monday night eats (sea)

[little ms foodie]

I'll happily give it another try, because people I trust really love it, but the only time I was there I felt like I was 90 years old.  That's just the way the atmosphere makes you feel.

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So glad I'm not the only one who felt this way!! The space is weird! Like it use to be a Denny's in a strip mall. But the food was fantstic! Who wants to tell the owner to update so we can all be in love with the food and the atmosphere??

[vengroff]

I went to Nell's for the first time Monday night.

I thought the food was quite good, actually. I had a starter of consisting of a generous portion of dungeness crab salad with crisp cubes of Braeburn apple. My main was a crisp skinned duck breast served medium rare, just as the waiter suggested it would be. I finished with a nice selection of five cheeses and fresh figs. I didn't care much for the young goat cheese--I am in general biased against that style--but the other four, ranging from gouda to St. Marcelin, were all top notch. Across the board I thought the food was well executed and I would certainly like return to try a couple of the other items on the menu.

Service was attentive, informed, and well timed, but the place was near empty so the staff was not overly stressed.

I found the decor a bit unexpected, especially given the cuisine; but I think the same of the main dining room at Nishino. Dimming the lights just a bit would do wonders for the both of them.

The wine list has some good breadth not only locally but also across France, Italy, and some bits of Spain. I especially appreciate that they took the time to put together a nice selection of half bottles. It makes pairing wines with courses so much easier for small parties. I recall, however, thinking the prices were a tad on the high side relative to some of the same bottles at other area restaurants. But now I'm doing a double take becausse I went to the list on the web site and the prices posted are far more reasonable than I remembered. I'll take notes next time just to be sure I'm not misremembering things.

On the whole, it's worth a trip in, especially if decor issues don't bother you too much. It's not the most convenient location for me, but I suspect I will be back there again.

[matsutakekichigai]

I have to give a vote for Nell's. I ate there this Spring. I wanted the Duck but there was another item that had fresh morels and I wanted that as well. The waiter said no problem. I was later presented with a delcious Duck dish in a morel sauce. I'm hoping to go this October if that pulls through I'll post a verdict.