LordBalthazar

I make homemade ice cream. Now if we can only convince our fellow egulleters to whip something up, we could have a dessert party.

Have you tried it at Medici's?

Tucked away in the back of a courtyard on Robson just above Burrard, right next door to L'Hermitage, sits Caffe de Medici, one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the city. It offers a nice, warm, friendly atmosphere devoid of pretensiousness. And, most importantly, the food is great. I tend to be a creature of habit. When I find something I like it, I stick with it. On any other night, I would have started with my favorite appetizer: the ricotta and wild mushroom-stuffed ravioli served with poached pears, walnuts and truffle essence. Sublime. It's so good that, occasionally, I'll request it as an entree instead. But on this night, feeling adventurous, I decided to try the evening's feature appetizer. It was a Tuscan tomato and white bean soup - blended white beans, tomato, and apple served in a cup topped with a cuppuccino-esque white truffle foam. My wife and I both loved it. My wife followed her soup with the house Caesar salad. I'm not much of a salad man, but my wife proclaimed it the best Caesar salad she's ever eaten. I had the foie gras terrine and seared foie gras with red onion marmalade. I wasn't a fan of the first, finding it lacked the melt-in-your-mouth quality I've come to associate with terrines, but the seared foie gras was exceptional. We then moved on to our third course, choosing to split the maple butternut squash roasted squab risotto with double-smoked bacon, chestnuts and pecorino cheese. And, yes, it was as good as it sounds. This one is my new favorite entree. Finally, dessert. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. As some of you know, I'm a HUGE fan of deserts. The chocolate variety in particular but not exclusively. However, I hate fruit with my dessert. There is the occasional exception (ie. carrot cake, anything with banana), but I find nothing more off-putting than something "tart" or "sour". I'm the type of diner who will ask for a sneak peek at the dessert menu so I can plan accordingly. In the case of Medici's, I rarely go "off-book". Their date pudding with vanilla ice cream is one of the best desserts in the city. I know, I know. You're probably saying to yourself "But isn't 'date' a fruit?". Yes, it is. And I was reluctant to try it the first time my wife ordered it - but it has totally won me over. So there I sat, looking forward to my date pudding. The waitress came by to offer us coffee and I told her that we were ready to order dessert. She informed me that it had already been taken care of. We were getting a complimentary dessert. Well, I was at a loss. What do you do in situations like these? Do you decline? Do you order an alternate? I felt like I was a kid back at my grandmother's house, eyeing the little sugar jellies she had laid out for us when, in the back of my mind, I was considering rooting through her refrigerator for those leftover chocolate cupcakes. In the end, I said nothing and was served a lemon creme brulee. The "little taste" I took was enough to pucker my eyeballs. For her part, my wife enjoyed it and finished it off. Alas, much like the complimentary dessert I failed to enjoy at Tojo's a couple of night's earlier, the lemon brulee left a sour taste in my mouth.

Hmmm. When I moved to Vancouver seven years ago, I was living at the extended-stay suites at the Sutton Place Hotel. The concierge highly recommended CinCin. I checked it out and left thoroughly underwhelmed. Several months went by and I decided to check it out again, wondering if, perhaps, I'd visited on an off night. Well, make it two off nights. I had a terrible crab risotto and vowed never to go back. Flashforward to last year when some guests from out of town surprised us by taking us out to, yet again, CinCin. And strike three. Like Cioppino's in Yaletown, its one of those restaurants whose endless "buzz" continues to mystify me.

Well, you're doing better than I am, and I've been living in Japan (on and off) for 7 years! I'm maybe at a 2 or 3 year old level... Shirako is one of those things I had never cared for, until I tried it grilled in a bit of butter. If you can get it that way, it's almost reminiscent of foie gras ← That sounds terrific (or, should I say, "oishi-so"). We had poached and steamed, but never grilled. Will have to make a special request next time.

Drove by just last week. It's still open. If you're up to it, try the deep-fried assortment: Snickers, Smore, and Mars Bars. I'm partial to the Snickers.

