Food. Yum.

Last night we finally had my birthday dinner, 2 and half weeks later. That's fine. I was sick on my birthday and scheduling didn't work out before now.

We went to EVOO, probably my favorite local restaurant (not that I've been to all of them).

Unfortunately, on Fridays and Saturdays they don't do the Tasting Menu so there can be faster turnover. Even so, A) we were there from 8:30 to 11:45 more or less. Unfortunately, a bit of this time was spent saying "service is slow tonight". and B) if you have 6 people sharing dishes, you get to taste a fair amount of everything anyway. :)

Let's see if I can figure out everything we had:
Starters:
Baked Verrill Farm's Gala Apple filled with Pork Rillette, Seared Foie Gras, Toasted Pistachios, Tart Dry Cherries and Spiced Cider Sauce. This was the one I ordered and, though I tasted the rest of them, I thought it was the best.

Cornmeal Fried Oysters with Goat Cheese Fondue and Apple-Bacon Salsa. Always yummy. The lightests oysters I've ever had.

Portuguese Salt Cod-Potato Cake with Homemade Bread 'n Butter Pickles, Tomato-Saffron Butter and a Poached Egg. Though I'm not much of a fan of salt cod (Bacalao), this was still darned tasty.

"Back Door" Smoked Homemade Garlicky Pork Sausage, Caramelized Onion and Potato Tart with Gruyere Cheese and Pete's Pickled Peppers. Probably my number 2 choice. Damned yummy. scliff thought there wasn't much synergy between the sausage and the tart, though both were very tasty on their own. I thought they worked excedingly well together.

Soups and Salads:
Lamb's Head Soup. More a reduction than a soup...thick and rich with bits of meat and veg. It wanted something else to go with it to lighten it or contrast with it a bit. But still damned yummy.

Smoked Rabbit Confit, Eva's Wild Greens, Port Soaked Cherries and Toasted Pecan Salad with Shaved Vermond Cheddar adn Grain Mustard-Rosemary Vinaigrette. Again, this is what I ordered. It was Really fabulous. I hate 'wild greens' (or field greens or...weeds...) but they worked here. The rabbit was smokey and salty and rich and the bitter of the weeds probably kept them from getting lost, but they weren't loud and annoying. Yum.

Verrill Farm's Carrot-Leek Soup with Rasted Chestnuts and Bea's Galician Chestnut Honey. Very tasty, though there's a limit to how much of this I can eat.

Bibb Lettuce, Shaved Red Onion, Chervil and Mache Salad with Toasted Walnuts, Italian Fontina and Creamy Buttermilk-Black Pepper Dressing.
Tasty. Scliff really liked it. I thought it was merely good.

Local Farmer's Beet, Orange, Tarragon and Goat Cheese Salad with Toasted Walnuts and Crisp Fried Onions. I really liked this. kimberlogic thought it needed something more, but I was fine with it as it was.

Mains:
Duck, Duck, Goose: Duck Confit, Seared Duck Foie Gras, Slices of Goose Breast, Lentils, French Beans, Escarole and Sherry-Ginger Sauce.
Probably EVOO's best-known dish and there's a good reason for that. Yum. 2 orders.

Rosmary and Mustart Marinated Roast Lamb Rack with Garlicky Lamb Jus and a Salad of Local Farmer's Late Season Heirloom Tomatoes, Sheep's Milk Feta, Shaved Fennel, Crisp Bread, Italian Parsley and Lemon EVOO. Lamb. Yum. Not an exquisite dish but very tasty.

Grilled Slices of "Back Door" Smoked Pork Loin with Caramelized Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Onions, Wilted Mustard Greens, Last Fall's Apple Butter, Crisp Fried Sage and Orange-Chipotle Barbecue Sauce. 2 of us ordered this. The meat and the potatoes were great. I found the mustard greens a bit bitter...but leaving them out of the mix, everything was wonderful.

Parsley and Garlic Studded Beef Tenderloin with Sour Cream Whipped Potatoes, Portabello Mushrooms, Grilled Sweet Onions and Orange Béarnaise. Most people thought the Orange Béearnaise was shocking and didn't go, but it worked well for me. The meat and potatoes were loved by all, though.

Desserts:
Sigh. The regular dessert menu is a seperate sheet from the regular dinner menu and I don't have it here. I do have the special desserts, though.

Toasted Lemon Pound Cake with Zesty Lime Curd, Sugared Strawberries and Whipped Cream. Yum!

Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Raspberry Puree and Candied Pinenuts. I just realized that those were pinenuts. They didn't stand out as something special...as a whole, though, quite yummy.

What else did we get...the Molten Chocolate Cake with Roasted Marshmallow. Yum. The marshmallow cut the intensity of the cake quite well.

Caramel Creme Brulée with Apple Butter and Whipped Cream. Very very good. Kind of an inverted apple dessert, apple on caramel instead of the other way around. Yum.

Some sort of citrus custard tart with raspberries. Yum.

And then home for Tea and Mythbusters. Yum.

Next year, however, the tasting menu for real. :)

Food. Yum.

