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Molecular gastronomy
May. 6th, 2011 11:54 pmLast Friday, Ctein and I had dinner at Travail, which is a neighborhood restaurant that offers a 10-course tasting menu. It also has more standard local restaurant type meals, so I'm not sure if the molecular gastronomy thing is a sideline or what.
Here's what we had, to the best of my ability. The descriptions from the server were usually a paragraph long, and I only jotted down a few words. The list isn't 10 items exactly because there were a couple of amuse-bouches.
Ham vichysoisse. This was essentially ham-flavored foam in a little (half-ounce?) glass. Interesting, but that little bit was enough.
Beet served three ways. There was a caramelized beet chip, and pickled beet, and I think fresh beet. The presentation was lovely, but it confirmed my feeling that I really don't like beet, even when it's done well.
Baby octopus with apple. Ctein was a little unnerved at this; apparently it looked too much like critter and not enough like food. I thought it was a little mushy, but otherwise tasty.
Goat cheese fritter with chorizo foam. Fried soft cheese with a breaded outside.
Gratefruit bomb with carrot chip. This was an amuse-bouche -- a grape-sized ball of grapefruit juice with a skin around it, more or less. And a crispy bit of carrot.
Beef tartare in meatballs with fennel, served en croute -- A couple of marble-sized servings of beef tartar atop toasted bread.
Celery root soup with cheddar. Very tasty and more filling than I expect for something in a tasting menu.
Pasta annulatti with squid ink and carrot foam. Little pasta pockets and a salty squiddy sauce. I wanted to like this one better than I did. The sauce didn't have much flavor other than salty.
Mock deviled egg, with coconut for the "white" and carrot and foie gras for the "yolk." About the size of a quail's egg.
Sea scallop with bacon, beans, and prosciutto jerky. This may have been my favorite dish. The scallop was perfectly seared, and the accompaniments went well with it.
Sea bass with vegetables and brown butter powder. The weirdest thing about this was the brown butter powder. It was this fluffy white stuff that tasted of brown butter. I normally don't eat sea bass because it's endangered.
Chicken roulades and chicken tenders. The chicken tenders were rather tough for their name, but the roulades were tasty.
Pork tenderloin with bacon and leek fondue. Quite good, but rather substantial as a last-before-dessert course.
Chocolate cake with milk bubbles. The bubbles looked like dishwashing bubbles, but tasted like milk -- which of course went very well with the chocolate cake.
All of the portions were a few bites at most; when it was over, I was full, but not stuffed. I'd be happy to try it again sometime. I asked, and they change their tasting menu weekly. You have to go with someone you're comfortable sharing with, because they serve the items on one dish for two people. And it's a great bargain.
Here's what we had, to the best of my ability. The descriptions from the server were usually a paragraph long, and I only jotted down a few words. The list isn't 10 items exactly because there were a couple of amuse-bouches.
Ham vichysoisse. This was essentially ham-flavored foam in a little (half-ounce?) glass. Interesting, but that little bit was enough.
Beet served three ways. There was a caramelized beet chip, and pickled beet, and I think fresh beet. The presentation was lovely, but it confirmed my feeling that I really don't like beet, even when it's done well.
Baby octopus with apple. Ctein was a little unnerved at this; apparently it looked too much like critter and not enough like food. I thought it was a little mushy, but otherwise tasty.
Goat cheese fritter with chorizo foam. Fried soft cheese with a breaded outside.
Gratefruit bomb with carrot chip. This was an amuse-bouche -- a grape-sized ball of grapefruit juice with a skin around it, more or less. And a crispy bit of carrot.
Beef tartare in meatballs with fennel, served en croute -- A couple of marble-sized servings of beef tartar atop toasted bread.
Celery root soup with cheddar. Very tasty and more filling than I expect for something in a tasting menu.
Pasta annulatti with squid ink and carrot foam. Little pasta pockets and a salty squiddy sauce. I wanted to like this one better than I did. The sauce didn't have much flavor other than salty.
Mock deviled egg, with coconut for the "white" and carrot and foie gras for the "yolk." About the size of a quail's egg.
Sea scallop with bacon, beans, and prosciutto jerky. This may have been my favorite dish. The scallop was perfectly seared, and the accompaniments went well with it.
Sea bass with vegetables and brown butter powder. The weirdest thing about this was the brown butter powder. It was this fluffy white stuff that tasted of brown butter. I normally don't eat sea bass because it's endangered.
Chicken roulades and chicken tenders. The chicken tenders were rather tough for their name, but the roulades were tasty.
Pork tenderloin with bacon and leek fondue. Quite good, but rather substantial as a last-before-dessert course.
Chocolate cake with milk bubbles. The bubbles looked like dishwashing bubbles, but tasted like milk -- which of course went very well with the chocolate cake.
All of the portions were a few bites at most; when it was over, I was full, but not stuffed. I'd be happy to try it again sometime. I asked, and they change their tasting menu weekly. You have to go with someone you're comfortable sharing with, because they serve the items on one dish for two people. And it's a great bargain.
