| rev:text
| - We just returned here for our second visit on New Year's Eve (our first visit was a NYE a few years back), and I'm just as in love with the place as I was before. Sure, it's a splurge (which is why we only end up here on New Year's Eve), but it's a worthy splurge.
This NYE, they had a prix fixe menu, in addition to a smaller-than-normal regular menu, but since we are samplers, we decided to each get the 5-course prix fixe so we could try as many things as possible.
I love that a trip to Sonoma Grille is not just dinner, it's an entire event. Our waitress, Barb, was fantastic - knowledgeable about the menu, and passionate about it too. They had just introduced some new items, so the servers had recently done their menu taste-test, and to hear her describe everything was like being there in the room as each dish was sampled and explained.
Sonoma Grille is regularly recognized as having one of the best wine selections in the city, and it's true. The markup is a bit much, but again, you're paying for atmosphere and experience in addition to good California wines (I'd love to see a bit more Central Coast, as that's my favorite wine region, but the name is 'Sonoma,' so I give them a pass). The staff can answer any question you have about the wine, which I really appreciate.
We started with the 'Trio of Amuse' appetizer, which had a parsnip bisque (light and flavorful), some oysters (which weird me out a bit, I must admit), and a teeny tiny beef carpaccio that was perfect in every way. It was just one little nibble, but it was an insane burst of flavor. While we were enjoying our wine and appetizer, the bread server came around with a selection of four different kinds of bread. Instead of an individual table serving being brought to your table, a server comes with a large basket and serves you a few pieces of your choosing, plus olive oil for dipping. I don't know why, but I love this little unique aspect of this restaurant.
For the larger appetizer (oh yes, two appetizers), we each got the jumbo lump crab and avocado plate. This was gigantic - we could have easily split one between the two of us. The crab pieces were huge, easily the size of garlic bulbs. My only suggestion for this would be to have a few pieces of the crostini instead of just a little sliver at the bottom. The actual plate was quite juicy, and the crunch of the crostini was a good balance. Mmm, this was like crab guacamole, so in other words, amazing.
My husband and I each got different salads. He opted for the fois gras salad (which he loved, even though I was a bit too squeamish to sample it), and I got what I shall refer to as the pile 'o beets. Anyone who knows me knows my love affair with beets, and this was just perfect. Slices of beets interspersed with goat cheese and well-seasoned... wish I could eat that every day. Not very 'salad-y' but heavenly nonetheless.
There were five different options for entrees, but we both had our eye on only one thing: the filet mignon. Oh. My. Word. This steak was cooked to perfection - so tender and juicy that my mouth is watering just remembering it! It came with garlicky whipped potatoes and broccolini (which I delicately pushed to the side - sorry broccoli, we're never going to be friends). The portion was huge, and I had the second half wrapped up for lunch the next day.
We were nearly too full for dessert, but had to make room to try the chocolate ravioli. It's a little weird, and the texture is a bit chewier than I would have thought, but the flavor was excellent. It came with a nice blend of raspberry and vanilla sauce for dipping, and was perfect alongside a steaming cup of coffee.
All in all, we had another excellent experience. Barb even offered to keep my leftovers in the fridge until after the midnight festivities, but I was afraid I'd forget in the massive crowd leaving downtown, so we walked it back to the car anyway. I was not going to let myself miss out on a second meal of that filet in the aftermath of Pittsburgh fireworks lol. This is one NYE tradition we plan on keeping for many years to come!
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)