Upon arrival at the intimate, elegant and quiet LANNY's run now for 7
years
by Chef Lanny P. Lancarte II (www.lannyskitchen.com) just west
of downtown
I was overwhelmed by the many choices and simply could not
decide. Since I
was pre-opera, I only had 90 minutes and a tasting
menu (which was divine)
was out of the question. I settled into one of
the cozy dining areas (there
is also a very nice patio) with beige
linen-covered tables and brown leather
chairs.
I asked many questions of the several servers who assisted me
and
finally decided on several tapas choices rather than an appetizer
and
main course.
I started with the Baby LOLLA ROSA Salad, Roasted
Heirloom BABY BEETS,
Red QUINOA, Tangerines and Paprika GOAT CHEESE. It was a
superb salad
and also had some candied walnuts. The red quinoa is very small
and
tended to stick to the plate, but I used the goat cheese to
collect
the tiny grains. It was the perfect start to a great meal.
A glass
of Jerome Gueneau "Le Clos Chartier" Sancerre 2011 from the
Loire was the
perfect wine for the light vinaigrette. The wines are
served in C&S brand
crystal that looks a lot like Riedel Vinum Extreme
modern glassware. Mini
cheese bread loaves arrived steaming hot with a
divine Chimmichuri sauce that
was loaded with cilantro and vinegar. I
also received (prior to the salad) a
tiny tasty amuse of Medjool Date
with Goat Cheese in Spanish Chorizo. I loved
the way it was served on
a very small fork tine with no stem, but instead an
inverted "V" so
that the tines were facing up and you simply placed the
mini-fork in
your mouth et voila.
I could not resist my second choice,
and the Seared FOIE GRAS CHILE
RELLENO with Apaloosa Bean Puree was indeed
the best thing I had last
night, not to mention one of the best foie gras
dishes ever. Seared
perfectly with a beautiful hatch mark on top and settled
into the
belly of a seared chile that was split open on the grill, the dish
had
a slight spiciness that really worked brilliantly!
It was hard to
choose my next choices and I leaned towards my server's
suggestions for the
CHORIZO wrapped SCALLOPS with Ruby Red Grapefruit,
Pickled Fennel and
Haricots Verts. The dish had some melted parmesan
on top that was almost a
bit too much, but the scallops were superb
and overall the flavors worked. I
switched to a glass of sparkling
AIMERY CREMANT de LIMOUX Sieur d'Arques from
Champagne, a dry tasty
brut rose.
My last dish was the least exciting,
even though it sounded divine:
LOBSTER RAVOILI in Foie Gras Butter with Napa
Cabbage also came with
raisins, chives and slivered almonds. The pasta was
nice, but after
all the superb flavors and spices, the dish was a bit
unexciting.
I did enjoy a cappuccino and it came with a mini-Vahlrona
chocolate
brownie for a nice touch.
Off to the opera...
