Apr 6, 2007

After the foie gras came the lobster with bacon, pureed truffle, and black truffle medallions. I don't think I need to convince anyone how delicious this was, so just look at it:

Sweet Butter-poached Maine Lobster Tail: Applewood-smoked Bacon, Black Truffle Puree and "Coulis de Pimente d'Espelette"

And here's the wine we drank with most of the meal, a Californian pinot produced on a tiny vineyard of only a few acres:


The next course was the least outstanding, which is not to say that it would not have been the most outstanding at almost any other restaurant. It was a rabbit dish, and the rabbit itself was drier and less flavorful than I would have liked. However, the gravy and accompanying vegetables were fantastic.

Surloin of Devil's Gulch Ranch Rabbit: Baby Globe Artichokes, Spring Garlic, Sweet Carrots and "Sauce Barigoule"

Next came the primary (or so I think) main course, beef (or, rather, "boeuf") with chanterelles. I've posted two pictures of this because each is inadequate in its own special way.


Snake River Farm "Calotte de Boeuf Grillee": Hen-of-the-Woods Mushrooms, Swiss Chard and Dijon Mustard "Croutons"

My two criticisms of this dish are matters of personal taste. First, the croutons contained chives so I had to donate them to M. Second, mustard is not my favorite flavor and I found that if I put too much on the beef (and especially the mushrooms and chard) it was overpowering. However, these criticisms are minor beside the perfection of the beef. The cows that it came from were hybrids of American Angus and Japanese Kobe animals; the treatment of the cows and, later, of the meat, was likewise a hybrid between those of Angus and Kobe beefs. The result was a slice of meat that was delicately marbled, tender yet slightly gamey at the same time.

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