This Valentine's Day, my wife decided to take the reins, surprising me with her restaurant selection. We wound up at Tojo's, a place we used to frequent on a regular basis until an off-putting incident nearly two years (Well, if you insist on asking, our group was forced to wait an hour for a table - this despite the fact that we had reservations). Anyways, always one to let bygones be bygones (Just kidding. I'm one of the most bitter grudge-holders you'd ever have the displeasure to cross), we arrived right on time for our 6:30 p.m. reservation. As my wife repeated her name, I peeked over our host's shoulder and noticed that neither her name nor our number was listed in the reservation book. My wife, thankfully so far as my blood pressure is concerned, had the foresight to print up the email confirmation she had received. The host looked it over, nodded, and we were handed a number, "#4", and took a seat. As it turns out, it wasn't much of a wait and we were seated in a nice, romantic little tatami room for two. We perused the menu and ultimately decided to let Tojo decide for us, opting for the omakase. The first course was the tuna tataki - nice, meaty slices of tuna, lightly seared, served with green onions and a ponzu sauce. It was good, but given the choice, I would have preferred the signature Tojo's tuna. The second course was uni sashimi. Now, way back when I was in Montreal, and a sushi neophyte, the look of uni had never appealed to me. I remember my writing partner taking the plunge one evening, popping the piece of uni sushi into his mouth, rolling the flavors around. "Well?"I asked. "What does it taste like?" "Redolent of the sea,"he replied, then adding - "near an open sewer main". As a result, I'd never dared try it until last year when I screwed up the courage and allowed a waitress at Kamei Royale talk me into an order. To be exact, what I ordered wasn't the usual uni sushi you'd find at most any Japanese restaurant, but the live uni sashimi. There is a world of difference between the two. The fresh uni has a wonderfully creamy texture and possesses an engaging sweetness. In the case of the Tojo's uni, it was as fresh and sweet and creamy as the best uni I've had. The third course was a fried prawn dish served with a wasabi-based sauce. Excellent. The fourth course was one of the evening's specials: smoked sablefish served in a matsutake broth, the smokiness of the fish marrying beautifully with the meaty mushrooms. My wife's favorite dish of the night. The fifth course was a selection of Tojo's signature sushi. It was good but, to be perfectly honest, not outstanding. The only signature roll I think he does better than anyone else is his Spider Roll which, alas, was conspicuously absent from the night's assortment. The sixth course was a delicious spicy shrimp tempura handroll. And, finally, our final course, dessert: a strawberry mousse cup topped with strawberry ice cream. Now, anyone who knows me is well aware of my aversion to fruit-based desserts. Ironically, even though I didn't have the dessert, it still left a bad taste in my mouth. Our bill came out to just a little under $300 (including the $22 bottle of Momokawa Pearl sake we enjoyed with our meal) not including tip.

A couple of years ago, before leaving for Hong Kong, our friend David introduced us to a bevy of inexpensive eateries in Vancouver. Being a chef, he seemed to have the inside scoop on all the oft-overlooked hole-in-the-wall establishments that, while perhaps lacking in style in decor, certainly made up for in the quality of the food they served. With David as our guide, we were introduced to Wabi Sabi, Baru, Long's Noodle House, and, what is now our favorite Vietnames restaurant in town, Au Petit Cafe. Located on Main Street right above 32nd and right next door to Long's Noodle House (review upcoming), it's a small, family-run establishment with some decidedly odd hours. Last time I checked: Open Tuesday to Sunday until 7:00 p.m. Closed Wednesdays. For you late diners, it probably won't be an option, but if you're looking for an early dinner or, more likely, lunch, then do give it a try. It makes what I consider the best Vietnamese sandwiches in town (I'm partial to the #2: home made ham, liver pate, pickled vegetables, and jalapeno peppers served on French sub). If you're planning on ordering them, however, I'd advise going before 2:00 p.m. as they tend to sell out. Other menu items of note are the pho (a heavenly soup of medium rare beef, onions, cilantro, chopped green onions, and noodles), the lemongrass chicken on rice, the home made meatballs, and a weekend-only special made of "rice pastes" topped with mashed green beans, shredded pork, shrimp, green onions, and fish sauce. Another winner is the house won ton soup that my mother fell in love with when she came to visit over the holidays. She was particularly pleased with the won tons themsleves - nice, thinly-wrapped, juicy morsels. When she comes back into town, there are two places she definitely wants to revsit: Ouzeri, for the lambchops (another review upcoming), and Au Petit Cafe for "the wong tong soup" (in her words). My wife's parrents were also big fans of the soup. My mother-in-law, all 4'10 110 lbs of her, loved it so much, she ordered a second bowl! Service is prompt and friendly. The places is usually hopping and, to the best of my knowledge doesn't take reservations, so try to get there early or expect a 5-10 minute wait.

