Brasserie Montiel Restaurant & Bar

Date

1/30/10

Location

2001 Commonwealth Dr.

What I ate

Duck Confit and Butternut Ravioli

Tamarind Glazed Smoked Pork Tenderloin w/ Basmati Rice and Caramelized Apple Chips

Poached Pear with Gorgonzola and Salted Pistachios

Who went

Ellen

Website

http://brasseriemontiel.com/default.aspx

Thoughts

My first impression of Brasserie occurred several hours prior to our dining experience. Unsure if the snow fall would affect our reservation, I received a call nearly two hours prior that the restaurant was indeed open and parking available. This was only the beginning of the professionalism shown by the restaurant staff for the entire evening. Further, this was a casual dining experience. Although not a place to wear jeans and a t-shirt, I felt comfortable wearing khakis and a button up for dinner.

The appetizer was a perfect way to start the meal. I have had my share of duck, and this was cooked extremely well. The sauce was flavorful, but not overpowering. Then, when the entree was served, I was amazed by the portion sizes. Unlike Boar's Head, or any other fine dining restaurants that I have been to, Brasserie served generous portions. The pork tenderloin was delicious though not as tender as I would have hoped. The rice and vegetables were solid, but I felt that they required additional seasoning or the tamarind glaze. The caramelized apple chips were good, but served more as decoration than food. The disappointment was in the dessert. Though I understood the concept behind the dish, and the magnificent presentation, the ingredients clashed with each other. Each ingredient is, on its own, exceptionally powerful and commanded attention, but ruptured the dish as a whole. Sadly, I was unable to finish this plate.

From the comments I could gather from Ellen, her meal was solid, but fell short of the level of fine dining I would have expected. Her appetizer of the carrot and ginger soup with micro greens and a sesame mustard vinaigrette appeared to be a mixed bag. The carrot and ginger soup was delicious, though Ellen commented that the salad had too much dressing. Her vegetarian tempura with three dipping sauces to me appeared to be underwhelming for fine dining; even with its aims to be "casual" fine-dining. Overall, the entree was nothing spectacular and we were both surprised by the lack of creativity or quality of the dipping sauces of ranch, chipotle ranch, and bleu cheese. However, this was made up for in dessert. She ordered the dark chocolate ganache and pomegranate coulis creme anglaise. This was well presented (though on a plate two or three times larger than necessary) and the portion was small. Yet, the richness of the chocolate made this the perfect ending to her meal.

Recap

Pros - great service, relaxed atmosphere, good portions

Cons - Meals were inconsistent

Overall - Overall I enjoyed my meal, the atmosphere, and the company. However, the meals were too inconsistent to classify this restaurant as Restaurant Week worthy.