Sara C.
Yelp
A group of friends and I visited Au Courant for one of their birthday dinners. I had never been to Au Courant, but had heard good things, so I was super excited!
When we walked in to the restaurant we were immediately greeted by a lively atmosphere, lots of plants and fun decor, a cool bar at the center, and a wonderful host who sat us at our table.
We had made a reservation, and I'm so glad we did because they were very busy. It added to the bustling ambiance, so I didn't mind, but just be sure you call ahead/book online as it seemed very few walk ins were getting tables.
Our group of four each decided to dine a la carte. Just a note, if you want to do the Chef's Tasting Menu or the A La Carte menu, the decision has to be made for the whole table. You can't do half the people doing a la carte and half the chef's menu, so definitely decide beforehand how your group will dine.
They have a great list of wine, beer, cocktails, and spirits. I had the Fat Orange Cat IPA (because I like IPAs and have a fat orange cat myself), and it was light and crisp, perfect for the hot summer day. My friend ordered the Cola cocktail, and it tasted exactly like a Coca Cola but had some hidden gin and sherry in there.
So, as I said, our group did the a la carte menu, and because of that we got to order lots of different things and share a few bites of each, which I loved.
For starters, we had three:
-Chovy's Egg: We actually each got one of these, and I recommend that because it's not gigantic (and it doesn't need to be, because it's packed with flavor). This is titled after the chef de cuisine's nickname (Chovy) so we knew this would be good if he put his name on it, and we were correct. It was a perfectly cooked little egg with a garlic aioli piped on top, sitting atop a bed of zucchini, corn, and a few other crunchy veg bits. It was a perfect bite to start the meal out.
-Crostini Baguette: These were tasty little toasted baguette slices topped with a mixture of black beans, bacon, some green sprigs, and a smoky little aftertaste that worked so well with the crunchy bite of baguette.
-Tartare: This was so surprisingly delicious. It arrived as a little sphere of tartare mixed with corn and a cabbage topping, with some little toast points to dip into it. It was refreshing and heavenly the way they paired the veggies with the tartare.
Our group ordered three different entrees:
-Flatiron: My choice, and it was decadent and deceptively filling. It was cut into four strips, which made it a lot easier to manage on the plate. Each piece I sliced off literally melted in my mouth, and the orange jus that it was drizzled in was so flavorful. The accompaniments were some veggies that were seasoned expertly, and potato pave which were little expertly fried up pieces of potato squares (I know that sounds weird, but they are in my dreams now).
-Pork Tomahawk: This was my husband's choice, and he couldn't be happier. The tomahawk was glazed in a tomato flavor, and covered in small yam slices and some greenery on top, adding the meaty, greeny, and sweet flavors all together in each bite.
-Chicken: My friend ordered this and it was so tender that he didn't need a knife to cut pieces off, they were just falling off the bone! It came with apple, turnips, and a salsa verde all on the plate mixed with the chicken, so another example of the flavors all working together in harmony.
We tried two desserts that we shared:
-Pudding Cup: This looked similar to the Italian dessert "budding" but it was a lot heavier. The layers of pudding were a rich chocolate and a heavy cream, with a large square marshmallow on top. Don't get me wrong - it tasted amazing, but you could only have a few bites due to the heaviness, so sharing it was the right decision.
-"Corn": This was the "tasting menu" dessert, and it was five different variations of corn, but as a semi-sweet taste. It had a sweet corn almost "cheesecake" polenta base, with a corn ice cream swiped on top, and was accompanied by a sweet popcorn praline, hibiscus caramel dots, and little dollops of corn pudding. They took corn and made it a dessert, and I'm absolutely here for it.
With the excellent service, high quality fare, and great vibes in the ambiance, I would definitely recommend Au Courant for your next special occasion, date night, or just to check out the new menus they have each week!