W.A. Frost & Company, September 14, 2013

Her perspective: C

We had been here a couple of years ago and did their tasting menu - without the wine pairings - but it was FABULOUS, so for our anniversary dinner this year, we decided to do that again because it was so good last time when every dish had been so delicious and they spaced the courses perfectly.

We did the wine pairings this time (one course was a beer pairing) and they were off. They either did not compliment the dish at all or they only complimented only one part of the dish - which was disappointing. The cheese course had a beer pairing, which did not sit well in my stomach with the rest of the wines that were served.

So, course-by-course:

Amuse: House Cold Smoked Salmon with Pine Yogurt, Watercress, Citrus, Jalapeno, Radish
Pairing: La Marca, Prosecco, NV, Italy
This was the absolute best dish by far! The salmon was buttery and all the flavors just blended together perfectly. I just didn't think the wine enhanced the dish.

1st Course: Sweet Corn Soup with Crispy Glazed Pork Belly, Cherry Tomato, Avocado
Pairing: Rose, Chateau L'Ermitage, 2012, Rhone Valley, France
The pork belly was fantastic and the wine did compliment that. Also, the cherry tomatoes were very nice. The soup was underseasoned and you could not taste the avocado at all. The dish as a whole was just OK, but I could have made a meal from that pork belly.

2nd Course: Roasted Duck Breast with Rainbow Chard, Sweet Corn Polenta, Cherry-Black Pepper Gastrique
Pairing: Pinot Noir, Martin Ray, 2010, Russian River
Unfortunately, the best part of this dish was the Gastrique, except for the big piece of black pepper I got at one point that set my mouth on fire. The duck was too rare (not fully cooked to a rare temperature) so I could not taste duck. I felt like I was getting more corn soup with the polenta (too much corn) and the combination of the components did not compliment one another. The wine was just - there. It did nothing to enhance or compliment the dish.

3rd Course: Grilled Petite Filet Mignon with Potato-Parmesan Gratin, Summer Vegetables, Sherry Jus
Pairing: Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Creek, 2011 Paso Robles
The filet was cooked a perfect rare. We like our steaks at least medium rare, but ate it as prepared, hoping it would be a better flavor with the rest of the dish. Again, the components did not go together and it seemed as if the Summer Vegetables were just whatever they had left over from other dishes, rather than a well-thought-out part of the dish. The Jus was very tasty, though. This particular Cabernet was too heavy for Filet.

Cheese Course: Pleasant Ridge Reserve with Rhubarb Compote, Almond Granola, Micro Greens, Honey, Sesame Lavasch
Beer Pairing: Lonely Blonde, Fulton Brewing Co. Minneapolis, MN
The cheese was pretty good with a smoky flavor, but got lost when you started putting it together with other things on the plate. The Almond Granola and Micro Greens were scattered around the plate, which made it pretty, but not very conducive to eating them. The Honey was only there to keep the whole berries from moving around on the plate and did not add anything to the flavor of the dish. I have learned since that this particular cheese is being served by every Tom, Dick and Harry restaurant in the area, so it would have been nice to have something unique. The beer is an IPA, and, while I don't like hoppy beers, I tried it anyway. I couldn't even finish the small tasting glass of beer and definitely did not go with this dish at all. I would have been much happier with a nice Pinot Grigio or some sort of medium-dry white instead of beer with this dish.

Dessert Course: "Cheescake and Berries": Cheesecake Pudding, Glazed Berry Salad, Graham Cracker Pavlova, Strawberry Pate de Fruit
Pairing: Moscato di Asti, Vietti Cascinetta 2011, Piedmont, Italy
There's a reason the title is in quotes - because it wasn't actually cheesecake. The Cheesecake Pudding was just plopped on the plate and seemed like it was cheesecake that they didn't wait until it was fully set. William commented that it was like a "deconstructed" cheesecake. The berries were very good and fresh - the best part of the dish. While I always like anything "Asti", it did not help with the richness of the dessert, so I ate as much as I could (leaving half the cheesecake pudding, and not because I was full), then drank the wine down so that would be the last thing I tasted. It did go well with the berries, though.

Our server did check back after each course, but did so when both our mouths were full, so all we could do was nod. William had gotten a Coke at the start of the meal and, even though he wanted a refill, he was never asked for one or given the opportunity to ask for it himself. After dinner, I got a coffee and William got an Irish Coffee. His was at least a double-shot and all the sugar was at the bottom (not mixed in), he almost couldn't drink it. All the regular sugar packets in the caddy for my coffee had been wet at some point. I could break them in half and pointed that out to the server, who guessed they had been left out on the patio. Funny, the Spenda and Sugar In the Raw packets were just fine...

One other note: the portion sizes were considerably smaller than the last time we did this, but the prices stayed the same. We understand that food costs have gone up and we would rather have paid a little more for the same experience we had the last time we did this.

If we go back, it will be a long time, and we'll think long and hard before doing the tasting menu again.

We're still looking for that restaurant in the Cities with consistently good food and service. If you have suggestions, please let us know.