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| - Despite its reputation, Eden's is an unassuming presence. Its facade is recessed and the sign bearing its name hangs meekly in the window. Once inside, the interior is warmly if a bit dimly lit and bears a selection of local artwork on the walls with a larger three-part piece of some Gaia-esque figure near the entrance. It exudes the sort of subdued cool typical of a trendy eatery of some notoriety, which is why the comfortable intimacy of its quietude on a Sunday afternoon was a little surprising. Compared to Girasole next door, Eden was pretty much dead. But upon entering, our party of three was greeted instantly by a warm server/hostess/everything else FOH. We were dropped off near the back with three tumbler-esque glasses and a swingtop bottle of water to peruse their Spring dinner menu in peace. We opted for three entrees: the raw manicotti, the cooked jackfruit mole, and the zongzi. All three arrived pretty promptly, and the server-host-thing gets full marks for being pleasant and slightly sardonic, lacking the oft-putting listlessness I've come to expect but empathize with. The breakdown of the meal is as follows:
Zongzi:
The zongzi, in traditional fashion, is wrapped in a bamboo leaf though it was cooked with nontraditional red rice and a medley of vegetables. It was also served with a side of garlic peanut sauce, cucumbers, and avocado. The rice was spiced well, with a flavor reminiscent of some Indian cuisine. Perhaps prominent notes of tumeric. The peanut was nutty and tasty, a little tangy as well. The avocado eaten with the rice was a spark of inspiration, the richness filling out the spices perfectly. The combination of the two made for a wonderfully balanced bite. However, I found the yummy peanut sauce to be overpowering when taken in the context of the other components of the dish, and the cucumbers added little. Overall though, this was a tasty dish with pretty well balanced flavors and a respectable portion size.
Manicotti:
This was a busy bite of food. A lot of flavors, a lot of textures, a lot going on overall. The manicotti was a little sweet from the ricotta, a little tart from the marinara, a little mushy from the raw coconut noodles, a little crunchy from the cashew parmesan, and a whole lot of salty, probably from the parmesan and the liberal application of Himalayan sea salt. The predominant flavor in all of this was the basil of all things, which asserted itself above the cacophony. Overall, I thought this dish was unremarkable. A little too salty, a little too much going on. There were some very nice contrasting textures and flavors but overall it could have benefited from less salt and a little more done to balance out the basil.
Jackfruit Mole:
First off, let me just say this: holy crap that coconut sour cream. Holy mother of crappity damn that is tasty. I'd drink a gallon of that coconut sour cream. I'd swim in a vat of it and drown happily. That sour cream is probably the best thing I've tasted in a while. The mole itself was sweet and aromatic, with very prominent notes of cumin. The cocoa flavor itself was a little lost, but overall it was still very deep and complex. Very tasty. The onions provided a nice textural contrast as they were still a little crunchy. I thought the chunks of tomato were actually a bit much, overpowering the bites in which they were present but overall not too egregious. The salsa verde also was tart and bright. I had two complaints about this dish though, one minor and one major. The minor one is that the slices of avocado added little to the dish as a whole. The major complaint however was a noticeable lack of jackfruit flavor. Perhaps the jackfruit lended some sweetness to the mole, but its distinctive aroma was absent.
All in all, Eden was a restaurant that did well in living up to the hype. The dishes were, on the whole, well-considered and well-constructed with bright and complex combinations of flavors. My main complaint holistically would be a little too much salt in everything (which might just be a matter of personal preference) and some minor tweaks in the balancing of the more prominent flavors. However, I do regret not having saved room for their sumptuous sounding deserts and will make sure to sample them the next time I go back.
TL;DR
4/5
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