Randy D.
Yelp
It's a very small restaurant and we sat against the back wall. Not a bad table, but air circulation was non-existent. The menu was written on a chalk board.
After we perused the menu we also ordered a bottle of Syrah 2011 Les Vignes D'à Côté, and I had a glass of their house rosé.
For our entrées: I'm listing them in the order that I really liked them. 2 ad the "burrata/gazpacho/basilic" (a cold gazpacho soup with burrata cheese, flavored with basil). I loved, loved this dish, maybe because it was a hot and muggy day, but who cares, it was delicious. I've never had gazpacho served with soft chunks of burrata cheese, a soft handmade version of mozzarella cheese. But the addition of it made parts of it creamy which gave it a nice contrast of textures. The flavors were spot on, especially with the green heirloom tomatoes. I could've had a whole bowl of this and called it a day.
The 2nd , I ordered, "calamars/tomates/pois chice" (calamari with tomatoes and chick peas or garbanzos, 2€ supplement). There's a general rule when cooking calamari called the "1-1-rule", either you cook it for 1-minute or 1-hour and never in between otherwise it becomes too rubbery. Let's just say they followed this rule because the calamari was perfectly cooked, tender, not chewy and a very good dish. However, to be honest, I found the addition of the garbanzo beans very distracting. Maybe a softer less chewy bean, such as chilled cooked navy beans or fava beans would've been a better choice.
The 3rd entrée was the "tagliatelles/lapin/petit pois" (wide noodles with rabbit and peas). In my opinion, this was the weakest of the 3-entrées. I found the dish too ordinary. I'm also not a fan of shredded rabbit meat, I just find the texture off putting. Dishes like this reminds of, what should I do with left-over turkey after Thanksgiving? why shred it, add it to pasta, add a little cream and maybe some peas... Although good, I was not a fan of this dish.
Plts: Again in order of my favorites: "bar/tomate fumée/speck" (Fish with smoked tomatoes and a ham). This dish was amazing. The fish was cooked perfectly, crispy skin with soft moist flesh, and there were little surprises as you were eating the dish. There were specks of ham, ironically "speck" is a ham food term and its made from the hind pork leg in a similar way to prosciutto and used in Boeuf bourguignon for flavoring. Well all I can say, it added a lot of flavor to this dish. Then we found small pieces of baby oysters. I wish I had ordered this dish, because I would've licked the bowl.
2nd dish was "porc/burlotti/scarole" (pork with borlotti beans and chicory). There was a filet of pork which was cooked crispy and on the medium well side, atop some shredded pulled pork, atop some mashed borlotti beans, intertwined with chicory. This dish would've been perfect for a winter dish. Although good, it was an extremely heavy and filling dish, and in the muggy weather we were having, I kept regretting that I did not order something lighter. However, I did like the juxtaposition of the crispy pork filet, with the "shredded pull pork." I will come back in the winter so I can enjoy it more.
The 3rd dish was the "canard/prune/riz/amandes" (duck with prunes, rice and almandes). The duck was cooked towards the rare side, which it should be. I liked the dish, it was a simple well executed dish. It was also served with bok choy, steamed white rice and some julienne root vegetables.
Desserts: I listed from my favorites: Two ordered the "tarte aux fraises/citron/basilica" (strawberry tart with lemon and basil ice cream). Maybe it was because it was hot and muggy, not only did I wanna lick the plate, I wanted to bath in. The tart was good, but the star truly was the basil ice cream. It was delicious smooth and sweet, and the basil was not overwhelming, but you definitely could taste it.
Next was the "chocolate/cerise/stracciatella" (chocolate lava cake with a dollop of vanilla based gelato with chocolate shavings). I liked this dish, the gelato accompanied the chocolate cake perfectly. If the gelato had been chocolate, there wouldn't have been any contrast, but with the vanilla based it gave it a nice balance and contrast.
Lastly, I ordered the "cheesecake/pistache/rhubarbe" (cheese cake with pistachios and rhubarb). At first taste, I did not like it, nor did I like the way it looked, probably because I was expecting an American style cheese cake. I also found the rhubarb extremely tart, but then again that's the nature of rhubarb. Putting my prejudices aside I had to look at it with a more open and objective mind. First of all it's made with chèvre, a goat cheese, and as I took a second, third and fourth bite, the dish actually grew on me. I probably won't order it again, but it was nicely different in an odd way. One good thing about it, it was light and remember it was a very warm and muggy day.
I liked the restaurants a lot. The service is excellent.
