rev:text
| - Small plates on the square--with potential.
We arrived on the official opening day, and it showed, as staff were a bit confused about staff roles ("Who's seating the guests?") and a modest delay in receiving our orders. The snafus were tempered by the clear enthusiasm and pride from the staff in opening day, so I expect these issues will resolve quickly.
Both the beverage menu and the food menu had a small selection of choices. Strong emphasis on local purveyors, although the menu itself didn't make this clear.
Ricotta gnudi with fried lacinato kale: we enjoyed the pillowy ricotta dumplings with of crunchy kale leaves and cheese shavings .
Charred sweet corn clusters with chanterelle mushroom and savory brown butter topping--mushrooms added umami to the sweet corn, which was a great choice to enjoy a seasonal vegetable, and the topping (brown butter powder?) added additional texture, but not much taste. An additional savory sauce to the sauce already included would have made it even better.
For drinks, the Peter Rabbit (with Pimm's of course!) arrived with a carrot garnish. The drinks arrived a little later than I would expect, but again, I think this is a first day of service thing. The cocktail was nicely balanced and mixed with fresh ingredients. Until writing this, I didn't make the connection between carrot and rabbit.
The restaurant interior is very cozy and intimate, especially with the exposed stone walls and the building is a historical landmark (check the sign on the outside of the building). I'm confident that Hamilton's will smooth out any first day snafus and continue options inspired by local farmers and producers.
|