The cocktail menu had a few really creative items, but when I saw the Cognac Sazerac ($8) I knew I didn't have a choice. Invented in New Orleans in the 1830's the Sazerac originally based itself on cognac before America quickly developed a taste for the now standard rye whiskey. Any bartender that chooses Cognac - something they don't even do in old nola bars anymore - for what is already a difficult cocktail is my kind of booze nerd. It came out as a very large pour for a drink involving only one shot of booze, but this was likely due to dilution from a long sit in an ice filled shaker - a bit longer than I would have preferred - but it does make the drink a lot easier to quaff, especially for those new to the beverage. I was however dismayed by the use of Herbsaint instead of a true absinthe. Why go all the way back to the 1830's with the cognac and then jump all the way to the 1930's to use a post absinthe-ban replacement, especially with two fantastic locally made absinthe's to chose from?
First plate to the table was a lovely little group of house-cured salt cod fritters ($4) served on white linen with aioli. These little beauties where delicious - perfectly crisp on the outside and pillowy inside with a smooth fishy flavor that built into salty ecstasy. In fact these were really salty, but any less so and I wouldn't have loved them as much, especially with a cocktail. I have visions of polishing off plate after plate with friends at the bar.
When the menu described the Caesar salad thusly: "anchovies, fried lemon" I imagined whole fillets of the little bastards and fried lemon trying to do it's damndest to balance them out, but alas there were no whole anchovies to be found. I am a bit unique in my love for pungent salty fish, so no fault here, just my own wishful thinking.
The caesar was in fact pleasingly pungent and expertly dressed, with generous shavings of parm and a fried lemon that perfumed the entire thing with not just citrus tang but a wonderful lemony scent. This was easily one of the most enjoyable Caesar's I've had in a long time.
Out with the salad came the beef - I wavered back and forth on this for a while but settled on the steak frites ($18) - it's at the top of the menu in the fancy outlined box after all. Ok, so really I just wanted to slather fries in marchand du vin, plus I enjoy the flavor of a good hangar steak.
It's a thing of beauty isn't it. The fries were fairly crisp yet soft inside, the steak was close enough to the medium rare I ordered, and rich sauce was everywhere. First order of business was slapping a fry around in the beefy sauce - and beefy it was - this was not some wimpy pan sauce with a wine or mustard backbone, this was pure beef, pepper, dry wine, and I'm guessing a lot of demi-glace and butter.
Oh, and there's some steak here too, with a nice texture and color, although I regret not ordering it rare. It was still tender enough to enjoy however, which was a relief considering hangar can often get overly chewy. The fact that the beef flavor stood out so well while drenched in the incredibly rich sauce really says something about the quality of the product. I'll go rare next time and see if my jaw doesn't get so much of a work out - don't get me wrong though - the flavor was everything you'd expect out of a great steak, but I wonder if it could have been a little more tender in that zone between the center and the crust (the mantle of the steak perhaps?), or if it was just my own damn fault for not listening to my gut and ordering rare.
As I finished my Double Mountain Kolsh (props on the great beer choices!) and nibbled on a fried lemon while soaking in that perfect evening air I took some time to observe what else was going on here. I'd been waited on by four different servers - not because they were too busy, but because everyone here really seems to be excited, conversational, and human. It's the first week, but I can already seeing this being a real success with a strong menu, creative cocktails, a fun environment, and passionate service...and dammit I'm almost within walking distance.
I'm actually heading to Laurelhurst tonight, hopefully to get cocktailed up from Evan (formerly of Teardrop) as well as have some fine quality meat products. Those salt cod fritters look exceptional.
Posted by: SauceSupreme | May 28, 2009 at 04:18 PM