Bought another restaurant.com certificate and my brother-in-law joined us for another go at Aureole. This time we sat in the main dining room which offers a stunning view of the wine tower. We saw a couple angels fetch bottles. But otherwise, I much prefer the intimacy and extra level of service experienced in swan court.
We all ordered wine by the glass, the husband and I ordered of the menu and BIL chose the market menu.
Combined we started with clam chowder, onion soup and the pear tart with duck proscuitto. While nothing was outstanding, all three whet our appetite and we were ready for more.
Then for the main course we had Waygu skirt steak, the rack of lamb and the scallops. The steak had fantastic flavor, but it was very chewy, likely due to the cut of meat. As good as the flavor was I couldn't help but think it was like beef flavored bubble gum -- tasty while you chew, but you don't want to swallow it. The scallops were huge and nicely prepared, but the vanilla apple compote was simply too sweet for my liking and I thought it completely overwhelmed the dish. The star of the meal was the lamb. Rich and meaty, just plain delicious. I also ordered ratatouille for us to share. It was very good.
The dinner was good, but it should have been better. We left pretty disappointed.