ScorchedPalate and I really enjoyed our dinner on the 10th -- ya gotta love spending more on wine than you do on food.
I was especially impressed by the attention to texture throughout the meal. For instance, the crunchy bits of salt on the otherwise completely Japanese-style ahi tuna and seaweed salad were a revelation. Also, the textures of the watercress soup and salmon mousse were perfectly balanced, the former thicker than you'd expect and the latter creamier and smoother than you could imagine. Where they mingled, it was nearly impossible to tell one from from the other (other than by flavor, of course).
Now, just because this thread has been such a Union love-fest, I'll play the heretic critic
1) Ask for a table away from a window. They absolutely radiate cold.
2) The blueberry sorbet was a "something" bomb, but not, IMHO, blueberry. I don't know where y'all buy your blueberries, but mine don't come that tart. Paired with the creme fraiche, the whole dessert was a party of sour.
And finally, an anecdote. Our waiter was just a bit behind all night -- we sat for some time waiting to put in our order, our wine would arrive just after the food that we'd ordered it for, he got the first bottle wrong...not big stuff. He knew it was happening and apologized profusely toward the end of the meal, explaining that he had one of the local food critics at another table and implying that things weren't going as smoothly as they should. I certainly believed that he was having a rough night when I saw how his hands were shaking while he refilled our wine glasses!
Still, a wonderful night by any estimation -- we can't wait to return!
Posted by Cameron at March 11, 2004 10:57 AM