Isn't that shirako? Or maybe shirako is fugu milt. I can never remember.... ← Yes, that's it! Shirako! They told me the name (more than once) the last time I was there and I kept forgetting. Such is my gift for languages. I've been trying to teach myself Japanese for some time now. After two years, I finally possess the verbal skills of a four year old.

Having received the heads up from Ling re: Sushikan's imminent closure, I elected to head down to Richmond and finally check it out. I say "finally" but, in truth, it's not as if I've been remiss. I anxiously awaited the restaurant's opening for months but, when it did eventually open its doors, I was distracted by scriptwork, visiting family, the holidays, and prep work for the show (in that order). In what seemed like blink of an eye, three months had passed. Sushikan had opened, tested the waters in Richmond, and, apparently deeming them unfriendly, decided to pack it in. As we drove to the Aberdeen Mall, I realized I was driving a little faster than usual as if the 5-10 minute time difference might actually factor in to whether we actually got to eat there before the place shut down. "Wait!"I imagined myself shouting, dragging my wife along behind me at break-neck speed, waving at the chef who was in the process of shuttering the establishment, "Not yet! Not yet!" Well, we arrived at the Aberdeen Mall a little before 6:00 p.m. and immediately consulted the map of the complex - which, it turned out, didn't have Sushikan in the listings. We went downstairs to information and were directed back up to the second floor. "It's in a little alley,"the girl at the information booth informed us. "It's really hard to miss." We headed upstairs and found the restaurant. It's located right beside Northern Delicacy, one of my favorite restaurant's in Richmond. We're regulars and, as we walked by and caught a look from our usual server, I gave a wave and felt incredibly uncomfortable, like a girl I'd been dating had caught me out on the town with someone else. For the second time that night, I found myself quickening my pace. A waitress met us at the door and seated us at a table near the back. There were about three other occupied tables in the place. Not bad for six o' clock, I thought. We perused the fairly extensive menu and opted for a nice cross-section of items. Undaunted by the warnings of a fellow egulleter - or, to be perfectly honest, maybe because of it - I started with the Kani Miso ("crab guts" - see my previous Yuji's post). Unlike the steamed orange cake-like offering I had at Yuji's, the crab liver here was green, almost cream-like, and served on a bed of thinly sliced cucumbers. Tasty, but I preferred Yuji's version. My wife had the seaweed salad which she absolutely adored. We moved on to sushi - two orders each of the top-dollars tuna: Yakitoro ("highest grade tuna", lightly grilled, served with a jellied ponzu and garlic chip), O-toro ("highest grade tuna") and chu-toro ("higher grade tuna"). At $10 a pop, it may seem like an incredible amount of money to pay for one piece of sushi, but it's a deal compared to what you'd pay for the same thing in Tokyo. And by "the same thing", I mean exactly that. The toro is flown in from Tokyo's tsukiji market and, I have to say, I've never eaten tuna so tender and perfect outside of tsukiji (where, last year, my wife and I had a lunch of similar grade toro that set us back a little over $200). We moved on to the Kobe beef tataki (lightly grilled, seasoned with garlic, served with a ponzu sauce), and the grilled kobe beef (cubed, again served with ponzu) - mouth-meltingly good. It reminded me of our trip to Tokyo and how the kobe beef there had so spoiled us that, since returning to North American, we haven't had the heart to eat steak. Having "moved on" from the sushi, I elected to "move back", ordering another two orders of the o-toro and chu-toro. Every bite took me back to that glorious week we spent in Tokyo, heading down to tsukiji for a tuna breakfast before hitting Akihabara, Ueno Zoo, and the Sapporo museum where I tried the sampler platter and ended up plastered before lunch. I quizzed one of the servers about the restaurant and was told that business was slow. "Do you think you'll stay open?"I asked. "We're not sure,"came the non-commital response which, in my mind, roughly translated to "No, so get while the getting's good." Having been told that the chefs were Japanese, I took the opportunity to brush up on my Japanese as we headed out: "Gochiso osama deshita!" "Totemo oishikatta desu!" "Thanks! Have a good night!"they chimed back. As we left, I couldn't help but feel a little sad. If only Sushikan had opened downtown, maybe things might have turned out differently. Rather than do my customary green tea ice cream, I opted to head downstairs to the Starbucks for a cup of chantico - the cloyingly sweet chocolate drink that I once drank, to my friend's horror, accompanied by a "dipping brownie" - only to be told that it was going to be discontinued in the near future. I mean, come on!!!

