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Last night our dinner at the Bistro du Midi was very impressive and memorable. Every single course was a delight and between the four of us; Shawn, Kelly, my hubby and myself, we were really hard pressed to pick a favorite. I know that Kelly and I were completely blown away by the pepperoncini pearls served with the carpaccio of Wild Salmon. These small pearls were small explosions of pepperoncini, which is an Italian pickled pepper, on the tongue. It would never occur to me to take a pepperoncini and try to distill its flavor into a small “pearl”, it was genius and that genius had Kelly and myself in awe.
We were sent home with a copy of our menu and here is an example of one of the courses that we had as described by the Chef
Poached Maine Lobster and Native Corn Cappuccino, White Truffle Essence, Pine Nut Foam, Artichoke Beignet, Pimiento Aioli
The presentation was so pretty, the Lobster cappuccino was served in an espresso cup with the foam topped by 4 freeze dried kernels of corn and the artichoke beignet was lying in a puddle of the pimiento aioli. Personally, I would have had two more of the artichoke beignets, they were so delicate and one was not enough for me, the aioli I thought was an excellent touch and I spooned the excess into my Lobster cappuccino and it was perfect together.
Another hit was the Lamb Tartare served with spicy mustard, cornichons and the cutest Quail egg in its opened shell. The waiter suggested that we pour the Quail egg onto the Lamb Tartare and mix it and spoon it onto the crisped sliced bread. It was fantastic, I like my lamb rare so this wasn’t a stretch for me, I can eat fish and beef raw so why not lamb. The seasoning was a wakeup for the taste buds, I love the tartness of the tiny cornichons and the spicy mustard didn’t mask the lamb, it just enhanced it.
The four of us spoke of nothing but the food and how talented the chef was to not only execute this menu, but to dream up these food compositions and combinations. It, as I always say, would never occur to me to create a Lobster cappuccino and have the foam be made up of pine nuts and cream or to incorporate native corn into the lobster bisque. Moreover, I wouldn’t think of putting artichoke with it and make it so creative.
I am not jealous in the least of this type of talent, I am very happy to remain in awe and to search out as many Chef’s tables to dine at the altar of exquisite cuisine. 🙂
laurieanichols 