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| - Saturday dinner for four, reservations booked about 5 days ahead. The place was still bustling when we left around ~12:15am. We were shown directly to our table when we arrived, with the waiter removing a "Reserved" sign from a table near the front windows of the restaurant. Ah, a good signal.
Service was snappy and on point, keeping everybody happy while not being over-obtrusive. We felt like we got a little attitude at the start (being four American males in their mid-20s), but the service warmed up quickly. Recommendations were excellent and the waiters were knowledgeable about both the dishes and the drinks.
For appetizers, we had the rillette, chicken liver mousse, ouefs in mayonnaise, and a good cheese salad. As a devotee of salty meat and fat, I got down mainly on the rillette and the mousse. The rillette was rustic and flavorful, with a chopped texture that had just enough creaminess to allow you to spread it over toast. A rich, gamey pork. The mousse was probably the highlight of the meal; one of the best dishes I've had in a long time. An ethereal, fluffy emulsion of savagely herbacious fat. God, I love it. I did not sample the other dishes since we had a vegetarian with us, and I did not want to eat his appetizers, but he had nothing but good things to say. I will also point out that they were very accommodating, making many suggestions to him.
Dinner was the duck confit over a salade verte. While the duck was spectacular, with wonderful contrasts between the creamy meat and crispy edges, I was most surprised by the greens. Fresh, flavorful, high-quality greens can bring a salad into another stratosphere. These slightly bitter, crispy greens, dressed lightly in duck fat, were perfect.
We had the creme caramel and maple syrup tart for dessert. The creme caramel was mediocre, with a kind of flabby quality. Not much flavor in the sauce, either. The tart was delicious, but I thought the crust was a bit dry and crumbly.
Dinner for four with three courses, two bottles of wine, digestifs, taxes, and tip was $270. A fantastic meal. Well-executed, classic bistro fare served with no frills or attitude, with great service.
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