Just checked out the menu. A couple of items really caught my attention: - Plantain Fritters & Pork Bellies - Rustic braise of rabbit, kurabuto bacon, salchichon and oxtail - Braised Shortribs and Beef Cheek Adobo - Masa cakes and honey butter So what's the word on the opening? The article said it would probably be open by Valentine's Day.

Or you could just call it crab miso, like the Japanese refer to it (kani miso). Sounds nicer than either tomally or "crab guts." ← Okay. So instead of the less appetizing "crab guts", I'll refer to it as kani miso or tomally. Now, if someone could offer a more palatable alternate name for the cod sperm...

My wife picked me up some of those bake-ready Sparkle cookies last year. Sadly, I never got around to actually baking them as I ended up eating them straight out of the packaging. They were great. I can't imagine how good they'd taste properly prepared.

Other Japanese restaurants may get the press, the visiting Hollywooders, or the "kick it back" crowd, but, for my money, nothing beats Yuji's. Owner Yuji (formerly of Yaletown's Sakana) has fashioned an inspired menu which includes everything from inventive maki through Japanese-style tapas to top-notch sashimi. Whenever I go, I order my usual favorites - but always make it a point to check out the specials listed on the top sheet. Tonight, four menu items caught our eye: the beef tendon kimchee soup, the wild boar cheeks, the pink sea scallops with spinach served with cod roe mayonnaise, and the anago tempura. Naturally assuming this could have been the last meal of our lives (You never know, right?) we complimented those with a couple of our faves: the maguro mille-feuille and the maguro avocado crepe. It was only after I had placed our order that I thought to ask about any specials that, perhaps, weren't listed on the menu. Our affable waiter informed us that the kitchen had a few servings of what he described as "the yellow-green cream inside the crab" - what I've always referred to by the simpler moniker "crab guts". And one of those, please. The maguro mille-feuille was the first to arrive - mouth-meltingly fresh tuna sashimi slices alternating with sliced avocado, topped with a black sesame sauce. It's no longer on the regular menu but if you ask for it, they'll make it. We followed that with the boar cheeks - thinly sliced, grilled, and exceedingly tender. My "crab guts" were next - a tapas portion of the orange "cream" topping a bed of crab chunks, seaweed, the whole served with a ponzu sauce. I loved the guts but found the ponzu sauce just a tad overpowering. Still, I enjoyed it enough that I would order it again if it were available. I preferred it over the off-the-menu special I ventured to try on my last visit: the cod sperm. No. I'm not kidding. And, to be perfectly honest, it was good. I just preferred the crab guts. The beef tendon kimchee soup is my wife's favorite. It was a bit mushroom-heavy for my liking, but nice and spicy - and very tasty. The pink sea scallops were the only real misstep that night. Although the scallops themselves (and the accompanying spinach) were nice, they were overwhelmed by the cod roe mayo. The maguro avocado crepe, like the maguro mille-feuille, is another dish that simply melts in your mouth. Finally, we ended our meal with the anago tempura - the large sea eel lightly fried and topped with a sweet sauce (that I believe usually accompanies the unagi). Although we were already stuffed by the time it arrived, it was all gone by the time we got the bill. Other favorites we didn't get around to ordering this time (but I would highly recommend) include: the sweet potato tempura sticks, the deep-fried spicy tuna roll, the prosciutto roll (along with its pesto accompaniment), and the "table-torched" Kobe beef. You can no doubt find cheaper Japanese fare in the city, but in terms of quality and creativity, you can't find better than Yuji's.

Then, the next night, we headed out to Richmond and had dinner at a restaurant recommended by a friend of a fellow diner: Gala Seafood. Another great meal, but one dish stood out in particular. Unfortunately, I don't know the name of the dish and simply ordered it when I saw a waiter deliver it to a neighboring table. It was prawn with walnuts in what I believe was a sweet mayonnaise sauce. Anybody have any idea what I'm talking about? I had a craving last night and went through the menu sections of all of the Chinese restaurants in the Vancouver yellow pages, desperately searching for it, finally settling for what I believe was close enough - prawn with cashews - that turned out to be a disaster. Ideas? Anyone?

