Roger K.
Yelp
Not much has changed in ten years, and that is good. Because the things that haven't changed are the friendliness of the hostess and staff, the welcoming feeling, the availability of small and full portion sizes, and still having Ubu on their draft list. It's just difficult to believe that both of our visits were only in 2012.
We were quite fortunate on this, once again, non-reservation-visit to not only score the last table available, but for it to be a high-top located at the edge of the kitchen service window, away from all the other diners. Once again, we had a wonderful view into the kitchen, even better than on our first visit, watching the kitchen staff working as a well-coordinated team meeting the demand of the evening's first rush with precision. And all those dishes looked delicious as the servers retrieved them.
I started with a Von Trapp Pilsner ($9) from the half-dozen craft brews on draft. It was crisp and clean. My wife ordered a Blackberry Lemonade ($6) from their Mocktails. It was both tart and sweet as advertised, but she was surprised to find it had blueberries in it, even if it did have a blackberry syrup. It still was tasty.
Once again, we decided to share a small Salad Special (small portion $12/full portion $23) Mediterranean couscous over spinach with kalamata and Spanish olives, cucumbers, and tomatoes with an Italian vinaigrette and feta cheese. It was refreshing and flavorful. We also shared a small Goat Cheese Encroute(sic.) ($12/$23). The chef obviously took some liberty in describing this dish as Madagascar vanilla & Bing cherry fondue with baguette. It may have met the "fondue" definition by virtue of the goat cheese having to have been melted at some point, and the "encroute" was a coating around the cheese, but it was not the expected pastry coating. But none of that mattered with the first taste. This was an absolutely delicious blend of flavors with our server Jackie explaining that the chocolate flavor we thought we detected was from the caramelization.
Moving right along to our entrées, my wife chose the small Seared Sea Scallops ($19/$37) with prosciutto wrapped asparagus, and a sherry butter sauce served with sweet pea mashed potatoes and shaved Grana Padano. Two of the three scallops were cooked perfectly, the smallest of the three was very slightly underdone. Sign of a cautious chef? Overall, a delicious meal.
I ordered the small Cabernet Braised Short Ribs ($19/$37). If this was "small" than I can only imagine how hungry a person would have to be to complete a full portion. The piece of short ribs was not only quite plentiful, but it was also very tender and flavorful. The hominy was soft without being mushy, and delicious with the addition of smoked Gouda and apple cider bacon. The crispy potato nest was actually a topping of perfectly crispy, finely seasoned, julienned fries. I barely saved room for dessert.
But as Jackie listed the desserts, she mentioned that the chef who had developed the Salad Special that we thought was so outstanding, was also the chef who created the special dessert of the day - Tiramisu. Trusting in this chef's track record for the evening, I ordered the Tiramisu ($10). It was a pleasureful ending to dinner along with a good cup of coffee. My compliments to the chef and the entire staff at Bistro Le Roux.