Bread Service

The bread service was a toasty baguette with butter and a vintage olive oil. The bread was crusty with just the right amount of chew – not too soft. Even if you don’t normally dip bread in oil, put at least a bite of yours into this one. It does sound strange to say that you can taste the “green” of growing things in an oil, but that’s exactly was this one was: green with an olive-y, slightly woody undertone.

Mocktails

Strawberry-Cucumber Spritzer – $5.49
Strawberry, Cucumber, Lime, Agave and Soda Water

Pêche Repose – $5.49
Peach, Mint, Lemon, Soda Water

Garden Mint Soda – $13.00
SeedLip Garden 108 Herbal Distilled Non-Alcoholic Spirit, Lime, Agave, Mint

This trio of zero-proof cocktails were all fruit-forward and sweet enough to be well-received by adults and kids alike. The strawberry was the strongest and sweetest by a good bit. Both the mint and peach flavors were prominent in the Peche Repose; it had the same “summer refresher” feel to it that a good glass of ice-cold lemonade does. The mint was also featured in the Garden Mint soda – not a surprise given the name – and this was the one that felt most sophisticated, if only because it was difficult to really put a finger on what the herbal spirit tasted like (other than that it was yummy).

The ricotta was firm, with a slightly larger curd than you would find in a mass-produced grocery store container. The tomato was reduced to a jammy consistency with a tangy flavor similar to sun-dried tomatoes. The cheese and tomato paired well either together on the fork or smeared onto the bread.

I do not often like gnocchi, but I could eat this every day. The pasta was soft all the way through without the chewiness that often turns me off of gnocchi, and it really was the right choice for a sauce so rich and creamy that it would have been overwhelming if there was too much of it in a single bite. We ordered two of these for a group of five because we weren’t sure how big they would be and we finished both of them with no regrets.

Any lover of octopus knows that it is easy to make it chewy, but this dish was the beginning of our evening’s theme of perfectly cooked seafood. The octopus was tender with a flavor that had been concentrated by the choice of slow-roasting. The saffron aioli added another deep note to create a complex, layered flavor in the bite.

If you were raised on borscht and have been cheering the recent renaissance of the beet, this is your dish. The pickle was not so strong that the beets couldn’t stand alone, but they were much better when taken in a single bite with the burrata so that the vinegar could be tamed by the creamy cheese.

The stunning color of the broth in the crudo didn’t make it through in the picture, but it was gorgeous. It tasted good too; the strawberry clearly present but balanced with other flavors to make a slightly astringent sauce that was as bright on your tongue as it was on the plate.

The best vegetable cream soups taste like the essence of the vegetable has been distilled into the soup. This was that, and the few bites that had the quail egg yolk in them simply punched the flavor up to 11.

Hand-crafted Pastas

Rigatoni -$32.00
Braised Chicken Sugo, Broccolini, Pancetta, Wild Mushroom, Parmigiano-Reggiano

In case you are wondering what chicken sugo is, sugo is just a slow-cooked tomato sauce. With the addition of the braised chicken and the umami from the mushrooms and pancetta, tomato isn’t the forward flavor here. Instead this dish is a cousin to slow Italian braises with rich sauces such as marsala or cacciatore. If that is the section of the menu that always draws you in at an Italian restaurant, then you will absolutely love this dish. And even if that’s not your favorite menu section, there’s a good possibility that you will love this dish: it was delish.

Lobster Linguine – $49.00
English Peas, Sauce Américaine, Pickled Onions, Squid Ink Tuile

We were not expecting an entire lobster tail with this dish; I think we had all been envisioning that the lobster would be in smaller pieces and already combined with the pasta and sauce. This was a good choice though, allowing the diner to decide whether to enjoy the flavors of the lobster and pasta separately or combine them into a single bite. The pasta was al dente, and the rich sauce americaine coated it well. If I had one complaint, I might have wished for a tiny bit more sauce.

Seafood and Meats

Classic Sole Meunière – $50.00
Sea beans, Capers, Asparagus, English Peas, Toy Box Tomatoes, Petite Potatoes

I think this might have been the best of the mains. Sole is a very gently flavored fish, and it can be a challenge to add vegetables and complex flavors without punting the fish to the background. This dish succeeded, with the tomatoes adding a little acid and the capers contributing some umami but without taking over from the sole. Make sure to take at least a couple of bites of the fish with the amazing browned butter before “opening up” the dish and allowing the juices from the vegetables to meld with the sauce.

Sea Scallops – $50.00
Celery Root Risotto, Beurre Noisette, Baby Shiitakes, Truffle Jam

As with all the seafood we ate, the scallops were perfectly cooked: tender without even a hint of chewiness. But the real star on this plate was the risotto. Not too cheesy, it was a terrific pairing with the scallops and the ring of beurre noisette around the edge.

Filet Mignon – $54.00
Potato pavé, Bordelaise sauce, asparagus, mushrooms, shallot vinaigrette

This was a perfectly cooked piece of filet, of the quality and presentation that you might find in a high-end chain steakhouse such as Morton’s or the Capital Grille. The potato pave took all its wow-factor from the presentation; it was delicious but ultimately tasted like a really excellent roasted potato. If you have unadventurous eaters in your group, this is a dish that delivers exactly what it promises: simply delicious meat and potatoes.

The creme brulee was on the firmer side, with the citrus clearly present. The beignets were nothing special but they were fine, and the cherry compote was intense and would have run over the light flavor of the creme brulee if there were more of it – but as it was it was perfect.

The salted caramel filling here in the chocolate cake was quite sweet, and as with the compote on the creme brulee if there had been more of it then it might have taken over the dish. Instead, it provided a nice balance for the deep chocolate flavor of the cake. The combination was excellent, but if you’re not in the mood for something sweet you would do well to make a different choice for dessert.

Each component of the Fruits of the Forest had a strong, fruity flavor and none of them were overly sweet. This was the lightest of the three desserts, a good pick if you’re feeling full by the time you’re choosing your last course.

Cheese Board – $18.00
International Selections, Honeycomb, Figs, Mushroom Conserva, Marcona Almonds

With the exception of the bleu, all the cheeses here were relatively mild selections that were a nice finish to a full meal.