Monday, May 17, 2004
Minibar!
Excellent service. Some (very nice!) friends arranged everything as a wedding present. The hostess knew who we were, and we never saw the check. A great present for foodies such as us. There were three chefs, and one assistant who poured the wine and cleared the dishes, all for only six diners. Amazing. I transcribed the menu; I tried to include descriptions, but I'm sure I don't remember everything perfectly, so corrections are welcome: Chicken Curry Popcorn -- a little salty, but a good start to the meal. Probably 10 kernels of popped corn with curry powder Tropical Chips -- similar to Terra Chips (eviltiff: "Aren't these Terra Chips?") Mojito Spritz -- a little mister bottle with Mojito; great palate cleanser (eviltiff: "Careful with the spritzer. You don't wanna get any of this stuff in your eyes.") Chocolate Foie Gras Truffle -- one bite, dark chocolate shell with liquid truffle and tamarind (eviltiff: "Mmmm... chocolate salty balls.") Cone with salmon roe and cheese -- a one-bite bagel, very creamy cream-cheese Jicama ravioli: with guacamole; with tuna ceviche -- tissue-paper thin jicama. I liked the ceviche version better (eviltiff: "Portable, bite-sized guacamole snacks...Brilliant!") Pineapple ravioli with cured salmon, avocado, and crispy quinoa -- I remember the crispy part, not the others Caesar salad -- "deconstructed." Two bites, one with a raw quail egg on top, one with anchovy, Parmesan, and romaine. A really neat effect, eating one then the other, everything mixes in the mouth Watermelon: with balsamic and olive oil; with lemon; with pistachio -- tiny half-inch cubes of each (eviltiff: "Please, sir. I want some more.") Cotton candy foie gras -- they have a little cotton-candy machine behind the bar, so you get to watch this being made (eviltiff: "Don't forget the corn nuts.") Sea urchin with pomegranate -- a gooey shot. I liked, MrsMoonPie (a.k.a. eviltiff) did not (eviltiff: "Nope.") Hot and cold foie gras soup -- vaguely remember this, served in a coffee cup; I do remember liking it (eviltiff: "Not my cup o' tea. First taste is intriguing. Second taste stays with you all night. Can see why MrMoonPie would enjoy this.") Conch fritters -- one bite, hot liquid center with chunks of conch. I wanted another, two more, three more! (eviltiff: "Conch is one of exactly three things I miss about South Florida. This dish alone made the minibar experience worth it.") Lobster Americaine -- a big chunk of lobster and a little syringe filled with "lobster essence" (eviltiff: "Warning: lobster essence is fluorescent green.") Sardines in a crust -- lightly breaded sardine (eviltiff: "The breading is pretty.") Cone with tomato and basil -- vaguely remember this, a one-inch ice-cream cone with tomato and, um, you know, basil (eviltiff: "...") Mango ravioli with trout roe and tomato-- don't remember this one. Probably too much emphasis on roe; the roe dishes all seemed to run into one another after a while (eviltiff: "Large juicy fish-flavored bubbles popping in your mouth.") Jicama wraps: with tuna and sesame; with apples and cabrales -- the apple and cabrales (a Spanish blue cheese) was excellent (eviltiff: "Soon to be featured on STINKY CHEESE NIGHT @ the Moonpie household.") Egg 147 -- soft-cooked egg with sugar and, I believe, vanilla (eviltiff: "Wonderful illustration of how black truffles can co-exist with other, blander flavors rather than completely annihilating them.") Deconstructed white wine -- this was neat. Jelled fermented grape juice, with one sliver each of orange, vanilla, apple, mint, pineapple, and others, all spritzed with white wine. A mini wine tasting (eviltiff: "There's always room for Jello!) Corn on the cob -- yummy. Corn chowder, with a roasted baby ear of corn, with Corn Nuts on top (eviltiff: "As corny as Kansas in August.") Tuna with rice mousse -- a creamy bite of sushi (eviltiff: "Raw fish... I'm sensing a trend.") Cauliflower in textures -- creamy, fatty cauliflower mousse, black truffle gel, with crunchy raw cauliflower on top. Very good (eviltiff: "Somebody call Atkins!") Guacamole and tomato sorbet -- my least favorite. Frozen, granular tomato ice (eviltiff: "Think tomato juice slurpie.") Wild pink scallops -- vaguely remember this one; I think it was the one with borscht (eviltiff: "Heh-heh... you said borscht.") New England clam chowder -- enough about this elsewhere (eviltiff: "Insert inappropriate clam joke here." Meat and potatoes -- ahh, excellent. Some sort of intense beef essence with potato mousse (evitiff: "The potato mousse is fabulous. Agar you say?") Watermelon air -- not a foam, but like a foam (eviltiff: "Melts in your mouth... not in your hands.") Apples with Red wine “Freddy Girardel” -- don't remember this one (eviltiff: "I do! Mascerated red & green apple bits served with red wine jelly.") Pina colada -- I usually don't like these, but this was good, a shot of fresh juice and foam (eviltiff: "Parrotheads everywhere rejoice.") Chocolate pop -- one bite of chocolate lace (eviltiff: "The secret ingredient is pop-rocks.") We also had the wine pairings, 4 (too) generous glasses of wine timed to the courses. I tried to help eviltiff finish hers when she started to get behind, but I gave up when I realized how tipsy I was getting. We're no lightweights, either; the couple sitting next to us had the same "problem." But, hey, if the only criticism is too much wine, that's pretty damned good! Other reviews: here | here | here | here | here 0 Comments:Mostly facebooking these days, so find me over there.
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