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| - as a lover of french cuisine I have been wanting to try this place for a while now. My husband and I finally made it there for valentine's day weekend and after seeing the special menu for the evening I had really high hopes.
The waiter brought us an amuse bouche - smoked bean puree on an endive leaf and a duck prosciutto with a raspberry balsamic reduction. The portion for the smoked bean was too large for an amuse bouche and the taste was ok, a little flat taste wise, my husband did not care for it at all. The prosciutto was well balanced with the raspberry reduction and was the prefered portion of the plate.
The next course was the appetizers - a trio of small dishes. A brown butter almond soup with some fresh creme and chervil. This was the best on the plate, lovely flavor and not too rich. Next was veal with a citrus glaze on a skewer. The veal was very tough and bland, very disappointing. Finally was an oyster on the half shell with shallot. I was expecting something very different as I have had raw oysters prepared this way a few times when I have been in France. I was expecting a small amount of vinaigrette with some small pieces of shallot - what we got was an oyster with a pile of shallot that was been sauteed (?) in a vinaigrette. way too much on top that it ruined the flavor of the oyster, plus there was none of the natural juice from the oyster left.
The salad came next. baby filed greens with chilled steamed asparagus topped with a fresh goat cheese - lovely and fresh flavors. the chevre was excellent quality and taste.
Finally was the main course. I opted for the quail over a Gorgonzola risotto. First, I was surprised with the choice of a blue cheese, why not use a french blue? But it was very tasty and the quail was well seasoned and prepared. There were also some crispy onions which added little to the dish but I liked the green beans. My husband picked the fillet with an avocado horseradish mash with crisped potatoes (think potato sticks) He was very happy with his dish overall. I tasted it, loved the mash - I had never had that combination before, the avocado lent a creaminess to it and the horseradish - love this stuff - added a subtle peppery like spice to it. Very nice. The beef was well prepared as well.
The final course was a desert sampler. 3 truffles - none of which were terribly good, IMO. The dark chocolate with rosemary was the best of the three, the sesame with white chocolate I would have spat out had I not been at a restaurant and the lavender in milk chcolate tasted like I was eating perfume - much much too strong. Thankfully the other desserts were much better. A tartlette filled with some sort of dark cherry filling topped with a cream cheese. As a huge fan of fruit tarts I was happy - especially once i pulled some of the cream cheese off the top. The crust had a great texture and flavor and the cherry filling was excellent. The best,however, was the chcolate macaroon passion fruit ice cream sandwich drizzled with a passionfruit caramel. I am still thinking about how delicious this was the next day. A complete homerun.
The restaurant decor, itself, was nice if not a tad boring and uninspired - we dined in the upstairs dining room - maybe it feels more authentic downstairs? Some french music piped in was charming. The service staff was very friendly and attentive. The dishes were beautifully presented as well.
I don't think we will go out of our way to go again. While it was one of the better meals we've had in Pittsburgh - we have not had much luck since moving here - Le Pommier did not really live up to what I was expecting - especially for an almost $200 meal. That said, I would not rule out going again, maybe the a la carte menu is better?
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