Dining Month 2015: The Picnic House
I've actually been to this one before, during regular dinner service when Heather was out here in January. Honestly, I think I liked what I had then a little better, though the dessert trio did a great job of trying to win me over.
First course:
Salad of arugula, watercress, avocado, sugar peas, pepitas and green goddess dressing with fire-roasted carrot soup and ancho chili purée - Delicious! The pepitas were a nice crunch, and the carrot soup wasn't too sweet - the chili puree gave it a nice subtle kick (I would have happily had more spice, but I can make my own carrot soup when I want that). I really liked that we got both salad and soup on one dish - small portion of each, but we got to try more things, which is the point of dining month to me.
Second course:
Espresso-rubbed lamb shank with red Russian kale and roasted sugar dumpling squash purée - This was the winner to me. The lamb was falling off the bone tender, and the espresso rub wasn't too coffee-y. Nice, dark, rich flavor. The squash puree was too sweet for my taste.
-OR-
Risotto with Grana Padano, wild mushrooms and pea shoots - I love me a good risotto, but this one was pretty heavy on the mushrooms. I'm making progress on not minding mushrooms, but apparently I'm not there yet. Gretchin was kind enough to step in and eat the mushrooms I ate around.
Third course:
Trio of citrus: Blood orange and white chocolate sorbet, Key lime chèvre cheesecake, lemon-almond tartlet - the winner for this dinner. I loved getting to try several desserts. My favorite was far and away the key lime chevre cheesecake - tart and sweet and creamy and delicious. Would order again. The almond tartlet was good, but I thought the white chocolate sorbet had a not-awesome texture (a little grainy and gummy), though the blood orange was quite good.
Other: Moulin Rouge (marionberry vodka, blackberry liquor, lemon, pickled blueberries). Very good, though I liked it when I got a pickled blackberries in it better.
Overall: I wouldn't recommend 2015's dining month, but this is somewhere I'd recommend for dinner. I still want to try their grilled cheese and tomato soup sometime.
First course:
Salad of arugula, watercress, avocado, sugar peas, pepitas and green goddess dressing with fire-roasted carrot soup and ancho chili purée - Delicious! The pepitas were a nice crunch, and the carrot soup wasn't too sweet - the chili puree gave it a nice subtle kick (I would have happily had more spice, but I can make my own carrot soup when I want that). I really liked that we got both salad and soup on one dish - small portion of each, but we got to try more things, which is the point of dining month to me.
Second course:
Espresso-rubbed lamb shank with red Russian kale and roasted sugar dumpling squash purée - This was the winner to me. The lamb was falling off the bone tender, and the espresso rub wasn't too coffee-y. Nice, dark, rich flavor. The squash puree was too sweet for my taste.
-OR-
Risotto with Grana Padano, wild mushrooms and pea shoots - I love me a good risotto, but this one was pretty heavy on the mushrooms. I'm making progress on not minding mushrooms, but apparently I'm not there yet. Gretchin was kind enough to step in and eat the mushrooms I ate around.
Third course:
Trio of citrus: Blood orange and white chocolate sorbet, Key lime chèvre cheesecake, lemon-almond tartlet - the winner for this dinner. I loved getting to try several desserts. My favorite was far and away the key lime chevre cheesecake - tart and sweet and creamy and delicious. Would order again. The almond tartlet was good, but I thought the white chocolate sorbet had a not-awesome texture (a little grainy and gummy), though the blood orange was quite good.
Other: Moulin Rouge (marionberry vodka, blackberry liquor, lemon, pickled blueberries). Very good, though I liked it when I got a pickled blackberries in it better.
Overall: I wouldn't recommend 2015's dining month, but this is somewhere I'd recommend for dinner. I still want to try their grilled cheese and tomato soup sometime.