Troquet
Jason and I had a lovely first time at Troquet tonight.
We only had an hour and a half, so we skipped the tasting menus and (alas!) the cheese course.
My first course was the slow-braised Spanish octopus with artichokes, black garlic & espilette pepper broth. That was marvelous--incredibly tender and flavorful--and went very nicely with a bright 2009 Paso A Paso Verdejo. Jason went with the crispy duck confit with dried cherries, puy lentils & Marcona almond brittle. I didn't love the first bite he gave me, but when balanced with the cherries it was very nice. His 2009 Babcock Pinot Noir had an odd cellar-y nose, but the flavor was fine.
The menu recommends a range of wines to try--usually a particular varietal, or type of wine, organized in groups of three, which are also available as tasting flights. Given that, it seemed odd to me that our server suggested a Pinot Noir with Jason's entree, rather than the Riesling recommended by the menu, but it worked. He had the seared Dayboat sea scallops with crispy potato, jumbo asparagus, morel mushrooms & creme fraiche and the mushrooms in particular matched very well with the heartier flavors of the 2008 Domaine Brunet, Pinot Noir.
My main course was the boneless Maine rabbit sous vide with polenta agnolotti, roasted asparagus, speck ham & chantrelles. I had been thinking of another wine, but our server steered me toward the 2007 Coltibuono Super Tuscan. I didn't love it, but it was very interesting, with strong floral notes, particularly juniper. The rabbit was excellent, although the speck wrapping it somewhat overwhelmed the flavor of the meat, but unwrapped and re-configured the flavors worked very nicely together.
For dessert we split a glass of Dow's 10 year Tawny and the hazelnut dacquoise with ricotta bavaroise, local strawberries & mint. That was very light and delicious. I really like the recent trend in desserts of offering a sampler plate on a theme, rather than one large dessert. The strawberry sorbet accompanying this plate was particularly intense and lovely.
We were sad to have to run away so quickly. I reassured them several times that we would soon return and I can't wait!
We only had an hour and a half, so we skipped the tasting menus and (alas!) the cheese course.
My first course was the slow-braised Spanish octopus with artichokes, black garlic & espilette pepper broth. That was marvelous--incredibly tender and flavorful--and went very nicely with a bright 2009 Paso A Paso Verdejo. Jason went with the crispy duck confit with dried cherries, puy lentils & Marcona almond brittle. I didn't love the first bite he gave me, but when balanced with the cherries it was very nice. His 2009 Babcock Pinot Noir had an odd cellar-y nose, but the flavor was fine.
The menu recommends a range of wines to try--usually a particular varietal, or type of wine, organized in groups of three, which are also available as tasting flights. Given that, it seemed odd to me that our server suggested a Pinot Noir with Jason's entree, rather than the Riesling recommended by the menu, but it worked. He had the seared Dayboat sea scallops with crispy potato, jumbo asparagus, morel mushrooms & creme fraiche and the mushrooms in particular matched very well with the heartier flavors of the 2008 Domaine Brunet, Pinot Noir.
My main course was the boneless Maine rabbit sous vide with polenta agnolotti, roasted asparagus, speck ham & chantrelles. I had been thinking of another wine, but our server steered me toward the 2007 Coltibuono Super Tuscan. I didn't love it, but it was very interesting, with strong floral notes, particularly juniper. The rabbit was excellent, although the speck wrapping it somewhat overwhelmed the flavor of the meat, but unwrapped and re-configured the flavors worked very nicely together.
For dessert we split a glass of Dow's 10 year Tawny and the hazelnut dacquoise with ricotta bavaroise, local strawberries & mint. That was very light and delicious. I really like the recent trend in desserts of offering a sampler plate on a theme, rather than one large dessert. The strawberry sorbet accompanying this plate was particularly intense and lovely.
We were sad to have to run away so quickly. I reassured them several times that we would soon return and I can't wait!