Last night I took a friend to dinner at Ellerbe Fine Foods
(www.ellerbefinefoods.com) just south of downtown
where I first went
three ago just after it opened. It took me a while to get
back, but I
am so glad I did as this simple restaurant is concerned about
food,
ingredients, quality and service above all else.
We started with a
bottle of La Poussie Sancerre 2010 which has much
more citrus than most
Sancerres and went wonderfully with the salad we
shared, Roasted BEETS and
Market SPINACH Salad with Creamy Buttermilk
Dressing, Texas Citrus Powder,
Chevre and Spiced Texas Pecans. On my
first visit here I remember having one
of the best Heirloom Tomato
salads anywhere and this salad was just as
amazing with all its fresh
and local ingredients.
My gust then had the
SPRING CARROT SOUP with a dollop of Housemade
Crème Fraiche and Sumac on top.
It was a superb soup and brilliantly
paired with the TEUTONIC GEWURTZTRAMINER
2012 "Crow Valley Vineyard"
from Oregon. My House Cured GRAVLAX and DEVILED
EGG was another
brilliant fresh treat with B&G Garden Asparagus, Mixed
Lettuce, Dijon
Verjus Vinaigrette, Crispy Capers, Radish & Dill. I can't
get enough
of these wonderful local treats.
The excellent baguettes are
flown in fresh daily from LA's La Brea
Bakery and served with Plugra Butter
and Red Hawaiian Sea Salt. We
moved on to a full bodied fruit forward yummy
Pinot Noir from Oregon's
STOLLER Vineyard 2010 Dundee Hills which makes some
of the best pinot
grapes sold to many other famous Oregon winemakers!
I
had the superb rabbit last time and my guest raved about the Sherry
Braised
RABBIT PAPPARDELLE again with B&G Garden Asparagus, Roasted
Mushroom, Cox
Farm Green Garlic, Cream and Brown Butter Breadcrumbs. I
had a taste and
agreed wholeheartedly. My Grilled DUCK BREAST was
cooked to perfection and
crispy crunchy to boot with hedonistic Waco
MASCARAPONE GRITS and a Brandy
Rhubarb Reduction.
In my previous visit, I had the amazing bread pudding,
so my guest
choose with Whisky Sauce and Pralined Texas Pecans that I assume
is
the signature dessert to remain on the menu forever. I had the
equally
tasty STRAWBERRY & RHUBARB Orange Blossom Anglaise with Brown
Sugar
Whipped and Molasses Crisp.
We just had to have some cheese and
the three small portions were
enough for us, but we really wanted a bit more
of the superb Brushy
Creek Idaho Blue and the "Eden"- a Waco Triple Crème
with Sorghum Leaf
and Vegetable Ash was also excellent Only the Manchego was
a bore. A
nice small glass of 20 Year old Tawny Port was in order. The
cheeses
came with Grilled Honey Bread and some peach and Pear
Preserves.
Some small delicious DULCE di LECHE Cookies sent us on our
way
home...very full, and me feeling very guilty after my month plus
of
dieting!