Saturday night, my wife and I were invited to a New Year's dinner at the King Fortune restaurant on Burrard. My wife and I used to be regulars until about two years ago when an incident with a rude waiter (I don't know the details as I wasn't there at the time) forced us to cross it off our list. Two years later, there we were, sitting down a ten course meal, the offending waiter presumably long gone. Overall the meal was excellent although the service did lag at times (they had to reminded about two of our dishes). Now, I'm a pretty adventurous eater and, for the most part, I'm pleasantly surprised by some of the seemingly odd pairings one may come across on a Chinese restaurant menu. For the most part. That night's starter, a shrimp salad with melon balls in mayonnaise was a bit of a head scratcher. The fellow next to me informed me that it was a fairly common Chinese dish that his mother often made when they were growing up (although my wife, who is Chinese, claims she'd never heard of it before that night). Fruit salad and mayonnaise? A common Chinese dish? Really? Anyhoo, we enjoyed excellent lobster chow mein, steamed fish, sliced abalone mushrooms, and what was the tastiest, most through and through moist crispy chicken I've ever had. We had deep fried milk rolled in sugar (a first for me and most enjoyable) and finished off the meal with what I believe was a walnut soup with black sesame dumplings.

To be honest, my first and only dining experience at Pink Pearl was underwhelming. We had heard a lot about it from co-workers, so my wife and I decided to check it out one day. The selection was fairly standard and the food was cold to lukewarm. What did it for my wife, however, was the lipstick stain on her teacup.

I've tried both the tripe and the tendon. Although I've never acquired a taste for tripe, I do like the tendon there, in large part due to the red sauce (?) that accompanies it. Any idea what kind of sauce it is? Also, what kind of sauce is served with the chicken feet (which is equally terrific)?

Rather than start a new thread, I thought I'd bring this one up again since I just got back from dim sum at Sun Sui Wah on Main. My wife and I have tried other places, but we have yet to find one that beats the freshness and variety at this restaurant. We arrive at a little after 1:00 and didn't have to wait long to be seated. One of the waiters promptly took our drink orders and we immediately went to it, flagging down the passing carts and making our selections. One of the dim sum offerings I always get when I visit Sun Sui Wah is the baby eel in garlic and black bean sauce. I'm also partial to their steamed pork buns and sweet port in puff pastry. My wife is a big fan of the pan-fried turnip cake and the ribs which are offered two ways - one with black bean, the other with a sweet plum sauce. There's also very good black pepper beef. Being a fairly adventurous eater, I will try pretty much anything, having even grown fond of chicken feet over the years. So today, in the interest of broadening my culinary horizons, I tried something "new and interesting". When one of the carts parked itself beside our table, the server pointed to each offering, naming each in turn: "Beef tendon, sui mai, doc tong, tofu..." "Wait a minute,"I said, pointing, "What was that again?" "Doc tong,"she repeated. I was bewildered. It sounded like a Vietnamese dish, a first in my dim summing experience. I turned to my wife for a translation - "What's doc tong?" "Duck tongue!"she informed me, clearly enunciating the words and being kind enough not to include "- you idiot!". Oh, Duck Tongue. Sure, why not. I ordered a serving and tucked in. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't sold. I was surprsied by the fact that the tiny tongues contained equally tiny bones, offering little in the way of actual meat. The accompanying sauce was a winner however. I think I'll stick to the chicken feet. My wife ordered her favorite, the tofu fa(sic?) in which the pudding-like tofu is served in a little wooden container alongside a cup of sugar water. For my part, I went with the yellowbean bun (sweet and buttery) and the thousand layer cake (essentially, a cake made with yellowbean - do you detect a pattern here?) All in all, a great dim sum experience. I'd highly recommend it.

