Date Night
I ended up deciding that we should try out Jojo on Piedmont for dinner last night.
caramida met me at my office, and we took a quick detour to Amtrak to pick up tickets for our weekend visitor. We then made our way over to piedmont and the restaurant.
It's a lovely little place. Everything was just warm and cozy without being too dim or overdone. Very simple. The kitchen is open and right in the middle of the dining room, which wasn't loud or crazy as it can be in some restaurants. We were seated by the manager/host and he asked if we'd like to start with a glass of champagne, which, of course, we did.
Brian started with the asparagus soup with meyer lemon crême fraiche & fried shallots, and I tried the Mushroom, Gruyere & Goat Cheese Tart. We traded bites and they were both very tasty. Interesting and slightly complex in flavor without being overdone. Mmmn.
For our main courses, I went for the decadent duck confit with potatoes au gratin, while Brian had the Niman Ranch steak with anchovy-mustard butter and frites. Oh my, the food was almost perfect. The duck was all crispy on the outside, the fat melted, but not super greasy, the meat tender and delectable. The creamy, but firm and very thinly sliced potatoes in the gratin did not get ignored either. The steak was cooked exactly as ordered, and the butter was an amazing pairing. The crispy frites were a simple but great accompaniment.
We were quite happily full from our dinners but could not resist their dessert menu. We decided to behave a little, and split one dessert. The winner was the chocolate soufflé cake with black currant tea crême anglaise. We also decided on a pot of peppermint tea to go along with it. Wow. The soufflé was just melt in your mouth decadence, the crême had a subtle flavor of the tea. I don't have the words that describe this properly.
The service was excellent. They checked on us often, but not in a pestering way, just sort of quietly refilling water, taking care of things. We overheard some folks at another table ask if they had any biscotti or cookies for dessert with their coffee, the waitress answered that they didn't, but then came back a short time later and told them that the chefs would make them up a place of cookies anyway. They were pleasant and informative. They happily chatted with a nearby couple that seemed chatty with them, but equally content to be unobtrusive in other cases. And I've always been a fan of restaurants that clean the tables in between dinner and dessert. It's just a small touch, but it made me smile.
So after the lovely meal, we walked a few blocks, arm in arm, to the bus station and made our way home. A wonderful evening.
I'm a lucky girl.
caramida met me at my office, and we took a quick detour to Amtrak to pick up tickets for our weekend visitor. We then made our way over to piedmont and the restaurant.
It's a lovely little place. Everything was just warm and cozy without being too dim or overdone. Very simple. The kitchen is open and right in the middle of the dining room, which wasn't loud or crazy as it can be in some restaurants. We were seated by the manager/host and he asked if we'd like to start with a glass of champagne, which, of course, we did.
Brian started with the asparagus soup with meyer lemon crême fraiche & fried shallots, and I tried the Mushroom, Gruyere & Goat Cheese Tart. We traded bites and they were both very tasty. Interesting and slightly complex in flavor without being overdone. Mmmn.
For our main courses, I went for the decadent duck confit with potatoes au gratin, while Brian had the Niman Ranch steak with anchovy-mustard butter and frites. Oh my, the food was almost perfect. The duck was all crispy on the outside, the fat melted, but not super greasy, the meat tender and delectable. The creamy, but firm and very thinly sliced potatoes in the gratin did not get ignored either. The steak was cooked exactly as ordered, and the butter was an amazing pairing. The crispy frites were a simple but great accompaniment.
We were quite happily full from our dinners but could not resist their dessert menu. We decided to behave a little, and split one dessert. The winner was the chocolate soufflé cake with black currant tea crême anglaise. We also decided on a pot of peppermint tea to go along with it. Wow. The soufflé was just melt in your mouth decadence, the crême had a subtle flavor of the tea. I don't have the words that describe this properly.
The service was excellent. They checked on us often, but not in a pestering way, just sort of quietly refilling water, taking care of things. We overheard some folks at another table ask if they had any biscotti or cookies for dessert with their coffee, the waitress answered that they didn't, but then came back a short time later and told them that the chefs would make them up a place of cookies anyway. They were pleasant and informative. They happily chatted with a nearby couple that seemed chatty with them, but equally content to be unobtrusive in other cases. And I've always been a fan of restaurants that clean the tables in between dinner and dessert. It's just a small touch, but it made me smile.
So after the lovely meal, we walked a few blocks, arm in arm, to the bus station and made our way home. A wonderful evening.
I'm a lucky girl.