l'etoile

Date
1/27/2013

Location
On Main Street across from the Amtrak Station
817 West Main Street

What I ate
Sharondale mushrooms
Ragged Mountain trout
Apple tarte tatin

Who came
Kelly

Website
l'etoile

Thoughts
First a disclaimer - I am biased.  Not only did I have one of my top 5 meals ever here for Restaurant Week a few years ago, but I will have serious trouble saying anything bad about Chef Gresge.  When I found myself with a bunch of sweetbreads and no idea what to do, I called him and he spent almost half an hour on the phone.  He taught me how to make them and just talked about he likes to use them.  Unsurprisingly, the ones I made were delicious - he deserves as much credit for that as anyone.  OK, now time for my biased review.

I love the setup.  I have only been to France once and it was a while ago, but it feels like I would expect a small French dinner hotspot to feel.  I would not take a group of more than 5 or 6 there, but it's perfect for small gatherings.  Somehow, they put a bunch of people in a small space without making it feel cramped.  Our waitress was very nice and offered to pass along my sweetbread-related thanks to the chef.  All told, this is a great spot to nurse some scotch and just chat.

I know some of you do not like mushrooms and I have often heard the texture cited as the main reason.  You are crazy.  These mushrooms were earthy and just a little chewy, just all-around delicious.  The grits did not add much flavor, but offered a nice contrast in texture with their creaminess.  I forgot about the chevre buried in the middle until it was almost too late.  I was able to have a few bites that brought together each element of the dish for some tasty forkfuls.  The trout is another reminder that I need to learn how to cook fish more than one way.  There was a bite to the outside that almost felt like it was fried, but the inside was still moist and tender.  Simply put, it was fish done right.  The accompaniments were good, but didn't add that much.  The lentils were good and provided contrasting texture (sensing a theme?) but the squash puree and the peppers were a little too sweet to fully complement the fish.

It's easy to look back now and remember how good this meal was, but how I felt afterward is a reminder that momentum is, at least in the moment (ha!), a real thing.  The first word that comes to mind for dessert is "dense".  I am, admittedly, not good at baking.  As such, I don't have a good conception of what a tarte tatin is really supposed to be like.  Apparently, this ignorance worked to my benefit.  I'll let her comment, but it seemed like Kelly (read: accomplished, knowledgeable baker) was particularly disappointed.  The apples were delicious, but they were swallowed up by the pastry portion.  The honey thyme ice cream could have helped cut through this, but it was far too subtle.  Had the ratio of apples to pastry been higher, the dessert probably would have been great.  Again, my baking ignorance might compromise my ability to fully understand, but dessert put a not-so-flattering bow on an otherwise great meal.

Recap
Pros - wonderful atmosphere, great savory dishes
Cons - dessert just wasn't good
Overall - I'll be back.  The dessert was incongruous with how awesome everything else was, food and otherwise.  This is still one of the best places to take a group of 2-4 for a nice meal.