Fine Dining in Winston-Salem

[Guilty Gourmand]

I would appreciate any thoughts / recommendations for an anniversary dinner in Winston-Salem this weekend. Thanks.

[joler]

Make reservations for Fabian's. It is fantastic. Price fix menu with several options for entrees (including some exotic meets like Elk or Ostrich, fresh seafood, etc.) eclectic, romantic atmosphere. I think you will really like it.

I've also heard good things about the Camel Cafe, but I haven't gotten over there yet.

Happy birthday~

[joler]

oops! I mean Happy Anniversary!

[Guilty Gourmand]

Joler, thanks for the recommendation. We ended up at Noble's Grille [www.noblesrestaurants.com] on Saturday night and had a very nice dinner. We had been to Noble's restaurant in High Point a couple of times and have always enjoyed it very much but this was our first time at the W-S Noble's. Although the atmosphere is nice, it's not particularly romantic or cozy due to the glass / steel nature of the space (on the ground floor of an office building). The service was very good and wait stuff knowledgable of the menu. The food was well-prepared although nothing terribly exotic or adventurous--basically upscale Mediterranean-influenced fare. We started by splitting a bowl of their Cream of Tomato Basil soup which was very good. My wife had a mixed green salad with spiced, toasted walnuts and a nice vinaigrette which we thought was excellent. I had a Bibb lettuce salad with 6 or 7 good size fried shrimp and a roasted pepper remoulade which was very good although not exactly what I expected. The contrasting tastes worked okay but took awhile to come together. My wife had the pan-seared Salmon with garlic mashed potatoes and a medley of root vegetables that she said was great. I opted for a 3 peppercorn filet with similar root vegetable medley. The vegetables were very nice and the steak was an very good cut of beef and had a nice peppercorn sauce. My only complaint was that it was not coooked evenly throughout although not a major problem.

We look forward to trying Fabian's on another visit as the grandparents (i.e., babysitters) live in W-S. We also heard good things about a restaurant called 1703--any thoughts on that? Thanks again.

[joler]

So sorry I was too late to help out w/anniversary plans - i had been on vaca in the Outer Banks for a few days. Don't know anything about 1703, but I do hope you will try Fabian's another time. Also, if you are in the Greensboro area, please try Bistro Sofia.

I've eaten at Noble's many times (not W-S, but the one in HP and in Greensboro) - I always have mixed results, they can never seem to pull the whole thing off for me. It sounds like you had a nice evening tho' and that's the important thing.

If you and your spouse want to hook up at the Camel Cafe sometime let me know by PM and we'll try to arrange it.

[ariggsby]

I was in Winston-Salem on business last week, and, largely on the strength of the recommendation above, had dinner at Fabian?s there. Score another one for the value of eGullet.

The restaurant does have some unusual rules, which probably help ensure both cost and quality control. It is by reservation only, one seating only (7:30), prix fixe ($50; with mineral water, coffee, tax, and tip that came to almost $75 for me), and (except for a choice of five entrees) menu fixe as well. (One table set for two was empty all night; I presume they didn?t arrive for their reservation.)

There were 10 people in the dining room (at four tables), which could probably hold twice that if pressed. As it was, the noise level was very modest. There was only one person acting as greeter, waiter, busboy, etc. Fortunately, he was a grown-up and a real pro. (This is a problem with fine dining in my home town of Austin. We?ve probably got more than our fair share of gifted chefs, but not enough good staff for all off them at once.) He wasn?t faced with any specially testing crises (e.g. kitchen errors), but that itself is probably testament to good management of the whole place, and he did certainly keep everything moving.

Everyone arrived between 7:15 and the announced 7:30 seating and was offered beverages. The chef then came out and described the entire menu (stressing the sourcing of many local/seasonal produces), and orders were taken for entrees.

Appetizer: risotto cake with pecorino flakes over young Asian green (very lightly dressed). Well executed, though a little timidly flavored for my taste. (Admittedly, it could be argued that the chef was able to make a delicate flavor out of a cheese that very easily becomes a sledge-hammer.)

[After the appetizer and again after the soup, slices of a very fine, crusty, white loaf bread were distributed.]

Soup: curried carrot. Between the carrots, some honey, and (perhaps?) coconut milk, this was quite sweet. Instead of balancing that out with a lot of sour (like yogurt, lime, or tamarind), they went with a lot of heat instead (the curry flavors were also quite strong). This turns out to have been an inspired move; it worked at least as well, but in a much more novel way. I believe the chef said the sous chef was responsible for this dish.

Salad: Mixed greens (not unlike the first course) with a light dijon dressing. This was explicitly described as a palate-cleansing course, which is probably why there seemed to be little or no oil in the dressing. On an a la carte menu, this would probably be too timid as well, but it was exactly right after the very powerful soup they knew everyone had just eaten.

Entrees: seared tuna, rabbit confit, beef filet, roasted rack of lamb, pulled-pork shoulder, all served with (in addition to individual sauces) ?appropriate root vegetables.? I had the rabbit (prepared in duck fat), over a puree of sweet potato (or perhaps a sweet squash) with a little spinach and the roasted root vegetables. The confit was a great idea to start with, but what really put it over the top was a dice of preserved lemon; the salt fit into the dish, while the acid gave a great contrast at the same time. The tuna (finished with a little demi-glace) and the pork (long-braised in a spiced broth, then served with same) both sounded very interesting to me, and the table next to me very much enjoyed the beef and the lamb.

Desert: tart tatin with rum-spiked whipped cream. A pie-type rather than a puff pastry. The one thing on the menu that was entirely traditional, but if it ain?t broke, don?t fix it.

I missed an espresso after dinner, but the brewed coffee was good of its kind, and they probably wouldn?t have occasion to use an espresso machine more than a handful of times any given day.