English Pea and Trout Roe
To start off the evening, we were served a pea custard. The custard has a creamy texture and a light pea flavor while the trout roe balances the plate via its saltiness. The potato also provided a nice textural and rustic flavor to a rather light dish
Borscht Experiment - Beet gel, smoked tea, creme fresh, dill, crunchy beet
This beet dish takes me back to chemistry class with the syringe and plate. The tea provides a nice smokiness to go along with the mildly sweet beet gel. The combination extenuates the sweetness of the beet and makes it less "beety", making the dish more friendly to non-beet lover. The nice part about this dish is the crunchy beet, which gives the gel dish a little more texture and a tad of saltiness.
Salad Sponge - Argular sponge, hazelnut creame, honey
This is one of Ilana's famous dish. The fluffy sponge carries a light arugula flavor. Combined with the honey and hazelnut, it becomes quite a delightful dish in the sense that it feels as I'm eating a candied salad.
Pierogi - Mascarpone cheese
This is definitely one of the highlight of the night. The mascarpone cheese is wrapped inside a crunchy, yet slight chewy, skin which delivers a nice, warming and rustic flavor. The best part is, contrary to most Pierogi, this one is very light and you wouldn't feel too cheesy afterward.
Shrimp Noodles - Parmesan Cheese, Kale
The shrimp noodle has a nice chew to it while it carries the sweet natural shrimp flavor. This bite is heightened further by the well seasoned crunchy kale, which provides a textural difference to the bite.
Fava Beans, Asparagus, Cous Cous and Octopus
Per Ilana, the Octopus was braised then charred before serving, leaving the octopus nice and crispy on the outside with a hint of smoky flavor, while the meat itself is moist and juicy. I actually enjoyed the cous cous here, as it provides a tapioca-like texture to this course.
These bad boys were hanging right next to us prior to the course was served. The gram provides a nice earthy tone to the entire dish, combined with the seaweed and pickled olives, creates an umami flavor that's hard for you to let even one gram left on the dish.
Shoots and Tubers - Artichoke, Halibut, Dry Grapefruit and Woodland Aroma
The butter poached halibut is perfectly cooked, moist and tasty. The dry grapefruit, when eaten together with the fish, offers a sweet but citrus crunch to the fish. Making this a very nice bite.
Hand Course - Prosciutto wrapped Langoustine
We were asked to form a fist by our server, then we were presented this nicely wrapped Langoustine. The Langoustine was nicely poached and paired well with the Proscuitto, offering a nice combination of sweet and saltiness.
Rabbit Featuring leg and foie gras - ketchup, pickled radish
The tender Rabbit leg terrain is nicely flavored and complimented by a savory foie gras, which makes the dish a little heavier than it looks. The picked radish offers a refreshing crunch to wrap up the dish.
Hen and Egg - Poached Quail Egg, Chicken Skin, Polenta, Shaved Truffle
The hen is offered in two ways, as a sausage and itself. The sausage is nicely flavored and has a chew to it, while the normal version is nicely flavored. The quail egg is nicely cooked and served along with a smooth polenta.
1 Pill makes you Larger - Maitake mushroom consume, coconap
I've had a version of this at Next. However, this version of the soup is less intense and has edible coconap. It actually works quite well as the chocolate flavor gets drawn out further by the saltiness of the soup.
Acorn, Deer Heart, Morels and Wild Berries
This is actually my first time having deer heart and I won't make it my last. It's got a chewy texture that offers a lush flavor, complimented by a chewy, yet meaty, acorn and the sweet berry sauce, turning this into a great first impression of deer heart.
Round Pancake - Goat Cheese, Dry Cherries
The soft pancake with goat cheese definitely makes me rethink what pancake is. It's soft but spongy, along with the sugar powder and mild cheese, makes me want a giant plate of them.
Rabbit and Nettles - Bacon, Broccoli crown, Bacon Powder
The rabbit loin is nicely cooked: it's juicy, has a great meaty texture. It's further highlighted by the bacon wrapped around it. The broccoli that compliments this is well seasoned and provides that nice, refreshing little crunch to pair with a rather heavy course.
Lamb Loin with Carrots and Cardamom - Tapioca, Broccoli, Egg Custard, Walnut Puree
The lamb is nicely cooked, complimented by a sou vide carrot which later is coated with "ash". The carrot puree is the highlight here, as it adds that sweet savoriness to the dish. However, personally, I didn't quite get the tapioca and egg custard.
Carrot Dashi
As we were consuming our previous course, a carrot dashi is made right in front of us. I've seen this preparation at the Aviary, which is always cool to look at. This carrot soup has a nice rustic sweetness that a concentrated but only light carrot soup can provide. This nicely wrap up the meaty courses from earlier.
Garden Ice - Arugula Granita
The sorbet provides a refreshing tone for the meal. It was light, mildly sweet. It reminds me a little bit of grass juice at times.
Rhubarb and Goat Milk - Goat Cheese Cake, Goat Cheese & Stinky Tofu Ice Cream, Gram Cracker, Dehydrated Strawberry
The mildly sweet cheese cake is complimented by a very "blue cheesey" ice cream, which paired really well with the gram cracker. I was surprised by how "stinky" the ice cream is when consumed. However, the sweet gram cracker offsets the stinkiness. The rhubarb adds a little crunch to the dish, however, its light flavor is simply over powered by the cheesecake.
Bites - Chocolate cookies, Almond Custard & Candied Elderberry
As we wrap up the evening, we were offered chocolate cookies, which is more like a brownie as it nicely crumbled when I bite into it. The elderberry is an interesting bite as it's a bite chewy. Reminds me of soft juicy stinky candy.
All in all, Elizabeth provides a nice dining experience. I really appreciate Ilana's use of produce and how she can extenuate and highlight their flavor. Some courses such as the sponge, the pea puree, pierogi, the shrimp noodles and the grams are all exceptional. The restaurant is still new and I envision Ilana will do great things in the future. Hence, I look forward to my return.