Last night we finally had my birthday dinner, 2 and half weeks later. That's fine. I was sick on my birthday and scheduling didn't work out before now.

We went to EVOO, probably my favorite local restaurant (not that I've been to all of them).

Unfortunately, on Fridays and Saturdays they don't do the Tasting Menu so there can be faster turnover. Even so, A) we were there from 8:30 to 11:45 more or less. Unfortunately, a bit of this time was spent saying "service is slow tonight". and B) if you have 6 people sharing dishes, you get to taste a fair amount of everything anyway. :)

Let's see if I can figure out everything we had:
Starters:
Baked Verrill Farm's Gala Apple filled with Pork Rillette, Seared Foie Gras, Toasted Pistachios, Tart Dry Cherries and Spiced Cider Sauce. This was the one I ordered and, though I tasted the rest of them, I thought it was the best.

Cornmeal Fried Oysters with Goat Cheese Fondue and Apple-Bacon Salsa. Always yummy. The lightests oysters I've ever had.

Portuguese Salt Cod-Potato Cake with Homemade Bread 'n Butter Pickles, Tomato-Saffron Butter and a Poached Egg. Though I'm not much of a fan of salt cod (Bacalao), this was still darned tasty.

"Back Door" Smoked Homemade Garlicky Pork Sausage, Caramelized Onion and Potato Tart with Gruyere Cheese and Pete's Pickled Peppers. Probably my number 2 choice. Damned yummy. scliff thought there wasn't much synergy between the sausage and the tart, though both were very tasty on their own. I thought they worked excedingly well together.

Soups and Salads:
Lamb's Head Soup. More a reduction than a soup...thick and rich with bits of meat and veg. It wanted something else to go with it to lighten it or contrast with it a bit. But still damned yummy.

Smoked Rabbit Confit, Eva's Wild Greens, Port Soaked Cherries and Toasted Pecan Salad with Shaved Vermond Cheddar adn Grain Mustard-Rosemary Vinaigrette. Again, this is what I ordered. It was Really fabulous. I hate 'wild greens' (or field greens or...weeds...) but they worked here. The rabbit was smokey and salty and rich and the bitter of the weeds probably kept them from getting lost, but they weren't loud and annoying. Yum.

Verrill Farm's Carrot-Leek Soup with Rasted Chestnuts and Bea's Galician Chestnut Honey. Very tasty, though there's a limit to how much of this I can eat.

Bibb Lettuce, Shaved Red Onion, Chervil and Mache Salad with Toasted Walnuts, Italian Fontina and Creamy Buttermilk-Black Pepper Dressing.
Tasty. Scliff really liked it. I thought it was merely good.

Local Farmer's Beet, Orange, Tarragon and Goat Cheese Salad with Toasted Walnuts and Crisp Fried Onions. I really liked this. kimberlogic thought it needed something more, but I was fine with it as it was.

Mains:
Duck, Duck, Goose: Duck Confit, Seared Duck Foie Gras, Slices of Goose Breast, Lentils, French Beans, Escarole and Sherry-Ginger Sauce.
Probably EVOO's best-known dish and there's a good reason for that. Yum. 2 orders.

Rosmary and Mustart Marinated Roast Lamb Rack with Garlicky Lamb Jus and a Salad of Local Farmer's Late Season Heirloom Tomatoes, Sheep's Milk Feta, Shaved Fennel, Crisp Bread, Italian Parsley and Lemon EVOO. Lamb. Yum. Not an exquisite dish but very tasty.

Grilled Slices of "Back Door" Smoked Pork Loin with Caramelized Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Onions, Wilted Mustard Greens, Last Fall's Apple Butter, Crisp Fried Sage and Orange-Chipotle Barbecue Sauce. 2 of us ordered this. The meat and the potatoes were great. I found the mustard greens a bit bitter...but leaving them out of the mix, everything was wonderful.

Parsley and Garlic Studded Beef Tenderloin with Sour Cream Whipped Potatoes, Portabello Mushrooms, Grilled Sweet Onions and Orange Béarnaise. Most people thought the Orange Béearnaise was shocking and didn't go, but it worked well for me. The meat and potatoes were loved by all, though.

Desserts:
Sigh. The regular dessert menu is a seperate sheet from the regular dinner menu and I don't have it here. I do have the special desserts, though.

Toasted Lemon Pound Cake with Zesty Lime Curd, Sugared Strawberries and Whipped Cream. Yum!

Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Raspberry Puree and Candied Pinenuts. I just realized that those were pinenuts. They didn't stand out as something special...as a whole, though, quite yummy.

What else did we get...the Molten Chocolate Cake with Roasted Marshmallow. Yum. The marshmallow cut the intensity of the cake quite well.

Caramel Creme Brulée with Apple Butter and Whipped Cream. Very very good. Kind of an inverted apple dessert, apple on caramel instead of the other way around. Yum.

Some sort of citrus custard tart with raspberries. Yum.

And then home for Tea and Mythbusters. Yum.

Next year, however, the tasting menu for real. :)