446674 Mon Oct 01 15:45:57 -0700 2007 2 26 International 0 2994082 The day was very hot – over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. We sat outside in the shade under one of the table’s umbrellas, and actually switched seats after the first course because we were no longer in the shade. It was that hot. There were a couple things on the menu I desperately wanted to order but didn’t: St Jacques scallops wrapped in swiss chard leaves and mushrooms w/ saffron in champagne sauce; a tartar duet w/ salmon and artichoke; a cold melon soup w/ minced basil. Before I get to what I did order, I need to mention that the bread that was brought to us was thick, grainy and wonderful. We dipped it into honey and the fragrance and sweetness made the bread feel extra moist. I was drinking a lemonade that was as simple as lemon juice and water (no sugar), and with the heat pounding down it was refreshing and delicious. What I did order: the summer menu, 3 courses for 21 euros. One of the best dining deals I’ve ever had for the quality of food that was served. 1st course: Toasted goat cheese wrapped in bacon/ prosciutto (it was a little thicker than procsiutto, with no strings, and no fat feeling – like the fat was pressed out) on bitter green salad and two mini cherry tomatoes (cut in half, totaling four pieces) with a tiny amount of balsamic vinegar. These greens were fantastic, the goat cheese bright and creamy in the powerful sun, the saltiness around it just punching the richness into our bloodstream. Perfect amount of greens to accompany and nibble between bits of goat cheese and prosciutto. The tomatoes rivaled the best of what I’ve ever had from James Island in South Carolina or any California farmer’s market heirloom: huge flavor, almost as strong as after you grill a cherry tomato and then bite into it and get all that sweet and tart flavor. This was served with wine from western Slovenia, near Trieste - Carolina winery, 2005 Rumena Rebula grape. This was a very nice well-rounded medium-dry white wine. Flavors on all parts of the mouth. I bought a bottle afterwards from a wine shop and brought it back. The 2nd course was the most sonic food I’ve ever had. A super thin and crisp strudel with salmon, sea bass and veggies inside. The strudel itself was potato chip thin, and it cracked loudly when forked. So thin, but still very sturdy and held up to the flavors inside. The fish was as moist as could be; I think they had been baked. There were also perfectly grilled slivers of red pepper, eggplant and tomatoes mixed inside the strudel. It was served on top of a light thyme-cream sauce. The cracking, the blending, the grilling, the steaming, the boiling, the cutting: all at once heard, seen and tasted. I ate this whole thing very slowly, at an almost geologic pace it was so good. I made a long final swirl of my wine for about 25 seconds, took a deep inhalation which happened to coincide with a breeze crossing the courtyard around us, and then I finally swooshed that last gulp into my mouth. Perfect tongue zap tang plus mild sweetness from fish. The last course was possibly the most visually beautiful and compelling plate I’ve ever been served: a vanilla parfait w/ toasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed oil, several small shavings of orange peel scattered around the plate and one raspberry on top. It seemed as if perhaps the kitchen had even held the plate before serving so the ice cream and pumpkin oil could have a small amount of time to start their swirling melting dance before the plate was served. Or maybe it was just so hot the ice cream had started its slow melt; in any case, it was just enough to make a thin yellow layer of melted ice cream come into contact with the drizzled pumpkin seed oil, and to have a gorgeous liquid composition before the eyes and palate - the cream and the oil distinct but wrapping around each other. So many colors in the pumpkin oil – green, yellow, orange, olive. All these things – the crunchy pumpkin seeds, the rich oil, the acidic peel, the cold ice cream, etc – made the permutations of flavors in this desert practically infinite. I took one bite of two pumpkin seeds along with a direct scoop of the oil with a little ice cream: such deep pumpkin flavor and crunch. I took a couple of bites with just ice cream, pumpkin oil and orange peel: mellow, cool sweetness. I saved the raspberry till near the end, and had it and a bunch of melted ice cream and one pumpkin seed: a burst of seeds and sugar. It was really incredible how every combination and every permutation of the flavors could make something so tasty and varied from just one plate. Not only that, the meal incorporated so many art forms that I literally felt like I had to dance with my spoon while moving it across my plate. I had a small coffee with milk afterwards. I didn’t try anyone else’s food while having my meal – I just felt like it wouldn’t be right to interrupt the story that the chef was trying to tell me. Mon Oct 01 15:45:58 -0700 2007 12853 mr mouther 1 2997002 My husband and I also ate there this July. We sat outdoors and were almost the only ones there. Although the presentations were attractive, we found the food ordinary at best. Tue Oct 02 12:28:53 -0700 2007 2994082 67556 trav 2 3001850 I probably don't have the worldy palette of you and your husband, so I was impressed. Wed Oct 03 17:02:18 -0700 2007 2997002 12853 mr mouther