St. John's July 11, 2009

Daniel Lindley with an assist from sous chef Josh Safford prepared the following tasting menu last night.

From top to bottom, left to right:

Chocolate terrine with chili and miso ice cream, chocolate ganache and brioche

Watermelon rind (two ways- pickled and crisped) with hazelnuts and coconut gelato

Dry aged Beef with wildwood farms kohlrabi kimchi, fried rice puree, lime powder and pea shoots (2 photos)

Grimaud Farm's Squab with thomas guatney's gooseberries, oyster mushroom, orange and cardamon foam

Niman Ranch Pig's Trotters with foie gras, mike burn's blackberries, summer savory and balsamic (2 photos)

Alaskan halibut with parsley flowers, carrot juice,onion, zucchini and jalapeno

Rhode Island squid(formed into a kind of tubular basket) with yuzu kosho, celery heart and somehow a miraculous meringue inside

Wildwood Farms Zucchini flower with opal basil gulf royal red shrimp and red curry

Dave Waters Farm Egg: sous vide yolk, baby garlic custard, pancette, and summer truffle puree

Wines: 2005 Quilceda Creek Cabernet and 2004 Aubert Lauren Chardonnay

My apologies for the variable quality of the photos...the artistry of the presentation still shines through my very amateur snapshots.

The range of style of food was amazing. The truffle puree was beyond belief and we loved the fried rice puree...it had a nut flavor underlying it that made me believe there was a cashew in the mix but apparently that flavor derived from the wild rice used in the dish.

The Aubert was the star last night...one of the best chardonnays we've ever had, with the oak splinters that were present on release integrated fully and less of that typical cloudiness sometimes found in Mark Aubert's chard's. Too bad it is our last bottle. The Quilceda Creek, even though Wine Advocate rated it a perfect 100 disappointed and not for any obvious flaw we could detect. We didn't decant, but it sat opened for an hour and a half at least and tannins were not an issue...it just didn't live up to the hype or even previous vintages of Q Creek we've had. Hopefully, just some bottle variation. And the wine service was great...nice stemware, small not overwhelmingly large pours, well worth the 30 dollar corkage fee.

Chef Lindley and his staff can cook on a level with anyone. Just a terrific experience.