Paul X.
Yelp
The hubby and I went to a small, 16 seat, intimate, gourmet restaurant in Barcelona during our honeymoon a couple of years ago, where the chef, personally interacting with his patrons, was pleased to present his culinary creations to customers who appreciated them just as much as he did.
We were both so impressed with it back then that we wanted to try Clean Slate's version of the concept.
There is a slight difference between Clean Slate, however. Whereas the one in Spain was more appetizer, main meal and dessert (with an intermezzo in between), Clean Slate is more tapas style.
That is certainly not a bad thing. We had an oyster, a little bit of steak, some cod, a hearty scallop, some broccolini, and that fab little intermezzo on that white spoon that many Yelpers seem to post a picture of.
And yes, that intermezzo is pretty fab!
Actually, just about all of it was: the lemon horseradish granita dressed oyster that made a fantastic starter, that innovative black squid ink veined egg pasta handkerchief on top of wonderfully cooked cod, luxurious cream cheese puréed potato that came with the tender sirloin, tasty red pozole broth with that scallop, and coconut grits (wow, loved it!) and some added spice really kicked up the broccolini, which turned out to be my favorite plate of the whole dinner to my surprise. It's hard to top steak and fish, but damn, that broccolini dish was amazing.
And let's not forget that special addition Clean Slate added on that night if one chose the option for another $20: pecan pesto that came with a homemade toasted banana bread and paired with a buttery foie gros! Why say "no"? Especially when we saved some of that foie gros to put on that sirloin that came out after!
And for desert, there was a white chocolate bay leave ganache with bourbon caramel that was out of this world indulgent. We also were served a cucumber ice cream, which we thought was absolutely lovely with a perfect sweet and mild cucumber flavor.
The only thing the hubby found didn't work was the feta cheese paired with the ice cream, which I didn't mind all that much (it was a wonderfully creamy feta), yet, understand what he meant. And the peaches that came with the white ganache weren't needed.
Quibbles. The food here is great, and we both left very impressed with service and the presentation.
There's also a wine pairing for an extra charge that came with each course. The hubby partook (as it was his birthday dinner), whereas I just had a beer since I was driving. We were a bit confused as to which wine came with which course at some point as there was much going on, but with all the wine one is having, it won't matter much. I did get a sip of the hubby's wines (thank you, dear!), and there were some nice ones in the lineup.
The best seat in the house? Don't go for the L shaped table at the front. If you have the option, go around and stay by the wall immediately on the right when you enter and sit at the first raised table. You get a great view of the show the staff will putting on for you.
The only drawback? It's a bit expensive, but honestly, what did you expect for food of this caliber? If I had money to burn, I'd easily do this once a month (when their menu changes).
For now, I will settle on another visit for a special night out in the future as it's a fun and novel place for dinner.
Thanks to Jason and the rest of the staff for an enjoyable evening!!
To couples planning a vacation on the Cape. You're on vacation...go here, spend your money and enjoy it. But do make (required) reservations fairly well in advance. There's a reason this place has just about all five star reviews.