Well, it looks like I'm going to be one of the few dissenting voices on this one. Following the review in the Queue section of the Vancouver Sun the other day, my friends and I decided to finally check this place out. We arrived early and had no problem getting a table although, as the evening progressed, the place filled up pretty quickly. Now unlike many who have posted about problems with the service, I have to say that the service on the night we visited was quick and courteous. Our server answered all of our questions and delivered our meals without undue lag. We started with drinks and, having the sweet tooth I do, I couldn't resist the Elvis Shake, a milkshake inspired by what was purported to be Elvis's favorite snack: a peanut butter and banana sandwich. The milkshake form - banana, peanut butter, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream - elicited a general leeriness from my companions. That is, until they tried it, at which point that leeriness turned into sheer envy. Best. Milkshake. Ever. It was so good that, by the time the appetizers arrived, I'd almost polished it off. In retrospect, had I simply ordered a second and skipped the meal, I would have left extremely satisfied. My friends ordered the onion rings. In all fairness, they were clearly described on the big chalkboard as thick beer-battered onion rings. Thick and greasy. I was only able to eat three before I began feeling queasy. I directed my attention to my appetizer, the onion galette, a menu item I'd been particularly looking forward to which was, in my opinion, the biggest misstep of the night. The carmelized onions were excellent, but overpowered by the goat cheese. Was it supposed to contain fig slices as described in a previous post? I'm not sure because I didn't find any on mine. The thin pastry base upon which it sat was akin to eating very flaky pie crust. Overall, it reminded me of the suspect "creations" my old university buddies used to make in their dorm rooms when they couldn't be bothered to order in. Our entrees were a mixed bag. I had the Meatloaf Melt which I thought was pretty darn good. My friend claimed her grilled cheese sandwich was the worst she'd ever had. The mac and cheese didn't fair any better. Made with white cheese, it lacked the essential bite of, say, a cheddar. "Bland" and "tasteless" were two words that my fellow diners used to describe the dish. I finished with the Chocolate Souffle. Excellent although, as is usually the case when I order this dish, the souffle to ice cream ratio is terribly unbalanced. It could have used a more generous scoop of the nice vanilla accompaniment. In more innocent times when we were heartened by the possibilities of what "could be" (sometime between the Elvis milkshake and before the meals arrived), my friends and I were perusing the breakfast menu, joking about spending the night in our seats so that we would have no trouble getting a table for breakfast. Alas, once the bill had been paid and we were out the door, not one of us was considering a return visit.

My wife and I both had the butternut squash veloute with the pork belly confit. It was excellent, the sweetness of the squash balancing the savory pork. We both had the same entree as well, the tender, melt-in-your-mouth veal cheeks Ling was kind enough to photograph. They were delicious but a just a tad too salted for my taste. We both finished with the same dessert, the warm upside down chocolate souffle with chantilly creme that we both loved. As much as it was my wife's favorite of the night, she found it incredibly rich and was unable to finish it. I, of course, had no problem finishing my dessert - and her leftover portion. By the way, Ling, I have to ask. You seem to dine out as much as I do, share a similar passion for decadent desserts - so what's your secret? I have to put in an hour of cardio 5 days a week and an hour of free weights 3 days a week in order to keep eating so well.

My wife and I arrived for our 5:30 p.m. and were promptly greeted by our pleasant waitress. We were unaware of the $45 menu when we ordered (finding out about it later, when our neighbors, 6:00 arrivals, discussed the option with their waitress). No harm done, however, as we had perused the $25 menu online and had already decided what we wanted before we'd left the house. My wife started with the Sweet Corn and Smoked Sablefish Bisque with Lime Creme Fraiche, which she adored, while I opted for the Bison Capaccio, Pickled Eggplant and Black Truffle Aioli. Wonderful. For our main courses, we both went with the lamb cheeks - shredded, prepared with a subtle anchovy and black olive seasoning and served on a bed of diced potatos. My wife very much enjoyed it. For my part, while I did think it was good, it wasn't something I would order again. As an aside, I've noticed both lamb and veal cheeks popping up on a number of menus around town (Diva at the Met offered them as an entree on their Dine Out Vancouver menu while Villa Del Lupo, not participating in Dine Out this year, offered them as an a la carte special this past weekend). Dessert for me was the Heritage Apple Upsidedown Cake, Burnt Caramel and Whipped Creme Fraiche. Good. My wife had the Sweet Potato Creme Brulee with Pistachio Biscotti - Holy Smoke Awesome! Service was terrific. Before leaving, I snuck a peek at the regular menu which will go back into effect once Dine Out wraps up. We've already planned a return visit based on one particular entree that popped out at us: Root Beer Braised Bison Short Ribs!

My wife and I went the other night and had a wonderful meal. We went all out (adding the shaved truffles and lobster to the risotto, and an order of foie gras - an impressive portion served on a toasted brioche). The meal was excellent, but what blew my wife and I away was the bread that accompanied it. I rarely eat the bread as I'm usually saving myself for main event (and quite a main event it was on this night), but after hearing my wife oooh and aaah, I had to try some. Three delicious selections baked right on the premises (I made a point of asking). Next time, I'm just going to make a meal of the nori scone.

I suppose it really depends on what you order. The crispy sweetbreads with the apple, squash and bacon veloute is an excellent appetizer, as is the pulled lamb cheeks served on a bed of mashed potatoes and vegetables. The panfriend butterlicious Dover Sole (deboned and served at the table) is the best in town. On the other hand, the service can occasionally be...well, "brusque" would be the right word.

Regardless of the restaurant: For truly exceptional service, I'll tip 25% Good service gets 20% Unremarkable service merits 15% Bad service garners 10% and no return visit.