Friday, February 15, 2013

Valentine's Report

Frankly, we couldn't have asked for a much better Valentine's Dinner service.  I was amazed that it went so well.  We were quite busy, starting at around 5:30, and soon had a 15 to 30 minute wait going, which is really not too bad.  Only two parties opted out; everyone else hung in with us.  We stayed pretty cranking until around 7, when things slowed up and then it became walk-right-in sit-right-down, until we closed at 8PM.  Very, very nice.  Not a horrific line, no seriously bad back-up, no terrible wait for food.  I don't think meals came out quite as quickly as they might normally do, but it wasn't a deal breaker, at least from my vantage point.  We had many tables of regulars, celebrating their love, and plenty of new faces as well.

Kevin got in a case of artichokes yesterday, to add as garnish to his lobster lasagna, the first course of the Valentine's prix-fixe.  Here he is prepping them.  The four course Valentine's Menu included the appetizer of lobster lasagna, a chopped romaine salad with buttermilk lemon dressing, SBF short ribs of beef, and the dulce de leche brownie as the closer. 

I would venture to say that the lasagna course was one of the best dishes to come out of our kitchen in recent memory.  Kevin's comment was that he shouldn't have put the chunk of lobster meat on top of the artichoke, because it covered it up.  Guests comments were: "delicious sauce", "wonderfully thin pasta", "what a great sauce", "this should be on the regular menu!", and again "what a sauce!".  I personally can attest to the tastiness of the aforementioned sauce, since I got a spoonful of it just before service.  It was "one of those sauces" that you just know is really special, and came out just the way Kevin hoped it would.  One of his major strong points is sauce making, and this one demonstrated why.  Just perfect.

The St. Brigid Farm short ribs of beef - served on the bone - were another plate of umami deliciousness, I am sure.  Usually Kevin serves his short ribs boneless, but to me there is something about getting that plate with the bone jutting out of the tender meat that makes it all the more appetizing, bringing out my inner carnivore I guess. 

The dessert - of which my picture did not succeed - of the dulce de leche brownie may have been too rich to end such a meal, in retrospect.  It was not overly large, but the richness was probably slightly unwelcome by the time it was served; a lighter, maybe fruit sweet would have left diners a little less overwhelmed.  As I said to one couple, it was probably not the best way to feel after dinner on Valentine's night, like you just want to lie down on the couch and snore!  Oh well!  Next time , cherries jubilee!

I was not really looking forward to our Valentine's evening, being worried that we would either be way too busy and not be able to handle it, or that the fear of no reservations would make us way too slow.  Instead, we had a happy medium, and for this I am grateful.

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