. My buddy Melanie does NOT like sweet desserts, so our waiter Kevin recommended the cherry panna cotta with pecans, vanilla cream, Amarena cherry and a dusting of dark chocolate around the plate. Well this dessert was not at all too sweet, and as with everything we had this night, the subtlety was the star. In fact, my "I don't do dessert" friend snarfed down the entire dessert! LOL....I opted for the Walnut Tart with Apricot cream, maple syrup and orange sugar. Our waiter said it was like a "pecan pie." Well that is where he was wrong! This was NOTHING like a traditional Southern pecan pie (in my opinion). This was FAR better, again, the pasty chef showing a great restraint in the use of sugar because while this dish certainly was sweet, it wasn't an "in your face" sweetness at all. It was about as "restrained" as a tart could be. And I loved it! I suffer from heartburn when eating things too sweet, and I didn't feel a thing when I snarfed down this bad boy.
Our waiter Kevin (also a Chicagoan - yeay!) was super friendly, professional, courteous, prompt and attentive. What more could you want?
The piece de resistance was when Chef Luca came out to say hello! He was obviously a busy man yet took the time to talk to some of his patrons. I told him how much I loved the Fort Mill location and how I thought the food now was an improvement. He said in his lovely Italian accent, "Gratzi, but we're working to make it as good as the old location!" I thought to myself, WHAT? This food was SUPERB in every way, and HE thinks it could be better? Holy %&!(@#$. I can't imagine it being THAT much better! But I sure can't wait to come back and try his "regular" menu.
I did bring a bottle of Belle Glos Clark and Telegraph Pinot Noir, which was delicous! The only "glitch" of the night was that they charged me $30 for the corkage fee but when I called in the lady said it was only $20. But when I brought this to our waiter's attention, he promptly took care of this and did charge me $20 to which I agreed to. So they showed that the Customer is valued and I surely appreciated that!
Folks, this is surely one of Charlotte's BEST restaurants in every way. I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend Passion8! You will NOT be disappointed!
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