Bergamot again
Jun. 22nd, 2015 03:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
drwexThis Saturday we went again to Bergamot for their tasting menu. Once again it was amazing.
I had their 1771 cocktail (Citadelle Gin, Curaçao, Cardamom, Rhubarb, Grapefruit, Sparkling Wine) which has the recipe online so I can tell you about it. Very tasty. I like rhubarb. I wasn't certain about the cardamom but it worked well. Mid-meal the sommelier suggested a glass of wine - not knowing what courses were to come I went with his suggestion, which was an excellent white about which I'd known nothing. I'm sorry I didn't write down the bottle info.
On this visit we had![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pierceheart and badseed1980 as dinner companions, which was great fun. We see them so rarely that this dinner had to be scheduled something like four months in advance and we might not see them again for some months - next time we're going to a restaurant they really like. Since we had dinner companions we spent most of the time talking and comparing what we each had been served, meaning I recall no complete listings and only a few of the dishes.
That all said, the experience was fantastic. Bergamot has four-star prices, for which you get four-star food, and four-star service. They completely coped with both Pygment's and my dietary restrictions and part of the fun was comparing what we'd gotten to what our companions (who had no food restrictions) got.
A few highlights that stick in my mind:
- the whitefish dish was done over smoked black beans. Whatever they smoked the beans with added a lot of flavor and it stood out with the plain(er) fish flavors.
- They did clams, which Pygment normally does not like and loved these.
- I had a pasta dish where the pasta was so fresh it was amazing. I don't normally like pasta but this was great.
- There was a steak dish that was the essence of savory flavoring.
- The dessert was a combination of strong flavors that I would never have thought to put together and found myself going "wow this is amazing" with pretty much every bite.
Much of modern cuisine emphasize subtle hints and delicate flavors; sadly, that's often lost on me. Bergamot's chef seems to be going in the other direction, with bold and distinct flavors that work well and combine well. Very pleasing to my way of eating.
Even with the 50% off Groupon this is still probably not more than a once-a-year thing for us but it's definitely something we're going back for again. Next time we might try not to do a Saturday night, though. We sat at 5:45 and by the time we were getting toward the end (7PM ish) the place had filled up and become so loud I really had a hard time hearingbadseed1980's normally voiced comments from across the table.
In other news I spent a couple hours this weekend rambling around Horn Pond with my tolerant sweetie and inquisitive puppy. Sunday there was gaming, and it was good.
I had their 1771 cocktail (Citadelle Gin, Curaçao, Cardamom, Rhubarb, Grapefruit, Sparkling Wine) which has the recipe online so I can tell you about it. Very tasty. I like rhubarb. I wasn't certain about the cardamom but it worked well. Mid-meal the sommelier suggested a glass of wine - not knowing what courses were to come I went with his suggestion, which was an excellent white about which I'd known nothing. I'm sorry I didn't write down the bottle info.
On this visit we had
pierceheart and badseed1980 as dinner companions, which was great fun. We see them so rarely that this dinner had to be scheduled something like four months in advance and we might not see them again for some months - next time we're going to a restaurant they really like. Since we had dinner companions we spent most of the time talking and comparing what we each had been served, meaning I recall no complete listings and only a few of the dishes.That all said, the experience was fantastic. Bergamot has four-star prices, for which you get four-star food, and four-star service. They completely coped with both Pygment's and my dietary restrictions and part of the fun was comparing what we'd gotten to what our companions (who had no food restrictions) got.
A few highlights that stick in my mind:
- the whitefish dish was done over smoked black beans. Whatever they smoked the beans with added a lot of flavor and it stood out with the plain(er) fish flavors.
- They did clams, which Pygment normally does not like and loved these.
- I had a pasta dish where the pasta was so fresh it was amazing. I don't normally like pasta but this was great.
- There was a steak dish that was the essence of savory flavoring.
- The dessert was a combination of strong flavors that I would never have thought to put together and found myself going "wow this is amazing" with pretty much every bite.
Much of modern cuisine emphasize subtle hints and delicate flavors; sadly, that's often lost on me. Bergamot's chef seems to be going in the other direction, with bold and distinct flavors that work well and combine well. Very pleasing to my way of eating.
Even with the 50% off Groupon this is still probably not more than a once-a-year thing for us but it's definitely something we're going back for again. Next time we might try not to do a Saturday night, though. We sat at 5:45 and by the time we were getting toward the end (7PM ish) the place had filled up and become so loud I really had a hard time hearing
badseed1980's normally voiced comments from across the table.In other news I spent a couple hours this weekend rambling around Horn Pond with my tolerant sweetie and inquisitive puppy. Sunday there was gaming, and it was good.
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no subject
Date: 2015-06-22 07:40 pm (UTC)This is what my memory just kicked up
Date: 2015-06-22 07:56 pm (UTC)Don't forget the Squash soup(+1) at the beginning. I'm not surprised you forgot the beets(1) :)
There was a 2nd salad(2) that we thought had more beets but it was something else red that surprised us. Dang if I can remember what it was.
Then the clams(3), then your pasta dish while we had the tofu with umami mushrooms(5), steak(6), then the strawberry rhubarb sorbet palate cleanser mine served over cashews while you guys got corn flakes(+2).
Lastly were the 2 different deserts. We had the tarragon sorbet, some yogurt, more of the strawberry rhubarb sorbet, lychee nut, peach jam while they had a cake-like thing that was nut and wheat based. Then there were the dark chocolate macaroons(+3).
So we had a total of 10 courses, 2 drinks each and everything superb.
I had a red wine I'd never heard of and I’ll Have Another- Four Roses Bourbon, Mint, Lemon, Whiskey Barrel Bitters, House-Made Ginger Beer.
Pierceheart had: Le Québécois- Rye Whiskey, Dolin Dry, Punt e Mes, Luxardo Maraschino. and then something from on tap
Numbers in ( ) are for me figuring out what course it was.
Badseed1980 had Martinez - Hayman’s Old Tom Gin, Carpano Sweet Vermouth, Luxardo Marachino and then a very yeasty cider.
no subject
Date: 2015-06-22 10:56 pm (UTC)Your sorbet was served over pistachios.
Our cake-like thing was a cashew caramel torte, accompanied by a tahini ice cream
The tofu was supposed to be ma po doufu, but it wasn't much like I'd expect that to be. Probably the weakest dish, IMO.
no subject
Date: 2015-06-23 12:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-06-23 03:03 am (UTC)